Shahnawaz Naaz:
The concept:
The Berimbau Tower in Rio de Janiero is an eco-friendly high-rise building designed to be used as a building for telecommunications and other activities during the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in the beautiful Brazilian city. The design of this building is largely inspired by Brazilian Capoeira dance and the Berimbau, an ancient Brazilian musical instrument. This spherical building has 5 levels. The lower level is meant for recreational activities, while the second and third level has a gazebo and shops respectively. The fourth level has space for offices, while the fifth and top most level has a large conference room equipped with all modern amenities. The building is sustainable because all its components are recoverable, recycled and reused. The bioclimatic characteristics of this building reduce its energy consumption as well. This building tower features a heated greenhouse and a geothermal heat pump.
The Inspiration:
A team of architects has finalized the design of Berimbau Tower. This sustainable structure will be a major center of attraction during the football World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. A look at the sphere-shaped structure shows that the team was inspired by Brazilian Capoeira dance and one of the oldest Brazilian musical instrument- the Berimbau. This 5 level building is suspended in the air. This building is sustainable and eco-friendly because it is made of recycled and reused products. A greenhouse and a geothermal heat pump maintain the heating of this house. Laminated glass curve on the outer skin of this tower gives it the spherical shape.
Eco Credentials:
The Berimbau Tower is completely sustainable as it uses natural resources for several useful activities. The tower used sun to generate hot water and keeps all offices in the building well lighted. It used wind and air to keep the building cool and also features rainwater harvesting system. The designers have maximized the used of the materials used in constructing the building. Proper designing has minimized the scope for waste generation. This building is made of components, which are recoverable and can be recycled. The bioclimatic characteristics of this sphere-shaped high-rise building keep its power consumption at a low level.
Feasibility:
The Berimbau Tower is a self-sustaining architectural beauty made of recoverable and recycled materials. This tower will serve as a multimedia centre during the football World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The life cycle of this beautiful building is infinite. The overall height of this tower constructed over an area of 2,083′30 m2 is 113 meters. This building uses sun, wind and water to generate energy needed for different functions.
Related trends:
1. Arizona Solar Tower
EnviroMission has set up a large solar tower in Arizona desert. The height of this tower is 2625 ft and its diameter is 130 meters. EnviroMission is hopeful that this solar tower would produce 200MW electricity, which could be use to provide electricity to 150,000 homes. This solar tower would be constructed at a price of US$750 million. This concept is simple but seems exciting because Arizona desert always receives good amount of sunlight. EnviroMission's plan is to create a greenhouse at the tower's base and raise the ground level's temperature to around 90 degrees. It is a known fact that when the air gets hot it moves up, allowing the cool air to fill in the gap. The idea is to fit the turbine in the building and when the air rises after getting hot, it rotates the turbine, which will generate electricity. This tower is completely eco-friendly because it produces emission-free energy. EnviroMission said that this whole system can work without any maintenance for 80 years.
2. Detox Tower
Buildings have emerged as a major contributor to climate change as they consume around 45% of the energy consumption of the world. The need of the hour is to design and build eco-friendly buildings which are self-sustaining and do not consume much energy. The designers of the new buildings should adopt new technologies to reduce the energy needs of the buildings as it will decrease the pressure on eco-systems. Detox Tower is also one such innovative project. The Detox Tower is a unique building because it has an internal and external membrane system. The internal membrane system is called Part A and external is called Part B. These membranes allow living organisms like algae, lichen, etc to process matter with synthetic matter. This integration will definitely reduce energy consumption significantly. This structure would also detoxify the air. The Detox tower is based on principles of micro engineering.
3. Michael Jantzen's Eco-Tower
Michael Jantzen's observation tower is a Wi-Fi enabled eco-friendly building. The height of this tower is 120 feet and its structure is made of concrete and steel. The design of this eco-tower has seven platforms, out of which six are accessible by a spiral staircase which is located in the central part of the building. The perimeter of each platform has containers, which are used to grow plants. These containers also store rainwater, which is used to water the plants. The top of this eco-tower has a wind turbine and solar panels to harness sunlight. The wind and solar energy are stored in batteries which are placed at the tower's base. The design of this tower is stylish and its aesthetic brilliance is simply amazing.
4. The Net Lima Tower
Designed by renowned Miami-based architect Chad Oppenheim, the Net Lima Tower is Philippines' first certified 'Green' mega structure. Located just outside Manila in the Central Business District of Fort Bonifacio, this tower is eco-friendly and highly efficient. Chad has used several sustainability strategies to design this green tower. The three towers of this eco-tower cover a 3-acre block. The area covered by this green project is 1,550,000 square foot. This building has no AC, but it is uses aluminum solar screen overlays, which keep the building cool by rejecting heat. This building has storage tanks made of fiberglass.
