Coming Soon To China: The World’s Greenest Skyscraper

A new building in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou that claims to be the world’s greenest skyscraper will open this coming fall, according to a recent EnergyBoom article. The 71-story, 2.3 million square foot Pearl River Tower aims to be the most energy-efficient tall building ever built.

In fact, it plans to be so thoroughly energy-efficient so as to capture the title of tallest Zero Energy Building (ZEB) in the world. Creating more power than they take from the energy grid, ZEBs are usually quite small. The Pearl River Tower will be the first ZEB at such a large scale.

Two examples of the Pearl River Tower’s commitment to the ZEB title: the building’s rainwater collection system utilizes solar heating to provide hot water for the building, while the body of the building incorporates wind turbines into its design. These wind turbines are uniquely designed to operate at lower wind speeds, doing more than just generating electricity: the openings help reduce the overall wind load on the skyscraper.

Another green attribute is the building’s cooling system. Upon completion, Pearl River Tower will become the largest radiant-cooled office building in the world, with raised floor ventilation, heat sinks, and vertical vents.

Throughout the building, solar panels will feed power to window blinds that open and close automatically in sync with the sun. The exterior walls are designed with an 8” gap, wherein heat that enters through the building’s windows will be trapped and rise to heat exchangers located on upper floors. Working in tandem, these features enabled building architects SOM to install a heating system that is 80 percent smaller than in conventionally built skyscrapers.

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Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com