HAN University of Applied Sciences, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Minor Low Ec High Tech, Office building, Utrecht, 2010
The Rabobank in Utrecht is situated in a building with a glass façade next to the central station. Because of growth they decided to build a tower in the middle of the existing Rabobank building.
Round shapes are easy to create if you have the right computer programs, but what if you have to use a 2D method to create a curved building shape? That was the asignment for our project ‘Low Ec High Tech’. We came up with a method of fixed and movable disks and lines, to keep the core of the tower on every level straight and the façade curved. When changing the percentage of the disks and lines the façade becomes smaller or wider.
Sustainability was a very important focus during the design of the building. In the middle of the building we placed a vertical delicate looking windmill which is called a Windspire. The shape of the building directs the wind towards this windmill, what gives more energy for the tower. Although the windmill does help increasing the sustainable energy use of the tower it’s not enough to provide enough electricity for the whole tower. I made an installation scheme so I could figure out what kind of energy sources the tower will use and how much energy the tower needs. In this scheme it became clear that almost all energy in normal situations can come from sustainable sources.
Jet Tillmann Architectuur 