ctbuh.

org/papers

Title: Case Study: Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China

Authors: Roger Frechette, Director of Sustainable Engineering, Skidmore, Owings &

Merrill
Russell Gilchrist, Director of Technical Architecture, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Subjects: Architectural/Design
Building Case Study
Sustainability/Green/Energy

Keywords: Embodied Energy

Energy Consumption
Façade
Sustainability

Publication Date: 2008

Original Publication: CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress, Dubai

Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/Part chapter

2. Journal paper
3. Conference proceeding
4. Unpublished conference paper
5. Magazine article
6. Unpublished

© Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat / Roger Frechette; Russell Gilchrist
 ‘Towards Zero Energy’
A Case Study of the Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China

Roger E. Frechette III, PE, LEED-AP1 and Russell Gilchrist, RIBA2

1
Director of Sustainable Engineering, 2Director of Technical Architecture, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, Chicago, IL, USA

Abstract
Architects and engineers have a significant responsibility to ensure that the design and execution of all new construction
projects be of the ‘lightest touch’ in both energy consumption, real and embodied, to ensure the longevity of the
precious natural resources remain on this planet. The goal to achieve ‘carbon neutrality’ is quite possibly the single most
important issue facing architects and engineers today, given the empirical evidence that construction projects far
outstrip both industry and transportation as the largest contributors to carbon emissions in the world.

This paper will attempt to both define what is meant by ‘carbon neutral’ in the context of building design as well as
using the case study to demonstrate how such an approach might be achieved it examines the challenges of achieving a
net zero energy building, both from an energy consumption perspective as well as the embodied energy of the
construction. It discusses the level of control architects and engineers roger.frechette@ russell.gilchrist@
can exert during the process of building
som.com som.com
procurement
Roger Frechetteand construction as well as examining what post-construction measures can be employed. This latter point
Roger Frechette
is a key issue inis validating
the Directorthe
in design
charge of sustainable
ambitions andengineering
provides a in the Chicago
useful Office of Skidmore,
tool to benchmark Owings
and improve upon& Merrill
future
LLP. He
projects.is a registered professional and mechanical engineer with 20 years of experience.

Mr. Frechette is currently leading the engineering team of the Burj Dubai, which is planned as the world’s tallest build-
Keywords: tall buildings, sustainability, carbon neutral, energy consumption, embodied energy
ing, as well as the “zero-energy,” high-performance concept Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China. His work includes
a diverse group of projects, ranging from laboratories, airports, hospitals, academic buildings and corporate offices to
Introduction
government buildings and museums. A Community may be defined as a city, town,
The industrialization of the world has led to great region, neighborhood or any other assemblage of
innovation,
Mr. Frechettegreat technological
is a Senior advances
Fellow with and powerful
the Design interacting
Futures Council, a global populations. An existing
network of design community
community requires
professionals.
national economies.
Additionally, It hasfrequently
Mr. Frechette also resulted
speaksin anat aincredible a certain seminars
number of educational quantity of energy Engineering.”
on “Green for it to operate properly.
appetite for energy. Massive consumption of fossil fuels This energy is consumed by transportation, industry,
has sharply
Previous increased levels
accomplishments of carbon
include his 2001 dioxide
design (CO2) utilities
of theinNational and buildings.
Wildlife Foundation Headquarters Building in Reston,
our atmosphere
Virginia, voted byresulting in a steady,
the American Institutebutofrapid warming
Architects (AIA) as one of the “Top 10” sustainable buildings in the United
of the In
States. plant.
2002, Theheimpact of thisaman-made
co-authored document known as the “NantucketWe
environmental have defined
Principals,” which “net
focuseszeroon energy”
the trendsfor
anda issues
new
shiftwill
that is not yet fully
influence understood,
green building however,
and sustainable design in the building
many scientists future. Inas2004,
a structure that does
Mr. Frechette not require
received an States
United increase in
Con-
believe therecognition
gressional results mayfor behis work in building sustainability. the community’s need to produce energy. By keeping
catastrophic.
There are many contributing factors to that have this power generation capacity stable, or potentially even
added toGilchrist
Russell this crisis. Automobiles and industry have had decreasing this threshold, the city can grow, expand,
a major impact on CO2 emissions; however,
With more than 23 years of experience in the European architecture CO2 increase its density
industry, and prosper
Russell Gilchrist without
recently joinedthe
the need to
Chicago
emissions associated with the built environment exceed consume additional fossil fuels,
Office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. In 2000, Mr. Gilchrist was Project Architect for the 88 Wood Street project for avoiding the potential
both transportation
Daiwa Securities in London,and industry
winnerasof the single
a RIBA greatest
Award, increase
Civic Trust Award in and
harmful greenhouse
nominated gasses emitted
for the Stirling to the
Prize Award for
contributor to global
the best building in the UK. warming. It is imperative that atmosphere.
architects and engineers find ways to design buildings to
decrease
Mr. Gilchristthe works
amountinofcollaboration
energy consumedwith SOM in construction CHINA:
Partners and project teams to improve design solutions through the use
and to limit the amount of CO2 emissions generated from
of building science. He is also responsible for the development of working The city of Guangzhou,
drawings China experiences
and construction some for
phase services of
these buildings both
several complex projects. under construction and when in use. the worst air pollution on the planet. China’s growing
economy has increased their energy consumption; this in
DEFINING
Mr. Gilchrist works‘NET withZERO’ turn has lead
the Director in charge of sustainable engineering to a rapidtechnological
to integrate increase in carbon emissions.strate-
and sustainable This
gies intoThe Pearl projects.
all SOM River Currently,
Tower, Guangzhou, is involvedyear
Mr. Gilchrist China, China is
in several predicted
projects to passPearl
including the River
UnitedTower,
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‘zero-
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development world. China
China,
aims
the to beCity
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most energyHall, efficient super talltheatre
a community tower with consumes
in 750-seat musicmore hallthan
and 500 million
flexible space kilowatts of and
for theatre electricity
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the the
and world.
UniversityThe intent
of Northof the designGenome
Carolina is to drive towards
Science eacha year.
Laboratory, It is clear“green”
state-of-the-art that inresearch
China, laboratory
as well as otheris
which
“net zero
planned to energy”
be LEED® andGold
to pursue carbon neutrality for the
certified. developing countries around the world, need to find a
project. way to curb their appetites for energy consumption and to
find ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by

CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008 

 ‘Towards Zero Energy’
A Case Study of the Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China

Roger E. Frechette III, PE, LEED-AP1 and Russell Gilchrist, RIBA2

1
Director of Sustainable Engineering, 2Director of Technical Architecture, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, Chicago, IL, USA

Abstract
Architects and engineers have a significant responsibility to ensure that the design and execution of all new construction
projects be of the ‘lightest touch’ in both energy consumption, real and embodied, to ensure the longevity of the
precious natural resources remain on this planet. The goal to achieve ‘carbon neutrality’ is quite possibly the single most
important issue facing architects and engineers today, given the empirical evidence that construction projects far
outstrip both industry and transportation as the largest contributors to carbon emissions in the world.

This paper will attempt to both define what is meant by ‘carbon neutral’ in the context of building design as well as
using the case study to demonstrate how such an approach might be achieved it examines the challenges of achieving a
net zero energy building, both from an energy consumption perspective as well as the embodied energy of the
construction. It discusses the level of control architects and engineers can exert during the process of building
procurement and construction as well as examining what post-construction measures can be employed. This latter point
is a key issue in validating the design ambitions and provides a useful tool to benchmark and improve upon future
projects.

Keywords: tall buildings, sustainability, carbon neutral, energy consumption, embodied energy

Introduction A Community may be defined as a city, town,

The industrialization of the world has led to great region, neighborhood or any other assemblage of
innovation, great technological advances and powerful interacting populations. An existing community requires
national economies. It has also resulted in an incredible a certain quantity of energy for it to operate properly.
appetite for energy. Massive consumption of fossil fuels This energy is consumed by transportation, industry,
has sharply increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in utilities and buildings.
our atmosphere resulting in a steady, but rapid warming
of the plant. The impact of this man-made environmental We have defined “net zero energy” for a new
shift is not yet fully understood, however, many scientists building as a structure that does not require an increase in
believe the results may be catastrophic. the community’s need to produce energy. By keeping
There are many contributing factors to that have this power generation capacity stable, or potentially even
added to this crisis. Automobiles and industry have had decreasing this threshold, the city can grow, expand,
a major impact on CO2 emissions; however, CO2 increase its density and prosper without the need to
emissions associated with the built environment exceed consume additional fossil fuels, avoiding the potential
both transportation and industry as the single greatest increase in harmful greenhouse gasses emitted to the
contributor to global warming. It is imperative that atmosphere.
architects and engineers find ways to design buildings to
decrease the amount of energy consumed in construction CHINA:
and to limit the amount of CO2 emissions generated from The city of Guangzhou, China experiences some of
these buildings both under construction and when in use. the worst air pollution on the planet. China’s growing
economy has increased their energy consumption; this in
DEFINING ‘NET ZERO’ turn has lead to a rapid increase in carbon emissions. This
The Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China, year China is predicted to pass the United States as the
designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world. China
aims to be the most energy efficient super tall tower in consumes more than 500 million kilowatts of electricity
the world. The intent of the design is to drive towards each year. It is clear that in China, as well as other
“net zero energy” and to pursue carbon neutrality for the developing countries around the world, need to find a
project. way to curb their appetites for energy consumption and to
find ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by

 CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008

pursuing alternative technologies that are currently design philosophy weaving together a variety of
commercially and widely available. The World Bank has sustainable (both passive and active) measures, to reduce
recently reported that air pollution is the cause for more the building’s dependency on the city’s electrical grid.
than 400,000 deaths, each year in China.

In response to these great problems, the Chinese

government has recently set a goal to reduce their carbon
emission by 10% by the year 2010. The central
government has made the Guangdong province a major
focus of this initiative, and specifically they have
indentified the city of Guangzhou. Twenty-six companies
in Guangzhou consume more than 180,000 tons of coal
each year. In addition China plans to open 400 new
coal-fired power stations over the next 10 years a rate of
1 new power plant every 9 days so it is not clear how the
reduction in carbon emissions might be achieved.1 In a
country that has very little in the way of oil and gas
reserves, coal represents the solution to providing 80% of
China’s electricity demand and continuing economic
growth.

The world generally and China more specifically

needs to find a new development model that provides a
higher living standard whilst reducing the carbon
emissions per capita Pearl River Towers passive and
active approach as new technologies and reduction
strategies in a building integrated high performance way
are important ingredients in achieving this end albeit in a
country that lacks diversity in its natural resources.

THE PEARL RIVER TOWER DESIGN

PHILOSOPHY:
One of the largest companies, in Guangzhou, is the
Guangdong Tobacco Company (GTC), which is part of
the Chinese National Tobacco Company (CNTC). In
2005, SOM, LLP was hired to design a headquarters
building for CNTC on the Pearl River (Fig 1).

The design brief called for a “high performance”

tower capable of significantly reducing the “typical”
amount of energy consumption from a building of this
size and type.

The initial design concept was to develop a

super-tall building capable of having a “net-zero” annual
energy impact on the city with a view to being the most Figure 1: Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China
energy efficient super-tall building in the world. The brief
for the Pearl River Tower developed into a 71-story, This design process took into consideration the
310M tall office tower with associated conference interaction of the whole building structure and systems,
facilities, a total gross area of approximately 2.2 million and its site location. The key to a successful high
square feet. performance requires the design team to consider the site,
energy sources both active and passive, materials, indoor
As the design of the tower progressed, economic air quality, and how they might become incorporated into
considerations and regulatory challenges resulted in the building form that is more than gestural. These
modifications to the initial design, it is no longer able to considerations include simple concepts including site
meet a “net zero energy” standard. However, it will be a analysis, building orientation, wind direction, sun path
high-performance building when completed should be the analysis to more sophisticated approaches and
most energy efficient super-tall tower building in the technologies including the use of radiant ceilings, double
world. The building concept embraces an all-inclusive wall systems, photo-voltaic and wind turbine technology.

CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008 

 It was important to SOM that this holistic approach - Daylight harvesting using daylight
did not result in simply an array of solutions that may be responsive controls integrated with the
compelling at a conceptual level but would not survive automated blinds.
the rigours of design development and future value - Building integrated vertical axis wind
engineering exercises. This demanded a design approach turbines (VAWT’s) designed to use the
that was not form driven but performance based with all building’s geometry to significantly
systems having a degree of interdependency to avoid enhance turbine performance.
superfluous architectural detailing resulting in a leaner
design for the architectural and engineering solutions. All Reclamation - The third step to a high
of these strategies combined form the basis of the design performance design is to include reclamation strategies.
approach in an effort to achieve a net zero energy goal. The basis of this collection of strategies is to harvest the
energy already resident within the building. Once energy
FOUR STEPS TO NET ZERO ENERGY has been added to the building, it can be reused over and
The original approach to the design included four over again, Examples Pearl River Tower include the use
interdependent steps, which would lead to the ‘net of re-circulated air for pre heat/cooling of outside fresh
zero-energy’ including: air prior to delivery of the occupied Ares depending upon
- Reduction the time of year and outside air conditions, and the use of
- Absorption absorption chillers.
- Reclamation
- Generation Generation - The concept design of the Pearl
River Tower incorporated the use of “micro-turbine” gas
Reduction - The first step to a high performance turbine generation technology. These micro-turbines offer
design is to identify as many opportunities as possible to the ability for the building to produce clean power in an
reduce the amount of energy consumed. These efficient and environmentally responsibility manner. The
reduction strategies need to focus on the largest generation strategy is an important component to the “net
consumers within the building, namely the HVAC and zero” energy strategy. Having the ability to generate
lighting systems. The “reduction” strategies used on the power more efficiently than what the city’s grid is
Pearl River Tower includes the following; capable of, allows for a “net” reduction in the green
- The use of an internally ventilated house gasses associated with the building’s normal
high-performance active double wall operation. A typical electric power utility grid is less
façade (N/S façades) with mechanized than 30-35% efficient by the time the energy has reached
blinds the building from the power plant source. 2 The on-site
- The use of a high performance generation plant, designed for the Pearl River Tower,
triple-glazed (E/W) façade would generate power with an efficiency exceeding 80%.
- A building-wide “chilled” radiant ceiling Each turbine is approximately the size of an oversized
with perimeter chilled beam system for domestic kitchen refrigerator (Fig 2); it is capable of
human comfort control. generating approximately 65 KW of power. These
- A “de-coupled” ventilation system devices can then be connected together in series to deliver
delivered via a raised access floor. the desired capacity to the building.
- Dehumidification system which uses heat Micro-turbines are capable of operating on a
collected from the double wall façade as various types of fuel mediums, such as kerosene, biogas,
an energy source. diesel, methane, propane and natural gas. The
- Low energy, high efficient lighting system micro-turbines are air cooled The hot air can be
using radiant panel geometry to assist in reclaimed and used as an auxiliary heat source for the
the distribution of light. building for functions such as water heating or absorption
cooling. The safe, low noise and vibration free
Absorption - The second step to this high characteristics of these machines make them ideal for on
performance design was to include several “absorption” site installation.3
strategies. These strategies are defines as those that take
advantage of the natural and passive energy sources that The original concept for the building was use up to
pass around, over and under the building’s envelope. 50 micro-turbines, daisy-chained together to generate
The absorption strategies used on the Pearl River Tower more than 3 Megawatts of power. The building’s design
include: was altered as the micro-turbines are currently from the
- A wide-scale photovoltaic system project when it was determined that the local utility
integrated to the building’s external solar company, in Guangzhou, China would not allow these
shading system and glass outer skin (south devices to be “grid-connected”. Without having the
façades only). ability to sell the excess power back to the utility
- The use of fixed external shades and company, the financial payback of the micro-turbine’s
integrated PV’s (E/W façades). premium could not be justified. Although the installation

 CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008

of micro-turbines is not widespread their application in perspective.
today’s climate does make them a compelling component - Improved views to outside.
to achievable low energy, sustainable design, so the - Greater opportunity to bring useful
current design of the basement has reserved a location for daylight in to the space.
them to be retrofitted at a later date should the local - Reduced noise transmission from outside
Guangzhou infrastructure becomes available. of the building to inside.
- Closer control of infiltration of water and
HIGH PERFORMANCE ACTIVE FACADE: air from outside to inside.
Interest in the use of highly glazed facades for - Potential for reduced solar (cooling loads)
commercial buildings continues to grow significantly. at the perimeter occupied spaces of the
The deployment of fully glazed facades that are highly building.
transparent, and incorporate numerous sun controls - Improved thermal performance/comfort
devices are prevalent. These systems have become during winter (cooler) months
increasingly popular in Europe, and are now appearing in -
other regions of the world, including the United States The exterior enclosure for the Pearl River Tower
and China. By including a second layer of glass, a double will be an internally ventilated double wall system (Fig 4)
envelope can accommodate venting and solar shading consisting of a double glazed insulated glazed unit with
devices within the cavity. integral spandrel panel in a 3.0 x 3.9m unitized panel.
Two hinged 1.5 x 2.8m single glazed leaves are fixed to
the back face of the mullion to create a nom 200mm
cavity with a small air gap at the base (see Fig 4). Within
the cavity is a motorized 50mm perforated silver venetian
blind. The blind will always be fully extended within the
cavity, however it has 3 modes of operation; open, closed
to 45 degrees or fully closed depending on the angle of
the sun. The blind position is determined by a photocell
that tracks sun position and is connected to the building
management system (BMS) which activates the blind
position to ensure occupancy comfort from both solar
gains and glare. Exterior glazing will be insulated,
tempered glass with a low-E coating, the inner layer will
be an operable (hinged) clear glass panel and each panel
Figure 2: Micro-turbine installation can be opened for maintenance. The wall will be
internally mechanically ventilated every floor. Units will
be gravity supported (hung) from the top at each level
and laterally supported at the bottom.

Figure 4: Exterior Wall Air Flow Diagram

Figure 3: High Performance Active Façade Detail
This integrated façade assembly provides
These design approaches vary but often provide exceptional thermal performance and high visual
increased occupant benefits such as thermal comfort and transmittance. The increased visual transmittance allows
air quality as well as sustainable design associated with for enhanced daylight harvesting, allowing for a
day-lighting and energy savings. Driving forces include: reduction in the amount of electrified (artificial) lighting
- Desire for transparency from an aesthetic required in the space, as well as preserving long distance

CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008 

views. Even when blinds are fully closed the perforations consists of a radiant cooling ceiling (Fig 6) is working in
allow for good visual transmission to enjoy views beyond. parallel with an under floor ventilation air delivery
More importantly the ‘double wall’ arrangement is a vital system. This combination offers an intelligent solution
component in maintaining the balance between maximum providing improved comfort in all respects, whilst
transparency and achieving a high standard of occupancy reducing energy demand, maintenance, fewer materials,
comfort by mitigating glare and solar gains. As the sun and reduced capital costs.
rays hit the exterior double glazed skin some of the gains
resist the low e coating and enter the cavity between the
outer and inner glazed layers, the perforated blind will
already be activated at the correct angle to provide a
further level of defence against solar gains and also
contribute to trapping any heat gain in the cavity in turn
reducing the temperature of the inside face of the inner
single glazed panel adjacent to the occupants. The cavity
acts as a natural chimney using the cooler air from the
occupied office areas to enter the cavity via a gap at floor
level whilst acting as a pressure relief valve to allow
more fresh (make up) air to enter the occupied areas. The
trapped hot air in the cavity is then extracted through the
ceiling void and is used either as a pre-heat or pre-cool Figure 6: Radiant Chilled Ceiling Panel Detail
depending upon outside air temperatures, i.e. an intrinsic
part of our reclamation strategy. On any given day, the office space within the tower
By maintaining a low temperature on the inside will encounter heat gain from a variety of sources. People,
layer of glass, closest to the occupants, the mean radiant only account for only a fraction of this gain, they give off
temperature will be decreased, thus reducing the heat in the form of convection and radiation. Ambient and
“operative” temperature of the space. This lower task lighting, computer, and other office equipment are
operative temperature will create an environment of not only end consumers of electrical energy, their
improved thermal comfort at the perimeter zones (Fig 5) convective and radiated heat will directly translate into
and should directly improve the flexibility and usability additional heat gain that needs to be cooled by the HVAC
of the area closest to the exterior glazing. It should be system.
noted that the same system is used on both the south and At the perimeter of the building, space heat gains
north facades, partly because the northern façade is are much more variable and usually difficult to control
exposed to solar gains from the west in the late afternoon, due to solar energy transmission through the glazing as
but also for glare control. radiation and conduction driven by the difference
between inside temperature and outside air temperature.
A radiant cooling/displacement ventilation system
addresses each heat transfer mode with the
cooling/ventilation system in its constituent separate parts
– radiant loads by the radiant system, convective loads by
a combination of radiant system and displacement
ventilation system, thus optimizing its efficiency when
compared with a conventional forced overhead mixing
type system which is entirely convective, because water
is a far more efficient transfer medium that air, the
Figure 5: Air Temperature Cross Section at Perimeter Zone proposed system results in a significant decrease in fan
energy, as compared to the standard VAV system baseline.
RADIANT CEILING & BELOW FLOOR
VENTILATION In most contemporary office buildings, the largest
A standard system for a sub-tropical, cooling cooling loads tend to be found at the buildings perimeter,
dominated environment, typically achieved by circulating equipment and lighting loads tend to be somewhat
cold air throughout the occupied zone to a desired mixed uniform for interior and exterior zones, the heavy envelop
space air temperature and thus provide occupant comfort. loads (solar heat gain, window conduction and wall
Thermal comfort, however, is influenced by both space conduction) are realized within the exterior zones. With
air temperature as well as the mean radiant temperature. conventional Variable air Volume (VAV) systems, the
Additionally, air flow rates, humidity, time of year, and warmer air temperatures, associated with the return air
the activity and clothing of the occupants will factor into system, can increase the loads within the building interior
what is perceived as “comfortable”. as this air migrates to return air grilles located throughout
The System proposed for the Pearl River Tower the floor. The Pearl River Tower design uses the exterior
double-wall enclosure as the return air plenum. The

 CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008

return air within the perimeter zone is drawn to the
buildings exterior minimizing the impact on the interior
zones. The “de-coupled” ventilation system provides
improved indoor air quality and improved air change
effectiveness which is very important in China.

This mechanical approach allowed us to reduce the

building’s “floor-to-floor” height from 4.2 meters to 3.9
meters (equivalent of saving five stories of construction).
This allowed the design the ability to offer the owner
additional floor area without compromising
floor-to-ceiling height and reducing the exterior envelope
costs and other benefits beyond energy conservation. The
energy savings associated with reduced airflow and the
radiant ceiling system is arguably the most sustainable
aspects of the Pearl River Tower design.
Figure 7: Incident Solar Stress Model of Pearl Tower
In addition to reducing the building section we
were able to optimize the plan layout. The elimination of
fan rooms and the reduction of air shaft sizes has resulted
in the core area being reduced thus optimizing the net to
gross on each and every floor increasing the buildings
revenue potential. It should also be noted that this
decrease in fan equipment enabled the area on the
mechanical floors to become the wind portals for the
wind turbine system. A conventional system would
have required too much area to make this approach
possible.

BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS

The integration of photovoltaic’s (PV’s) in building
design, where the PV elements become an integral part of
the building envelope, often serving as the exterior
weather skin, is growing worldwide. Building Integrated
Photovoltaic’s (BIPV’s) is the integration of PV’s into the
building envelope rather than as an applied extra feature.
The PV modules on the Pearl River tower serve the dual
function of building skin (spandrel panels) and power
generator. By avoiding the cost of conventional spandrel
panels, the incremental cost of PV’s is reduced and its
life-cycle cost is improved. BIPV systems often have
lower overall costs compared to PV systems requiring
separate, dedicated, mounting systems.4

The solar radiation on the Pearl River Tower was

carefully studied (Fig 7). It was determined that the use
of PV cells could be productive if used on certain
Figure 8: Building Integrated Photovoltaic’s
portions on building’s envelope. The distribution of the
BIPV’s directly correlates with where they would
optimize the solar power offered by the sun. You will see WIND TURBINES:
(Fig 8) that they are asymmetrically located at roof level Wind energy offers many advantages and is the
in order to achieve best performance rather than non fastest-growing renewable energy source in the world.
specific architectural criteria. Wind energy is a clean fuel source and doesn’t pollute the
air unlike power plants that rely on combustion of fossil
The system not only provides an electrical supply fuels. Wind turbines don’t produce atmospheric emissions
for the building, it also functions a solar shade for that that cause acid rain or greenhouse gasses. Wind energy is
part of the building most susceptible to the negative also a constantly renewable power source, making it one
impacts of direct solar radiation. of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies
available today. More recent developments in this

CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008 

technology have allowed wind turbines to be utilized in building. At the leeward side of the building a low
building design. Consistent with the high performance pressure exists that is induced by the high velocity flow at
approach to building design, the use of wind turbines on the sides and roof of the building.
the Pearl River Tower is significantly enhanced by their
integration with building architecture.

Wind has a large impact on the design of tall

buildings. The wind causes a large build-up of positive
pressure on the windward side of the building. Vortex
shedding, around the sides and over the top of the
building, creates a large pocket of negative pressure on
the leeward side of the building. In allowing air to pass
through the building, the differential pressure from front
to back is reduced and the forces on the building are, in
turn, reduced. This approach is sustainable from a
structural standpoint in that it allows for a reduction in
the quantity of steel and concrete to maintain the
building’s stability.

The building incorporates four large openings,

approximately 3 x 4 meters wide (Fig 9). The façades are
shaped to decrease the drag forces and optimize the wind
velocity passing through the four openings. These
openings function as “pressure relief” valves for the
building. This strategy maximizes the wind power Figure 10: “Quiet Revolution” Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
potential at these four locations as the power potential
from the wind speed is a cube function of wind velocity, The effect of the wind traveling through these
therefore a small increase in velocity can translate to a openings was carefully studied in a wind tunnel testing
larger increase in power potential. rig. A scaled model of the Pearl River Tower was
assembled and tested. Airflow measurements were taken
P=V³ of wind speeds as they approached the building along
with the corresponding air velocities within the building’s
The Pearl River tower will implement vertical axis ‘wind portals’. The building was then rotated within the
wind turbines (Fig 10), as they are capable of harnessing tunnel to simulate wind approaching from all possible
winds from both prevailing wind directions with minor directions. As the air passes through the openings,
efficiency loss. acceleration takes place and an increased velocity is
realized.

If the wind strikes the building perpendicular to the

opening, there is a drop in portal velocity. However,
from almost all other angles, the wind velocity increase
exceeds the ‘ambient’ wind speeds. In most cases the
velocity increases are more than twice the ‘ambient’ wind
speeds. Figure 11 illustrates the results from the wind
tunnel testing for one of the four portals.

Figure 9: Wind Portal Located at Pearl’s Mechanical Floor

The building design capitalizes the pressure

difference between the windward and leeward side of the
building and will facilitate air flow through the four
openings located adjacent to the mechanical floors within
the building. At the windward side there is a stagnation
condition that causes the locally increased pressure to be
higher than the undisturbed pressure approaching the Figure 11: Wind Velocity Vectors at Pearl’s Mechanical Floor

 CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008

 The smaller circle represents wind velocity sustainable measures included and relying on the more
measurements taken at 10 degree directional increments established strategy of using air to cool the building
for the air approaching the building. rather than a (water based) radiant ceiling system The
baseline case has been compared to the Pearl River Tower
The graph shown in blue (Fig 12) shows the “design” case.
corresponding wind velocities measured within the wind
portal. When the wind is flowing at a right angle to the Figure 13 below is a summary of the comparison
building, the portal conditions approach a stagnant between baseline and design cases. The expected
condition. performance equates to roughly 58% reduction of energy
consumption on an annual basis.

Figure 13: Pearl River Tower Annual Energy Consumption

LESSONS LEARNED:
Figure 12: Wind Tunnel Test Data at Pearl’s Wind Portal
Attempting to design and build a “net zero energy”
building can be a very difficult proposition. The
challenges of high performance design in a super-tall
By placing vertical axis wind turbines, one inside tower in a humid climate can be daunting. Some building
each of the four openings of the building, the increased owners are willing to take perceived risks on smaller
power potential of the air stream can be leveraged. These scale projects, but it is unusual in a high rise large scale
wind turbines provide power year round. They are low office building. Attempting unconventional strategies on
vibration, low noise units which operate given a very a 2.2 million ft2, 1000-foot tall tower takes a courageous
wide range of wind directions. Therefore, not only does owner. Despite the best attempts by the design team,
the building realize structural savings with the openings, there were several strategies required to get to “zero
the accelerated winds through these openings can be energy” that ultimately were unachievable.
“harvested” to produce free energy. One interesting and
surprising point was that the two lower openings yielded The most notable change to the design was the
a similar amount of energy. We would have expected the elimination of micro-turbine power generation from the
2 higher placed turbines to generate more energy due to project. The use of this technology would have led to a
increased wind speeds approaching the building at a significant decrease in carbon emission associated with
higher altitude. Although not fully explained both the the Pearl River Tower. The micro-turbines would have
wind testing and CFD analysis recorded this phenomenon provided a reliable source of power in a city with a
which may be due in part to the lower turbines receiving notoriously unreliable electric grid. he micro-turbines
some downdraught from the façade above to supplement could have provided a free source of domestic hot water
the approaching wind. to the tower.

CONCLUSIONS: However, the business case for incorporating

The cumulative benefit of all these sustainable micro-turbines relied of the ability of the owner to sell
strategies included in the design has led to a significant power back to the utility company during evening and
reduction in the amount of energy needed to operate the off-pear hours of the year. Unfortunately, the utility
building. The most notable are the reductions associated company in Guangzhou, China does not currently allow
with the mechanical systems of the building; measurable such an arrangement for commercial buildings. Hence,
savings will be realized in the cooling systems, lighting the micro-turbines and there associated benefits were
systems and the air and water delivery systems. removed from the project. Without the use of this
technology, the “net zero energy” target was out of reach.
The energy consumption of the building has been
modeled and compared to a hypothetical “baseline”
building of the same geometry, but without the

CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008 

APROACHING ‘NET ZERO’ ENERGY:
Although the aforementioned progression of the
design has led to a final design not realizing ‘net zero’
energy, the process has provided strong analytical
evidence, that a “net zero” energy super-tall tower is
clearly within our grasp.

Figure 15: Overall Energy Savings for Sustainable Strategies

Figure 15 illustrates the final relevant reductions

associated with each of the large-scale sustainable
strategies used in the Pearl River Tower design. It is
expected that the tower will consume at least 58% less
power than an energy code compliant equivalent
building.

In developing the design for Pearl River Tower it is

interesting to understand some of the practical problems
associated with the design process from initial
(competition) concept through to the completion of the
project. SOM have enjoyed a ‘full’ appointment of
services up to and including detailed design (DD) on the
Pearl Tower project namely their scope of services
includes Architecture, Structural and MEP Engineering
whilst working with a Local Design Institute (LDI) to
ensure that all local and statutory approvals are obtained
with respect to planning and zoning as well as building
code approvals. At the time of writing this paper, SOM
had completed the DD phase of the project and were
awaiting a review set of Construction Documents (CD’s)
from GZDI the Local Design Institute (LDI) who are
assisting SOM through the remaining phases of the
project. The project is currently under construction, the
construction of the substructure concrete (basement) due
to be complete in early 2008.

It is accurate to say that the on-going dialogue with

the LDI to further develop the aforementioned strategies
particularly with regard to the MEP systems (but also
other aspects of the building fabric including exterior
wall and superstructure), it has been difficult to describe
and develop the design intent to the full degree. The
strategies and their attendant technologies are not new in
Figure 14. Aerial perspective of Pearl River Tower building technology but they are emerging technologies
in China and the reliance of performance criteria for
The use of a water based cooling system has projects in the USA or Europe is not so easily transferable
reduced the cost of tenant fit-out and future retrofits due to this part of the world. This is not only because the
to the absence of fan coils, VAV boxes, filters, ductwork, strategies are not prevalent in China but also there is a
insulation and other items typically requiring reluctance for the Chinese to import existing technologies
tenant-specific alterations. There is an expectation of or manufacturing from other parts of the world. In
improved human performance, improved occupant health addition SOM’s work to date has been subject to peer
and increased human productivity as a consequence of reviews (quite rightly) from leading experts from all over
the enhanced thermal comfort, natural lighting, the Chinese mainland, however assessments tend to be
ventilation and acoustics in the space. theoretically based rather than from practical experience

10 CTBUH 8th World Congress 2008

for obvious reasons. This can present a dilemma when
convincing other project team members of the viability of
the solutions proposed. Designers are used to inviting
clients and others to look at earlier buildings employing
such strategies as precedents to alleviate their concerns it
can often have the reverse effects when the examples
suggested are located in North America or Western
Europe.
These concerns will continue through the
construction stages of the projects particularly in the
development of full size mock-ups (both visual and full
testing) for the exterior wall and other building
components such as the radiant panel ceiling systems.
Pearl River Tower would be a challenge were it located in
London or Chicago and this is certainly the case in
Guangzhou where the performance of the exterior wall in
a humid climate will be critical and its inter-relationship
with the radiant cooling and fresh air systems and the
associated control system required are of paramount
importance if all is to function successfully. Conversely it
can be safely assumed that most if not all the building
components will be sourced from the Chinese mainland
thus substantially reducing the amount of ‘embodied’
energy that has become so prevalent with construction
projects in the western hemisphere.

However, we should not forget that currently the

Chinese building code is more stringent than that of
ASHRAE 90.1 its American equivalent. In addition SOM
are fortunate to have a client, The Guangzhou Tobacco
Company (GTC) who have requested a highly energy
efficient building, when complete we are sure these
earlier concerns will be academic as China will be
leading the way in delivering super high rise energy
efficient buildings.

References:
BRADSHER, K, BARBOZA, D. (2006). Pollution from Chinese
Coal Casts Global Shadow. NY Times
CTBUH 2008. Energy Efficiency in the Power Grid.
ABB Inc. 200/
WANG, A. Capstone (2002) Turbine - MicroTurbine CHP Systems.
FEMP Federal Energy Management Program, Atlanta.
KISS, G, KINKEAD, J, RAMAN, M. (1995) Building
Integrated Photovoltaics: A Case Study NREL National Renewable
Energy Laboratory

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