advanced building skins 14 | 15 June 2012 - lamp.tugraz.at - Graz ...

Advanced Building Skins
Second Part of the Lecture:
The Integration of Timber in the Facade of the
First Eco-friendly High-rise in Vienna, Called the
Marina Tower
The winners of the competition, Architects Hoffmann-Janz ZT, GmbH designed a 130 m high Tower
as the main volume, beautifully located directly next to the Danube.
The Marina Tower is the very centre and at the same time the starting point of the Marian City,
Vienna’s answer to the Docklands of London or the Hafencity of Hamburg.
In between the Marina Tower high-rise and a low-rise complex spans a covered atrium, consequently
incorporating the main entrance. As a defining unique architectural feature the office floors at the very
top of the tower are cantilevering by 13.50 meters. Furthermore the Marina Park, a covered and
planted busy street, is integrated sensitively, but expressively into the overall project
The office buildings feature a double skin façade, optimised in every respect, with integrated operable
windows made out of local timber. The building skin therefore mirrors the clients project goal oft he
utmost sustainability in every way. With the integration of timber as a renewable resource in the
façade a threefold certification was achieved: DGNB/ÖGNI–Gold, LEED-Gold and BREEAM–
Excellent.
Highly insulated aluminium profiles with a Uf-value of 1,6 W/m²K and tripple glazed units of 1,0
W/m²K allow for a supreme energetical overall value of Ucw = 0,6 W/m²K.
A supreme value for the overall façade is highly transparent and with exception of a small 320 mm
parapet fully glazed. This proves that high or even maximum transparency does not necessarily
conflict with sustainability goals. Neither is transparency a contradiction even to the highest
certification demands of any label.
An energetically highly efficient lamellae sun shading system, which is superordinated, but can be
manipulated individually, reduces in a sound way the external heat loads to a minimum and the need
for cooling and the cooling bill respectively. The double skin façade is fully unitised. 100 %
prefabrication in the façade manufacturer’s workshop ensures a top-quality in the building envelope.
All parties involved can be proud of the excellent result for the city of Vienna, achieved through
outstanding team work in between investor, architect and technical planners.
Very important for any courageous, future oriented investor, fully committed to sustainability, is a
compliance with the budget goal. The award of contract negotiations currently under way clearly show
that all stringent budget goals, contractually dictated to DS-Plan, are not only kept but even undercut.
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