Anyone who works in an office knows that there are coworkers who are always complaining about how hot it is, and others who always seem bundled up from head to toe.
For employees in giant climate-controlled buildings, Gizmodo reports, an answer to this problem may be coming. Sunbreak, a shading prototype from architects at NBBJ, uses sensors to measure and respond to solar activity. If there is too much solar activity, the shades will close to keep the building cool. If there is too little solar activity, the shades reflect more sunlight into the interior using solar panels.
A unique three-hinged shade is the lynchpin of the design. It morphs from an opaque shutter to an abstract set of vertical blinds to an awning, depending on what is needed.
Single panels can actually be moved to shade or allow sun into specific rooms or hallways with just a few taps on an iPhone. When no one is in the office, Sunbreak notices and puts the entire building on energy conservation lockdown.
This concept could give workers more control over their environments, and could save building owners money on lighting and climate control systems. Check out the video below to see how it would work.
Related Stories
| Sep 16, 2010
Gehry’s Santa Monica Place gets a wave of changes
Omniplan, in association with Jerde Partnership, created an updated design for Santa Monica Place, a shopping mall designed by Frank Gehry in 1980.
| Sep 16, 2010
Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health
The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.
| Sep 13, 2010
Community college police, parking structure targets LEED Platinum
The San Diego Community College District's $1.555 billion construction program continues with groundbreaking for a 6,000-sf police substation and an 828-space, four-story parking structure at San Diego Miramar College.
| Sep 13, 2010
Campus housing fosters community connection
A 600,000-sf complex on the University of Washington's Seattle campus will include four residence halls for 1,650 students and a 100-seat cafe, 8,000-sf grocery store, and conference center with 200-seat auditorium for both student and community use.
| Sep 13, 2010
Second Time Around
A Building Team preserves the historic facade of a Broadway theater en route to creating the first green playhouse on the Great White Way.
| Sep 13, 2010
Palos Community Hospital plans upgrades, expansion
A laboratory, pharmacy, critical care unit, perioperative services, and 192 new patient beds are part of Palos (Ill.) Community Hospital's 617,500-sf expansion and renovation.
| Sep 13, 2010
China's largest single-phase hospital planned for Shanghai
RTKL's Los Angles office is designing the Shanghai Changzheng New Pudong Hospital, which will be the largest new hospital built in China in a single phase.
| Sep 13, 2010
Richmond living/learning complex targets LEED Silver
The 162,000-sf living/learning complex includes a residence hall with 122 units for 459 students with a study center on the ground level and communal and study spaces on each of the residential levels. The project is targeting LEED Silver.
