Park View
Beijing Parkview Green is one of China’s largest sustainable architecture projects. This hotel, shopping and commercial hub was designed with energy efficiency as its goal, setting the standard for a completely new approach in the city that is hosting the ‘Green Games’.
Not only is the structure the first in Beijing designed expressly with sustainability in mind, it is also the first to use a ‘microclimate’ to minimise energy consumption throughout the building’s lifetime.
Essentially a shield from the environment, Beijing Parkview Green encases two nine-storey and two 18-storey towers in a transparent ‘envelope’. The resulting ‘buffer zone’ is a contained environment, within which the climate is relatively uniform and easily changed.
The buffer zone increases the thermal insulation reducing energy consumption. In the extreme seasonal temperature variations in Beijing, the shield limits the need for air conditioning in scorching summers, and reduces heat loss during freezing winters.
The microclimate is supplemented in summertime with a mechanism to let trapped heat escape. The Arup team devised ventilation louvers, installed at the top of the envelope. These act as chimneys, allowing the warmest air to escape and creating an upward flow of air.
As the air escapes, cooler air is drawn up from the bottom of the building, creating air movement and natural ventilation.
While Beijing Parkview Green has been lauded for its innovative use of a microclimate, it is likely to be most significant long-term for its contribution to the development of sustainable building design in one of the world’s fastest-developing countries.