Author(s)

M.C. PHOCAS, O. KONTOVOURKIS & N.I. GEORGIOU

Abstract

Energy technologies realized through kinetic mechanisms in high-rise buildings may maximize the performance and sustainability of the buildings and their urban environments. In search for innovation through respective technological advancements, the interactive design of the building form and its structural components is significant. At the same time, the superposition of the living organisms’ vocabulary on the built environment delivers new insights and innovative solutions for sustainable developments through the integral composition of the components, light-weight and kinetic behaviour of the structures. In this frame, biomimetic-driven research and application leads to new architectural design concepts. Along these lines, the current paper exemplifies the design, simulation and analysis of a high-rise hybrid structure of 250 m height and 25 m diameter, which has an innovative lightweight load-bearing system and incorporates an integrated kinetic core mechanism for providing through vertical airflow, improvement of the environmental conditions for the building spaces and the surrounding urban areas of high density. The kinetic mechanism is envisioned to operate as an urban ventilation chimney for air polluted cities and contribute to microclimate improvements. Through presentation of the high-rise airflow structural system, significant influencing factors and interdependencies towards sustainable, integrated biomimetic-driven solutions of high-rise structures with integrated kinetic subsystems for improved functionality will be discussed.

Keywords

bending-active members, high-rise buildings, hybrid systems, kinetic structures