The city of Navarra in Spain has gone greener with the unveiling of a new building named as Noail City Hall. The building is remarkable because it will help save as much as 60 percent energy when compared to a conventional building of the same size and magnitude. The building has lots of inbuilt active and passive savings mechanisms which will help it save energy. The building has been designed by Zon – e arquitectos, a firm famous for designing energy saving, eco friendly structures.
The eco structure flaunts enough space to let the natural light seep into the building. The main staircase connects to different levels around this empty space. The facade of the building is covered with transparent double skin. The walls are all glass inside and polycarbonate outside. Deciduous creepers are grown on the outer walls. The creepers will serve as a filter helping absorbing solar heat during summers and warming up the chambers during winters.
The entire building is equipped with geothermal system. A geothermal system works by exchanging energy through heat pumps and hence is a high performance system. The temperatures of the inner building is done through network of micro tubes installed into the floor. This converts the floor into a large heating and cooling system. The top skylight works like a huge chimney, allowing the hot air to pass through it during summers. All the systems in the building are controlled by a centralized computer which helps in minimizing wastage of power.
Via: Archdaily
