Eco Factor: Sustainable building designed to harvest solar energy.
Designed by Kiss + Cathcart Architects, Arup Engineers and Wallace Robertson Todd Landscape Architects, the Solar 2 – Green Energy, Arts and Education Center will be New York City’s first carbon-neutral, net-zero energy building that will generate more energy than what it consumes.
The building itself will be a teaching tool and demonstrate the complex relationships between natural forces and urban systems. The building will be equipped with a photovoltaic array that will generate up to 92KW of electrical power, and all the excess energy generated will be transmitted to the grid.
The envelope and the systems incorporated in the building will help it save 40 percent energy as compared to the latest ASHRAE 90.1 baseline. A green screen provides seasonal shading on the long East River elevation. A biological waste treatment system will also be incorporated to allow reuse of gray water and black water.
The building will also harvest rainwater, which will be stored in a tank for later use. The upper floor of the building will provide space for classrooms, while the lower floor will be used for exhibitions. Construction is expected to start later this year.
