Tower Skin: 21st Century Sustainable Building Concept

Iconic buildings around the world could be revitalised and updated with the application of new, 21st century eco-technology – an Australian firm has proposed. LAVA – the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture – has developed a concept called “Tower Skin” which – when applied to old structures, is intended to give them new eco-properties, as well as improve them, aesthetically.

A see-through wrapper, in effect, Tower Skin will incorporate solar cells to produce power, collect rainwater and boost lighting during the daytime to boot.

One building that could benefit from being re-skinned is Sydney’s UTS Tower, as LAVA’s Australian director, Chris Bosse, explained. “A speculative project, ‘Tower Skin’, for the University of Technology [UTS] Broadway Tower in Sydney, Australia offers a unique opportunity to transform the identity, sustainability and interior comfort of the once state‐of‐the‐art building”, he said, in a company press release issued on 8 February 2010.

Tower Skin: Environmental Building

Tower Skin is comprised of networked, lightweight 3-D composite mesh textile, which allows it to be pulled around the contours of a building. And – according to Bosse – it obviates the need to redesign and construct a new building from scratch in order to achieve environmental building goals.

“A re‐skinned UTS Tower could be an example of sustainability, innovation, cutting edge design and creative education, without demolishing and rebuilding the 1960s icon”, he said, adding: “The re-skinning technology could be easily applied to other buildings in need of a facelift such as the Colliers Wood Building and the Barbican Centre in London, and the post-industrial abandoned buildings across Hong Kong.

“We can quickly and cheaply enhance their performance and aesthetics through this minimal intervention.”

The Tower Skin concept is centred on sustainability, above all else. The skin will collect solar energy and atmospheric water and provide air flow - creating a high-level functioning micro climate for those on the inside. It will also have a further role as a data platform, displaying real-time animation and other information.

Sydney’s Object Gallery is hosting a Tower Skin display in connection with its current STATE, RESPOND – Exploring Sustainable Design exhibition, which runs until 28 March 2010.

Tower Skin image kindly provided by and copyright of LAVA

See also:

Green Construction Goals for World's Tallest Building

Radical New York Vertical Farming Project