Photovoltaic Buildings: An Energy Paradigm for Future Urban Construction

 

 

Photovoltaic buildings are leading the way in the energy paradigm for future urban construction—they transform buildings into "self-sufficient power stations" and pave a practical path for urban decarbonization through Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) technology. Therefore, this special issue will focus on the innovative practices of photovoltaic buildings, decoding how they enable the symbiosis of technology and nature in urban spaces. This special issue will continue to present the practical applications of BIPV technology in contemporary architecture.

 

Previous Review—《Photovoltaic Buildings: The Encounter of Green Energy and Contemporary Architecture》

 

 

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Listening to the Sounds of the Future

iFLYTEK AI Headquarters Park (Phase 1)

 

 

The iFLYTEK AI Headquarters Park is located in Hefei High-tech Zone, with a total construction area of approximately 400,000 square meters. Upon completion, it is expected to accommodate 15,000 related personnel.

 

△ Overall Bird's-eye View © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

△ Night Street Scene © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

△ Night View Detail © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

line+ Architects, through the interpretation and modernization of the technological corporate culture, integrates diverse and complex building functions and usage scenarios to create a sustainable office environment—it is an urban park open to citizens, a creative campus full of youthful vitality, and a spiritual home with a sense of belonging.

 

△ Night View of the Park Interior © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

line+ proposed the concept of "Super Cell Body" and the planning concept of "Campus X"—first planning a city park, and then building the headquarters within the park. By completely underpassing the Shawan Road section between the north and south plots and partially underpassing the main east-west entrance road section, the integrity of the park and the complete slow-traffic system within the park are ensured.

 

 

△ "Super Cell Body" Concept © line+

 

△ Campus X Planning Concept © line+

 

△ Master Plan © line+

 

The architectural form of the office units integrates elements such as continuous terraces, rooftop running tracks, and solar photovoltaic panels, perfectly intertwining the office scene with the three-dimensional development of park life. The terraces, lobbies, and sky running tracks in the office area, as well as the central ecological corridor and landscape installations, together with the waterfront garden and waterfront walkways outside the park, jointly constitute a comprehensive urban art park, bringing a new experience of strolling through parks and viewing exhibitions to the technology company.

 

△ Continuous Terraces, Rooftop Running Track, Solar Photovoltaic Panels © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography/line+

 

△ Office Space © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

△ Interior Space © line+

 

The facade design is simple and concise, continuing the horizontal linear form language. It uses modern materials such as anodized aluminum panels, colored glaze glass, and Low-E ultra-white glass. The rooftop solar photovoltaic panels adopt a BIPV building-integrated photovoltaic design, composed of silver aluminum panels, cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic components, and partial gray back-glazed glass. The harmonious combination of three materials with different colors and textures creates the unity of the roof, and also incorporates iFLYTEK's logo and corporate symbolic characters, highlighting a strong futuristic atmosphere.

 

△ Colored Glaze Glass © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

△ Curtain Wall Aluminum Panels © Cunzai Architecture - Architectural Photography

 

△ Night View Bird's-eye View © line+

 

 

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Connecting the City's Wings of the Future

World Top Scientists Forum Venue

 

 

The World Top Scientists Forum Venue is located in the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. Designed by the Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute, its design inspiration is drawn from the magnificent sight of an eagle soaring. The photovoltaic roof perfectly integrates with the main building, vividly embodying the grand vision of "spreading the wings of the future, gathering the light of technology."

 

△ Project Bird's-eye View © Sanqian Imaging

 

△ Building Exterior © Sanqian Imaging

 

△ Roadside View © Sanqian Imaging

 

The project aims to build a bridge between architecture and urban life, not only serving the short-term needs during the World Top Scientists Forum, but also committed to opening up diverse functions to citizens in the long term, breaking down the rigid boundaries and enclosed spaces of the building, and seamlessly integrating it into the urban service center.

 

△ Central Axis Overhead View © Sanqian Imaging

 

△ Form Generation © Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Huajian Group

 

△ Functional Analysis © Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Huajian Group

 

Energy consumption control runs through every aspect of the design. Through precise calculations and analysis, the project optimizes different facades, window-wall ratios, and shading schemes, ultimately presenting a varied yet harmonious architectural design scheme.

 

△ Hotel Entrance Exterior © Sanqian Imaging

 

△ Waterscape © Sanqian Imaging

 

The project extensively uses BIPV design. The undulating photovoltaic panels on the roof of the conference center blend seamlessly with the staggered roof of the theater. The photovoltaic panels adopt a unit layout, and the angle of each panel is carefully adjusted according to the angle of sunlight incidence and the needs of architectural aesthetics to maximize power generation efficiency and create a light and dynamic aesthetic effect.

 

△ Rooftop Bird's-eye View © Sanqian Imaging

 

△ Facade View © Sanqian Imaging

 

The hotel lobby roof uses sloped photovoltaic glass to improve natural lighting and ventilation in the deep-recessed annex building. The angle between the roof and the horizontal plane balances power generation efficiency and indoor spatial feeling. Through simulation calculations and comparisons of various numerical light transmittance values, the optimal balance between indoor transparency and shading needs is achieved, creating a bright and comfortable indoor space.

 

△ Rooftop with feather-like, closely arranged photovoltaic panels © Sanqian Imaging

 

△ Rooftop Close-up © Sanqian Imaging

 

As a large public building that emphasizes sustainable design and urban openness and sharing, the project hopes to bring more vitality to the city, achieve symbiosis between architecture, city, and nature, and bring a sustainable aesthetic experience of a new era.

 

△Night view © Three Thousand Images

 

△Building daytime view © Three Thousand Images

 

△Building and city © Three Thousand Images

 

 

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Summary

 

 

From bricks and tiles to photovoltaic panels, from power consumption to power generation, BIPV has reshaped the functional attributes of buildings. It uses the warmth of technology to eliminate the opposition between buildings and nature, making each building a living body that "breathes" sunlight. Guided by the goal of carbon neutrality, BIPV is moving from the laboratory to reality, from landmark buildings to ordinary streets and alleys, providing readily available solutions for urban carbon reduction. This energy revolution will ultimately make green buildings no longer an abstract concept, but a real warmth and light in people's lives, sprouting sustainable development in the concrete jungle, and responding to the urgent call for sustainable development of the earth.

Reprinted from Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Construction