Carbon-Neutral High-Rise Envelope Nexus

The pathway to carbon-neutrality, as urged during the COP 21 in Paris, and the repeated goal for resilient buildings and urban habitats, winds right through the building envelope. As world cities cope with rapid population growth and grapple with expansive sprawl, planners have become increasingly focused on the vertical city paradigm. Current and future facade tectonics not only provide aesthetics, economical, and a social-cultural context within the urban community, but are vital for a building's usability, durability, operational efficiency, occupant protection, thermal comfort, and human wellness. In particular, tall building envelopes are a concern in tropical locations subjected to extreme weather and geological events. This research paper critically reviews and examine two academic research lab designed tall buildings in Miami and Tokyo, and one professionally built, examined and optimized 21-story high-rise building in San Jose, Costa Rica. The research includes selective, multidisciplinary design baseline parameter analysis with generative optimization Energy-Water-Food Nexus workflows related to the following variables:

1. Human-scale, tectonics configuration, orientation, adaptability
2. Renewable energy hybrid power skins
3. Thermal comfort, natural ventilation, and air quality;
4. Daylighting levels, and controllability
5. Carbon-neutral, passive-active, hybrid cooling, dehumidification, and thermal storage
6. Green envelope tectonics with urban food production
7. Water management and treatment of skin systems

In summary, the design/built research includes workflows that mimic nature's evolutionary fitness approach to benefit engineers, and designers in efficiently developing resilient facade tectonics that resists intense winds, extreme heat, and humidity, sea-level rise which raises the issue of corrosion to foundation structures, and seismic forces while providing building system operational with user comfort. Prevention of the impacts of systems and materiality as they pertain to the embodied carbon lifecycle footprint can be also reduced throughout the generative and iterative analysis and optimization processes towards carbon-neutrality for tall building tectonics in tropical climates.