This one is not your regular building; from the outside it honestly just looks like a bunch of shapes of different colors thrown together. You would never think this is one of the greenest buildings in the entire world! The Pixel building is located is Melbourne, Australia and it is a completely carbon neutral office building.
Now, what does carbon neutral mean? Whenever fuels are burned, CO2 is released. When a building is carbon neutral, it means that the fuels they burn do not contribute to the amount of CO2 already present in the atmosphere. Even though CO2 is good for plants, when it is produced in high amounts it becomes harmful for the atmosphere contributing to climate change. So the Pixel building generates all, if not more, energy that it needs.
This building was designed by Studio 505, a local architecture and design studio, and Grocon, a local construction company in 2010. Studio 505 said “Pixel is a ‘Future Office’ – a prototype of the commercial buildings that will emerge when a carbon constrained environment demands a greater focus on energy efficiency. As a prototype, it enables an analysis of the ongoing implications of new technologies in the commercial building sector. Scoring a perfect 105 Green Star points and 105 LEED points, Pixel is Australia’s first carbon neutral office building, generating all its own power and water on site.” Grocon says “We believe that Pixel truly is the office of the future, and one of the most sustainable buildings in the world.”
Grocon is Australia’s largest private construction company. This company is responsible for building Australia’s four largest buildings over the last 20 years. It started as a small family landscaping business and it grew over the years to become one of the largest companies in Australia specialized in construction, development, and residential real estate. Studio 505 is an architecture company who has designed numerous innovative buildings throughout the world. The company came to an end on 2016 after more than a decade. The two main architects in charge of many of their projects were Dylan Brady and Dirk Zimmermann. They combined their passion of design to contribute to some of the most wonderful infrastructures in Southeast Asia and Oceania. They are currently working independently.
The main goal of this project was to create something unique and sustainable. This building is a showcase of a wonderful combination of aesthetics, design, science, and engineering. Every part of this building was specifically designed with a purpose.
The rooftop is a garden with various solar panels and 3 wind turbines. The solar panels follow the direction of the sun throughout the day. This technology maximizes the amount of energy that could be obtain from the sun. The wind turbines, which are designed by a local inventor, do not require electricity to start up. The building also has a 100% fresh air cooling system that works by a gas fired ammonia absorption chiller. Then the air is released hydronically through a raised floor in the work stations. Another cool feature of this building is its water take and use. The building is disconnected from the main supplies of water because it reuses the water from rainfall. If Melbourne receives the amount of waterfall that it’s been receiving for the last ten years, then the building won’t need to be connected to the water supplier at all.
The smart windows open automatically at night. This allows the heat stored in the building to exit while permitting fresh air to come inside. The toilet system saves a lot of water. The building itself was constructed with a special concrete that minimizes the use of carbon in the mix.
The outside of the building is also extremely unique. If you walk by, you just see a bunch of shards of random colors mixed together just like a pixelated image. The designers believed that every part of the building could serve a purpose, that is why these pieces are scientifically arranged to maximize the amount of daylight into the offices and minimize glare and heat from entering.
The Pixel building was awarded the highest Green Star score ever awarded because of its innovative, ecofriendly design. They received a score of 105, 100 because it was completely green and an extra 5 points were awarded due to its creative design. Pixel is currently being assessed by the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) to attain the highest score for greenest building ever achieved.
Apart from using the latest technology and being extremely sustainable and ecofriendly, this building has a great impact on society. The building’s main purpose is to provide office space. Its dynamic environment supports a changing business practice. It promotes creativity in the people working there. It is located close to other business. The Pixel building is an inspiration and an example to follow in the future to have more ecofriendly buildings.
Alena Wesley says
This building looks amazing. It’s even better because of how eco-friendly it is. I think more buildings should be built like this to try to lessen our carbon-footprint. I actually just read a post about climate change and how carbon emissions impact it. So, this was a good post to follow it. I would love to be able to visit this building sometime!
jophia Sohansson says
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hehe suiii says
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Crista Ronaldo says
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also good building 👍😩
hehe suiii says
SUIIIIIIIIII
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Abubakar khan says
The building so innovative, can you tell me about it’s wind turbine, is that working well and how much percent of it’s contribution to it’s demand.