Print
EmailLondon hospital building - world's tallest - to get badly needed renovation
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 12:21
Guy’s Tower in London, the tallest hospital building in the world, is getting a much needed renovation. In recent years, the 143-meter-high (about 470 feet) building—actually two towers connected by a bridge—has been falling apart. Small pieces of concrete have started to fall off the towers, endangering pedestrians.
The design team led by Arup addressed issues such as how much of the façade to reclad, how to deal with cold bridging, and how to do the work while the building is operational. Each option was modeled and plotted on a graph of cost versus energy efficiency to see where the greatest green gain could be achieved while keeping costs reasonable. The most cost-effective solution was to fit a new façade in front of the existing columns of one tower, and to fully clad the other tower with an aluminum rainscreen.
Author's Biography
 By: Drew Ballensky |
Drew Ballensky is general manager of Duro-Last Roofing, Inc.’s central U.S. facility in Iowa and company spokesman for Duro-Last’s cool roofing, sustainability and architectural education programs. He is past-president of the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association and chairman of CFFA’s Vinyl Roofing Division. Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from the University of Northern Iowa and master’s degree in business administration from Florida State University. Drew has over 29 years experience in business and industry in various engineering and managerial capacities. He has worked in the U.S. and Canadian operations for a major international manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings, was a financial analyst with a major athletic apparel manufacturer and was an owner of a general contracting company. |
Comments on: "London hospital building - world's tallest - to get badly needed renovation"
Discussions of commercial flooring tend to focus on the floor covering or finish material. This is hardly surprising, since the covering is the part of the floor that stakeholders see, interact with, and care about most. The...
Glass has taken on new life in recent building years. Long valued for its transparency and lightness, glass is now also being considered for its structural and protective capabilities. Beyond the technique known as...
No building owner wants to be caught unprepared by catastrophic roof failure. Emergency roof replacements tend to be more expensive than planned ones, and damage to interiors may mean unrecovered costs and detrimental...
Concrete has long been a reliable building material for commercial and institutional projects. Yet recent trends, including the growth in hospitality and urban rental project starts, as well as mixed-use towers and transit-...
Until recently, it has been lighting, mechanical, and control system upgrades which have received the most attention in the green building movement. At long last, the industry is now recognizing building enclosures as a long...
Brick and stone masonry have served as reliable and valuable elements of commercial building projects for centuries, gracing urban and rural landscapes since time immemorial. Building Teams have trusted clay brick to bring...
Making the Most of the Reconstruction Boom
Reconstruction in its many forms—tenant improvements, retail fitouts, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, gut rehab, and so on—is keeping many design and construction firms...
The topic of water shortages is nothing new, as cities around the globe struggle with drought, water quality, supply constraints, and failing infrastructures. However, the idea of new plumbing codes and design standards...
Guard booths, stations and shelters are defense strategy linchpins, becoming increasingly integral to perimeter defense planning.
Before evaluating the efficacy of different guard booth configurations, and before selecting a...
From the company that brought you Construction Computing Magazine’s 2011 BIM Product of the Year ArchiCAD 15, the “Get There Faster with ArchiCAD” whitepaper examines five critical areas to explore before making your final...
Download Complete White Paper Download Introduction Download Chapters 1-4Defining Net-Zero Energy Buildings
Our seventh White Paper on Green Buildings focuses on the role of water in sustainable design and construction. The editors conclude with a set of 21 detailed recommendations for the consideration of the Building Teams, home...
