Nashville tower to be one of the world's most energy efficient skyscrapers

A proposed high-rise structure in downtown Nashville, Tenn., is designed to meet LEED Platinum standards and the 2030 Challenge's energy-efficiency standards. The 605-foot-tall mixed-use tower, designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, will have a "double-skin facade, integrated photovoltaic panels, solar shading, under-floor air distribution, sky gardens and a wide range of cutting-edge building systems ... working in synergy, ensuring great energy savings and one of the most technologically advanced building experiences." 

The plans would create “one of the most energy-efficient and sustainable mixed-use buildings in the world,” according to the design firm.The double skin on the southwest façade features an internally ventilated cavity that captures solar heat in warm months and exhausts it up and out of the building, reducing cooling loads for the interior and vice versa – in cold months, the warm air is collected inside the interstitial space. The south façade is designed with a self-shading, horizontally folding curtain wall with integrated photovoltaics. The building will house a 200-unit, five-star hotel, a two-story conference center with a ballroom, a restaurant, health spa with a pool and a business center on a 700,000 sf lot.

(http://www.evolo.us/architecture/sustainable-skyscraper-for-505-church-street-nashville/)