NANOSCRAPER – Corporate headquarters for Green Innovation

City School of Architecture (CSA), Colombo

Project idea

Colombo the capital city of Sri Lanka, is a prime business hub, where local as well as foreign investors nestles. The commercial city consists of a large corporate network, together with a stabilized utility & facility network, which attracts a lot of business employees towards the city. In the heart of the city, Beira Lake zone is one such zone, where the headquarters of Sri Lanka’s leading corporates are established. It is also an area where new mixed used high-rise developments are blooming, making the area a well dense zone. The area has the potential, & will be the future centralized zone for local as well as foreign business activities, which will eventually increase the urban density of the city. It will therefore be economically stable in the years to come.
However, it is important to pay attention to the natural ecosystem of Colombo as well. Colombo originally comprised of a rich bio diversity, as all parts of Sri Lanka, & the development trends have degraded the natural habitat of Colombo by 40% over the past 30 years. The blues, the greens of the city are depleting, & it is estimated that the annual degradation of natural ecosystems in Colombo city is 1.2%. The air quality lies within moderate bounds, & with increased automobiles, & mega scale buildings, the carbon emissions of the city are very high. This also results in Colombo’s ambient temperature to be high. Therefore, as designers, it is our responsibility to focus on the city’s natural habitat & atmosphere as well, & critically think about the impact of new constructions on the city’s natural environment. Advancements in technology should be used to facilitate both human kind & nature.

Project description

The project aims to explore an architectural solution to discover a balance between technology, nature & people. Colombo development plan’s vision is to make Colombo a green garden city, while developing as the central business district. The energy policy visions to make Colombo a carbon zero city by 2050. However, the present developments such as high-rise buildings, port city developments do not adhere in a manner in which we can strive the aforementioned visions by 2050.
The concept of making Colombo a green city should not be thought to limit towards planting trees, rather the word green has a deeper meaning. A building can be green without a single tree, with its focus towards energy efficiency & energy independency. These aspects of introducing natural elements & technological operations should be considered as a whole, to evaluate a building’s impact on the environment, as well as for Colombo’s 2050 vision.
Through the studies carried out, it was identified that major developments around the city as well as the upcoming Port City development, looked at the impact of the environment to the development, rather than looking at the impact of their intervention on the environment. This project would be a pilot project, to rethink buildings to be a facilitator of the overall ecosystem of the city, & provide innovative ways using modern technology to make themselves carbon zero, & reduce the dependency on city’s energy infrastructure. The project will use nano technology as the base, & generate energy within the building, using algae as the prime source, & further improve the city’s air quality & the water quality of the Beira Lake, by acting as a purifier. The outcome is to showcase those technological advancements can be utilized to innovatively rethink about renewable energies, rather than focusing on the convention renewable energies such as Solar, Wind & hydro power. Thus, it will provide an innovative guideline for future developments in Colombo to achieve a balance between technology & nature through the built fabric. It is a breathing building.
To achieve this vision of Colombo, the project will act as the center point for corporate sectors envisioning greening principles & renewable energies, to connect together, & market the energy generating models, products, as well as a center to make policies collectively, with international collaboration towards making the city net carbon zero in the future. The center will also be a market place for green innovative products in the line of textiles, fashion, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals etc., where it will facilitate companies that innovate such green products to market them, while creating public awareness. The project will further facilitate the existing corporate sector employees by providing recreational facilities, with public gardens, as the context do not provide such a space for them to release them from busy hours of work. Thus, this pilot project will eventually reinvent power plants as mixed-use developments.

Technical information

The project is a pilot initiative to rethink green buildings innovatively & profoundly. The project employs nanotechnology as its foundation, utilizing algae as a primary energy source. Situated by Beira Lake, the building will use abundant pond scum algae, which pollutes the lake, to capture solar energy through its bio-facade. This energy will be generated within the building using an algae bio-reactor.
Effluent water will be filtered and combined with atmospheric oxygen before flowing into ground-level water retention ponds, creating a public wetland plaza to raise public awareness. The energy generated is estimated to exceed the building's requirements by eightfold, not only achieving a net-negative energy balance but also aligning with Colombo's green vision by reducing the carbon footprint and purifying the lake. The building's exterior structure will absorb atmospheric CO2 through nano-coatings, enhancing the city's air quality. The absorbed carbon will feed the algae on the facade; varying CO2 concentrations will change the algae's color, making the building serve as an air quality indicator. In essence, the building becomes a living & breathing entity, an integral part of the urban ecosystem, making the structure have a greater purpose.
The structure draws inspiration from nature's Voronoi structure, which divides space organically using points to create surrounding cells. This pattern is found in various natural forms like cell structures, honeycombs, and animal fur. Voronoi's versatility blends computational algorithms with aesthetics. Its irregular geometry aids load distribution and material optimization across different scales. Therefore, the building's dynamic aesthetic is enhanced by its visually appealing structure and changing colors, complementing the aesthetics of wetlands.
While the main architectural forms focus on energy efficiency, reducing the carbon footprint, and purifying Beira Lake, the building's functionality caters to a corporate headquarters for Green Innovation, featuring offices, retail spaces, labs, research facilities, and serviced apartments. The retail section promotes eco-friendly products made from algae biomass and carbon, utilizing effluents from energy generation. Carbon solidification from the building's exoskeleton's absorbed CO2, produces H2 fuel and raw materials for these products. Thus, the concept of convergence further branches its roots to the upcoming trend of Green products, evoking purposeful solutions using green innovation.
Internally, the building follows a garden concept, ensuring a positive work environment with a green garden ambiance and city views even on higher floors. This arrangement enhances the psychological well-being of employees, offering recreational spaces and public gardens to relieve them from work stress.
Net-minus energy buildings offer a solution to climate change and resource scarcity by reducing carbon emissions and supplying surplus energy to the grid, countering the environmental impact of conventional structures. This project showcases how human innovation can create regenerative environments, transforming challenges into opportunities and promoting sustainable living.
In essence, the journey towards net-minus energy buildings demonstrates humanity's capacity to transform challenges into opportunities. Looking ahead, it's vital to sustain our dedication to pushing boundaries, nurturing creativity, and fostering a collective vision of a future where buildings not only sustain themselves but also positively impact the world.