PV-clad buildings set to rise high
Environmentally friendly high-rise apartments that generate more energy than they consume could soon be built, thanks to a concept designed by researchers in the Netherlands.
The energy-positive apartment block, dubbed the Concept Urban Villa, was developed in a project led by Prof Mick Eekhout at TU Delft.
A façade of black solar panels fitted to the south, west, and east-facing sides of the block generate energy, while the building has a timber frame to minimise its environmental footprint. Material made from waste paper is used to insulate the building.
In the Netherlands, all new housing will have to be at least energy neutral by the end of 2020, as part of the country’s response to increasingly stringent EU environmental regulation.
But despite considerable efforts to design more environmentally friendly individual houses, very little is being done to develop energy neutral apartment blocks, said Eekhout, who recently presented the concept at the Climate KIC in Frankfurt. According to him, the concept is an attempt to show the construction industry what is possible with today’s technology.
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