Archinect - News

University of Toronto researchers develop a fluid-based light filtering technology to help with heating, cooling and lighting in buildings

2023-03-17T18:20:00-04:00

A new prototype multilayered fluid window system devised by researchers at the University of Toronto may have the potential to be an effective tool in the push toward greater sustainability in the building industry, according to their research published in the national academy of sciences journal PNAS.

The technology is based on principles derived from animal biology and was developed by recent mechanical engineering master’s graduate Raphael Kay with the help of Associate Professor Ben Hatton and his team over a period of years, including Ph.D. candidate Charlie Katrycz and Alstan Jakubiec, an assistant professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

The prototypes work by controlling the type and distribution of solar energy that enters a building through its envelope, discerning between the wavelengths to filter out infrared heat while retaining the beneficial illumination needed to keep a building’s carbon footprint relatively low by avoiding arti...

MVRDV's Ilot Queyries blends history + modern sustainable density in Bordeaux, France

2017-06-16T19:10:00-04:00

How can architects create livable, breathable spaces that not only honor the history of a region, but anticipate the global population increase? This is partly the mission of MVRDV's 300-unit residential apartment/mixed use Ilot Queyries, which is located adjacent to the ZAC Bastide-Niel masterplan East of the River Garonne, and is designed to create a new neighborhood that prizes density and green, sustainable features while organically integrating the history of the region.

Aerial view

As MVRDV's Winy Mass explains, "For the Bastide Niel master plan we make an update of the European city: based on the values of the historic city that is intimate, dense and mixed, whilst at the same time proposing new objectives like sunlight for all, even on the ground floor, new energy supplies with solar panels, integrated water system and more green spaces. The concept of the cuts of the volumes is introduced here at Ilot Queyries which can be interpreted as a pilot project of the master plan Ba...

How 100 years of zoning shaped New York City's quest for sunlight

2016-12-19T19:17:00-05:00

Ever since 19th century city commissioners laid a grid on the hilly island of Manhattan, New York City has been squeezing skyward. That’s meant natural light has always been in short supply—for some New Yorkers more than others. Access to sunshine was one of the main drivers of the first zoning laws, as a new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, Mastering the Metropolis, explores.

Developer of SOM-designed Nanjing skyscraper found guilty of depriving nearby residents of precious sunlight

2015-12-08T13:40:00-05:00

The developers of the 450-meter high Zifeng Tower in Nanjing have been found guilty of robbing the surrounding neighborhood of precious sunshine, and will have to compensate residents accordingly. [...] The 89-story Zifeng Tower was designed by American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It is the tallest building in Nanjing, fourth tallest in China and 12 tallest in the world.

Crowded skies: Sunlight as the new amenity for the super rich

2015-05-14T18:37:00-04:00

[...] shadows even turn light into another medium of inequality. Light becomes a resource that can be bought by the wealthy, eclipsed for the poor. [...] multimillion-dollar apartments in the sky will darken parts of the park a mile away. Enjoyment of the park in the park – a notably free activity in a high-cost city – will be dimmed a little to give billionaires views of it from above.

Welcome to the permanent dusk: Sunlight in cities is an endangered species

2014-04-28T14:09:00-04:00

As American cities grow taller and denser — and most everyone agrees that they must — natural light becomes a more precious commodity. Does that mean it should be regulated like one? Or would preserving current sun patterns — so-called “solar rights” — grind real estate development to a halt? Put simply: Should Americans, in their homes and in their cities, have a right to light?

Penumbra, Kinetic Daylighting and Shading System

2014-03-17T12:58:00-04:00

This project was designed to offer a kinetic and mechanical solution to a problem that would otherwise be nearly impossible to solve with static architectural components: providing shading across a building facade for both low evening sun and high afternoon sun conditions.

Rafael Viñoly-designed "Walkie Talkie" skyscraper melts car with light reflections

2013-09-03T12:29:00-04:00

Developers have promised urgent action to “cover up” the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City after an ultra-bright light reflected from the building melted a Jaguar car on the streets below. The 525ft, £200 million building has been renamed the “Walkie Scorchie” after its distinctive concave surfaces reflected a dazzling beam of light which blinded passers-by and has now caused extensive damage to vehicles parked beneath it.