Download case study 7: torre mayor, mexico

CASE STUDY 7: TORRE MAYOR, MEXICO
“MEXICO CITY TALL BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENT
AND EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT”
Project Name:
Location:
Sector:
Architects:
Year of Completion:
Rating:
Barriers Overcome:
Example of:
Torre Mayor
Mexico City, Mexico
Commercial (Office) Building
Zeidler Partnership Architects
2003
LEED “Platinum” Rating; Numerous Engineering
Awards of Excellence
Lack of Building Codes for Energy Efficiency;
CLIMATE-RESPONSIVE TALL BUILDING
NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR EARTH-QUAKE
RESISTANCE
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Latin America’s tallest building stands on the dry seismic lake-bed that some call “the bowl of
Jell-O”. The Torre Mayor Building in Mexico City is not only damped with steel diamonds that
can resist forces four times better than a typical building, but also this 57-storey edifice is energy
efficient owing to good mechanical design and double-glazed low-emissivity windows. A
Canadian developer worked with the team of Canadian and Mexican architects to create this firstof-its kind building in Mexico.
POLICY OR PROGRAMMATIC CLIMATE:
National Energy Efficiency Policies
Mexico has the NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-007-ENER-1995 that governs the energy
efficiency of buildings, both commercial and residential. These regulations also cover appliances
and equipment in those buildings. The NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-008-ENER-2001 is a
national code covering the energy performance of buildings from a conservation standpoint.
NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-013-ENER-1996 is a set of regulations for building appliances
and equipment for new public buildings. However, the most specific set of regulations governing
energy efficiency in materials, assembly, and performance may be found in the NORMA Oficial
Mexicana NOM-018-ENER-1997.
National Environmental Impact Policies
For appliances and equipment in buildings that present potential greenhouse gas emissions,
Mexico’s NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-021-ENER-/SCFI/ECOL-2000 mandates use of least
GHG emitting equipment.
INNOVATIONS IN PROJECT TEAM CONSTRUCTION:
Local Code officials and architects worked with Canadian architects and code consultants to
“ratchet” the local codes higher, so that LEED certification was possible and local codes could
begin to adopt energy efficiency practices.
GOAL OF THE PROJECT:
The goal of the project (from the Owner’s standpoint) was to build a “triple-A New York
Building” in downtown Mexico City. The goal of the project (from the architect’s standpoint)
was to build a modern building efficiently whilst being cognizant of the earthquake zone in which
it was being built.
FACTORS THAT DROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY:
The most important factor driving the energy efficiency was that the mechanical engineers were
on-board and involved with the design from the start. While ME’s are often designing as the
architects design, in this case, the ME provided the mechanical system parameters to the
architects in advance of selection of architectural skin components so that the skin design had a
“maximum allowable transfer value” not-to-exceed.
ARCHITECT’S COMMENTS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVER TOWARDS ENERGY
EFFICIENCY:
“Having the engineers involved at the start gave us a real edge. Knowing the maximum loads the
systems could tolerate allowed us to use double-glazed low-e green glass that had never been
used in Mexico before. It gave us the ‘excuse’ to literally ‘push the envelope’ for Mexico’s
buildings.1
1
Conversation with Architects-of-Record Don McCallum at Adamson Associates, and Zeidler Partnership,
February 18, 2005.
“The city was very good. We used our codes to create a triple A building in Mexico City.2”
STRATEGIES FEATURED:
The building was built to NFPA requirements with evacuation systems and pressurized stairwells
(both features unknown in Mexican buildings). The double-glazed windows also were un-typical,
as most buildings are single-glazed. Extensive use of batt insulation assisted the thermal barrier
capabilities of the building. The spandrels, too, were double-glazed and insulated.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES:
The Torre Mayor building uses grey-water recycling, rainwater collection, and cooling towers.
The lighting is high-efficiency fluorescent and compact fluorescent.
LESSONS LEARNED:
 In the absence of stringent building codes, architects may use national building codes from
other countries to illustrate the economic impacts and benefits of user-comfort that come
from energy efficient buildings.
 Getting the building team together at the earliest design stage possible (when energy efficient
buildings are being tried for the first time in an area) generates the optimum design since the
energy budgets can be known and then targeted through the architectural components
selected.
For more information on this building, contact: Don McCallum at (905-891-8666) or email
[email protected] or [email protected].
2
Conversation with Architects-of-Record Don McCallum at Adamson Associates, and Zeidler Partnership,
February 18, 2005.