Speculations are speculations anyway. Until they go functional, you simply cannot count on them. While Taipei 101 was being anticipated to be the world’s tallest green building, Philadelphia’s Comcast Center has emerged to the fore to take home that laurel. Though it’s not the world’s tallest, it still earned a Gold Certification for LEED-CS (Core & Shell) and became the tallest LEED certified building in the US.
The 58-story skyscraper has high-performance windows that serve a dual purpose. While these provide 60% resistance to the sun’s heat, 70% of the site’s available daylight is allowed to seep through them. Hence, the arrangement brings down the energy usage on heating, cooling and lighting as well. The building also uses 40% less water than an archetypal office building thanks to some high-efficiency water fixtures.
Even the open space with natural shading allows this building to bring down the project’s urban heat-island effect by 70%. Moreover, the first-rate sunscreens and louvers enable the sky-lighted central area to complement the overall appeal of the massive skyscraper.
Via: World Architecture News/Inhabitat