Sustainable Building – WuHan Energy Flower

As the winners of the design competition for Wuhan New Energy Center, Grontmij and Soeters Van Eldonk Architects take up the responsibility to develop the Wuhan New Energy Center in Wuhan China.

The building, which is entitled with Energy Flower, will be a research institute in the field of new energy sources and sustainability. It will have zero carbon emissions and zero energy ambitions. The main office building will be approximately 140 meters tall and will be surrounded by laboratories in the form of leaves. When complete, the flower-shaped building will be the first building in the world to receive the BREEM outstanding accreditation.

The roof of the flower consists mainly of solar panels to generate renewable electricity. Rainwater is also collected in the bowl and used to supply water to the building. The characteristic pistil consists of vertical axis wind turbines that will also collect renewable energy. The rim of the bowl is the sunroof that has been designed to heat and cool the building. The building is characterized by the principle of natural ventilation, with the central solar chimney designed to maximize natural air ventilation. The construction begins in November 2010. Let’s have a look at its rendering first.