Principles for façade-renovation of office buildings

Dipl.-Ing. Thiemo Ebbert & Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Knaack, TU Delft, Chair Design of Construction

With growing consciousness for the relation between facades and energy consumption
and the rising sensibility for sustainability, lifetime behavior of buildings and energy efficiency the market for renovation in Europe rises above average. With the European
directive on the energy performance of buildings (2002/91/EC) [1] energetic renovation will become almost compulsory.

The presented research aims to define a strategic overview of systematic solutions for facade refurbishment such as general recommendations and guidance for analysing existing buildings and future development. It has led to different efficient strategies that deal
with the complex influencing factors in renovation tasks. It gives an overview of common tasks in buildings of different decades as well as façade principles for renovation and their adaptability for various circumstances. These principles are validated in several case studies.

One case study of a renovation project is presented in which an additional façade layer with integrated HVAC is being applied to an office-high rise built in 1970. While construction costs and non-productive time have been kept short, simulations have shown that an energy saving of 75% and a very short pay-back-period are possible.

The presented work shows that intelligent renovation in Europe not only supports sustainability but also is a profitable investment.

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The Authors

Mr. Thiemo Ebbert Dipl.-Ing. TU Delft Dipl.-Ing. Thiemo Ebbert was born 14. June 1977. After a professional education as technical traftsman at Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky Architects in Düsseldorf (RKW) he studied Architechture at RWTH Ach... Read more