Energy tower | JM Schivo & Partners

The tower has been planned as a combination of light, transparency, light technologies, and flexibility; furthermore, it is eco-sustainable. It has been particularly designed to host several functions and the company offices of some of the most important Japanese companies.

The tower has been designed adopting standards of great internal flexibility: some spaces can be converted to be suitable for new different requirements; wide empty areas can be used in the future for events demanding large spaces.

Its shape is defined taking into consideration its orientation, weather conditions and light; its overall functioning is regulated by alternative energies.

Water and vegetation are basic elements of the tower’s internal spaces as they regulate the different functions of the building. They contribute to create a system inside the tower, working throughout the entire 24 hours of the day, made up of offices, refreshment stores, business areas, hotels, a research centre, gyms, shops, meeting areas and, on top floors of the structure, a VIP lounge.

Thanks to its transparency the structure conveys, both in daytime and at night, an image of a place where “working” is a byword of a company strength and economic growth.

The task of developing the external surface has been entrusted to Schüco International.

Translucent solar thermal collectors and versatile photovoltaic modules allow floor-toceiling, large-scale integration into the façade. The light and shadow effect of the collectors gives them an attractive appearance and creates a new architectural feature. Solar energy for building cooling can be used efficiently thanks to thermal collectors integrated flush with the façade. The thermal energy captured by the collectors is converted into cold water by the absorption cooling unit and is used directly for air conditioning. Intensive solar radiation increases the need for cooling energy. Solar cooling allows solar energy to be put to use almost immediately to cool the building. This considerably reduces the amount of primary energy used for air conditioning. The building is therefore cooled indirectly by means of the incident solar radiation.

The tower was to represent a visible reference point in the urban landscape that interacts  with natural daylight thanks  to the materials used. The same happens at night by exploiting the possibilities offered by artificial light. The tower thus becomes an element of communication and adopts the most advanced technologies in lighting that are already available in the “I Guzzini”  range such as Linealuce, Sivra and Colourwoody system  that produces a light that is dynamic and colourful. Led and coloured lighting are used externally to draw the attention to special events or occasions according to the client’s needs.  Being also a place of work, the building is also equipped on the inside with a lighting system that offers comfort on the eye such as Sivra that eliminates the problem of dazzle and reflection for those working with video terminals. Sivra is the result of a study aimed at creating an apparatus capable of reproducing the characteristics of sunlight that are so important for the human body to work well and in particular actively.