Huishan North Bund

Shanghai, China

At Huishan North Bund, EE&K has introduced new approaches to sustainability in the redevelopment of large scale waterfronts, based on resourceful application of age-old principles of sustainable design, and innovative new technologies to the site and individual buildings.

At the site level, Huishan North Bund’s sustainability strategies converge on the central marina. The marina, which is the focus of the seven-building development has multiple functions: by storing stormwater, it reduces discharge to Shanghai’s overtaxed storm sewer system, and provides a source of water to irrigate the site’s landscaping. Water taken from the HuangPu River is also utilized for heat rejection in the development’s central chiller plant. The marina also serves as a heat sink for the entire development, taking advantage of the evaporative cooling effect of the marina’s large surface area to lower the ambient temperature of the surrounding area and improve the micro-climate in the adjacent plazas and pedestrian areas.

Huishan North Bund’s individual buildings similarly combine time-honored approaches to environmental comfort with the newest technologies. Each of the office buildings in Huishan North Bund shares an ice storage system to cool buildings during daytime office hours. To smooth out the peak electricity demand and reduce overall electricity bill, the ice is made during the evening, when tariffs are two thirds lower than peak rates.

Power in Buildings 15 and 17 is supplied, in-part, by photovoltaic (PV) film laminated into Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a plastic membrane inflated into pillow-like units of varying size, that encloses the building’s central atrium. ETFE is 1% the weight of glass, with significantly lower installation costs. Because ETFE nonstick surface is self-cleaning and transmits more light than glass, it makes an ideal laminate for the application of PVs.