Treehouse

As part of the winning team, Cundall collaborated with Ronald Lu & Partners for this future-ready Net Zero design. The Treehouse concept is an eco-conscious integrated system that aims to reconnect humanity and nature. It is a net-zero energy, smart, biophilic and wellness-focused workplace envisioned for the cohorts of the climate change generation.

Cundall provided multi-disciplinary consultancy on building services, structural engineering, sustainability, smart building, information technology, and lighting design. Engineering excellence integrates and harmonises the architectural features, human needs, local environment, and future education. The building has been refined to allow for structural timber and lightweight concrete to reduce embodied carbon. The building geometry is optimised to maximize PV and self-shading while allowing for natural ventilation.

"To take advantage of the local heat island and southern mountain, the building is orientated so the main solar gain powers a solar chimney that provides free air movement and insulation to the rest of the building. This solar chimney helps draw in cool air above the heat island via a mountain-facing wind catcher that moderates humidity by a clay layer and free cooling from an evaporative wetland that also treats the wastewater from the building." Joe Tang, Director.

Key fact

The holistic passive cooling strategy incorporates tapping cooler air with a high-rise-scale wind catcher, a wetland heat exchange and solar chimney.

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Key fact

The aerodynamically shaped inlet of the wind catcher is located on the upper roof level of the building facing the easterly summer prevailing wind. It captures the stronger and cooler wind 200 m above ground and channels it down through a 3 m by 2.5 m shaft to the basement level.

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Key fact

Timber-structured roof and canopy – parametric design is adopted to optimise the shape and size to minimise resource use at the hexagonal timber geometry.

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Joe Tang

Managing Director, Hong Kong & China

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Winning this design competition is an important milestone as it demonstrates what can be done and what should be done to help reduce our carbon footprint and live within the one planet we have - called Earth.