Early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers – A comparison of two financial office buildings

Abstract

Reuse, or the ability to continue using an item or building beyond the initial function, is a key concept in the literature on sustainability. This implies that a building should be designed in a way that will allow it to be repurposed when changing circumstances require  changes in its layout or function; being energy efficient and environmentally sensitive is not enough. The building also needs to be financially viable and the people whose lives are impacted by it should wish to have it retained. As far as flexibility of high-rise or skyscraper buildings is concerned, the structural system and layout are some, but not the only aspects that are of particular importance in this regard. Upside-down or ‘hanging’ buildings, because of the reduced use of columns, can potentially provide advantages when viewed from such a widened understanding of sustainability. Two such buildings are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) headquarters building in Hong Kong and the Standard Bank Centre (SBC) in Johannesburg. The SBC stands virtually unused and in disrepair, while the HSBC remains fully operational and revered by the population of Hong Kong. This article compares the design and construction processes of the two buildings to determine why these two buildings ended up in such divergent situations. The aim is to  make recommendations regarding structural systems and other factors that could assist in ensuring that future skyscrapers will be more sustainable, in addition to being energy and resource conserving. Furthermore, this comparison sheds some light on the historical development of the understanding of sustainability and the difference between green design and sustainable design.

Keywords: Hanging buildings, sustainable design, adaptability

Hergebruik, of die vermoë om ’n produk of gebou se lewensduurte vir so lank as moontlik te verleng nadat die oorspronklike funksie of
gebruikspatrone verander het, is ’n sleutelbegrip in die literatuur oor volhoubaarheid. By implikasie is dit belangrik om geboue so te ontwerp dat hul uitleg en funksies aangepas kan word om hul bruikbare leeftyd vir so lank as moontlik te verleng.  Omgewingsvriendelike ontwerp is nie genoeg nie en daar is meer aspekte wat ’n rol mag speel. Ander faktore is finansiële volhoubaarheid en die verhouding tussen die gebou en diegene wat dit voortdurend gebruik. Wat toringblokke betref, speel die strukturele stelsel (onder meer) ’n sleutelrol in hierdie verband. Onderstebo- of ‘hangende’ geboue kan hier groot voordele inhou aangesien die verminderde aantal kolomme groter aanpasbaarheid beteken. Dit beteken egter nie dat hierdie tipe geboue noodwendig meer volhoubaar is nie. Twee van hierdie tipe geboue het in wyduiteenlopende situasies beland. Die gebou van die Hong
Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) se hoofkwartier in Hong Kong word ten volle benut en is ’n gewaardeerde landmerk in die stad; hierteenoor is daar die Standard Bank Sentrum (SBC) in Johannesburg waarvan die gebou en die openbare ruimte daaromheen grootliks in onbruik verval het. In hierdie artikel word die ontwerp asook die ontwerp- en konstruksieprosesse van die twee landmerkgeboue vergelyk ten einde te bepaal hoekom hulle in sulke kontrasterende situasies verkeer. Die doel is om aanbevelings te
maak rakende die verskillende struktuurtipes en ander faktore wat die volhoubaarheid van toekomstige toringblokke kan beïnvloed. Die vergelyking sal ook lig werp op die ontwikkeling van die begrip ‘volhoubaarheid’ en die verskil tussen groen en volhoubare  ontwerp.

Sleutelwoorde: Hangstrukture, volhoubare ontwerp, aanpasbaarheid