exterior shot i need to render the building the building is designed for vertical farming and develops over six above ground floors the project is characterized by the presence of two main envelope systems a glazed greenhouse located in the last bay on the right side of the fa ade and a projecting opaque horizontal band occupying the central floors of the building the greenhouse conceived as a buffer space extends through the entire height of the building within the last structural bay and continues onto the roof in the front portion where the roof is absent this space has a full internal height without intermediate slabs forming a large continuous volume inside the greenhouse lightweight steel structures similar to scaffolding are anchored to the timber load bearing structure creating an articulated system of projections and recesses designed to accommodate the cultivation systems the greenhouse covers a plan area of 12 26 m the crops cultivated in the building both in the internal growth chambers and within the greenhouse space are dedicated to pharmacological research the species grown include rosmarinus officinalis calendula officinalis thymus vulgaris aronia melanocarpa plantago major hypericum perforatum salvia officinalis and echinacea the cultivation techniques adopted include dwc deep water culture ebb flow nft nutrient film technique and fogponic systems the load bearing structure of the building is made of engineered timber with beams and columns in pres lam post tensioned lvl this structural system is not directly exposed to the exterior but is fully enclosed within the building envelope in the portion occupied by the greenhouse the timber structure is enclosed by a continuous self supporting glass fa ade consisting of a steel frame anchored to the primary timber structure the fa ade is composed of solar control selective glazing with an additional external glass layer consisting of lsc panels luminescent solar concentrators similar to the system used in the palais des congr s in montr al these panels are mainly red and blue while yellow and green tones are used less frequently because they are less favorable for plant growth processes the greenhouse roof is partly composed of glazed surfaces integrated with photovoltaic cells and partly of operable louvers that allow natural ventilation and the release of warm air the language of the glass fa ade continues laterally along the rest of the building particularly at the ground floor second floor and top floor in these portions however some glazed modules are replaced by opaque panels visible as white parts in the model in these areas the glass remains transparent and does not include lsc panels which are limited exclusively to the greenhouse the second third and fourth floors are instead characterized by a continuous opaque horizontal band projecting 3 meters beyond the building perimeter this band is horizontally divided into three layers articulated by c shaped aluminum profiles designed to create visual continuity between the opaque fa ade band and the frame of the glazed envelope in the first view long side the cladding of this portion of the envelope consists of building integrated photovoltaic panels bipv similar to those used in the red river college innovation center characterized by a sand colored finish on the short side of the building this opaque portion features a green wall cladding while on the opposite side from the bipv fa ade the cladding is composed of trespa panels the roof of the building has a mixed configuration the portion above the greenhouse is glazed consistent with the envelope system below while the opposite part on the left side of the building is opaque on the main fa ade this part ends with a cantilevered element of about 5 meters conceived as a thin architectural sheet that covers and protects the projecting steel beam the roof also hosts five micro wind turbines integrated into the building s energy system the vertical volume emerging from the roof is a glazed light cone designed to bring natural daylight into the interior spaces the opaque portions at the ground floor and second floor are clad with white trespa panels white fa ade cladding
