Questions are still looming as to what will happen with campus’ iconic EWI building in the coming year. One of the most pressing issues is what to do about the unique facade which is desperately in need of an upgrade.
A group from the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (BK) may just have the solution to this expensive problem. Lease it.
Building on the idea of circular economies the Facade Research Group at BK has developed a business-to-client product-service system which would make building façades more affordable and more efficient. The project is headed by Associate Professor Alexandra Heijer, master’s graduate Juan Azcárate-Aguerre, and Dr. Tillmann Klein. The system is described as working similarly to printers, with companies remaining responsible for the installation, maintenance, and ultimate removal of their façade ‘pieces’. The plan is for four leased panels on the EWI building to be installed, each of them more technically complex than the last.
“In the building industry innovation is often blocked by the traditional methods of collaboration between parties and business models,” said Dr. Klein. This model could circumnavigate these difficulties. “It is intended as a demonstrator of these technologies, in many cases even people in the tech industries aren’t aware you can have so many building services in the façade of the building,” said Azcárate-Aguerre. There are already a number of companies on-board with the project, from system suppliers to automation partners.
In the case of EWI this leasing model could be particularly useful. There is an ongoing discussion about what is to happen to the building, however once a decision is made nothing is likely to start until the end of 2017. In the meantime the university needs a solution for the façade and is currently handling a number of different potential strategies for the building. “With this concept you could implement this flexibility,” said Dr. Klein. It is also an opportunity for the group to demonstrate the effectiveness of their façade leasing system. Azcárate-Aguerre described it as a prototype, or living-lab, and hopes that if successful this case-study could then be up-scaled.
Demolition of some parts of the façade and installation of the new, leased panels is scheduled to happen by the end of August.
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