Sustainable High-rise Construction in Shanghai

Case study – Shanghai Tower

Gina Letízia Lau

Thesis to obtain the Master of Science Degree in

Civil Engineering

Supervisor: Professor Manuel Guilherme Caras Altas Duarte Pinheiro

Supervisor: Professor Manuel de Arriaga Brito Correia Guedes

Examination Committee

Chairperson: Professor Albano Luís Rebelo da Silva das Neves e Sousa

Supervisor: Professor Manuel Guilherme Caras Altas Duarte Pinheiro
Member of the Committee: Professor Vítor Faria e Sousa

July 2015
 In Memoriam

“Godfather” Conny van Rietschoten

Acknowledgements
Firstly, THANK YOU to my parents and my grandparents for always encouraging me to do and to be
better. Especially my extraordinary and lovely mom, for her dedication, for leading me to the right path,
for accepting and supporting my decisions, always taught me to think positively and be strong, because
“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass…it's about learning how to dance in the rain!” And my
grandparents for educating me during my childhood and believing me. Although they are in Shanghai,
but they have always supported me when I needed. And to Tiotio, I would like to thank him for all the
support I have received since I moved to Portugal. When I first came to Portugal, I did not understand
a single word in Portuguese, with my family´s support and a lot of hard work I managed to overcome
the language barrier.

Secondly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Manuel Duarte
Pinheiro and Professor Manuel Correia Guedes, for their exemplary guidance, patience and information
provided throughout the course of this work. Especially to their availability and sympathy.

To my special friend João, I would like to thank him for his photoshop skills and many nights of working
together until sunrise.

Thank Mr. Mi Zhang for introducing me to Shanghai Tower´s project Management Company. And many
thanks to Engineer Henry Lang (Jianke project management) for providing information related to
Shanghai tower.

To my IST friends, Xana, Zé, Vimal, Ana Bento, Débora and Ricardo Santos.

At last, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to someone very especial – Sir
Conny van Rietschoten. He was a kind, sweet, very smart and successful man, a real life example.
Thanks for all the support! I would like to dedicate this thesis to “Godfather” Conny.
Resumo
De acordo com as estimativas e projeções de população das Nações Unidas, em 2050 a população
urbana mundial irá aumentar significativamente e, estima que a população urbana Chinesa irá
aumentar mais 292 milhões, esta estimativa terá um enorme impacto sobre a maior cidade da China –
Shanghai. Shanghai é uma megacidade com uma população de mais de 24 milhões, devido à sua
densa morfologia urbana e recursos terrestres limitados, construções em altura são suscetíveis a
serem a primeira escolha para minimizar o impacto sobre o uso do solo.

Embora os edifícios proporcionem inúmeros benefícios à sociedade, os edifícios também são um dos
principais consumidores de energia, bem como as principais fontes de poluição ambiental. A fim de
dar um futuro melhor à próxima geração, deve-se começar a investir na construção sustentável que
com base nas melhores práticas enfatizam a acessibilidade a longo prazo, qualidade e eficiência.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo obter uma melhor compreensão de avaliação padrão para Edifícios
Verdes na China e do respetivo sistema de avaliação – Green Building Evaluation Label (GBEL),
também conhecido como “Three-Star”, por identificar regulamentos e orientações para construção
sustentável em Shanghai, e comparar GBEL ao sistema de classificação americano LEED, que é
reconhecido e utilizado na China.

Além disso, um caso de estudo será analisado, o segundo edifício mais alto do mundo, recentemente
construído - Shanghai Tower. Não é o mais alto, mas é o mais alto arranha-céus sustentável dos dias
de hoje. Shanghai Tower obteve o certificado LEED Gold e a classificação máxima de GBEL. Shanghai
Tower incorpora inúmeros elementos de arquitetura verde e práticas sustentáveis, incluindo a fachada
dupla de vidro, ar condicionado com armazenamento de gelo, sistema de tri-geração etc. Essas
estratégias permitirão um melhor desempenho ao longo do ciclo de vida do edifício.

Palavras-chave: Shanghai; Construção sustentável; Edifício verde; Edifícios altos; Avaliação

GBEL; Shanghai Tower.
Abstract
According to the United Nations population estimates and projections, by 2050 world´s urban population
will increase significantly and, China is projected to add 292 million urban dwellers, this estimate will
definitely affect the largest city of China – Shanghai. Shanghai is a mega-city with a population over 24
million people, due to its high dense urban morphology and limited land resources, high-rise buildings
are likely the first choice to minimize the impact on land use.

Although buildings provided amount benefits to society, but they are one of the main consumers of
energy, as well as the main sources of environmental pollution. In order to give a better future to next
generation, must start investing in sustainable construction, based on best practices that emphasize
long-term affordability, quality and efficiency.

This thesis aims to get a better understanding of Evaluation Standard for Green Building in China and
the respective assessment system – Green Building Evaluation Label (GBEL), also known as “Three-
Star”, by identify regulations and orientations to sustainable construction in Shanghai, and comparing
GBEL to American LEED rating system, which is recognized and commonly used in China.

In addition, a case study will be analysed, the recently built world´s second tallest building – Shanghai
Tower. It is not the tallest, but it is the tallest sustainable high-rise building of nowadays. Shanghai
Tower earned both LEED Gold certificate and the highest score of GBEL. Shanghai Tower incorporates
numerous green architecture elements and sustainable practices, including double skin façade, ice
storage air-conditioning, tri-generation system etc. These strategies will allow better performance over
building´s life cycle.

Keywords: Shanghai; Sustainable construction; Green building; High-rise; GBEL assessment;

Shanghai Tower.
Contents

Contents ................................................................................................................................................. iv

List of Figures .........................................................................................................................................vii

List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... xi

Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................xii

1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Shanghai and High-rise building ...................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Shanghai Context .................................................................................................................... 3

2.1.1 Country ................................................................................................................................ 3

2.1.2 Geographic Context ............................................................................................................ 3

2.1.3 Weather and Climate .......................................................................................................... 4

2.1.4 History ................................................................................................................................. 6

2.1.5 Population and Urban Development ................................................................................... 8

2.1.6 Social and Economic Development .................................................................................. 10

2.1.7 Construction Types ........................................................................................................... 11

2.2 High-rise Building .................................................................................................................. 14

2.2.1 Defining and Measuring of High-rise ................................................................................. 14

2.2.2 Building Usage .................................................................................................................. 17

2.2.3 Evolution of Skyscrapers ................................................................................................... 18

2.2.4 High-rise Development in Mainland China ........................................................................ 20

2.2.5 Near future – The Era of the “Megatall” ............................................................................ 21

3 Sustainable development .............................................................................................................. 23

3.1 Sustainable Construction ...................................................................................................... 23

3.1.1 World’s Urban Population Growth and its Influence to Society ........................................ 23

3.1.2 Impact of the Construction Industry on the Environment .................................................. 24

3.1.3 Definition of Sustainable Construction .............................................................................. 26

3.1.4 What Contributes Most to Sustainability in Tall Buildings? ............................................... 26

3.2 Chinese Evaluation Standard for Green Building ................................................................. 28

3.2.1 Carbon Emission, Energy Consumption and Outdoor Air Quality in China ...................... 28

iv
 3.2.2 Green Building Evaluation Label ....................................................................................... 31

3.3 Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design .................................................................... 37

3.4 Comparison between “Three-Star” Assessment and Leadership in Energy & Environmental
Design Rating .................................................................................................................................... 39

3.4.1 Main Differences between “Three-Star” Assessment and LEED Rating .......................... 39

3.4.2 Rating Methods ................................................................................................................. 40

3.4.3 Prerequisites and Rating Criteria Weighting ..................................................................... 41

3.4.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 43

4 Case study – Shanghai Tower ....................................................................................................... 44

4.1 Location and Transportation ................................................................................................. 45

4.2 Design Concept ..................................................................................................................... 46

4.3 Foundation and Structure ...................................................................................................... 48

4.4 Building Shape ...................................................................................................................... 52

4.4.1 Wind Tunnel Testing and Building Design ........................................................................ 53

4.5 Sustainable Double Skin Curtain Wall .................................................................................. 56

4.5.1 Double Skin Curtain Wall Concept .................................................................................... 56

4.5.2 Light Pollution Studies ....................................................................................................... 59

4.5.3 Glass Selection ................................................................................................................. 60

4.6 Other Sustainable Strategies used in Shanghai Tower ........................................................ 62

4.6.1 Ground Source Heat Pump ............................................................................................... 63

4.6.2 Ice Storage Air-conditioning .............................................................................................. 64

4.6.3 Combined Cooling, Heat and Power ................................................................................. 66

4.6.4 Wind Turbines ................................................................................................................... 67

4.6.5 Grey Water and Rainwater Recycling ............................................................................... 68

4.6.6 Energy Efficient Elevator ................................................................................................... 69

4.6.7 BIM - Building Information Modelling ................................................................................ 71

4.6.8 Sustainable Construction Management ............................................................................ 71

4.7 The Tallest Green Skyscraper – Shanghai Tower ................................................................ 73

5 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................... 74

5.1 Policy in China....................................................................................................................... 74

5.2 Sustainable High-rise in Shanghai ........................................................................................ 75

6 Conclusion and Future Work ......................................................................................................... 79

v
 6.1 General Considerations ........................................................................................................ 79

6.2 Future Work........................................................................................................................... 80

References ............................................................................................................................................ 81

Appendices .............................................................................................................................................. I

A. GBEL criteria for public building – I. Land-Saving and Outdoor Environment ............................ II

B. GBEL criteria for public building – II. Energy-Saving and Energy Utilization ............................. III

C. GBEL criteria for public building – III. Water-Saving and Water Resources Utilization ..............V

D. GBEL criteria for public building – IV. Material-saving and Material Resources Utilization .......VI

E. GBEL criteria for public building – V. Indoor Environment Quality ...........................................VII

F. GBEL criteria for public building – VI. Operational Management ..............................................IX

G. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Location & transportation .............................................................X

H. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Sustainable Sites ........................................................................XI

I. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Water Efficiency .........................................................................XII

J. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Energy and Atmosphere ...........................................................XIII

K. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Materials and Resources ......................................................... XIV

L. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Indoor Environmental Quality.................................................... XV

M. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Innovation................................................................................. XVI

N. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Regional Priority ....................................................................... XVI

O. Shanghai Underground Map .................................................................................................. XVII

P. Atrium Energy Performance: Summer Concept.................................................................... XVIII

Q. Atrium Energy Performance: Winter Concept ......................................................................... XIX

vi
List of Figures

Figure 2.1 - Map of China (Fudan, 2010) ................................................................................................ 3

Figure 2.2 - Average Temperature (ºc) Graph for Shanghai (SSB, 2014) .............................................. 5
Figure 2.3 - Average Rainfall (mm) Graph for Shanghai (SSB, 2014) ................................................... 6
Figure 2.4 - Average monthly sun-hours in Shanghai (SSB, 2014) ........................................................ 6
Figure 2.5 - Foreign Concessions in Shanghai (White China, 1920) ..................................................... 7
Figure 2.6 - Nanjing Road, Shanghai, within the International Settlement (Unknown, before 1946) ..... 7
Figure 2.7 - Municipality of Shanghai (Joowwww, 2008) ........................................................................ 8
Figure 2.8 - Resident population in Shanghai – 1995 to 2005 (SSB, 2014) ........................................... 9
Figure 2.9 - Floor area of completed building – 1995 to 2005 (SSB, 2014) ........................................... 9
Figure 2.10 - The Bund at night (Tickle, 2005) ..................................................................................... 11
Figure 2.11 - The Bund ......................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 2.12 - Shikumen stone gate (Etripchina, 2012) ......................................................................... 12
Figure 2.13 -Museum of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (Pyzhou, 2004)
.............................................................................................................................................................. 12
Figure 2.14 - First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party alley (Mclarenshen, 2006) ... 12
Figure 2.15 - Longhua Temple (Cultural China, 2005) ......................................................................... 12
Figure 2.16 - Longhua Temple and Pagoda (Shanghai Residencial, 2014) ......................................... 12
Figure 2.17 - A house in the former French Concession (Unknown, 2004) ......................................... 13
Figure 2.18 - French concession building (Unknown, 2005) ................................................................ 13
Figure 2.19 - Normandie Apartment (Wang, 2013) .............................................................................. 13
Figure 2.20 - The Gothic-style Xujiahui Cathedral (Schneider, et al., 2013) ........................................ 13
Figure 2.21 - St Ignatius Cathedral (CFP, 2012) .................................................................................. 13
Figure 2.22 - Pudong Shanghai (Unknown, 2014) ............................................................................... 14
Figure 2.23 - Vertical transportation (CTBUH, 2014) ............................................................................ 14
Figure 2.24 - Height Relative to Context (CTBUH, 2014) ..................................................................... 14
Figure 2.25 - Supertall and Megatall (CTBUH, 2014) ........................................................................... 15
Figure 2.26 - World’s ten tallest buildings according to Height to Architectural Top, by November 2014
(CTBUH, 2014) ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 2.27 - World’s ten tallest buildings according to Highest Occupied Floor, by November 2014
(CTBUH, 2014) ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 2.28 - World’s ten tallest buildings according to Height to Tip, by November 2014 (CTBUH, 2014)
.............................................................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 2.29 - Tall building or telecommunications/observation tower (CTBUH, 2014) ......................... 17
Figure 2.30 - Single-function and mixed-use tall building (CTBUH, 2014) ........................................... 17
Figure 2.31 - Otis Publicly Demonstrates the World’s First Safety Elevator, in 1854 (Everett, 2011) .. 18
Figure 2.32 - Home Insurance Building in Chicago (CAPC, after 1884) .............................................. 18

vii
Figure 2.33 - Former Shanghai Premises and Land Resources Administration Bureau and Shanghai
Civil Design Institute office building (Wang, 2013)................................................................................ 20
Figure 2.34 - Park Hotel Shanghai (Wing, 2007) .................................................................................. 20
Figure 2.35 - Jin Mao Tower (SOM, 2000) ........................................................................................... 21
Figure 2.36 - Shanghai World Financial Centre (Mori, 2008) ............................................................... 21
Figure 2.37 - Shanghai Tower (Unknown, 2014) .................................................................................. 21
Figure 2.38 - The projected 20 tallest buildings in 2020 (CTBUH, 2011) ............................................. 22
Figure 3.1 - Sustainable development (Eco-friendly house, 2014) ....................................................... 23
Figure 3.2 - Embodied energy distribution of built project (CTBUH 2013 Internacional Conference, 2013)
.............................................................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 3.3 - Total energy consumption in China by type in 2011 ......................................................... 28
Figure 3.4 - Electricity Consumption in municipalities of PRC (CSS, 2014) ......................................... 30
Figure 3.5 - GBEL evaluation agencies (Ye, et al., 2013) .................................................................... 32
Figure 3.6 - Green Building Design Label certificate (City University of Hongkong, 2012) .................. 32
Figure 3.7 - Top ten cities by number of GBEL approved projects, as of August 2012 (Khanna, et al.,
2014) ..................................................................................................................................................... 36
Figure 3.8 - Number of GBEL certified projects Map view (Khanna, et al., 2014) ................................ 36
Figure 3.9 - Four levels of LEED certification (USGBC) ....................................................................... 37
Figure 3.10 - GBEL Public Building Rating Criteria and Weighting not include optimized items ......... 42
Figure 3.11 - LEED v4 New Construction Rating Criteria and Weighting not include Regional Priority
.............................................................................................................................................................. 42
Figure 4.1 - Shanghai Tower timeline (Nichols, 2014) .......................................................................... 44
Figure 4.2 - Lujiazui (Gensler, 2014) .................................................................................................... 46
Figure 4.3 - Skyscraper trio (Gensler, 2008) ......................................................................................... 46
Figure 4.4 - Plot area (Gensler, 2008) .................................................................................................. 47
Figure 4.5 - Total construction area (Gensler, 2008) ............................................................................ 47
Figure 4.6 - Green space (Gensler, 2008) ............................................................................................ 47
Figure 4.7 - Shanghai Tower nine neighbourhood (Gensler, 2010) ..................................................... 48
Figure 4.8 - Shanghai Tower construction site (Tang, et al., 2014) ...................................................... 49
Figure 4.9 - Pour detail (Ray, 2010) ...................................................................................................... 49
Figure 4.10 - Arrangement of piles of Shanghai Tower – plane (Tang, et al., 2014) ........................... 49
Figure 4.11- Arrangement of piles of Shanghai Tower – section (Tang, et al., 2014) .......................... 50
Figure 4.12 - A pair of super-columns on the 60th floor ....................................................................... 50
Figure 4.13 - Shanghai Tower structure in detail (Nichols, 2014)......................................................... 51
Figure 4.14 - Concrete core section in different zones (JKEC, 2012) .................................................. 51
Figure 4.15 - Mega-frame (Jun, et al., 2010) ........................................................................................ 52
Figure 4.16 - Mechanical floors (Nichols, 2014) ................................................................................... 52
Figure 4.17 - Shanghai Tower – Concrete core construction in December 2011 (JKEC, 2012) .......... 52
Figure 4.18 - Shanghai Tower – Concrete core construction in February 2011 (Harry, 2011) ............ 52
Figure 4.19 - Horizontal profile geometry (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) .............. 53

viii
Figure 4.20 - Relationship between importance of wind and height (Irwin, 2010) ................................ 53
Figure 4.21 - Shape strategies (Irwin, 2010)......................................................................................... 53
Figure 4.22 - Wind tunnel study, scale 1:500 (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) ........ 54
Figure 4.23 - High Reynold number model study, scale 1:85 (Wind Engineering Reserch Needs,
Building Codes and Project Specific Studies, 2009) ............................................................................. 54
Figure 4.24 - Wind tunnel study rotation models (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) ... 55
Figure 4.25 - Wind tunnel study scaling models (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) .... 55
Figure 4.26 - Diagram of positive and negative wind cladding loads (Shanghai Tower Façade Design
Process, 2010) ...................................................................................................................................... 56
Figure 4.27 - Curtain Wall A, CWSS and Curtain Wall B (left to right) (Nichols, 2014) ........................ 57
Figure 4.28 - CWSS (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) ............................................... 57
Figure 4.29 - Curtain wall system description (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)........ 58
Figure 4.30 - Light pollution study model (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) ............... 59
Figure 4.31 - “Staggered” and “smooth” schemes comparison (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process,
2010) ..................................................................................................................................................... 59
Figure 4.32 - Light pollution – “Staggered” (left) and “smooth” (right) schemes comparison (Shanghai
Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) .................................................................................................. 60
Figure 4.33 - Curtain wall A & B standard panels (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010).. 61
Figure 4.34 - Low-E in Cold weather and in Warm weather (Unknown, 2011) .................................... 62
Figure 4.35 - Fritted glass (Gensler, 2010) ........................................................................................... 62
Figure 4.36 - Fritted glass of outer wall ................................................................................................. 62
Figure 4.37 - Heat Pump circuit detail (Stratfordenergy, 2013) ............................................................ 63
Figure 4.38 - Ground source heat pump system (Encylopaedia Britannica, 2012) .............................. 64
Figure 4.39 - Ice Storage Cooling System (Calmac, 2014) .................................................................. 65
Figure 4.40 - Electrical profile with no ice storage (wahidmohamed, 2012) ......................................... 65
Figure 4.41 - Electrical profile with ice storage air-condition system (wahidmohamed, 2012) ............. 65
Figure 4.42 - Conventional electrical power plant (Barré, 2013) .......................................................... 66
Figure 4.43 - Combined cooling, heat and power (Dynamicenergy, 2015) .......................................... 67
Figure 4.44 - Horizontally oriented wind turbines (Skyscraper, 2014) .................................................. 68
Figure 4.45 - Vertical axis wind turbines (JKEC, 2012) ........................................................................ 68
Figure 4.46 - Diagram depicting how the Regenerative Drive system works (Sniderman, 2012) (Otis
Worldwide) ............................................................................................................................................ 70
Figure 4.47 - Double deck elevator (Russett, 2010) ............................................................................. 70
Figure 4.48 - Recycle waste rebar (SRIBS, 2012) ................................................................................ 72
Figure 4.49 - Dust control (JKPM, 2011) .............................................................................................. 72
Figure 4.50 - Mud filter tank (JKPM, 2011) ........................................................................................... 72
Figure 4.51 - Isolation setting (JKPM, 2011) ......................................................................................... 72
Figure 4.52 - Noise testing (SRIBS, 2012)............................................................................................ 72
Figure 4.53 - Reuse of mud pit fence (SRIBS, 2012) ........................................................................... 72
Figure 4.54 - Construction workers examining CWSS ......................................................................... 73

ix
Figure 4.55 - Construction workers working on outer curtain wall ........................................................ 73
Figure 4.56 - JKPM engineers on Shanghai Tower construction site ................................................... 73
Figure 4.57 - Me and my trainee colleague visiting Shanghai Tower construction site ........................ 73
Figure 5.1 - Shape strategies (Irwin, 2010) ........................................................................................... 76

x
List of Tables

Table 2.1 - Highest and lowest air temperature in 2013 (SSB, 2014) .................................................... 5
Table 2.2 - Statistics on City Construction by Municipalities (2012) (CSS, 2013) .................................. 8
Table 2.3 - Population and Employment (SSB, 2014) .......................................................................... 10
Table 2.4 - Macro Economy (SSB, 2014) ............................................................................................. 10
Table 2.5 - World´s tallest towers: all Skyscrapers holding the title of Tallest Building in the world from
1885 to the present (Craighead, 2009) (SM, 2010) .............................................................................. 19
Table 2.6 - Significant High-rise in China tall building construction history .......................................... 20
Table 3.1 - Resources used by buildings (UNEP) (Shams, et al., 2011) .............................................. 25
Table 3.2 - Outdoor Air Condition in main years – Shanghai (SSB, 2014) ........................................... 29
Table 3.3 - Electricity consumption per person in municipalities .......................................................... 30
Table 3.4 - Item quantity in each section for residential buildings (Ye, et al., 2013) ............................ 33
Table 3.5 - Item quantity in each section for public buildings (Ye, et al., 2013) ................................... 34
Table 3.6 - Criteria for Green Building Evaluation Label rating evaluation for residential buildings (Ye,
et al., 2013) (Khanna, et al., 2014) ....................................................................................................... 34
Table 3.7 - Criteria for Green Building Evaluation Label rating evaluation for public buildings (Ye, et al.,
2013) (Khanna, et al., 2014) ................................................................................................................. 34
Table 3.8 - Increased capital costs for green buildings in China (MOHURD, 2012) ............................ 35
Table 3.9 - LEED v4 for New Construction Rating System (USGBC) .................................................. 38
Table 3.10 - Differences between GBEL and LEED ............................................................................. 39
Table 3.11 - Number of items required for GBEL rating for public building .......................................... 40
Table 3.12 - LEED v4 New Construction and Major Renovation rating points (USGBC) ..................... 40
Table 3.13 - GBEL Public building prerequisites weight distribution .................................................... 41
Table 3.14 - LEED v4 NC prerequisites weight distribution .................................................................. 41
Table 4.1 - Floor Area per zone, not include the area of MEP and refuge floors (Gensler, 2010) ....... 48
Table 4.2 - Base reaction comparison of schemes with different twisting angle (Shanghai Tower Façade
Design Process, 2010) (Nichols, 2014) ................................................................................................ 55
Table 4.3 - 2009 & 2010 Construction waste statistics (JKPM, 2011) .................................................. 72
Table 5.1 - Differences between GBEL and LEED ............................................................................... 74
Table 5.2 - Annual energy supply values .............................................................................................. 77
Table 5.3 - Annual energy supply per square metre ............................................................................. 77
Table 5.4 - Recycle water consumption ................................................................................................ 78

xi
Acronyms and Abbreviations

Notation Description

ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers

B Basement Floor

BIM Building Information Modelling

CAI Chicago Architecture Info

CAPC Chicago Architectural Photographing Company

CCAP Centre for Clean Air Policy

CCHP Combined Cooling, Heat and Power

CMF Chinese Ministry of Finance

CSS China Statistical Society

CSUS Chinese Society for Urban Studies

CWSS Curtain Wall Support System

CTBUH Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

ECADI East China Architectural Design & Research Institute

ESEC The Encyclopedia of Shanghai Editorial Committee

ESGB Evaluation Standard for Green Building

F Floor

FCU Fan Coil Unit

GAQSIQ General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine

GBDL Green Building Design Label

GBEL Green Building Evaluation Label

GBL Operational Green Building Label

GDP Gross Domestic Product

xii
GHG Greenhouse Gas Emissions

GSHP Ground Source Heat Pump

ICBEST International Conference on Building Envelope Systems and Technologies

IISD International Institute for Sustainable Development

IOSM Information Office of Shanghai Municipality

JKEC Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting

JKPM Shanghai Jianke Project Management

K Thermal Conductivity

LEED Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design

MC Ministry of Construction

MEP Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing

MOHURD Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

RMB Renminbi (Chinese yuan, CNY) – the official currency of the People's Republic of China

SAR Special Administrative Region

SC Shading Coefficient

SM The Skyscraper Museum

SMB Shanghai Meteorological Bureau

SRIBS Shanghai Research Institute of Building Science

SSB Shanghai Statistics Bureau

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

UN DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social affairs

UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

UNPFA United Nations Population Fund

USEIA U.S. Energy Information Administration

USGBC U.S. Green Building Council

VT Visual Transmittance

xiii
1 Introduction

High-rise buildings emerged in the late nineteenth century in the United States of America. Today, these
buildings are a worldwide architectural phenomenon. Especially in Asian countries, such as China,
Korea, Japan, and Malaysia. The construction of high-rises is currently an inevitable trend in the
development of large urban centres, particularly the so-called megacities, to accommodate the
continued growth of the world population. According to the United Nations population estimates and
projections, duo to world´s urban population increasing, by 2050, about 66% of world's population will
live in urban areas. And China is projected to add 292 million urban dwellers by then (UN DESA, 2014),
this estimate will definitely affect the megacity – Shanghai, posing immense challenges for developing
building, infrastructure and social services for new citizens.

High-rises are likely the first choice to minimize the impact on land use in city centres. Although buildings
provided countless benefits to society, but they are also one of the main consumers of energy, as well
as the main sources of environmental pollution. Building construction consumes 40% of the raw stone,
gravel and sand used globally each year, and 25% of the raw timber. Buildings also account for 40% of
global energy, 25% of global water, and they emit approximately one-third of global greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. Residential and commercial buildings consume approximately 60% of the
world’s electricity (UNEP) (Shams, et al., 2011). Buildings also produce 40% of waste that going to
landfills and 40% of air emissions (Davies, 2007). Unfortunately the planet cannot support the current
level of energy and resource consumption associated with buildings.

In China, the statistics data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) of
the People’s Republic of China shows that: two billions square metres of new buildings are constructed
every year in China and 80% of them are high energy consumption buildings, also 95% of the existing
40 billions square metres of domestic buildings are high energy consumption buildings (Wang, et al.,
2014). In order to give a better future to next generation, must improve environment by decreasing
standard building practices, which are guided by short-term economic considerations. And start
investing sustainable construction that based on best practices which emphasize long-term affordability,
quality and efficiency.

In the scope of this thesis, field survey was conducted with several visits in Shanghai Tower during the
construction phase. This paper aims to identify building regulations and orientations to High-rise
sustainable constructions in Shanghai and analyse sustainability of the recently built world´s second
tallest building – Shanghai Tower, amount sustainable strategies were applied on this phenomenon
tower, including double skin façade, ice storage air conditioning system, energy efficient elevator, tri-
generation system etc. These strategies will allow better performance over building´s life cycle.

For this purpose the methodology used involve: 1) Brief presentation about Shanghai and introduce
basic concepts of high-rise building. 2) The impact of building industry on environment. And identify

1
carbon emission, energy consumption and other environmental issues worldwide and in China,
especially in Shanghai. Then review the State-of-the-art: Green building policies and respective
assessment systems applied in mainland China. 3) Case study analysis: Shanghai Tower, the second
tallest in the world. Understand how the building design itself can contribute for material saving, and
analyse other examples of sustainable practices incorporated in the building, which lead to energy
efficiency, water saving and reduce the building’s carbon footprint. 4) Discussion and conclusion.

Chapter 2 is divided into two subchapters. The first one, presents a brief background of the megacity
Shanghai, highlighting the geographic context, climate, population, history, social and economic
development and construction type that characterize the city. In the second part, is made an approach
to the subject of high-rise buildings, describing some basic concepts of a high-rise, what conceptually
makes them differ from the current buildings, its evolution worldwide and in China.

In Chapter 3, firstly, addresses the impact of construction industry on the environment worldwide and
defining sustainable construction and namely some main contributes to sustainable tall buildings.
Secondly, analyse the current energy consumption and carbon emission situation in China and a series
of relevant policies formulated by Chinese government to improve their sustainable construction sector,
including a Green Building rating system – Green Building Evaluation Label (GBEL), also known as
“Three-Star” assessment system created by Chinese government. Analyse GBEL, and comparing it to
America´s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), which is also commonly used in
China.

Afterwards, a case study will be analysed in Chapter 4. Shanghai Tower, the second tallest building in
the world. This structure is a new generation of skyscraper that have been designed with energy
conservation and sustainability as its principal criteria. Shanghai Tower is considered as the most
sustainable skyscraper nowadays, earned both LEED Gold certificate and highest score of Chinese
Green Building Evaluation Label. This chapter contains Shanghai Tower´s location, structure details,
architecture design concept based on wind tunnel testing, curtain wall design analysis, and other
numerous sustainable strategies incorporated in the building, such as reusing water, energy efficient
elevator, ice storage air-conditioning and the installation of a tri-generation system, etc. Green design
and all the sustainable practices incorporated in the building made Shanghai tower a megatall high-
performance building.

In chapter 5 discussion, mainly if the approach could achieve to thesis objectives, discuss strategies
presented in the case study and their limitations.

Finally, the main conclusions will be addressed. The thesis will finish with bibliography and appendices.

2
2 Shanghai and High-rise building

2.1 Shanghai Context

2.1.1 Country
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC) located in East Asia, founded on October 1, 1949.
The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the
capital city of Beijing. China is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual country. There is 56 ethnic groups and more
than 80 languages and local dialects, the official language of the PRC is Mandarin (CSS, 2013).

China is the world's second largest country by land area and its total area (land and water area) is
approximately 9.6 million square kilometres. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500
kilometres long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas (CSS, 2013). There
are 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai
and Chongqing) and two special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau).

2.1.2 Geographic Context

Shanghai, which means the "Upon the Sea", is one of four municipalities directly under the Central
Government. Shanghai is undoubtedly the largest city in China. Nicknamed the “Oriental Pearl”,
Shanghai serves as the economic, financial, trade and shipping centre of China.

Figure 2.1 - Map of China (Fudan, 2010)

Shanghai is situated on the Yangtze River Delta (Chang Jiang) in East China, is located at
120°51’~122°12’ East and 30°40’~31°53’ North (ESEC, 2010). The municipality sits at the mouth of
the Yangtze in the middle portion of the Chinese coast providing it great maritime trade potential.

3
Shanghai borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, and is bounded
to the east by the East China Sea, can be seen in Figure 2.1.

In 1949, Shanghai's land area was only 636 square kilometres. Today, Shanghai is about 120
kilometres long from south to north, and about 100 kilometres wide from west to east. With a total area
of 8,239 square kilometres, Shanghai has 6,241 square kilometres of land, and 1,998 square kilometres
non-terrestrial waters and tidal flats, etc. Of the mainland, the urban area occupies about 289 square
kilometres, and suburban and countryside about 5,952 square kilometres (ESEC, 2010).

According to ESEC (2010) the altitude of the city lies between three and five metres. With comparatively
soft and loose earth, the city has a slightly higher coastal area in the east and a lower hinterland to the
west.

The Yangtze Delta region is a compound alluvial plain, the accumulation of sediment soil laid down by
rivers during long ages. There are a few isolated hills, but for the most part, the land in this region is flat.
The lower reaches of the Yangtze River running through the city bring lots of mud and sand to its estuary
(Shanghai, 2014).

Shanghai is known for its rich water resources, with the water area accounting for 11% of its total
territory (Shanghai, 2014). Most of the rivers are tributaries of the Huangpu River. The water network
inside the city is the densest and the most developed in China. A lot of rivers and lakes in the city
provide sufficient water to facilitate the transportation and irrigation. And its coastal area abounds in
resources of fish and salt.

However other natural resources are not abundant in the region. Shanghai also lacks mineral resources
and energy sources. Only crude oil and natural gas are found in the offing of East China Sea and south
Yellow Sea nearby (Shanghai, 2014).

Shanghai has no conventional energy reserves such as coal, petroleum or waterpower. It has to rely
on energies imported from other provinces. But Shanghai turns out a certain amount of high-quality
second-energy products, including electric power, oil products, coal and gas (including liquefied
petroleum gas). Potential energy resources to be tapped include methane, wind power, tidal power and
solar energy.

2.1.3 Weather and Climate

Shanghai's climate is influenced alternately by cold dry air from inner Asia and Siberia from the north
and north-west, and by warm moist air from the Pacific Ocean from the south and south-east.

This city experiences a subtropical maritime monsoon climate and so the weather is generally mild and
fairly moist and experiences four distinct seasons: a warm spring, hot summer, cool autumn and cold
winter. The city gets a moderate level of rainfall throughout the year, and relatively high humidity.

4
According to Shanghai Meteorological Bureau (SMB), annual average temperature is 17.6ºC. The
summers are subtropical, July and August are the two hottest months (see Figure 2.2). During this
period temperatures frequently rise to 38 degrees Celsius for prolong periods of time, the highest
temperature in 2013 was 39.9 degrees Celsius (see Table 2.1). Contrary winters are cold, especially in
late January to early February winter (usually during the Spring Festival) is the coldest period in
Shanghai (see Figure 2.2), but the temperatures seldom drop to below zero, hence Shanghai is the
only port city that is free from ice at all seasons among all ports in northern half of China.

Although Shanghai is frequently hit by typhoons and rainstorms during the rainy season but they rarely
cause much damage to the city.

Average Temperature (ºc) Graph for Shanghai (2013)

40 36.4 35.1
35
26.9 28 27.8 28.3
30 25.2
Temperature (ºc)

21.8 22.5 23.2

25 20.5
16.6 18 17 17.7
20
15 9.7 10.8 10.6
8.5 9.4
10 6.8
4.2
5 1.5 2.2

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dec

Average High Temp (ºc) Average Low Temp (ºc)

Figure 2.2 - Average Temperature (ºc) Graph for Shanghai (SSB, 2014)

Table 2.1 - Highest and lowest air temperature in 2013 (SSB, 2014)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dec
Highest air
temperature 18 17.8 30.9 32.3 31.3 36.6 39 39.9 35 28.7 27.8 19.7
(ºC)
Lowest air
temperature -3.1 -2.3 0.1 3.2 9.4 15.8 23.7 24.2 16 8.9 -1.7 -4.2
(ºC)

Figure 2.3 indicates annual precipitation in 2013 was 1,173.4 mm and it was 111 rainy days. More than
60% of the annual rainfall concentrated in the flood season from May to September. June produces the
highest level of rainfall.

As for annual sunshine time, the average over the year 2013 was 1,885.9 hours, Figure 2.4 shows the
monthly sunshine hours in Shanghai. The highest temperature is in July and August, as well as hours
of sunlight, normally 7 to 8 hours per day.

5
 Average Rainfall (mm) Graph for Shanghai (2013)
300 30

250 25
Average Rainfall days

Precipitaion (mm)
200 20

150 15

100 10

50 5

0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dec
Precipitation (mm) 22.8 81.5 58.1 72.5 117.7 183.5 102.1 111.5 61.1 291.7 20.4 50.5
Average Rainfall days 6 14 11 7 14 15 6 12 12 7 3 4

Precipitation (mm) Average Rainfall days

Figure 2.3 - Average Rainfall (mm) Graph for Shanghai (SSB, 2014)

Annual sunshine hours in Shanghai (2013)

300
254.3
241.5
250
207.5
186.1
200
154.2 156.4 146.4 148.1
Hours

135
150 112.9

100 78

50 65.5

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dec

Annual sunshine hours (h)

Figure 2.4 - Average monthly sun-hours in Shanghai (SSB, 2014)

2.1.4 History
The name "Shanghai" actually came during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when Shanghai became a
new rising trade port. The mother river Huangpu River, which runs through Shanghai and empties into
the Yangtze River, has 18 creeks and one of the creeks was called "Shanghai Creek" -- near the Bund,
thus the town nearby was called Shanghai Town. Later this whole area is named "Shanghai". By the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Shanghai became China′s largest textile centre and business was
developing fast (Cultural link, 2011).

6
The geographical location of Shanghai, combined with its navigable inland water-ways network, at the
time was the first foreign treaties with China. Given to the Chinese town, an outstanding position in the
coastal, inland, as well as overseas trades. After the Opium War in 1843, the British named Shanghai
a treaty port, opening the city to foreign involvement. Shanghai was soon turned into a city that carved
up to autonomous concessions administered concurrently by the British, French, and Americans, all
independent of Chinese law. Till 1863 the American Concession officially joined the British Settlement
to become the Shanghai International Settlement (see Figure 2.5 and Figure 2.6). The French
Concession remained independent and the Chinese retained control over the original walled city and
the area surrounding the foreign enclaves. Each colonial presence brought with it its particular culture,
architecture, and society.

Figure 2.5 - Foreign Concessions in Shanghai (White China, 1920) Figure 2.6 - Nanjing Road, Shanghai,
within the International Settlement
(Unknown, before 1946)

Although Shanghai had its own walled Chinese city, many native residents still chose to live in the
foreign settlements. This city attracted not only foreign business people, but also Chinese migrants from
other parts of the country. Thereby began a mixing of cultures that shaped Shanghai's openness to
Western influence. Shanghai became an important industrial centre and trading port and the largest
base of imperialist aggression in China. Shanghai even got a nick named as "Paris of the East".

In the past 30 years, Shanghai has achieved an incredible rapid and sustained economic, industrial,
and population growth. While it has long been a large and important seaport, it wasn't until the 1990s
that urbanization and expansion really exploded in Shanghai, turning it into a modern mecca.

Nowadays, Shanghai, the megacity on the eastern coast of China, the largest commercial and financial
centre in China. This municipality is an important hub of communications with an easy access to the
outside world by all means of transport: ocean, offshore and inland water shipping, highway and railroad
transport, air flights etc. Via the Yangtze River and the Huhang (Shanghai to Hangzhou) and Jingguang
(Beijing to Shanghai) Railways, it becomes the communication hinge connecting all parts of China. As
the biggest seaport in China as well as one of the ten largest seaports in China, the port of Shanghai
has trade links with ports of over 100 countries and regions. It also has over 40 inland and international
airlines, connecting it with inland big cities as well as international cities like Dubai, Tokyo, Paris, London,
Frankfurt, Sydney and New York.

7
2.1.5 Population and Urban Development
Shanghai's complexity came not from the foreign presence alone. Its rapid growth meant that even its
Chinese population made it a city of immigrants. The political disturbances in neighbouring provinces
since 1853 had caused a great influx of Chinese into Shanghai to seek life protection available in the
International Settlements and the French Concession. Between 1855 and 1865, the initial stage of open
trade, the population of the International Settlement and French concession had gained about 110,000
people.

Presently, Shanghai became the most populous city in China (see Table 2.2) with 16 districts and 1
county can be seen in Figure 2.7 (CSS, 2013) (Shanghai, 2014). As the population continues with a
tendency to migrate to the big cities, which led to a dramatic urban dwell growth. Shanghai Statistical
Bureau (SSB, 2014) shows the latest official estimate for the population of Shanghai in the end of 2013
was 24.15 million. This number is 4.6 times more than what the population was in 1949 (5.2 million).

Table 2.2 - Statistics on City Construction by Municipalities (2012) (CSS, 2013)

Urban area Used for Urban Urban Population Density

Municipalities
(sq.km) Construction (sq.km) (persons/sq.km)

Beijing 12187.0 1445.0 1464

Tianjin 2334.5 722.1 2782
Shanghai 6340.5 2904.3 3754
Chongqing 6105.7 859.5 1832

Figure 2.7 - Municipality of Shanghai (Joowwww, 2008)

China is known for its enormous number of inhabitants, unfortunately the land resources are relatively
scarce for high dense population, especially in the cities. Blindly expand the scale of the cities is not
sufficient to fully solve the city's population pressure. On the other hand, urban sprawl may cause the
reduction of arable land, forests and other resources, this will make China even more vulnerable to
ecological environment.

8
 Resident population in Shanghai - 1995 to 2013
26.0
24.0
22.0
Population (Million)

20.0
18.0
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013
Figure 2.8 - Resident population in Shanghai – 1995 to 2005 (SSB, 2014)

As shown in Figure 2.8, the number of urban dwells in Shanghai since 1995. Just in two decades, the
city's population increased 10 million and infrastructure has grown accordingly. So far the population
continues to grow, thereby the city becomes denser and denser. As to the demand for housing
increases every year. What is the answer for a city with intense demand for housing in property hot
spots and at the same time, shortage of affordable land? This question leads to a need for buildings
that rise rather than spread, build taller buildings to meet the needs of businesses and residents. For
instance, Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai achieved access of nearly 200,000 square metres floor area on
a less than 300 square metres land. Development of high-rise buildings in medium and big cities in
China is a trend, but more importantly it is also a necessity.

Shanghai has focused on vertical urbanism since early 1990s. When someone refers Shanghai, the
first thing comes to their mind is a modern city with amount of high-rise and skyscraper. Is very obvious
these high-rise buildings are already an image of this city.

Floor Area of Completed Building - 1995 to 2013

80.0
Floor Space (million sq.m)

70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Figure 2.9 - Floor area of completed building – 1995 to 2005 (SSB, 2014)

9
SSB (2014) represents the floor area of completed building in Shanghai of each year, from 1995 to
2013, as shown in Figure 2.9. Since 2005, the city has built at least 56.5 million square metres floor
area each year. This means more and more high-rises like Jin Mao Tower have arose in Shanghai.

2.1.6 Social and Economic Development

According to Yan Jun, chief economist of the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau, the employment
situation remained stable. Shanghai created more than 600,000 jobs in 2013, including 111,500 non-
agricultural jobs for rural labourers. The registered urban unemployment rate was 4.2% of 24.15 million
of resident population, can be seen in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3 - Population and Employment (SSB, 2014)

Population 1990 2000 2010 2012 2013

Resident Population (million persons) 13.34 16.09 23.03 23.80 24.15
Employment
Staff and Workers (million persons) 5.08 3.90 6.48 9.44 10.15
Registered Unemployment Rate in Urban
1.5 3.5 4.2 4.2 4.2
Areas (%)

In 2013 GDP of the city grew by 7% from the previous year to 2.16 trillion RMB (see Table 2.4), ranking
first among all the cities on the mainland China. And per capita GDP of Shanghai was close to 90,092
RMB. Which was really good for Shanghai, considering the grim and complicated global economic
situation and the city’s daunting task for industrial transformation. For instance, 68.4% of Shanghai’s
GDP of 2013 came from added value of the tertiary industries. Finance and insurance, retail and
distribution and real estate contributed about half of the growth in the tertiary sector.

Table 2.4 - Macro Economy (SSB, 2014)

Domestic Economic Accounts 1990 2000 2010 2012 2013

Gross Domestic Product (100
781.66 4771.17 17165.98 20181.72 21602.12
million yuan)
Primary Industry 34.24 76.68 114.15 127.80 129.28
Secondary Industry 505.70 2207.63 7218.32 7854.77 8 027.77
Tertiary Industry 241.82 2486.86 9833.51 12199.15 13445.07
Per Capita Gross Domestic Product
(yuan) (Calculated by 5911 30047 76074 85373 90092
Resident Population)
Contribution Rate of Economic Growth (%)
Primary Industry 2.5 0.6 - 0.4 - - 0.2
Secondary Industry 62.6 55.7 69.2 17.3 31.8
Tertiary Industry 37.2 43.7 31.2 82.7 68.4

The urban infrastructure construction investment of 2013 was 104.331 billion RMB, it has increased
0.5% over the previous year. Among them, the transportation and telecommunications investment was

10
55.042 billion RMB; municipal construction investment was 33.497 billion RMB; utilities invest was 4.757
billion yuan. Further the city's highway length has achieved 815 kilometres.

Yan Jun (2014) said “Total investment in real estate development in Shanghai reached 281.96 billion
RMB in 2013, 18.4% more than in 2012. New homes sold in 2013 totalled 23.82 million square metres,
25.5% more than in 2012. Shanghai is following the central government policy to control runaway home
prices. Last year it renovated 110,000 state-owned houses, built 104,000 affordable apartments,
constructed public facilities for 40 new residential communities, and demolished 746,000 square metres
of rundown houses.”

In Yan Jun´s opinion the surge in home prices has three factors. First, the shortage of land which drove
up land prices by 27% in 2013. Second, the ever-growing population and influx of migrants fuelled
demand for housing. Third, the new round of price hikes started from a relatively lower base as a result
of market control in 2012. (IOSM, 2014)

2.1.7 Construction Types

Modern Shanghai is very much the product of the Western invasion of China in the nineteenth century.
Due to its profound history background, Shanghai is rich with many different architectural styles. The
Bund features a strip of European-style buildings (see Figure 2.10 and Figure 2.11), and the city shows
the clear influence of British, American, German, French and Italian architecture. The city also has some
buildings in Japanese and Islamic styles. Many imported styles are modified or incorporated with
traditional Chinese design, though traditional Chinese architecture also survives independently.
Shanghai is a multicultural city, with Structures range from unique Shikumen, Buddhist temple, Chinese
pagoda, French Concession building, Roman church to modern high-rise.

Figure 2.10 - The Bund at night (Tickle, 2005) Figure 2.11 - The Bund

Shikumen

Shikumen, translated as “stone gate” (see Figure 2.12, Figure 2.13 and Figure 2.14), is a style of
housing unique to Shanghai that blends Chinese and Western structural styles. It´s named due to the
stone door frame. Shikumen houses are two or three-story townhouses, with the front yard protected
by a high brick wall. The entrance to each alley is usually surmounted by a stylistic stone arch. The

11
influences could be found in everything from intricate carvings in wooden doors, stone archways to door
steps (Tay, 2010).

Figure 2.12 – Shikumen stone gate Figure 2.13 -Museum of the First Figure 2.14 - First National
(Etripchina, 2012) National Congress of the Chinese Congress of the Chinese
Communist Party (Pyzhou, 2004) Communist Party alley
(Mclarenshen, 2006)

Buddhist temple and Chinese pagoda

Most Chinese people are Buddhists, thus Buddhist temple and pagoda are part of traditional Chinese
architecture. The Buddhist temple was adapted to Chinese architecture when it arrived in China.
Generally, follows the imperial style. A large Buddhist monastery normally has a front hall, housing the
statue of a Bodhisattva, followed by a great hall, housing the statues of the Buddhas. Accommodations
for the monks and the nuns are located at the two sides. Sometimes Buddhist monasteries also
have pagodas. Pagodas can be made of stone, wood, coloured glaze or metal. Most seen are seven-
layer or nine-layer pagodas. The older ones tend to be four-sided, while later pagodas usually have
eight sides or even circular.

Longhua Temple (see Figure 2.15 and Figure 2.16) is the oldest temple in Shanghai for its long history
of over 1700 years. Because of the several destructions by the wars, later was reconstructed.

Figure 2.15 - Longhua Temple (Cultural China, 2005) Figure 2.16 - Longhua Temple and Pagoda
(Shanghai Residencial, 2014)

French Concession building

Due to the old French Concession, is common to find houses and buildings influenced by French
architecture on Shanghai streets, especially at Xuhui district and former Luwan district. The Shikumen
which was referred before is one of Shanghainese architecture influenced by the French. For much of
the 20th century, the area covered by the former French Concession remained the premier residential

12
and retail district of Shanghai. The figures below show some examples of former French Concession
buildings that remained

Figure 2.17 - A house in the former Figure 2.18 - French concession Figure 2.19 - Normandie
French Concession (Unknown, 2004) building (Unknown, 2005) Apartment (Wang, 2013)

Roman church

Located in one of the city's most prosperous commercial centres, the first Western church in China, the
St Ignatius Cathedral or the Xujiahui Cathedral (see Figure 2.20 and Figure 2.21) has been standing
for more than a century. It is now the headquarters for the Shanghai Catholic diocese. The Gothic-style
cathedral was designed by English architect William Doyle, and erected in 1910 by French Jesuit
missionaries (Liu, 2012).

Figure 2.20 - The Gothic-style Xujiahui Cathedral Figure 2.21 - St Ignatius Cathedral (CFP, 2012)
(Schneider, et al., 2013)

Modern High-rise

Although Shanghai has many different architectural styles, but thanks to the new constructions
materials and technologies, made possible to go higher and higher. Modern Shanghai has countless
high-rises and skyscrapers (see Figure 2.22). These are normally slender structures with steel frame,

13
a majority of commercial high-rises in Shanghai has glass façade. The following subchapter describes
some of the concepts of this kind of construction.

Figure 2.22 - Pudong Shanghai (Unknown, 2014)

2.2 High-rise Building

2.2.1 Defining and Measuring of High-rise

High-rise building, also called high-rise, multistore building tall enough to require the use of a system of
mechanical vertical transportation (see Figure 2.23) such as elevators. (Encyclopaedia Britannica,
2013). In some country high-rise can be considered as a multi-story structure above 60 metres tall, or
a building of unknown height with more than 20 floors. In other countries the definition could be a little
different, classify a structure above 100 metres as tall building.

Figure 2.23- Vertical transportation (CTBUH, Figure 2.24 - Height Relative to Context (CTBUH, 2014)
2014)

However, the high-rise concept is really defined with respect to the height of the surrounding buildings,
the context in which it exists. If the majority of the buildings in a city are 3 or 4 stories, then a 12-floor
building would be considered tall (see Figure 2.24). If this same 12-floor building locates in cities such
as New York, Hongkong or Shanghai, that structure will no longer be considered as high-rise.

According to China's "Civil Design Principles" GB50352-2005: building height which exceeds 100
metres, regardless of residential and public buildings are considered high-rise buildings. Therefore this
definition will be used in this dissertation.

14
Note the number of floors is a poor indicator of defining a high-rise due to the changing floor to floor
height between differing buildings and functions (e.g., office versus residential usage).

The term skyscraper originally applied to buildings of 10 to 20 stories, but by the late 20th Century the
term was used to describe high-rise buildings of unusual height, generally greater than 40 or 50 stories.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014). However there is no official definition or height above which a building
may be classified as a skyscraper and at which height may not be considered a high-rise anymore. Can
be understood as a very tall multi-storeyed building, or a very tall high-rise building.

Currently, there is an international organization called the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(CTBUH) that studies and reports on all aspects of planning, design, construction and operation of tall
buildings. This entity also announces who is the representative of the title tallest building in the world
and is the authority that establishes the official height of tall buildings.

The CTBUH (2014) defines “supertall” as a building over 300 metres in height, and a high-rise that
reaches beyond 600 metres is classified as a “megatall”, can be seen in Figure 2.25.

Figure 2.25 - Supertall and Megatall (CTBUH, 2014)

Actually, there are three categories for building measurement: height to architectural; highest occupied
floor; height to Tip. And the first category measurement, height to architectural prevails in CTBUH
rankings.

Height to Architectural Top:

Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the
architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flagpoles or other
functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define
the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the “World’s Tallest Buildings.”
(CTBUH, 2014)

15
Figure 2.26 - World’s ten tallest buildings according to Height to Architectural Top, by November 2014 (CTBUH,
2014)

Highest Occupied Floor:

Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the finished
floor level of the highest occupied floor within the building. (CTBUH, 2014)

Figure 2.27 - World’s ten tallest buildings according to Highest Occupied Floor, by November 2014 (CTBUH,
2014)

Height to Tip:

Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest
point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae,
flagpoles, signage and other functional technical equipment). (CTBUH, 2014)

Figure 2.28 - World’s ten tallest buildings according to Height to Tip, by November 2014 (CTBUH, 2014)

16
2.2.2 Building Usage
The difference between a tall building and a telecommunications/observation tower is a tall “building”
can be classed as such and is eligible for the “Tallest” lists if at least 50% of its height is occupied by
usable floor area (see Figure 2.29). (CTBUH, 2014)

Figure 2.29 - Tall building or telecommunications/observation tower (CTBUH, 2014)

According to CTBUH (2014), a single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its
total floor area is dedicated to a single usage (see Figure 2.30).

A mixed use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy
a significant proportion of the tower’s total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical
plant space do not constitute mixed use functions. (CTBUH, 2014)

Figure 2.30 - Single-function and mixed-use tall building (CTBUH, 2014)

17
2.2.3 Evolution of Skyscrapers
More than 150 years ago, cities looked very different from the way they look today. The buildings that
housed people and their businesses were rarely over the height of a flagpole. Urban landscapes tended
to be flat and uniform in pattern, apart from monuments, temples, and town halls.

“Historically, the word tower usually designated the church and the town hall until the birth of the
skyscraper. The main evolutionary change has been in function, from a Campanile watchtower of the
Renaissance or minaret of Islamic architecture to the office building.” ( Beedle, et al., 2007)

Two major developments led to skyscrapers that dominate major city skylines throughout the modern
world (Craighead, 2009):

1. In 1853, an American, Elisha Graves Otis, invented the world’s first safety lift or elevator. This
new form of vertical transportation enabled people to travel safely upward at a much greater
speed and with considerably less effort than by walking (see Figure 2.31).
2. In the 1870s, steel frames became available, gradually replacing the weaker combination of
cast iron and wood previously used in construction. Until then, the walls had to be very thick to
carry the weight of each floor.

Figure 2.31 - Otis Publicly Demonstrates the World’s First Figure 2.32 - Home Insurance Building in Chicago
Safety Elevator, in 1854 (Everett, 2011) (CAPC, after 1884)

The very first tall building with elevator was built in Chicago in 1885, the ten-story Home Insurance
Building (see Figure 2.32), 42 metres tall, designed by William Le Baron Jenney. In 1890, two additional
floors were added to Home Insurance Building´s original structure (final height was 55 metres). While
its height is not considered very impressive today, but it was at that time.

According to Chicago Architecture Info (CAI), William Jenney figured out a structure with a skeleton of
iron could have stability, rigidity, and height without the thickness of structural stone. In fact, the frame
of the building would be so strong that it could support a stone skin. And he was right, it provided the
blueprint for hundreds of thousands of skyscrapers that would follow it.

18
The Home Insurance Building, is generally considered to be the world’s first skyscraper. As stated in
the Architectural Record, before the Home Insurance Building was demolished to allow construction of
the New Field Building, “a committee of architects and others was appointed by the Marshall Field
Estate to decide if it was entitled to the distinction of being the world’s first skyscraper. This committee,
after a thorough investigation, handed down a verdict that it was unquestionably the first building of
skeletal construction.” (Shepherd, 2003) Today, the Home Insurance Building is considered as "father
of the skyscraper."

During late nineteen and early twenty century some other tall buildings also marketed their footprint in
the skyscraper history.

Since 1885, 17 buildings have staked claim to the title “The World’s Tallest Building.” According to
information obtained from Skyscraper, these buildings are as follows (Table 2.5):

Table 2.5 - World´s tallest towers: all Skyscrapers holding the title of Tallest Building in the world from 1885 to the
present (Craighead, 2009) (SM, 2010)

Date Building Location

1885 Home Insurance Building Chicago, Illinois
1890 World Building New York City
1892 Masonic Temple Building Chicago, Illinois
1894 Manhattan Life Insurance Building New York City
1898 St. Paul Building New York City
1899 Park Row Building New York City
1908 Singer Building New York City
1909 Metropolitan Life Tower New York City
1913 Woolworth Building New York City
1930 Manhattan Company New York City
1930 Chrysler Building New York City
1931 Empire State Building New York City
1971 - 1973 World Trade Centre - North Tower New York City
1974 Sears Tower Chicago, Illinois
1998 Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2004 Taipei 101 Taipei, Taiwan
2009 Burj Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates

High-rises and skyscrapers may have started in United States, but this trend quickly speared to other
countries. Jared Diamond (2007) once wrote in History of Skyscrapers “Skyscrapers began to appear
in Shanghai, Hong Kong, São Paulo, and other major Asian and Latin American cities in the 1930s,
with Europe and Australia joining in by mid-century.”

19
2.2.4 High-rise Development in Mainland China
Modern high-rise buildings originated in the early 20th century in Shanghai. Oldest extant historic high-
rise was built in 1913 and located in Yanan East Road, former Shanghai Premises and Land
Resources Administration Bureau and Shanghai Civil Design Institute office building (see Figure 2.33).
In 1934, completed the tallest building in Asia - Park Hotel Shanghai (see Figure 2.34), 83.8 metres tall
with 24 floors. This proved in a short period of time Shanghai reached the advanced level in tall building
construction technology in Asia.

Figure 2.33 - Former Shanghai Premises and Land Resources Figure 2.34 - Park Hotel Shanghai (Wing,
Administration Bureau and Shanghai Civil Design Institute office 2007)
building (Wang, 2013)

After the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the 1950s, China began to design and build
their own high-rise building. In 1976, the 115 metres Guangzhou Bai Yun Hotel was built. Marking
China's own design and construction of high-rise buildings (which exceeds 100 metres). This means
the beginning to the super-tall building development stage (see Table 2.6). 1980s were a prosperous
period for the development of High-rise buildings. Built in 1985, Shenzhen International Trade Centre
(160 metres tall) was the highest in the 1980s building. Then in 1990, Guangdong International Trade
Building completed with 198.4 metres, and became the country's tallest building. The Beijing Jing
Guang Centre (208 metres) was built in 1990 in mainland, the first building to exceed 200 metres in
China. 1996 was the beginning of 300 metres height, both Shenzhen King Building (325 metres) and
Guangzhou Transit Plaza (now CITIC Plaza, 322 metres) were completed (SRIBS, 2014).

Table 2.6 - Significant High-rise in China tall building construction history

Date Building Location Height (m) Floors

1976 Guangzhou Bai Yun Hotel Guangzhou 115 33
1985 Shenzhen International Trade Center Shenzhen 160 50
1990 Guangdong International Trade Building Guangdong 198.4 63
1990 Beijing Jing Guang Centre Beijing 208 57
1996 Shenzhen King Building Shenzhen 325 81
1996 Guangzhou CITIC Plaza Guangzhou 322 80

20
Recent years, Shanghai achieved a very remarkable supertall development. Firstly in 1998, the 88-
story Jin Mao Tower (420.5 metres) completed in Shanghai (see Figure 2.35). This supertall building
opened a new door to China, a country which dominates high-rise building construction technology,
ranks among the advanced countries in this field. Secondly in 2008, the 101-story Shanghai World
Financial Centre was built, 492 metres tall (see Figure 2.36), and it was the world´s third tallest building
at the time of completion.

Finally, the Shanghai Tower (see Figure 2.37), a megatall with a height of 632 metres and opens to the
public in the summer of 2015. This 127-floor mixed use building with office, retail and hotel space
functions as a vertical city. Shanghai Tower is the second tallest building of the world, after Burj Khalifa
in Dubai.

Figure 2.35 - Jin Mao Tower (SOM, Figure 2.36 - Shanghai World Figure 2.37 - Shanghai Tower
2000) Financial Centre (Mori, 2008) (Unknown, 2014)

2.2.5 Near future – The Era of the “Megatall”

Since the first appearance of high-rise buildings, there has been a transformation in their design and
construction. This has culminated in glass, steel, and concrete structures in the international and
postmodernist styles of architecture prevalent today. Due to lighter materials, construction technology
continuous evolution and a lot of past experience, high-rise has become much more common today
than the past.

As the 21st century started, just 14 years ago, the Petronas Towers held the title of “The World’s Tallest”
at 452 metres in height. Taipei 101 took the title in 2004, at 508 metres. Then, at the end of the decade,
the Burj Khalifa set new standards at 828 metres (CTBUH, 2011).

According to CTBUH (2011) world is witnessing the completion of a significant number of buildings over
600 metres – that’s twice the height of the Eiffel Tower (301 metres). By 2020, will be expected at least

21
eight buildings such as Burj Khalifa to exist internationally. The term “Supertall” is no longer adequate
to describe these buildings. It is a beginning of the era of the “Megatall” (see Figure 2.38).

Figure 2.38 - The projected 20 tallest buildings in 2020 (CTBUH, 2011)

High-rise building could be an option to assure larger number of users with low soil occupation and if
could assure a good balance with environmental, social and economic could be an option to search and
support an important objective that is sustainable development (Chapter 3).

22
3 Sustainable development

Sustainable development, or sustainability for short. The term began to gain wide acceptance in the
late 1980s, after its appearance in Our Common Future, also known as The Brundtland Report. Which
defined Sustainable development as “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs.” Implicit in this definition is the idea that in order to meet
the social and economic needs of people today and in the future, there must be continued efforts
towards poverty eradication, human rights, and equity, as well as sustainable consumption and
protection of natural resources (see Figure 3.1) (UNFPA, 2010) (UNICEF, 2013).

Sustainable development requires to see the world as a system, a system which connects space; and
a system that connects time. Think of the world as a system over space, start to understand that air
pollution from North America affects air quality in Asia, and that pesticides sprayed in Argentina could
harm fish stocks off the coast of Australia. And think of the world as a system over time, begin to realize
that the decisions our ancestors made about how to farm the land continue to affect agricultural practice
today; and the today´s economic policies will have an impact on future generations. (IISD, 2013)

Figure 3.1 - Sustainable development (Eco-friendly house, 2014)

3.1 Sustainable Construction

3.1.1 World’s Urban Population Growth and its Influence to Society

According to the 2012 Revision of the official United Nations population estimates and projections, the
world population of 7.2 billion in mid-2013 is projected to increase by almost one billion people within

23
the next twelve years, reaching 8.1 billion in 2025, and to further increase to 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10.9
billion by 2100.

The 2014 revision of the World Urbanization Prospects launched by UN DESA indicates the urban
population of the world has grown rapidly from 746 million in 1950 to 3.9 billion in 2014. Asia is home
to 53% of the world’s urban population, followed by Europe with 14% and Latin America and the
Caribbean with 13%. And China currently has the largest urban population of 758 million.

About 54% of the world's population currently lives in urban areas and this proportion is expected to
increase to 66% by 2050, i.e., the world's urban population is now close to 3.9 billion and is expected
to reach 6.3 billion in 2050, according to the UN report (2014). Projections show that urbanization
combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban
populations by 2050, a total of 9.8 billion people, with close to 90% of the increase concentrated in Asia
and Africa.

The report (UN DESA, 2014) also said that the largest urban growth will take place in India, China and
Nigeria between 2014 and 2050, with the three countries accounting for 37 per cent of the projected
growth of the world's urban population. By 2050, India is projected to add 404 million urban dwellers,
China 292 million and Nigeria 212 million.

World Urbanization Prospects notes in 1990, there were ten “mega-cities” with 10 million inhabitants or
more, which were home to 153 million people or slightly less than seven per cent of the global urban
population at that time. This has increased to 28 mega-cities worldwide in 2014, home to 453 million
people or about 12% of the world’s urban dwellers. Of these 28 mega-cities, sixteen are located in Asia,
four in Latin America, three each in Africa and Europe, and two in Northern America. Tokyo remains
the world’s largest city with 38 million inhabitants, followed by Delhi with 25 million, Shanghai with 24
million. By 2030, the world is projected to have 41 mega-cities with 10 million inhabitants or more.

A city centre site is often a brownfield site and therefore regarded as more sustainable than using a
Greenfield site. One of the main drivers for high-rise is to minimize the use of land. If a developer wants
to minimize the impact on land use, the only way to expand in city centre is upwards. That is why high-
rise buildings are likely the first choice in dense urban areas.

3.1.2 Impact of the Construction Industry on the Environment

City is an inhabited place of greater size with high density of population, where generally has complex
systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing and transportation

Are compact cities sustainable? By theory, providing public transportation, as well as housing, electricity,
water and sanitation for a densely settled urban population is typically cheaper and less environmentally
damaging than providing a similar level of services to a dispersed rural population. Besides, higher
density inner city living would help ease the road traffic and reduce the automobile dependence by

24
housing people closer to work. This way results to less energy use and less carbon dioxide emission.
However in practice, as society grows, more and more people move to cities for different reasons,
posing immense challenges for developing building, infrastructure and social services for new citizens.
That means a lot of constructions. Here comes the problem: the construction industry dominates
worldwide materials consumption, causes major carbon emission, air pollution, land contamination,
noise pollution and waste pollution. Around half of all non-renewable resources mankind consumes are
used in construction, making it one of the least sustainable industries in the world.

The truth is: cities are the main arena of human activity, they are also the greatest consumers of energy
and natural resources. Though cities account for only 2% of global land area, however they are
responsible for more than 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 60 to 80% of global
energy consumption (Sang, et al., 2014).

Although building and infrastructure developments provide countless benefits to society, especially in
cites, but they cause significant environmental and health impacts. However, contemporary human
civilization depends on buildings and infrastructures, people live in houses, travel on road, work and
socialize in buildings of all kinds.

Table 3.1 - Resources used by buildings (UNEP) (Shams, et al., 2011)

Resources %
Energy 40
Water 25
Raw stone, gravel and sand 40
Raw Timber 25

Buildings are significantly altering the environment. Building construction consumes 40% of the raw
stone, gravel and sand used globally each year, and 25% of the raw timber. Buildings also account for
40% of global energy, 25% of global water, and they emit approximately one-third of global greenhouse
gas (GHG) emission (see Table 3.1). Residential and commercial buildings consume approximately 60%
of the world’s electricity (UNEP) (Shams, et al., 2011). Buildings also produce 40% of waste going to
landfills and 40% of air pollution (Davies, 2007). This industry became one of the least sustainable
industries in the world, unfortunately the planet cannot support the current level of energy and resource
consumption associated with buildings.

Although some types of development may be regarded as more sustainable than others. For example,
the benefits of converting existing buildings rather than demolishing and rebuilding them in terms of
reduced materials use and waste, but these will need to be balanced against the opportunities for
designing a new building with low energy requirements, and which can utilize renewable energy.

In order to give a better future to next generation, it is essential that the construction industry focus
more on minimizing waste production, maximizing the use of recycling. And also must improve
environment by decreasing standard building practices, which are guided by short-term economic

25
considerations. And start investing in sustainable construction that based on best practices which
emphasize long-term affordability, quality and efficiency.

3.1.3 Definition of Sustainable Construction

According to Kibert (2003), the term sustainable construction seems to be the most comprehensive
description of all the activities involved in trying to better integrate the built environment with its natural
counterpart. Began as an international movement in 1993, sustainable construction can be defined as
“creating a healthy built environment based on ecologically sound principles.”

Sustainable construction depends on the entire life cycle of the built environment: planning, design,
construction, operation, renovation and retrofit, and the end-of-life fate of its materials. Sustainable
construction considers the resources of construction to be materials, land, energy, and water and has
an established a set of principles to guide this new direction. (Kibert, 2003)

In 1994 the principles of Sustainable Construction (Kibert, 1994) that are highlight are:

 Reduce resource consumption, include soil occupation;

 Reuse resources to the maximum extent possible;
 Recycle built environment end-of-life resources and use recyclable resources;
 Protect natural systems and their function in all activities;
 Eliminate toxic materials and by-products in all phases of the built environment

Over the last decade, sustainable construction market gained significant strength and momentum,
much more demands for ecological designs, green buildings, bioclimatic houses, sustainable
construction methods, renewable energy, water and waste treatments, etc. Because at each stage of
the life cycle of the building, sustainable construction increases comfort and quality of life, while
decreasing negative environmental impacts and increasing the economic sustainability of the project.
A building designed and constructed in a sustainable way minimizes the use of water, raw materials,
energy and land, i.e., green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment
on human health and the natural environment. But ecological solutions are not always very economic,
that in way governments should work closely with business leaders and other stakeholders to implement
appropriate strategies for improved efficiency in this sector and encourage sustainable building project
by providing financial incentives. The search for green and sustainable challenges leads to better
performance in several dimensions, such as air quality, energy, raw material, soil, water, carbon
emission, greenhouse gas and waste.

3.1.4 What Contributes Most to Sustainability in Tall Buildings?

Based on CTBUH 2013 London Conference, the next generation of tall buildings will be judged on more
than sheer height or aesthetic appearance. In the context of sustainability, they will also be judged on

26
more than just their energy consumption. They will be judged on their contribution to the well-being of
their occupants, as well as the wider community.

Embodied energy is the total primary energy consumed from direct and indirect process associated
with a product or service (CTBUH 2013 Internacional Conference, 2013).

Figure 3.2 shows that façade and structure initial embodied energy represents almost 50% of the built
project, and according to Poon (2013) these two components represents more than 20% of the total
embodied energy for the life of the building. Therefore sustainable façade design, architectural form
and efficient structure system are fundamental to achieve green and sustainable goals.

Embodied Energy

Services 24%
Envelope 28%

Site Work 6%

Construction 7%
Structure 21%
Finishes 14%

Figure 3.2 - Embodied energy distribution of built project (CTBUH 2013 Internacional Conference, 2013)

In order to build green, must set few key considerations (CTBUH 2013 Internacional Conference, 2013):

 Reduction of
 Embodied energy
 Energy consumption of heating
 Energy consumption for electricity
 Fresh water consumption
 Carbon dioxide emissions
 Waste and pollution
 Operation costs
 Recycling of materials
 Natural ventilation and user comfort
 Durability
 Certification

And in order to achieve mentioned targets, should take into account the following points (CTBUH 2013
Internacional Conference, 2013):

 Efficient architectural forms

27
  Efficient structural system
 Selection of building materials
 Advance design process to optimize building designs and minimize construction delays/field
modifications
 Efficient building envelope/façade system
 Sustainable design to reduce building operation energy/cost

The design, construction and operation of green buildings nowadays is regulated by international
guidelines, codes and standards, which is essential to global sustainable construction growth. And by
adopting green building strategies, allow maximize both economic and environment performance in
high-rises. Last but not least, building rating tools are playing a key role in shaping sustainable built
environment. These are used to provide a measure of a building´s environmental performance (Davies,
2007).

Currently, buildings in China are certified mainly by two rating systems: Green Building Evaluation Label
(GBEL) and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) that are explained in the following
sections.

3.2 Chinese Evaluation Standard for Green Building

3.2.1 Carbon Emission, Energy Consumption and Outdoor Air Quality in China
China became one of the largest developing and the world's most populous country, has a rapidly
growing economy (industrialization and urbanization), which has driven the country's high overall
energy demand and the quest for securing energy resources.

Nuclear <1%
Natural gas 4%
Other renewbles 1%

Hydroelectric power 6%

Oil 18%

Coal 69%

Figure 3.3 - Total energy consumption in China by type in 2011 (USEIA, 2014)

Figure 3.3 indicates, coal supplied the vast majority (69%) of China's total energy consumption in 2011.
Oil was the second-largest source, accounting for 18% of the country's total energy consumption. While

28
China has made an effort to diversify its energy supplies, hydroelectric sources (6%), natural gas (4%),
nuclear power (nearly 1%), and other renewables (1%) accounted for relatively small shares of China's
energy consumption (USEIA, 2014).

Energy consummation is not the only issue of this nation, the environmental deterioration in China has
increased significantly, such as air pollution, water shortages and pollution, desertification, and soil
pollution. All these issues have become more pronounced and are subjecting Chinese residents to
significant health risks, especially the outdoor air quality in Beijing and Shanghai. Some of these
concerns can be seen in Table 3.2. The rate of good ambient air quality in 2013 is 66%, much lower
than the previous year.

Table 3.2 - Outdoor Air Condition in main years – Shanghai (SSB, 2014)

Indicators 2000 2010 2012 2013

Annual Daily Mean Concentration of SO2 in Urban Area (mg/m3 ) 0.045 0.029 0.023 0.024
Annual Daily Mean Concentration of NO2 in Urban Area (mg/m3 ) 0.090 0.050 0.046 0.048
Mean Concentration of Inhalable Particulate in Urban Area (mg/m3 ) - 0.079 0.071 0.082
Rain PH Value 5.19 4.66 4.64 4.81
Frequency of Acid Rain (%) 26.0 73.9 80.0 75.1
Quantity of Days with Good Ambient Air Quality (day) 295 336 343 241
Rate of Good Ambient Air Quality (%) 80.8 92.1 93.7 66.0

Besides, global warming has been one of the most important environmental problems of our ages.
Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) – the dominant contributor to the greenhouse effect and the
main cause of global warming, increased by 45% between 1990 and 2010, and reached an all-time
high of 33 billion tonnes in 2010 (PBL, 2011). China has overtaken the United States and become the
number one CO2 emitter since 2006 (Greff, et al., 2008), due to its phenomenal economic growth, coal-
dominated energy structure and the increasing exports (Wang, et al., 2007) (Weber, et al., 2008) (Greff,
et al., 2008). From 2000 to 2008, China's GDP grew by 10.1% annually and over half of coal
consumption was used for meeting electricity demand (Lin, et al., 2010).

Moreover, according to Wu and Xu (2012), China has become one of the largest energy consumers in
the world, while buildings in China take up over 30% of the total energy consumptions and these are
also the main sources of environmental pollution in this country.

For instance, Shanghai has the largest urban development, highest number of buildings in four
municipalities, almost everything in building depends on electricity, consequently the electricity
consumption in Shanghai is much higher than other municipalities, can be seen in Figure 3.4. Over
2013, 141 billion kWh electricity was consumed in Shanghai, it´s almost twice of Tianjin´s consumption.
Although the electricity consumption per person (see Table 3.3) in Shanghai is not the highest in four
municipalities, that´s because Shanghai is a financial centre. While Tianjin and Chongqing are
municipalities with high percentage of industrial factories, therefore a larger proportion of the electricity
consumption is connected to industrial and manufacturing sectors (CSS, 2014).

29
 ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION OF FOUR MUNICIPALITIES
Beijing Tianjin Shanghai Chongqing
ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION (BILLION KWH)

141.06
135.345
129.587
92.197

91.311
87.428

81.326
77.449
80.99

72.376
72.248
64.574

62.644
57.054
55.945

38.484
38.443

34.768
30.761
23.405

2000 2005 2010 2012 2013

Figure 3.4 - Electricity Consumption in municipalities of PRC (CSS, 2014)

Table 3.3 - Electricity consumption per person in municipalities

kWh/person Beijing Tianjin Shanghai Chongqing

2000 2154.88 3604.1 2350.43 2749.96
2005 3198.09 5926.09 3873.5 3108.17
2010 4539.8 9943.64 5444.37 5600.21
2012 4900.67 11125.35 5686.29 6470.23
2013 5118.33 11926.24 5926.39 7270.34

The statistics data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) of the
People’s Republic of China shows that: two billions square metres of new buildings are constructed
every year in China and 80% of them are high energy consumption buildings, also 95% of the existing
40 billions square metres of domestic buildings are high energy consumption buildings (Wang, et al.,
2014). The building energy consumption mainly consists of heating, air conditioning, hot water supply,
lighting, cooking, household appliances and elevators, etc. Heating and air conditioning occupy the
majority of entire building energy consumptions at a percentage of 60 to 70 (Wu, et al., 2013). In case
of the high-rise buildings, elevator is also a big contributor to energy consumption.

In order to control and prevent more issues relating to building energy consumption and building energy
efficiency due to the fast urbanization, the Chinese government must increase their green and
sustainable building market in both private and public sectors. In the 2000s, the building energy saving
in China has spread to all regions and all building types. Chinese government has been extensively
promoting the development of green building since 2004.

30
3.2.2 Green Building Evaluation Label
In 2005, the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development promulgated the design
standard of public green building, which required reducing 50% of building’s annual overall energy
consumptions such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting (MOHURD, 2005). It then issued
the special plan for green building during China’s twelfth five year plan in January 2012, stipulating that
by the end of 2015 newly built green building will reach no less than 65% in towns and 95% of new
buildings should meet the mandatory energy-saving requirements (Wu, et al., 2013).

To realize these green building goals, the Chinese government has formulated a series of relevant
policies since 2006 to stimulate the development of green building technologies. The renewable energy
law of China (2006) began its formal implementation on January 1 in 2006, in which the development
and exploitation of geothermal and solar energy were officially listed and encouraged (Central
Government, 2006). Then in August, the temporary management regulation of special fund for
renewable energy development (2006) stipulated that major support should be concentrated on the
promotion and application of geothermal and solar energy when planning green building projects (CMF,
2006). Also in the same year, the Chinese Ministry of Finance (CMF) along with the MOHURD
introduced the temporary management regulation of special fund for renewable energy application in
building (2006), which mentioned to provide financial subsidy for decreasing total energy consumption
and retrofit and renewable energy integration demonstration projects in existing government office and
large-scale commercial buildings, heating reform retrofits in Northern China residential buildings, and
high efficiency and renewable energy technologies for all buildings. (CMF, et al., 2006) (Khanna, et al.,
2014).

Initially the concept of green building in China was developed from “Energy-Saving and Land-Saving
Residential Building” required by the central government in 2004. To be specific, the green building
should be energy-saving, land-saving, water-saving and material-saving, environment-benign and
pollution-reducing, summarized as “Four-Saving & One-Benign”. That is defined in a Chinese national
standard enacted in 2006, the Evaluation Standard for Green Building (ESGB) (MC, et al., 2006).

Evaluation Standard for Green Building (ESGB) is China’s first attempt to create a local green building
standard. As the introduction of the rating system notes, the purpose is to create a voluntary rating
system that will encourage green development. In China, green buildings are distinguished by the
Green Building Evaluation Labels (GBEL), also known as “Three-Star” system, which is charged by the
governmental department MOHURD.

Under supervision of MOHURD, the Green building evaluation system is achieved all over China. This
program is administered by the Building Energy Efficiency and Technology Division. Management
responsibilities are divided between offices within two primary institutions, the Office of Green Building
Evaluation Label Management within the Centre for Science and Technology of Construction and the
Green Building Research Development Centre within the Chinese Society for Urban Studies. The Office
of Green Building Evaluation Label Management is authorized by the national government and has the
administrative authority to implement GBEL program. It works closely with the Green Building

31
Development Research Centre, which specializes and provides technical support in researching and
developing green building standards and providing green building. The Green Building Development
Research Centre may also provide technical consulting services to building developers and owners
who are interested in applying for GBEL program. Only these two national offices are authorized to
approve Three-Star Building Label rating applications. Moreover, by June 2012, about 30 local
authorities are carrying on GBEL evaluation in their local regions (provinces or special cities), these
agencies are only authorized to approve One-Star and Two-Star Rating applications (Ye, et al., 2013)
(Khanna, et al., 2014). Figure 3.5 illustrates the Green Labelling Program management structure.

Figure 3.5 - GBEL evaluation agencies (Ye, et al., 2013)

China’s national Evaluation Standard for Green Building includes two different evaluation standards for
residential and public buildings, i.e., office, retail, hotel buildings and government buildings. GBEL can
be applied either for the design stage or for the operation stage.

Figure 3.6 - Green Building Design Label certificate (City University of Hongkong, 2012)

32
GBEL for design stage is also known as Green Building Design Label (GBDL), which helps pre-certify
a green building and rates the building design according to Green Building Evaluation Standard. And a
GBDL certificate is valid for two years (see Figure 3.6). Evaluation at design stage mainly requires
detailed drawings and modelling as proof. (Khanna, et al., 2014).

Operational Green Building Label (GBL) is more comprehensive evaluation of pre-certified Green
Buildings than GBDL as it also considers quality control during the construction process. Operational
GBL can only be awarded after a minimum of one year of building operation and is valid for three years
(Song, 2008). Operational GBL assessment process also requires an on-site visit; documentation of
construction materials and their sources; property management plans for water, energy, and material
conservation; and itemized financial documents such as bills of quantities (Zhang, 2011). However,
reporting of actual operational energy consumption is not required because operational GBL focuses
primarily on building design and successful implementation of the design in the construction process
(Khanna, et al., 2014). Whether in design stage or operation stage, both stages utilize a “Three-Star”
rating system, with three star awarded to the highest achievable rating level and followed by Two-Star
and One-Star.

According to ESGB, evaluating provisions rating system is divided into six components, namely Land
Use & Outdoor Environment, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Resource Efficiency, Indoor
environment and Operational management. The green building evaluation system is composed of three
types of criteria for each of the six categories being evaluated: prerequisites that must be included in
the building, general elements, and optimized (preferred) elements where one point is awarded for each
item that is included in the building design. For example, energy-efficiency prerequisites for residential
buildings include meeting energy-savings standard requirements for heating and HVAC design and
installing built-in temperature controls and heat metering in buildings that have central heating or air
conditioning. General energy-efficiency items include use of highly efficient equipment, lighting, energy
recovery units, and renewable energy technologies such as solar water heaters, solar photovoltaics
(PV), and ground-source heat pump systems. Preferred items include more efficient heating and air
conditioning and greater renewable energy integration (MOHURD, 2007) (MOHURD, 2008).

Table 3.4 and Table 3.5 show the number of credits at each six categories of GBEL for residential and
public buildings respectively. Some of these requirements are not applicable before building operates,
provision compliance requirement is adjusted correspondingly in case of design stage (Ye, et al., 2013).

Table 3.4 - Item quantity in each section for residential buildings (Ye, et al., 2013)

Land Use &

Provision Energy Water Resource Indoor Operational
Outdoor
Category Efficiency Efficiency Efficiency environment management
Environment

Prerequisites 8 3 5 2 5 4
General items 8 6 6 7 6 7
Optimized items 2 2 1 2 1 1

33
 Table 3.5 - Item quantity in each section for public buildings (Ye, et al., 2013)

Land Use &

Provision Energy Water Resource Indoor Operational
Outdoor
Category Efficiency Efficiency Efficiency environment management
Environment

Prerequisites 5 5 5 2 6 3
General items 6 10 6 8 6 7
Optimized items 3 4 1 2 3 1

Table 3.6 - Criteria for Green Building Evaluation Label rating evaluation for residential buildings (Ye, et al., 2013)
(Khanna, et al., 2014)

Minimum score
Prerequisites included (27) Total General items
★ ★★ ★★★
Land Use & Outdoor Environment 4 5 6 8
Energy Efficiency 2 3 4 6
Water Efficiency 3 4 5 6
Resource Efficiency 3 4 5 7
Indoor environment 2 3 4 6
Operational management 4 5 6 7
Preferred items
N/A 3 5 9

Table 3.7 - Criteria for Green Building Evaluation Label rating evaluation for public buildings (Ye, et al., 2013)
(Khanna, et al., 2014)

Minimum score
Prerequisites included (26) Total General items
★ ★★ ★★★
Land Use & Outdoor Environment 3 4 5 6
Energy Efficiency 4 6 8 10
Water Efficiency 3 4 5 6
Resource Efficiency 5 6 7 8
Indoor environment 3 4 5 6
Operational management 4 5 6 7
Preferred items
N/A 6 10 14

GBEL rating is determined by the minimum score for each of the six components, not the total score.
Therefore, a building must meet a minimum number of requirements in all six categories to qualify for
a specific rating. Each requirement corresponds to one point. For example, as shown in Table 3.7, in
order to achieve Three-star level, a public building must meet all 26 of the prerequisites, then 5 of 6 of
the general items in the Land Use & Outdoor Environment category, 8 out of 10 of the general items in
the energy saving and energy utilization category, 5 out of 6 of the general items in the water saving
and water resource utilization category, 7 out of 8 of the general items in the material saving and

34
material resource utilization category, 5 out of 6 of the general items in the indoor environmental quality
category, 6 out of 7 of the performance items in the operation and management category and 10 out of
14 of the optimized Items. This arrangement gives equal weight to all six categories and does not allow
better performance in one category to offset poor performance in another. Hence, a building must meet
a minimum number of requirements in all six categories to qualify for a specific rating, including the
optimized items (strategic, harder to reach targets). Table 3.6 and Table 3.7 show the minimum
requirements and rating evaluation systems for residential and public buildings, respectively (Khanna,
et al., 2014).

In order to a better understanding of Chinese “Three-Star” assessment system, there are 6 tables which
explain details of each requirement of all six categories of GBEL for public building, these tables can
be found in appendices section (A to F). Some labelling requirements of GBEL often refer to the national
standard. The Green Building Evaluation Standards (GB/T 50378-2006), which is the main guideline
for the green building label and evaluation, cites other national building codes.

The increased capital costs is constantly main barrier to achieve more green buildings goal. However,
the increased capital costs for one-star buildings in China is relatively low, therefore no incentives are
offered for that building type in the twelfth Five Year Plan.

According to Shanghai building energy-saving projects of special support measures (implementation

since September 15, 2012), for Two or Three-star certified green building projects in Shanghai, the
support funds amount are:

 The maximum subsidy per square metre of building area is 60 RMB;

 Individual project maximum support fund is 6 million RMB
 The maximum subsidy for affordable housing projects is 10 million RMB

Even with support funds, the investment for a sustainable building is till significantly higher than a
standard building, it is a long-term investment. So how much more and how long will take to compensate
the capital cost without any subsidy? Table 3.8 shows the values based on Government reports.

Table 3.8 - Increased capital costs for green buildings in China (MOHURD, 2012)

Average incremental capital

Average incremental capital cost Payback period
Rating cost in residential buildings
in public buildings RMB/m2 (years)
RMB/m2

One star 60 30 1-3

Two-star 120 230 3-8
Three-star 300 370 7-11

In case of one-star buildings, the average incremental capital cost per square metre in public buildings
is half of the average in residential buildings. As for the other two categories, two-star and three-star,

35
public building’s average incremental capital cost for same floor area is 92% and 23% higher than the
residential buildings, respectively (Ye, et al., 2013).

Despite the high investment, green building market in China is growing at a fast rate. Since beginning
of GBEL, while 113 projects had received a rating by the end of 2010, nearly 500 projects had a received
a GBEL by the end of August 2012. Out of 494 projects, 60% were found in one of ten cities: Shanghai,
Suzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Chengdu (see
Figure 3.7) (Khanna, et al., 2014). Figure 3.8 shows that more than three quarters of GBELs are in the
east coast, which is the region with a rapid economic growth in China. Shanghai as the largest urban
area, thus leads the ranking of GBEL.

Number of GBEL approved projects by August 2012

57
60
47
50
Number of GBEL

41
40
31
30 23 21 20 20 18
20 12
10
0

Figure 3.7 - Top ten cities by number of GBEL approved projects, as of August 2012 (Khanna, et al., 2014)

Figure 3.8 - Number of GBEL certified projects Map view (Khanna, et al., 2014)

36
3.3 Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design

U.S. Leadership in Energy & Environment Design (LEED) program is a voluntary green building rating
system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) began as early as 1994, and was
officially launched in 2000 with the first assessment system for new construction and since then has
expanded its influence around the world (Khanna, et al., 2014). The most recent version LEED v4
started in the end of 2013.

LEED for Building Design and Construction (LEED BD+C) can be applied to different kind of buildings,
from commercial high-rises to data centres, has eight green building rating systems (USGBC, 2014a):

 New Construction and Major Renovation: Addresses design and construction activities for
both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings. This includes major HVAC
improvements, significant building envelope modifications and major interior rehabilitation.
 Core and Shell Development: For projects where the developer controls the design and
construction of the entire mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection system – called
the core and shell – but not the design and construction of the tenant fit-out.
 Schools. For buildings made up of core and ancillary learning spaces on K-12 school grounds.
Can also be used for higher education and non-academic buildings on school campuses.
 Retail. Addresses the unique needs of retailers – from banks, restaurants, apparel, electronics,
big box and everything in between.
 Data Centres. Specifically designed and equipped to meet the needs of high density computing
equipment such as server racks, used for data storage and processing.
 Warehouses and Distribution Centres. For buildings used to store goods, manufactured
products, merchandise, raw materials, or personal belongings, like self-storage.
 Hospitality. Dedicated to hotels, motels, inns, or other businesses within the service industry
that provide transitional or short-term lodging with or without food.
 Healthcare. For hospitals that operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and provide
inpatient medical treatment, including acute and long-term care.

There are four levels of LEED certification: certified, silver, gold and platinum (see Figure 3.9). The total
score earned in a project determines the level of certification that the project will receive.

Figure 3.9 - Four levels of LEED certification (USGBC)

In order to get a better understanding of LEED assessment system´s credits, Table 3.9 was added. It
is a summary of prerequisites and credits of the LEED v4 for New Construction and Major Renovations,
is composed by 8 topics:

37
 Table 3.9 - LEED v4 for New Construction Rating System (USGBC)

Possible
Category % Summary of Credits
Points

LEED for Neighbourhood Development location

Sensitive land protection, High priority site
Location &
32 26% Surrounding density and diverse uses
transportation
Access to quality transit, Bicycle facilities, Reduced parking footprint
and Green vehicles
Construction activity pollution prevention (required)
Sustainable Site assessment and Site development - protect or restore habitat
10 8%
Sites Open space, Rainwater management, Heat Island reduction and Light
pollution reduction
Outdoor water use reduction (required)
Indoor water use reduction (required)
Water
11 9% Building-level water metering (required)
Efficiency
Outdoor water use reduction and Indoor-use reduction
Cooling tower water use and Water metering
Fundamental commissioning of building energy systems (required)
Minimum energy performance (required)
Building-level energy metering (required)
Energy and Fundamental refrigerant management (required)
33 26%
Atmosphere Enhanced commissioning, Optimized energy performance, Advanced
energy metering and Demand response
Renewable energy production, Enhanced refrigerant management and
Green power and carbon offsets
Storage and collection of recyclables (required)
Construction and demolition waste management planning
Building life-cycle impact reduction
Materials and Building product disclosure and optimization - environmental product
13 10%
Resources declarations
Building product disclosure and optimization - sourcing of raw materials
Building product disclosure and optimization - material ingredients
Construction and demolition waste management
Minimum indoor air quality performance (required)
Environmental tobacco smoke control (required)
Indoor Enhanced indoor air quality strategies
Environmental 16 13%
Low-emitting materials, Construction indoor air quality management
Quality
plan and indoor air quality assessment
Thermal comfort, Interior lighting, Daylight, Quality views and Acoustic
performance
Innovation
Innovation 6 5%
LEED accredited professional
Regional
4 3% Regional priority
Priority
Total Possible
125 100%
Points

38
In addition, there are 8 tables in appendices section (G to N), which explain the intent of each credit of
LEED v4 Building design and construction for new construction and major renovation, and respective
points.

3.4 Comparison between “Three-Star” Assessment and Leadership in

Energy & Environmental Design Rating

According to the report, LEED in Motion: Greater China (2014b). 1,961 LEED projects certified in PRC
with 1,657 LEED projects in Mainland China. Total of 110 million gross square metres of construction
space in PRC and 92.22 million square metres in Mainland China. PRC has become the second largest
market of LEED certification.

3.4.1 Main Differences between “Three-Star” Assessment and LEED Rating

In terms of the specific rating systems, the Chinese GBEL has similarities and differences with the US
LEED program. Firstly, will be analysed their differences.

Table 3.10 - Differences between GBEL and LEED

GBEL (Three-Star system) LEED BD+C

Initiated by MOHURD (Ministry of
Initiated by USGBC (United States Green
History Housing and Urban-Rural
Building Council) in 2000
Development) in 2006
Organization
Governmental Non-governmental
operation
People´s Republic of China
Application Worldwide
(nationwide)
New Construction and Major Renovation,
Public (including retail, office, hotel
Core and Shell Development, Schools,
Rating system buildings and government buildings)
Retail, Data Centres, Warehouses and
and Residential
Distribution Centres, Hospitality, Healthcare
Operational Operational GBL - One year after For new construction: immediately after
rating stage occupancy completion

Level of 3 levels: One-star to Three-star. 4 levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum.

certification Three-star is the highest level Platinum is the highest level

Must achieve the minimum score in

Rating Determined by the total score summed over
all six categories, not determined by
method all categories
the total score

Table 3.10 outlines basic differences between GBEL and LEED. Unlike LEED, GBEL was initiated by
the national government and operated by both national and local governments. In the implementation
process, the government plays a more critical role for GBEL than LEED. In addition, LEED, which has
a longer history, measures more rating categories in a more systematic way than “Three-Star”

39
assessment system. Another difference is that GBEL issues two kinds of labels: Design Label and
Operation Label. The GBDL which is valid for two years is issued right after the construction phase,
while the operational GBL which is valid for three years can only be issued one year after occupancy.
A performance verification of one year ensures a more accurate assessment of the real performance
of buildings. Other main distinction is the rating method, which is analysed in next subchapter.

3.4.2 Rating Methods

The rating method is one of the key difference between two assessments. Under China’s GBEL, all the
requirements are attributed the same way, each of them corresponds to one point. In order to qualify
for a specific level, the building must meet the minimum rating or credits within each category, i.e. the
final rating result does not depend on total score. For One-Star level, a public building must achieve 3
out of 6 general items in Land Use & Outdoor Environment category. There is a minimum score to meet
in each category, so to qualify for a specific rating result (see Table 3.11).

Table 3.11 - Number of items required for GBEL rating for public building

Minimum score in General

Prerequisites included (26) items Total General items
★ ★★ ★★★
Land Use & Outdoor Environment 3 4 5 6
Energy Efficiency 4 6 8 10
Water Efficiency 3 4 5 6
Resource Efficiency 5 6 7 8
Indoor environment 3 4 5 6
Operational management 4 5 6 7
Preferred items of all 6 categories
N/A 6 10 14
The minimum final result of each level
after satisfying the minimum score of all 22 35 46
six category

Table 3.12 - LEED v4 New Construction and Major Renovation rating points (USGBC)

Category Possible Points

Location & transportation 32
Sustainable Sites 10
Water Efficiency 11
Energy and Atmosphere 33
Materials and Resources 13
Indoor Environmental Quality 16
Innovation in Design 6
Regional Priority 4

40
On the other hand, LEED rating method is much simple compared to GBEL, determined by the total
score summed over all categories can be in Table 3.12. A building 40-49 points gets Certified level; 50
-59 points earns Silver; 60-79 points qualifies to Gold; and 80 points and above earns Platinum. GBEL
rating method seems less flexible than LEED, but more objective.

3.4.3 Prerequisites and Rating Criteria Weighting

Both “Three-Star” and US LEED have a lot of similarities, these are two green building rating systems
use similar rating criteria based on credit systems with some flexibility for what general items or
optimized items building developers want to pursue, along with prerequisites that must be met for
certification. “Three-Star” for public building has 26 prerequisites, while LEED v4 NC has 12
prerequisites (Table 3.13 and Table 3.14). In GBEL, the indoor environment quality category has the
highest distribution weight, follow by land, energy, and water efficiency with 5 prerequisites in each
category, this could mean there is more concern and focus in these 4 areas. However GBEL is relatively
junior compared to LEED, with time and practice Chinese government will realize which category is
more important, and possibly some modifications will be made to improve the system. In case of LEED,
energy and atmosphere takes the weighting of 33%, this number can related to the fact that US has
more experiences in green building and after the first 3 versions of LEED, they came to the conclusion
that should focus more on energy and atmosphere category in order to achieve better performance.

Table 3.13 - GBEL Public building prerequisites weight distribution

Prerequisites Weight
Land Efficiency 5 19%
Energy Efficiency 5 19%
Water Efficiency 5 19%
Resource/Material Efficiency 2 8%
Indoor Environment Quality 6 23%
Operational Management 3 12%
Total prerequisites 26 100%

Table 3.14 - LEED v4 NC prerequisites weight distribution

Prerequisites Weight
Sustainable Sites 1 8%
Water Efficiency 3 25%
Energy and Atmosphere 4 33%
Materials and Resources 2 17%
Indoor Environmental Quality 2 17%
Total prerequisites 12 100%

41
Although GBEL is composed by 6 categories and LEED v4 New Construction by 7 sections (without
Regional priority), but the credits within those categories are very similar, both systems mainly focusing
on land/location, energy, water, resource/material efficiency, and indoor environmental quality. Save for
the GBEL's additional operational management category and LEED´s innovation section. A comparison
of the relative weighting of each evaluation criteria category is shown in Figure 3.10 and Figure 3.11.

China's GBEL Public Building Rating Criteria and Weighting

Land Efficiency
16% 14%
Energy Efficiency

Water Efficiency
14%
23%
Resourece/Material Efficiency

Indoor Enviromental Quality 19%

14%
Operational Management

Figure 3.10 - GBEL Public Building Rating Criteria and Weighting not include optimized items

LEED v4 Rating Criteria and Weighting

Sustainable Sites

Water Efficiency 26% 8%

9%
Energy and Atmosphere

Materials and Resources

5% 26%
Indoor Environmental Quality
13%
Innovation in Design
10%
Location & transportation

Figure 3.11 - LEED v4 New Construction Rating Criteria and Weighting not include Regional Priority

The figures above show that China’s GBEL has more equal weight distribution in terms of the total
points possible across the six categories of options, although energy efficiency and resource and
material efficiency are given slightly higher share of total available options than the other four categories.
LEED gives location and transportation, energy and atmosphere category the highest shares in terms
of total point allocation, but the indoor environmental quality category has the second greatest weighting
before material and resource efficiency. Within each category of credits or options, the emphasis of
available credits or options also differ between the two rating systems due to different national
conditions. For further details consul appendices A to N.

42
In the area of water efficiency, LEED credits promote water conservation planning, wastewater recycling
and water resource conservation whereas the GBEL options focus on consumption of rainwater,
reclaimed wastewater and reclaimed sea water (Geng, et al., 2012).

3.4.4 Conclusion
The difference between GBEL and LEED reflects the different goals and philosophies of the
organization designing and running them. LEED was designed by the USGBC, a collaboration between
developers, architects, engineers, and green building material suppliers, to generate a market for green
buildings, green building products and services, and promote sustainable design.

GBEL on the other hand is a Government-led project. While GBEL shares market transformation goals,
it also has an overriding policy goal that fits into China’s long-term environmental and energy policy:
namely reducing building energy consumption.

These assessment programs together with innovation technologies will continue to have a huge impact
in green and sustainable industry of China. One of the most remarkable example of sustainable super
high-rise in China nowadays is Shanghai Tower, which will be analysed in Chapter 4.

43
4 Case study – Shanghai Tower

The 632 metres tall Shanghai Tower designed by the American architectural firm Gensler sits on a
30,370 square metres plot (Gensler, 2008), which is located in Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone,
Pudong district, Shanghai. This 127-story high-rise is a mixed use megatall building with retail, office,
hotel, observation deck and restaurant. Shanghai Tower´s construction started on November of 2008,
topped out in 2013 and will open to public by the summer of 2015 (see Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1 - Shanghai Tower timeline (Nichols, 2014)

Following are the companies involved in this mega project (CTBUH, 2015):

 Owner/developer: Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.

 Design architect: Gensler
 Architect of record: Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd. and East China Architectural
Design & Research Institute (ECADI)
 Structural engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
 MEP engineer: Cosentini Associates
 Project manager: Shanghai Jianke Project Management Co.
 Main constructor: Shanghai Construction Group
 Other consultants
o Cost: Rider Levett Bucknall
o Fire: Rolf Jensen & Associates
o Landscape: SWA
o Life safety: Arup
o Vertical Transportation: Edgett Willams Consulting Group Inc.
o Wind: RWDI

44
 o Cladding: Beijing Jangho Curtain Wall Co., Ltd.; Wuhan Lingyun Building Decoration
Engineering Co Ltd.; Yuanda
o Elevator: Mitsubishi Elevator and Escalator
o Paint/Coating: AkzoNobel
o Sealants: Dow Corning Corporation
o Steel: Bao Steel Group; Jiangsu Huning Steel Mechanism Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Tower is the second tallest building in the world after Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the tallest in
China. It is also the first Chinese super high-rise exceeds 600 metres. The building incorporates 106
elevators and three of those are super high speed models capable of traveling at 18 metres per second
and the tower has the farthest-traveling single elevator, which travels up to 578.55 metres tall (SRIBS,
2014).

Shanghai tower is not simply a high-rise building, this is a new way of envisioning and creating cities, it
is a 127-story vertical city. By incorporating sustainable best practices and achieving the highest level
of performance, Shanghai Tower is considered as the most green and sustainable skyscraper of
nowadays, achieved LEED Gold pre-certification certificate in 2010 and Green building design label
highest score Three-star in 2012. Incorporate sustainability into a megatall building is not simple task,
but it is possible.

Further on in this Chapter will be analysed the most innovative sustainable technologies and strategies
applied on this tremendous vertical city.

4.1 Location and Transportation

Lujiazui zone in Shanghai has gone from farmland to financial centre in two decades, resulting in a
skyline and architectural landscape. Shanghai Tower is the third and final planned super high-rise
building in Pudong area that completes the development of the Lujiazui Central Financial District. Can
be seen in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3 that Shanghai Tower is surrounded by two equally super-awesome
towers, one of which is the Shanghai Jin Mao Tower (middle) and the other is the Shanghai World
Financial Tower (right). Shanghai Tower completes the precinct’s harmonious trio of buildings, this is
the world's first adjacent grouping of three supertall/megatall buildings.

“This tower is symbolic of a nation whose future is filled with limitless opportunities,” said Mr. Qingwei
Kong, President of the Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd. (Gensler, 2010),
Shanghai Tower now stands as a signature icon for the city of Shanghai.

Shanghai has an excellent public transportation service and a very complex metro system with 13 lines
(see Appendix O), which contributes significantly to decreasing private vehicle use.

45
 Figure 4.2 – Lujiazui (Gensler, 2014) Figure 4.3 - Skyscraper trio (Gensler, 2008)

The three mixed use towers (Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Centre and Shanghai Tower)
are interconnected, served by Shanghai Metro and accessible from across the city. That means
Shanghai Tower is directly connected to Lujiazui underground station, which meets one of the
requirement of GBEL - “The transport organization of a site shall be reasonable, with the walking
distance for arriving at a public transport station not exceeding 500m.” Concludes that Lujiazui is an
area with easy access to almost every corner of Shanghai, and it is an ideal location for a vertical city
like Shanghai Tower (see Appendix O).

Besides the excellent public transportation, there is still a small amount of people in Shanghai, who
prefer riding bicycle to their work, which is a very healthy daily physical activity and a great help to
decrease the existent 𝐶𝑂2 level. Note the requirement LTc1 Neighbourhood Development location of
LEED V4 for NC says “avoid development on inappropriate sites. To reduce vehicle distance travelled.
To enhance liveability and improve human health by encouraging daily physical activity.” In order to
accomplish this requirement and encouraging more bicycle use as daily transportation, every building
should have a parking lot for bicycle, in case of Shanghai Tower, there is 750 square metres reserved
for bicycle parking.

4.2 Design Concept

Gensler won the Shanghai Tower project in an invited multi-stage competition among leading
international architects. What secured the win were the tower’s design and performance. Shanghai
tower takes inspiration from Shanghai’s tradition of parks, neighbourhoods and nine-layer pagoda. Its
curved façade and spiralling form symbolize the dynamic emergence of modern China. By incorporating
sustainable best practices, this Tower is designed for high energy efficiency and sustainability, provides
multiple separate zones for office, retail and leisure use offering unprecedented community access
(Gensler, 2010).

46
The site area of Shanghai Tower is 30,370 square metres (see Figure 4.4), which incorporates five-
floor podium area. The tower stands at 632 metres high with 127 floors above ground and 5 floors below
ground, which includes 2000 car parking spaces. Building´s total construction area is 576,000 square
metres, above ground floor area of 410,000 square metres (see Figure 4.5) and underground
construction area is 166,000 square metres. As a green building, a full 33% of the site is green space,
with landscaping that breathes fresh air into the city and shades paved areas that radiate heat (Gensler,
2008).

Figure 4.4 – Plot area (Gensler, 2008) Figure 4.5 - Total construction Figure 4.6 - Green space
area (Gensler, 2008) (Gensler, 2008)

Shanghai Tower envisions a new way of inhabiting supertall/megatall buildings, it is a vertical city, also
the only super high-rise building wrapped in sky gardens. The tower takes the form of nine cylindrical
buildings stacked atop each other, enclosed by the inner layer of the glass façade, can be seen in
Figure 4.7. Table 4.1 shows the floor area of each zone (not include the area of MEP and refuge floors).
Every neighbourhood is encircled by public space within the double-skin façade and rises from a “sky
lobby” at its base - a light-filled garden atrium that creates a sense of community and supports daily life,
serves much as plazas and squares, bringing people together throughout the day. And “sky lobbies”
harken back to the city’s historic open courtyards that combine indoors and outdoors in a landscape
setting.

A majority zones of Shanghai Tower have 12 to 15 stories, separate elevators transport people among
different zones. Every single neighbourhood is dedicated to a primary use, but is enriched by
complementary amenities and services. The highest of the nine zones houses cultural venues, and an
observation deck with sweeping views of the Shanghai skyline and the landscape of the city, which is
served by the tallest single-lift elevator in the world. A luxury hotel and boutique office are housed in
zone 7 and 8. The central floors (zones 2 to 6) are comprised of high performance offices, all are filled
with natural light, connect to the garden atriums, by having shops and restaurants in each “sky lobby”,
helps to lower the demand for trips to the ground level that saves energy. Near the base (zone 1) houses
a six-story retail podium, which is comprised of two distinct zones – two levels below grade and four
above. The retail complex concentrates shopping and dining. As for the ground floor serves as an
“urban market,” connecting people to each other and below-grade parking links via walkways to the
nearby super high-rise towers and to Shanghai’s Metro (Gensler, 2010) (Shanghai Tower Façade
Design Process, 2010).

47
 Table 4.1 – Floor Area per zone, not include the
area of MEP and refuge floors (Gensler, 2010)

Floor area m2
Zone 9 (Observation
2080
deck)
Zone 8 (Boutique
8775
Office)
Zone 8 (Hotel) 18292
Zone 7 (Hotel) 31613
Zone 6 (Office) 34991
Zone 5 (Office) 41343
Zone 4 (Office) 45340
Zone 3 (Office) 53023
Zone 2 (Office) 57480
Zone 1 (Retail) 57415

Figure 4.7 – Shanghai Tower nine neighbourhood

(Gensler, 2010)

4.3 Foundation and Structure

Soil conditions in Shanghai is a clay-based mixture typical of a river delta, thus Shanghai Tower
construction site sits on a soft soil, rich in clay. Duo to Tower´s dimension, weight and unfavourable soil
condition, a very complex foundation system was required. According to Gensler (2010), engineering
team decided placing 955 reinforced concrete bored piles (1 metre in diameter) to deep into ground,
then continuously poured 61,000 cubic metres of concrete to create the six-metre thick mat-slab
foundation. This foundation mat serves as the bottom platform of the main tower, it took a small army

48
of workers (see Figure 4.8 and Figure 4.9), a fleet of trucks and 19 cement pumps worked in two shifts
for more than 60 consecutive hours to complete the pour.

Figure 4.8 – Shanghai Tower construction site (Tang, et al., 2014)

Figure 4.9 – Pour detail (Ray, 2010)

Figure 4.10 - Arrangement of piles of Shanghai Tower – plane (Tang, et al., 2014)

The piled raft foundation is in the shape of an octagon. Core tube and super column regions under
concentrated loads are laid out in a quincunx matrix arrangement. Other columns are laid out in a
square matrix arrangement (Xiao, et al., 2011), as shown in Figure 4.10. And according to Tang, et al
(2014), the depth of embedment is 31.2 metres and the bored piles are buried in the depth of 82 metres

49
(outside core zone) and 86 metres (inside core zone), as indicated in Figure 4.11. The groundwater
level is generally 1 metre to 1.7 metre below the ground surface.

Figure 4.11- Arrangement of piles of Shanghai Tower – section (Tang, et al., 2014)

Figure 4.12 - A pair of super-columns on the 60th floor

Besides of clay-based soils typical of a river delta, Shanghai also has a windy climate and it is an active
earthquake zone, structural team was facing amount of challenges. According to Jun, et al (2010) the
structural engineers sought to simplify the building structure system, with a 90 by 90 foot concrete core
(about 27.5 by 27.5 metres). The core acts in concert with an outrigger and super-column (measuring
5 x 4 metres at the base), Figure 4.12 shows a pair of super-columns on the 60th floor. Two super-
columns at each end of each orthonormal. In addition, four diagonal super-columns along each 45
degree axis are required by the long distances at the base between the main orthonormal super-
columns. These distances are approximately 50 metres and reduces to 25 metres to the diagonal
columns. Plus double-belt trusses that support the base of each vertical neighbourhood, as shown in
Figure 4.13. This makes for an easier and faster construction process – a significant cost savings for

50
the client. Due to Shanghai Tower´s geometry, gradually narrows at each floor level consequently, the
concrete core section reduces and gets simpler in zone 5 and zone 7, as shown in Figure 4.14.

Figure 4.13 - Shanghai Tower structure in detail (Nichols, 2014)

Figure 4.14 – Concrete core section in different zones (JKEC, 2012)

The core is concrete, the outrigger and belt trusses are structural steel, and the super-columns are
composite structure with concrete-encased steel vertical sections. The encased steel sections in the
super-columns are the key element to ensure the proper performance of the connections and thus the
performance of the structure. The structure was designed to meet the performance based design which
as required specified in the China Seismic Design Code, GB50011-2008 (Jun, et al., 2010)

The lateral and vertical resistance of the tower will be provided by the inner cylindrical tower. The
primary lateral resistance is provided by the core, outrigger and super-column system. This system is
supplemented by a mega-frame (see Figure 4.15) consisting of all the super-columns, including the
diagonal columns together with a double belt truss at each zone that picks up the intermediate steel
columns in each zone and the mechanical and refuge floors – at the interface of the adjacent zones
(Jun, et al., 2010), as shown Figure 4.16.

51
 Figure 4.15 – Mega-frame (Jun, et al., 2010) Figure 4.16 - Mechanical floors (Nichols, 2014)

Shanghai Tower is a high performance building, hence many kind of high-performance materials were
selected for this megatall. For example (Han, et al., 2014), concrete C70 used for the super-columns in
zones 1 to 3, C60 in zones 4 to 6 and C50 in zones 7 to 8, C60 was also used for the concrete shear
walls and beams, and C50 used for the foundation. The Q345GJ steel used by the outrigger trusses,
belt trusses and ring radial trusses. Shanghai tower’s scale and complexity have created so many “firsts”
for China’s construction industry, but the structure design itself and BIM made for an easier and faster
construction process. Workers positioned rebar and poured the mat foundation in March 2010. They
affixed steel for the super-columns through the summer and, by December 2010 (see Figure 4.17), the
structural core was taking shape. Figure 4.18 shows the concrete core construction progress in early
2011.

Figure 4.17 - Shanghai Tower – Concrete core Figure 4.18 - Shanghai Tower – Concrete core
construction in December 2011 (JKEC, 2012) construction in February 2011 (Harry, 2011)

4.4 Building Shape

Shanghai Tower has a very unique design, a soft vertical spiral rotating at about 120 degrees, scaling
at 55% rate exponentially and double skin façade. Early in the design stage, Gensler team anticipated
that three important design strategies – the asymmetry of the tower’s form, its tapering profile, and

52
rounded corners – would allow the building to withstand typhoon wind forces common to Shanghai.
Using wind tunnel tests, Gensler and structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti refined the tower’s form,
ultimately reducing building wind loads by 24%. The result is a simpler and lighter structure with
unprecedented transparency and a 32% reduction of costly materials (Gensler, 2010) (Nichols, 2014).

According to Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process (2010) “The horizontal profile (see Figure 4.19)
shape is based on an equilateral triangle. Two tangential curves offset at 60 degrees were used to
create a smooth shape.”

Figure 4.19 - Horizontal profile geometry (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

4.4.1 Wind Tunnel Testing and Building Design

A large number of structures now being designed, especially very tall buildings, should always consider
the relationship between importance of the wind and building height (see Figure 4.20). However,
building shape optimization reduce wind loads on the building, allowing a simpler and lighter structure,
this way contributing also to material saving, few examples can be seen in Figure 4.21.

Figure 4.20 - Relationship between importance of

wind and height (Irwin, 2010) Figure 4.21 - Shape strategies (Irwin, 2010)

For designing Shanghai Tower, Gensler conducted a series of wind tunnel tests at RWDI for
understanding the building performance and defining the optimal shape of the exterior skin of
asymmetrical tapered tower that reducing wind load, consequently using a lighter, more efficient
structure that conserves natural resources. All procedures were based on requirements set out in

53
Section 6.6 of the ASCE 7-05 Standard and the Load Code for the Design of Building Structures GB
50009-2001 for the P.R.C. In addition, to predict the full-scale structural response and more detail
pressure loads, the wind tunnel data were combined with a statistical model of the local wind climate.
The wind climate model was based on local surface wind measurements taken at Hong Qiao
International Airport and a computer simulation of typhoons. All testing was conducted on a 1:500 model
(see Figure 4.22). In order to obtain more precise data on loading and the impact of wind vortex split
on round exterior wall surfaces, a 1:85 scale model (see Figure 4.23) was needed to test for results of
the Reynolds number correction factor (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010).

Figure 4.22 - Wind tunnel study, scale 1:500 (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

Figure 4.23 - High Reynold number model study, scale 1:85 (Wind Engineering Reserch Needs, Building Codes
and Project Specific Studies, 2009)

The Gensler design team had anticipated that significant reduction in both tower structural wind loading
and wind cladding pressures could be established if the building further improved its geometry. To
establish the best possible case for reducing these loads, several scenarios were proposed involving
rotation at 90°, 120°, 150°, 180° and 210° (see Figure 4.24) and then scaling off 25%, 40% , 55%, 70%
and 85% (see Figure 4.25). All these scenarios were analysed against each other and then compared
to the base case scenario – in the form of a tapered box (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process,
2010).

54
 Figure 4.24 - Wind tunnel study rotation models Figure 4.25 - Wind tunnel study scaling models
(Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

As shown in Table 4.2, wind tunnel tests pinpointed that the most beneficial scaling factor of about 55%
and rotation at 120°, which is account for the 24% savings of the wind load working on the structure as
compared to base-case tapered box, this equates to about $50 million (USD) in savings in the building
structure alone. However, the 180º rotation scenario would reduce loading by an additional 9%, but
aesthetic concerns prevented the 180° rotation from being pursued.

Table 4.2 – Base reaction comparison of schemes with different twisting angle (Shanghai Tower Façade Design
Process, 2010) (Nichols, 2014)

Resultant base
Configuration My (MNm) Ratio Mx (MNm) Ratio Ratio
moment (MNm)
Tapered box 5.45E+04 100% 4.98E+04 100% 6.22E+04 100%
100º 4.53E+04 83% 4.19E+04 84% 5.18E+04 83%
110º 3.97E+04 73% 4.31E+04 87% 4.92E+04 79%
120º 3.43E+04 63% 4.29E+04 86% 4.75E+04 76%
180º 3.39E+04 62% 3.65E+04 73% 4.18E+04 67%

Ongoing testing procedures included Reynolds number testing conducted with a final model at 1:85
scale (see Figure 4.23). During this testing, constraints particular to the site were exemplified with Jin
Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Centre, which combined generate a localized increase in
lateral turbulence intensity between 14% and 40% (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010).
The following conclusion was reached by RWDI “While the positive pressures are unaffected by the
Reynolds number, the negative pressures could be increased at a high Reynolds number. Approaching
wind turbulence tends to reduce the Reynolds-number effects. To account for potential Reynolds-
number effects for cladding design, it is recommended that the exterior peak negative pressures around
the building corners determined from the 1:500 scale model tests should be increased by 10%. This
correction is applicable to the upper third of the building. For lower portions of the building, the Reynolds-
number effects tend to be insignificant due to high turbulence levels. Similar corrections should also be
considered in the structural wind loads for the curtain wall support system.” (Kelly, 2009)

55
Figure 4.26 shows the final cladding loads testing results, which revealed peak positive loads (pressure)
are at about 2.0 to 2.5 kPa for about 97% of the building, with 2.75 kPa maximum. Peak negative loads
(suction), on the other hand, is at 4.5 kPa for about 85% of the building, with 6.5 kPa maximum. Peak
negative loads are distributed considerably around corners and at the upper building half toward the
top (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010). These results are fundamental to curtain wall
support system (CWSS) design, select the ideal glass panel and its respective thickness and dimension,
which will be discussed forward.

Figure 4.26 - Diagram of positive and negative wind cladding loads (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process,
2010)

4.5 Sustainable Double Skin Curtain Wall

Shanghai Tower is one of the most sustainably advanced tall buildings in the world designed to achieve
both LEED Gold certification and a China Green Building Three-Star rating. After defining the optimal
shape of the exterior curtain wall by using wind tunnel testing, it is time to realize the benefits of double
skin glass façade design.

4.5.1 Double Skin Curtain Wall Concept

Although Shanghai Tower is a mixed use building, but from zone 2 to 6 are office spaces and zone 7
to 8 are for hotel. Both office and hotel require a large amount of energy to operate. Compared to
housing, office usually accommodates more people, and at the same time massive lighting and office
equipment generate excessive heat. Artificial lighting is the biggest consumer in offices, followed by air-
conditioning, which consumes more energy when used for cooling. In case of Hotel, main consumptions
are space cooling/heating, domestic water and indoor pool heating, and artificial lighting. As a result,
Gensler designed a double skin façade, utilizing natural light to reduce artificial light and, natural

56
ventilation to reduce air conditioning energy consumption in whole building, this matter will be discussed
further on.

Figure 4.27 - Curtain Wall A, CWSS and Curtain Figure 4.28 - CWSS (Shanghai Tower Façade Design
Wall B (left to right) (Nichols, 2014) Process, 2010)

The entire building is wrapped by two lays of transparent skins with a complex Curtain Wall Support
System (CWSS), as shown in Figure 4.27 and Figure 4.28. The outer skin (curtain wall A) gradually
narrows at each floor level, giving the glass tower an elegant tapered profile, while a V-notch in the
curtain wall accentuates the spiralling geometry. And the shape of inner skin (curtain wall B) is
cylindrical. Due to the interior curtain wall´s geometry – circular (in 2D), which requires 11.4% less glass
than a building occupying the same total floor area but in a square design, demonstrated by the following
equations.

𝐴
Equation 1 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑟 = 𝜋𝑟 2 ⇒ 𝑟 = √
𝜋

Equation 2 𝐴𝑠𝑞 = 𝑎2 ⇒ 𝑟 = √𝐴

Equation 3 𝑃𝑐𝑖𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑟

Equation 4 𝑃𝑠𝑞 = 4𝑎

𝐴
𝑃𝑐𝑖𝑟 2𝜋√𝜋
Equation 5 = = 88.6%
𝑃𝑠𝑞 4√𝐴

A – Area P – Perimeter Cir – Circle Sq – Square

The main feature considered for the exterior wall performance is based on a bioclimatic concept of a
passive atrium system, where two skins are located in such a way as to create a large, full height atrium
space capitalizing on all the benefits that captured air and provide the natural convection of air
(Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010), i.e., the ventilated atriums serve as an insulation

57
which keep the temperature stable, act as a buffer between inside and outside, warming up the cool
outside air in the winter and dissipating heat from the building interior in the summer (Gensler, 2010),
therefore total thermal stresses and energy use in office spaces and the hotel are significantly reduced.
Due to a completely passive greenhouse effect could be present in the atrium, there is minimal need
for additional cooling and heating. In order to create a relatively comfortable atrium environment, the
ventilation system is design with a great degree of efficiency (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process,
2010), with only the first 15 feet (4.6 metres) of atrium mildly conditioned with the use of a perimeter
Fan Coil Unit (FCU) that either heats or cools, primarily during weather extremes, leaving the majority
of the atrium to be ventilated with a combination of natural updraft and regulated top exhausts, as well
as with spill air on the first and last floor of each zone. And the condensation of moisture on the outer
curtain wall in the atrium in winter is solved by equipping fin tube (Han, et al., 2014). Appendix P and Q
indicates the atrium ventilation performance details in summer and winter respectively.

Moreover, the ventilated atriums house landscaped public gardens (see Figure 4.29). And these
landscaped sky lobbies help to improve air quality, create visual connections between the city and the
tower’s interiors, and provide a place where building users can interact and mingle.

Figure 4.29 – Curtain wall system description (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

At the interface of the adjacent zones, a two-story, full floor area is created strategically to house
mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment to provide optimal flexibility, reduce operating costs,
and conserve energy. This area also serves as respective zone´s life safety refuge area. This full-floor
platform creates a base for the atrium spaces directly above. As Gensler’s founder, Arthur Gensler, told
The International Business Times, “We hope Shanghai Tower inspires new ideas about what
sustainable tall buildings can be. We’ve lined the perimeter of the tower, top to bottom, with public
spaces, and we’ve integrated strategic environmental thinking into every move.”

58
4.5.2 Light Pollution Studies
Building codes in China’s urban districts are highly sensitive to the impact of sunlight reflecting off glass
façades toward surrounding buildings. The ratio of glass on the building cannot be more than 70% and
the glass has to have reflectance that does not exceed 15%. Therefore the light pollution category was
the single most impactful variable in the overall exterior wall concept design and glass selection. The
exterior curtain wall A glass ratio is very high, at about 87% (including spandrel area), and the interior
curtain wall B has a glass ratio of about 60%. With these high glazing ratios, the design team needed
to prepare a light pollution (Gensler, 2010) (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010). Two final
schemes – “staggered” and “smooth” were selected for testing in a three-kilometre radius of the
surrounding neighbourhood (see Figure 4.30).

Considering all of the variables involved, the ultimate result was purely geometric, as the curtain panels
confirmed the modelling and testing of both scenarios with the Ecotect software. Simply put, glass set
vertically reflects less than glass angled to the sun. The largest angle on the tower was about 9°. The
glass selected for the exterior have minimal visible light reflectance of about 12% (Shanghai Academy
of Environmental Sciences, 2009) (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010). However, Ecotect
results revealed a difference favouring the staggered system, which would reflect less light onto
neighbouring buildings, can be seen in Figure 4.31 and Figure 4.32. The outer curtain wall A design
incorporates metal shelves at each floor level, producing the preferred staggered configuration (Gensler,
2010).

Figure 4.30 - Light pollution study model (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

Figure 4.31 - “Staggered” and “smooth” schemes comparison (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

59
 Figure 4.32 – Light pollution – “Staggered” (left) and “smooth” (right) schemes comparison (Shanghai Tower
Façade Design Process, 2010)

4.5.3 Glass Selection

Shanghai experiences a subtropical maritime monsoon climate and so the weather is generally mild
and fairly moist and experiences four distinct seasons: a warm spring, hot summer, cool autumn and
cold winter. The city gets a moderate level of rainfall throughout the year, with constant and high
relative humidity (up to 90%), combined with prescriptive city codes that are used to define required
performance and make-up of exterior glazed walls components, and provided a new challenge to the
design team. Building codes in China’s urban districts says: the exterior-wall-to-glass ratio could not be
more than 70%; reflectance out cannot exceed an 15%; the shading coefficient (SC) must be to be
between 0.4 to 0.5; and, if exterior glass creates a conditioned enclosure, then makeup has to be with
a K value (thermal conductivity) of 1.5W/m² °C.

According to Zeljic (2010), the Façade Design Leader in Gensler, “if the exterior Curtain Wall A was to
be considered as an enclosure for conditioned space of the building, then had to be an insulated glass
unit. This created an additional challenge given the large size of the glass panels that varying from 2.2
by 4.5 metres to 1.2 by 4.3 metres. The glazing unit would have to be not only insulated unit makeup,
impacting with that desired visual transmittance ratio (targeted very high – up to 0.8), but would also
require individually thicker glass lights to respond to high wind-load peaks. In-plane glass deflection had
to be less than 25 millimetres and with the insulated unit, there was a danger of two lights touching each
other at high peak loads, thus creating the danger of possible peak incidental breakage. Although the
idea of adding a spacer in the middle of the glass unit was possible, but not entertained. It has been
calculated that if units were required to be insulated, then glass would have to be of a 15 mm glass +
10 mm air + 15 mm glass makeup. This was a significant increase from the 12 mm glass + SGP
interlayer + 12mm glass laminated makeup that was targeted. At current weight, between 800 to 1,000
kilograms per glass unit (the largest units at Zones 2 and 3), this direction would result in an additional
25% increase in exterior glass weight. Ultimately, this would impact the CWSS in its effective size and
visual appearance in atrium spaces, as well as on individual member weight, which would also impact
the total building weight expected to be approximately 850,000 tonnes, spiralling all the way to potential
redesign of an already approved complex foundation system on a limited site area.” It is common that
the total exterior wall weight is within the ratio of up to 2% of total building weight; however, the intent
of the design team was to truly follow principles of China’s Three-Star Rating, based on implementing

60
high-efficiency standards with reduction and multiple usage of individual members where possible –
“Do more with less.”

After going through an extensive and complex review process, it was determined that Exterior Curtain
Wall A was to be considered as a weather enclosure for ventilated and unconditioned atrium space,
and that the true exterior wall is to be Interior Curtain Wall B. This allowed for Curtain Wall A to employ
a laminated glass assembly and maintain efficient exterior wall-to-weight ratio, while maintaining
desired transparency and glass area ratio. In addition, various strategies were employed to maintain
atrium performance at a comfortable level (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010).

Figure 4.33 - Curtain wall A & B standard panels (Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

The final selection of glass composition for two major curtain wall Systems are (see Figure 4.33)
(Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010) (SRIBS, 2014):

Exterior Curtain Wall A

26 mm laminated glass assembly – 12 mm low-iron glass +1.52 mm SGP interlayer + low-e coating +
12 mm low-iron glass, with following characteristics:

 SC = 0.88
 VT = 0.81
 K = 4.6 W/m² °C

Interior Curtain Wall B

30 mm insulated glass assembly – 10 mm low-iron glass with low-e coating + 12 mm air space + 8 mm
low-iron glass, with following characteristics:

 SC = 0.43
 VT = 0.67
 K = 1.64 W/m² °C

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To reduce heating and cooling loads, both the inner and outer curtain walls have a spectrally selective
low-E coating (low thermal emissivity), its concept can be seen in Figure 4.34. This system only allows
natural sunlight and shortwave heat energy to enter freely, thus reduces cooling costs in summer and
heating costs in winter.

Figure 4.34 - Low-E in Cold weather and in Warm weather (Unknown, 2011)

According to Gensler (2010), fritted glass (see Figure 4.35 and Figure 4.36) on the outer wall provides
additional sun-shading, aided by horizontal ledges at each floor level that will block high summer sun.

Figure 4.35 - Fritted glass (Gensler, 2010) Figure 4.36 - Fritted glass of outer wall

The continuous glass skin admits the maximum amount of daylight into the atriums, reducing the need
for artificial lighting. Floor to ceiling glass in the office and hotel floors yields similar benefits to those
spaces. In addition, insulated glass of interior curtain wall blocks outside noise, to create a good indoor
environment.

4.6 Other Sustainable Strategies used in Shanghai Tower

Sustainability is at the core of Shanghai Tower’s development. In addition to Shanghai Tower´s peculiar
height and unique architectural style, design team incorporated many other strategies that will generate

62
a positive environmental impact. Due to these sustainable practices, Shanghai Tower earned both
LEED Gold certificate and the highest score of Chinese Green Building Evaluation Label. The main
objective of this subchapter is study some other sustainable technologies – renewable energy and
mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems applied to this tremendous tower.

4.6.1 Ground Source Heat Pump

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) or Geothermal heat pump system exchanges heat between the
constant temperature of soil and the building to maintain the comfort temperature of interior space.
Because the underground soil temperature is relatively stable throughout the year, higher than the
ambient air temperature in winter and, lower than the ambient air temperature in summer, therefore
GSHP system is suitable for both heating and cooling.

Ground source heat pump system consists of three components: heat source system; the heat pump
itself and a heat distribution system. A GSHP circulates a mixture of water and antifreeze (refrigerant)
in a loop of pipe, called a ground loop, which is buried underground. Longer loops can draw more heat
from the ground, but need more space to be buried in. If space is limited, then a vertical borehole can
be drilled instead.

Figure 4.37 - Heat Pump circuit detail (Stratfordenergy, 2013)

Figure 4.37 shows the details of GSHP. The heat that is naturally present in the ground is absorbed by
the refrigerant and then passes through evaporator into the heat pump. The refrigerant boils and
evaporates, thus storing the generated energy. The refrigerant in gaseous form – warm gas at low
pressure is then reduced in the compressor, which requires electrical power to function. When the warm
gas is compressed, the pressure increases significantly and raises it to higher temperature, forming hot
gas at high pressure. Then use this heat for operating an under floor heating system or producing hot
water or can be used in a radiator. Afterwards the gaseous form refrigerant returns from the heat
distribution system and goes through to a cooling process, the mixture returns to liquid form and, pass
through expansion valve that causes a reduction in pressure and temperature, then it can again absorb
heat from the soil. And so the ingenious cycle begins once again.

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 Figure 4.38 - Ground source heat pump system (Encylopaedia Britannica, 2012)

Simplifying, when the building needs heating, the system extracts heat energy from the ground, and
pumps it into the building where it is boosted by the heat pump to a comfortably warm temperature.
Conversely, when the building needs cooling, the heating process is reversed. Instead of extracting
heat from the ground, heat is extracted from the air in the building and collected by the heat pumps and
sent back into the ground, much as a refrigerator's compressor transfers heat from inside the refrigerator
to the outside (see Figure 4.38).

According to the test, the annual temperature average of the underground of Shanghai Tower is 18.8ºC.
Considering the safety of building structure and stability, 127 34-metre-long geothermal stakes were
buried at 4-metre intervals. Each stake is designed as 191kW for cooling and 302kW for heating (Han,
et al., 2014). GSHP system provides heating and air-conditioning to lower zones of Shanghai Tower.
In summer, providing chiller water at 7ºC and return water temperature is 12ºC. In winter, supplying
heated water at 51ºC and return water temperature is 46ºC (SRIBS, 2014).

GSHP system is much cheaper to operate than electric heating systems and, compare to traditional air
source heat pump system, GSHP is 40% more efficient, can save 40% energy and operating costs.
Moreover GSHP generate 40% to 70% less carbon monoxide gas than traditional heating systems
(SRIBS, 2014). Hence, this system is eco-friendly.

4.6.2 Ice Storage Air-conditioning

Air-conditioning with ice thermal storage is green, cost-effective and reliable solution for cooling offices,
schools, malls, convention centres and other buildings with daily comfort cooling requirements.

Ice Storage is like a battery for a building’s air-conditioning system. It uses standard cooling equipment,
plus an energy storage tank to shift all or apportion of a building’s cooling needs to off-peak, night time

64
hours. During off-peak hours, ice is made and stored inside ice storage tanks. The stored ice is then
used to cool the building occupants the next day, as shown in Figure 4.39. Simply put, Ice Storage is a
tank where ice can be accumulated during one period, stored and then thawed and used at another
time. In the end of day, when the stored ice is fully melted, air-conditioning unit will automatically turn
on the battery, then providing cold air to building as usual. Ice storage cooling system is compatible
with majority of conventional air-conditioning units.

Figure 4.39 - Ice Storage Cooling System (Calmac, 2014)

The main reasons for using an ice storage air-conditioning system are:

 Where the cooling effect demand varies during the day, a smaller chiller can be used. As a
result the initial cost of cooling equipment can be reduced considerably;
 Consuming energy at night or off-peak hours, when electric energy is more plentiful and less
expensive;
 Reduce energy consumption during peak hours, hence reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
 Reduce electrical power infrastructure investment, due to electricity consumption peak load
reduction. Two electrical profile of a building with and without ice storage system can be seen
in Figure 4.40 and Figure 4.41.

Figure 4.40 - Electrical profile with no ice storage Figure 4.41 - Electrical profile with ice storage air-
(wahidmohamed, 2012) condition system (wahidmohamed, 2012)

An ice storage system is designed in Shanghai Tower to reduce the operation cost by reduce the peak
loads need. The optimal capacity of the ice storage system is studied by the annual load profile of the
low zone cooling system and the capacity of 26,400RTh is determined based on the energy price, the
annual load profiles, investment and install cost (Cosentini, 2009).

65
The selected system is three dual-operating chiller units. The refrigerating capacity of the air conditioner
is 1800 RT with a total ice storage capacity of 26,400 RTh (Liu, 2014). By adopting an indirect ice-
melting steel disc tube component that melts ice internally there is increased energy saving and ease
of control. The most efficient operating conditions are created by efficiently pumping ethylene-glycol
through an elaborate air conditioning system. According to Han, et al., (2014) 6ºC chilled water is offered
by the ice storage system through the heat exchanger, the ethylene-glycol solution enters the chillers
at -1.57ºC and leaves at -5.56ºC to make the ice storage machine meet the maximum ice storage
design capacity.

Parts of this system include single ice-maker chiller units alongside an ice-melting device. Also included
is an ice-storage system teamed with a dual-operating conditioning unit. This system is entirety
operated with low electricity without opening peak electricity. This system paired with dual-operating
conditioner units, results in less frequent switching on and off ensuring that the previous day of ice could
then be melted for the following day of cooling (Liu, 2014).

4.6.3 Combined Cooling, Heat and Power

A conventional electrical power is produced by inefficient process. A fossil fuel such as oil, coal, or
natural gas is burned in a giant furnace to release heat energy. The heat is used to boil water and make
steam, the steam drives a turbine, the turbine drives a generator, and the generator makes electricity
(see Figure 4.42). There is amount of energy wasting during this process, for instance the water that's
boiled into steam to drive the steam turbines has to be cooled down using giant cooling towers in the
open air. Cold fluid from the cooling tower absorbs heat from a condenser and gets heated, this heat is
rejected to the atmosphere via natural convection with the help of a cooling tower, i.e., the heat literally
disappears into air, wasting huge amounts of energy.

Figure 4.42 - Conventional electrical power plant (Barré, 2013)

Combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) or Tri-generation is the simultaneous onsite generation of
electricity, heat and cooling from a single fuel source. Waste heat from turbine provides energy to heat
recovery unit, then produce heating and generate chilled water for air conditioning or refrigeration (see
Figure 4.43). This simultaneous generation from a single fuel source makes CCHP system highly

66
efficient compared to conventional power generation, and making it the ideal solution for organizations
which have significant cooling requirements.

Figure 4.43 - Combined cooling, heat and power (Dynamicenergy, 2015)

Shanghai Tower design team incorporated a combined cooling, heat and power system to achieve
higher energy efficiency. This system is installed in the lower energy centre (Han, et al., 2014), which
is set up in floor B2.

According to Liu (2014), “CCHP system is made of two sets of 1.1MW gas internal combustion
generating sets in addition to 2 sets of 1000kW lithium-bromide heating unit. Further are 2 sets of
1300kW grade plate type thermal water heat exchangers, automatic controls and a corresponding
auxiliary system. The average annual load rate of the system powered on is 95% of the average annual
energy efficiency of about 80% (the generating efficiency is about 40% and the waste heat utilization is
about 45.8%). The system runs from 6am to 10pm, 16 hours per day, for 335 days of the year. Average
annual output of the system is about 10.72million kWh, with an average annual cooling capacity of
about 8.93 million kW. The average annual amount of heating is about 3.28 million kW saving 1,098
tonnes of standard coal per year and roughly 6,277 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.”

4.6.4 Wind Turbines

Supertall and megatall buildings are ideal for wind power, because of abundant wind resources on top
of the building all year round. Hence Shanghai Tower design team has chosen this renewable energy.

The wind field analysis shows that wind power at the top of the Shanghai tower was 2 to 3 times more
than at ground level. The average wind speed at ground level in Shanghai is 3m/s that means the wind
speed at the top of Shanghai Tower reaches at least 6m/s, which is proper for generating wind power.
In order to generate the maximum amount of wind power (Han, et al., 2014), 270 horizontally oriented
wind turbines (single capacity of 500W), with the total capacity of 135kW wind turbines are installed on
122F, 123F and 124F, between the inner and outer curtain walls, as indicated in Figure 4.44. Generator
room is located on 123F, equipped with three inverters of 50kW. The energy produced by wind turbines
is rectified by the inverter and convert to 220kv AC then goes to the substation of 116F, later to the

67
building electrical power supply network. In addition, there are 54 vertical axis wind turbines set on 565
to 569 metres high of tower (see Figure 4.45). With the daily average wind speed 6m/s, wind turbines
at the top of the building will produce annually an estimated 157,500 kWh in renewable energy and will
power the exterior lighting and public spaces (SRIBS, 2014).

Figure 4.44 - Horizontally oriented wind turbines Figure 4.45 - Vertical axis wind turbines (JKEC,
(Skyscraper, 2014) 2012)

4.6.5 Grey Water and Rainwater Recycling

In order to meet the requirements of the National Green Building Three-Star Standard, the non-
traditional water resource utilization ratio of functional areas should not be less than 25% for Shanghai
Tower Hotel. Non-traditional water resource utilization ratios of business offices should not be less than
40%.

For the effective conservation of water resources the water treatment system is optimized to recycle
the bath wastewater from the hotel area, the toilet wastewater from the office area and the rainwater
collected by the building. Then use the treated water for basement garage washing, plant irrigation and
toilet flushing etc.

There are three sets of greywater collection and treatment systems located on 66F and B5 of the
Shanghai Tower, the process of greywater treatment is designed as (Han, et al., 2014):

 Wastewater
 Grille wells
 Collect pool
 MBR membrane bioreactor
 Disinfection
 Water tank

According to Liu (2014), the greywater treatment system of the 66F is responsible for collecting and
processing the recycled water of the 66F – 121F, treated water from this system will mainly use for toilet
flushing water. On B5, there are two sets of greywater treatment system, which are responsible for

68
collecting and processing of recycled water from B5 – 65F. Treated water from B5 will mainly use for
toiled flushing, ground washing, car washing and plant irrigation. Furthermore, there are four sets of
rainwater treatment systems, one is on 66F and other three are on B5. Treated rainwater will also be
used for ground washing, car washing and plant irrigation etc.

Never the less, the quality of recycled water should meet the requirements of water quality standard of
China. According to the design team, there are 237,000 m 3 of greywater, including 8700 m3 of rainwater,
which will be collected, treated and recycled in the buildings every year. The utilization rate of water
recycling resources is up to 24% (Tongji University, 2012)

4.6.6 Energy Efficient Elevator

Elevator is one of the largest energy consuming equipment of high-rise buildings. Elevator Association
of China estimates that the average daily power consumption of each elevator is around 40kWh, about
5% of the total building energy consumption (SRIBS, 2014). Thus energy efficient elevator will become
the future of high-rise industry. However, this kind of elevator is not very popular in China, especially in
the residential buildings. When the developers choose elevators for building, due to the relatively higher
initial costs, they often choose not to invest in energy efficient elevator. Hence it is important to realize
the advantages of this sustainable technology.

Elevator with regenerative drive system

According to Sniderman (2012), energy efficient elevator technology consists in “when power flows into
the motor, it creates a lifting torque on the shaft and elevator sheave, lifting the carriage. When the
carriage travels down, the motor acts as a generator, transforming mechanical power into electrical
power and pumping current back into the facility’s electrical grid to use elsewhere.”

“When a cab goes up with a light load and down with a heavy load, the system generates more power
than it uses. Over time these small amounts of power generated during each elevator’s sporadic
decelerations add up to noticeable savings. They use less energy than non-regenerative drives, and
reducing the excess heat in the building.” Figure 4.46 shows the basic concept.

For example (SRIBS, 2014), a 200 metres tall mixed use high-rise building in Shanghai with 38
elevators and 6 escalators, all with regenerative drive system. Comparing it to a non-regenerative drives
system, surprisingly the building electrical power consumption for elevator and escalators reduced
significantly to 25% to 31%, regenerative drive system of this building generated 2,065kWh renewable
power per day.

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Figure 4.46 - Diagram depicting how the Regenerative Drive system works (Sniderman, 2012) (Otis Worldwide)

Double deck elevators

There are 106 elevators in Shanghai Tower, few of those are double deck elevators (see Figure 4.47).
The real benefit of the double deck elevator is that while people can be transported in the same time as
single deck elevators, the required shaft area is reduced (Russett, 2010).

Figure 4.47 - Double deck elevator (Russett, 2010)

Shanghai Tower has three super high speed double deck elevators are capable of traveling at 18m/s,
four double deck elevators travel at 10m/s, and five single deck elevator travel at 8m/s. In addition,
Shanghai Tower owns the world farthest-traveling single elevator, which travels up to 578.55 metres
tall (SRIBS, 2014).

70
4.6.7 BIM - Building Information Modelling
The unique design and extraordinarily complex structure of Shanghai Tower have brought
unprecedented challenges and created so many “firsts” for China’s construction industry, but BIM made
for an easier, securer and faster construction process.

Until recently, traditional building design was largely reliant upon two-dimensional technical
drawings (plans, elevations, sections, etc.). Building information modeling (BIM) extends this beyond to
3D – width, height and depth, with time as the fourth dimension (4D) and cost as the fifth (5D).

According to the characteristics and scale of the project of Shanghai Tower, the 3D and 4D BIM model
were fundamental to construction processes. BIM was able to simulate the key difficulties of the
construction schemes and provides construction guidance. BIM technology also improved the quality
of the specialised construction schemes, making it more efficient. The construction scheme animation
of the BIM software focuses on specific and difficult details, successively revelling relationships between
construction processes and time sequences. Also, it illustratively describes, in detail, the relationship of
each working procedure allowing construction personnel to clearly understand the construction
sequences, and to accurately and efficiently accomplish important nodes of the construction work. This
improves the efficiency and quality of the whole construction process (Liu, 2014).

The BIM technology is capable of detecting conflicts by collecting all the various professional models
together in one workspace. The software then highlights and locates conflicts and adjusts quickly, thus
significantly improving the work efficiency. At the same time, BIM reduces communication obstacles
and provides the most convenient, intuitive or relaying information.

Through efficient site data management, instant modifications can be quickly reflected in the model
thereby reflecting the best plan layout which is highly consistent with actual conditions. This immediacy
improves the success rate of one-time installations and reduces the amount of repeated work.

This way, BIM technology has ensured construction safety, quality and fast progress of complex curtain
wall system of Shanghai Tower. According to Jianke Project Management, by using BIM curtain wall
was climbing up at the speed of one floor in every four days.

4.6.8 Sustainable Construction Management

In order to preserve nature resources and lower the negative influences of construction on the
surrounding environment, the sustainable construction management was implemented to Shanghai
Tower. Mainly addressed to soil balance, construction road use, noise, dust, water, light pollution, local
material use and recycling construction solid, etc. (see Figure 4.48 to Figure 4.53) The construction
monitoring and management data shows that the measures to control dust, noise and light pollution are
effective and meet the requirements of Chinese Green Building Label standard.

71
 Figure 4.48 - Recycle waste Figure 4.49 – Dust control (JKPM, Figure 4.50 - Mud filter tank (JKPM,
rebar (SRIBS, 2012) 2011) 2011)

Figure 4.51 – Isolation setting (JKPM, Figure 4.52 - Noise testing Figure 4.53 - Reuse of mud pit
2011) (SRIBS, 2012) fence (SRIBS, 2012)

As for building materials, construction engineers have always seek out building materials that are
harvested and manufactured within an 800-kilometre radius of the site. Locally sourced materials are
sustainable because these products reduce transportation related environmental impacts and boosts
local economies. In addition, locally sourced materials with high-recycled content were being used when
available. Of course, environment friendly materials, high performance materials, embedded waste
materials and recycling the construction solid waste were also requested in the construction process of
Shanghai Tower. Table 4.3 indicates the construction waste statistics – steel and gravel of 2009 and
2010. Waste steel recycling rate of those two years was 81% and, gravel recycling rate was 88.5%.

Table 4.3 - 2009 & 2010 Construction waste statistics (JKPM, 2011)

Total amount of Total amount of waste Recycling

Material
waste (tonne) recycling (tonne) rate
2009 Waste steel 11382.7 11047.7 98%
2009 Gravel 57077.8 48136.8 84%
2010 Waste steel 627.02 385.02 64%
2010 Gravel 29335.33 27220 93%
Total Total amount of waste (tonne) 98422.85 86789.52 88%

According to the statistical results of the material use during the construction period, the ratio local
material is 83.1%, the ratio of the high performance concrete is 39.8%. And the BIM technology was
also introduced in Shanghai Tower to remove the potential risk of the collision during the construction
effectively and reduce the implied probability for reworking or repairing of the project (Han, et al., 2014).

72
Last but not least, safety always comes at first place, the following figures show construction workers
and engineers with their safety equipment on the construction site of Shanghai Tower.

Figure 4.54 - Construction workers examining CWSS Figure 4.55 - Construction workers working on outer
curtain wall

Figure 4.56 - JKPM engineers on Shanghai Tower Figure 4.57 - Me and my trainee colleague visiting
construction site Shanghai Tower construction site

4.7 The Tallest Green Skyscraper – Shanghai Tower

Shanghai Tower is not the tallest building, but it is the tallest green skyscraper in the world. According
to Gensler (2010), its architecture design allowed reducing building wind loads by 24%. The result is a
simpler and lighter structure with unprecedented transparency and a 32% reduction of costly materials.
Tower´s curtain wall system and other sustainable strategies incorporated in building create about 21%
energy efficiency, compared to ASHRAE 90.1–2004 in LEED Rating and about 12.5% over China’s
nationally recognized GBEL assessment. 7% of total efficiency is achieved as a result of various
features used for exterior skin design. Moreover, Shanghai Tower’s sustainable strategies will reduce
water consumption by 40% and reduce building’s carbon footprint by 34,000 tonnes per year.

73
5 Discussion

5.1 Policy in China

China became one of the largest developing and world's most populous country, the rapidly growing
economy (industrialization and urbanization) has driven the country's high overall energy demand and
the quest for securing energy resources. And the environmental pollution in China has reached a very
high level, especially air pollution, that sometimes people are not advisable to leave their home because
of the outdoor air quality. Unfortunately building industry is one of the main contributor to China´s current
environment situation.

Table 5.1 - Differences between GBEL and LEED

GBEL (Three-Star system) LEED BD+C

Initiated by MOHURD (Ministry of

Initiated by USGBC (United States Green
History Housing and Urban-Rural
Building Council) in 2000
Development) in 2006

Organization
Governmental Non-governmental
operation

People´s Republic of China

Application Worldwide
(nationwide)

New Construction and Major Renovation,

Public (including retail, office, hotel
Core and Shell Development, Schools,
Rating system buildings and government buildings)
Retail, Data Centres, Warehouses and
and Residential
Distribution Centres, Hospitality, Healthcare

Operational Operational GBL - One year after For new construction: immediately after
rating stage occupancy completion

Level of 3 levels: One-star to Three-star. 4 levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum.

certification Three-star is the highest level Platinum is the highest level

Must achieve the minimum score in all

Rating Determined by the total score summed over
six categories, not determined by the
method all categories
total score

In 2006, the Chinese government launched the Evolution Standard for Green Building. Since then, the
green and sustainable market has grown greatly, and this increase has much to do with policy measures
implanted by the government. Green Building Evolution Label (GBEL) and U.S. Leadership in Energy
& Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems are recognized and commonly used in China. They
have a lot of similarities, both systems are volunteer assessment systems based on credit systems, and
mainly focusing on land/location, energy, water, resource/material efficiency, and indoor environmental
quality. But there is a slightly difference between GBEL and LEED, can be seen in Table 5.1. One of

74
main difference is their rating method. In GBEL the rating result does not depend on the total score, in
order to qualify for a specific rating result, there is a minimum score to meet in each category. On the
other hand, LEED rating method is simpler compared to GBEL, is determined by the total score summed
over all categories. GBEL seems less flexible compared to LEED, but GBEL is more objective.

However in the beginning, GBEL still was a new and junior certification system compared to LEED,
there were doubts about GBEL, thus LEED was the first choice for some building developers. But over
time, GBEL became more popular in China, after all GBEL was especially designed to solve the existing
environmental issues in China, and it is not surprising that, for Chinese developers GBEL is more
practical to apply than LEED, more suitable for China. With financial incentives from the government,
many high-rise building developers in South and East of China have considered incorporating
sustainable strategies into building design, by following guidelines of GBEL or LEED or both ratings.

In a relatively short period, green building has become a trend nowadays in China. Thereby the Chinese
government has reached its initial goal, expand and promote green building and sustainable
construction concept to every corner of China, more important was able to put theory into practice,
achieving better performing green buildings in order to reduce high level environment pollution. In the
past few years, China extensively promoted green building and sustainable construction. It is important
to notice that sustainable construction is not just a trend or a “brand” to developers, but a continuing
investment to a better future.

5.2 Sustainable High-rise in Shanghai

The main problems associated to climate of Shanghai are humanity and typhoon. Whether is in
Shanghai or not, when comes to high-rise buildings should always considering the relationship between
importance of the wind and building height. After analysing the case study – Shanghai Tower was able
to realize that building shape optimization reduce wind loads on the building, consequently using a
lighter, simpler and more efficient structure that conserves natural. In the case study wind tunnel testing
was required to determinate building shape that results in better performance of the building. Generally
depends on the building complexity and scale, not all the high-rises require wind tunnel testing. Figure
5.1 shows some shape strategies that lead to reduce wind loads on the structure.

Double skin façade presented in the case study is a passive strategy, and is based on a bioclimatic
concept of a passive atrium system, where two skins are located in such a way as to create a large, full
height atrium space capitalizing on all the benefits that captured air and provide the natural convection
of air and natural lighting. Thus total thermal stresses and energy use in office and the hotel are
significantly reduced. Although a passive greenhouse effect could be present in the atrium, there is
minimal need for additional cooling and heating. Therefore double skin façade works at climates similar
as Shanghai or little bit cooler, but won´t be a good solution to extremely hot or cold climates, due to
intensive greenhouse effect and condensation of moisture on the outer curtain wall.

75
 Figure 5.1 - Shape strategies (Irwin, 2010)

Other passive strategy – building orientation is fundamental to building´s energy performance.

Orientation is related to solar gain, which affects the building's heating, cooling, daylight, ventilation and
lighting, therefore a “right” building orientation reduces annual energy consumption. Orientation, in
combination with window area and the type of glass, also affects the amount of light that can enter a
space. However, in colder climates, possible heat loss through the window unit should be considered.
Moreover in most climates, a southern orientation is preferred due to the ability to shade the summer
sun to reduce unwanted solar gain while still capturing daylight to reduce the lighting energy load. The
angle of the summer sun is much higher while the angle of the sun in the winter is lower which allows
the light and heat to possibly enter the space. North oriented façades receive good ambient and indirect
daylight, solar heat gain, too much direct light, and glare issues are minimized. Regarding the east and
west orientation are not desirable, due to low sun angles, glare and increased solar heat gain is harder
to control on the east and west façades. Note when using a glazing system with a high visible
transmittance, glare issues need to be considered, if possible conduct light pollution studies as the case
study. Nowadays many buildings use insulated glass for better energy performance, there is many kind
of insulated glasses in the market, if possible should analyse the selected glass and façade with the
assistance of software such as Ectotec and EnergyPlus. As for Shanghai the best façade orientation is
south.

Further, depending on the climate, certain low-E coatings (low thermal emissivity) will allow or reject the
solar heat gain through the glazing system. But this passive solar gain is not desirable in a very hot
climate. Both Shanghai Tower´s inner and outer curtain wall glasses use low-E coatings, which allows
natural sunlight and shortwave heat energy to enter freely, reflects longwave heat energy radiating from
outside in warn weather thus reducing cooling costs; and preserve heat energy from inside in cold
weather, like this lowering heating costs. In addition to incorporating passive strategies should also
integrate the active systems into project, such as renewable energy, mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing (MEP) systems.

The most common renewable energies for buildings are solar and wind. Solar is a perfect solution for
places with sunshine all year around. In case of high-rise buildings install solar panels on the rooftop

76
won't be in enough to supply the whole building, so would be interesting to add photovoltaic façade if
possible. As for wind power, supertall and megatall buildings are ideal for this kind of renewable energy,
because of abundant wind resources on top of the building all year round. Horizontal and vertical axis
wind turbines are incorporated on top of Shanghai Tower, which will produce annually an estimated
157,500kWh in renewable energy. This way maximize the use of these natural resources (sun and
wind), lowering the energy costs associated with buildings and achieving a low carbon footprint.

Besides of the passive strategies and renewable energies, MEP systems are also fundamental to
reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint. For instance, CCHP is eco-friendly solution, the
simultaneous onsite generation of electricity, heat and cooling from a single fuel source; GSHP, this
system exchanges heat between the constant temperature of soil and the building to maintain the
comfort temperature of interior space; Energy efficient elevator, the motor acts as a generator,
transforming mechanical power into electrical power and pumping current back into the facility’s
electrical grid to use elsewhere. Many other active systems are essential to energy saving and reduce
carbon footprint. Table 5.2 indicates the annual energy produced by wind, GSHP and CCHP systems.
Table 5.3 shows these values per square metre. GSHP supplies partial cooling and heating for the
lowest zone, while CCHP and wind power supply the office zone. CCHP is the main energy supply
system of these three.

Table 5.2 - Annual energy supply values

Cooling (kW) Heating (kW) Electricity (kWh)

GSHP 24257 38354 -
CCHP 8.93E+06 3.28E+06 1.07E+07
Wind Power - - 157500

Table 5.3 - Annual energy supply per square metre

Heating Electricity
Energy supply Floor area (m2) Cooling (kW/m2)
(kW/m2) (kWh/ m2)
GSHP for Zone 1 (retail) 57415 0.42 0.67 -
CCHP for Zone 2 to 6 (office) 232177 38.46 14.13 46.17

Wind Power for Zone 2 to 6 232177 - - 0.68

Grey water and rainwater recycling is an excellent solution to all kind of high-rises for effective
conservation of water resources. Water treatment system recycle the bath wastewater and the rainwater
collected by the building, then use the treated water for basement garage washing, road washing and
toilet flushing. The office zone (2 to 6) floor area is 232,177m 2, suppose each occupant occupies 5m 2,
that means there will be about 46,435 occupants in zone 2 to 6. Consider 252 work days per year, each
office occupant uses in average 2.5 times toilet during their working hours, so the total amount of
recycled water will supply daily toilet flushing for 39,000 occupants, which represents 84% of total office
zone occupants (see Table 5.4). Moreover, the total amount of recycled water would be enough for
5417 car washing per day.

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 Table 5.4 - Recycle water consumption

Annually Daily
dm3 Activities dm3 Occupants
(times) (times)
Car washing 180 1365000 5417 -
Total recycled water 245.7E+06
Toilet flushing 10 24570000 97500 39000
Gray Water 237E+06
Rain Water 8.7E+06

Shanghai tower’s scale and complexity have created so many “firsts” for China’s construction industry,
but Building Information Modelling (BIM) made for an easier and faster construction process. By
detecting conflicts by collecting all the various professional models together in one workspace, removing
the potential risk of the collision during the construction effectively and reducing the implied probability
for reworking or repairing of the project. Further, BIM was capable of simulating the key difficulties of
the construction schemes and provides construction guidance during tower´s construction process. The
construction scheme animation of the BIM software focused on specific and difficult details,
successively revelling relationships between construction processes and time sequences. Therefore
BIM is the future of construction industry.

When it comes to material selection, locally sourced materials are more sustainable because these
products reduce the environmental impacts associated with transportation and increases local
economies. In order to preserve natural resources, locally sourced materials with high recycled content
should be used when available. Of course, eco-friendly materials, high-performance materials, and
recycling of solid waste are also part of sustainable construction. These points were achieved by
Shanghai Tower, the ratio local material was 83.1%, and the ratio of the high performance concrete
was 39.8%.

The solutions and strategies referred in this thesis are fundamental to reach sustainability for high-rises,
allowing better performance over building´s life cycle. However, the investment for a sustainable
building is till significantly higher than a standard building, it is a long-term investment. For instance, a
building with the highest classification (tree-star) of GBEL will take between 7-11 years recovering the
initial investment, in case of a two-star building will take 3-8 years.

Although some types of building development may be regarded as more sustainable than others. For
example, the benefits of converting existing buildings rather than demolishing and rebuilding them in
terms of reduced materials use and waste, but these will need to be balanced against the opportunities
for designing a new building with low energy requirements, and which can utilize renewable energy.

Note that in some cases, even a sustainable skyscraper can have high environmental impact compared
to traditional buildings. Therefore should consider whether is more important reducing the impact on
land and decreasing the use of private vehicles or energy efficiency.

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6 Conclusion and Future Work

6.1 General Considerations

The conclusions resulting from this study fall primarily on policy measures implemented in green
buildings in China and strategies that turn high-rise buildings more sustainable in this category.
Although the case study is in Shanghai, sustainable practices mentioned in this thesis can be applied
in other cities with a similar climate – subtropical monsoon, with specific adjustment.

Shanghai Tower has the following measures: material saving architecture form, double skin curtain wall,
sky lobbies, wind power, ground source heat pump, ice storage air conditioning, combined cooling, heat
and power, grey water and rainwater recycling, energy efficient elevator and BIM. These measures
result in better performance over building´s life cycle compared to other skyscrapers, allowing to reduce
carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emission and natural resource consumption.

After this study was able to conclude that in the case of high-rise building is fundamental considering
the relationship between importance of the wind and building height.

Building shape optimization reduce wind loads on the building, allowing a simpler and lighter structure,
this way contributing also to material saving.

In order to reduce environment pollution and provide comfort indoor environment, it is important to invest
in passive strategies, like natural ventilation, convection, daylighting and façade orientation, etc. With
the assistance of software such as Ecotect, EnergyPlus and etc.

In addition to incorporating passive strategies should also integrate the active systems into project, such
as renewable energy, including solar and wind, to maximize the use of these natural resources and
lower the energy costs associated with buildings and reduce carbon footprint. Besides of renewable
energy, other active systems - mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) technologies are also
suitable. For instance, ice storage air-conditioning, tri-generation, energy efficient elevator, grey water
and rainwater recycling, etc.

The Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a very useful technology, should include BIM to building
design and construction process. Because this technology can simulate the key difficulties of the
construction schemes and provides construction guidance, prevents reworking, this way saves time.
And the construction scheme animation of the BIM software revels relationships between construction
processes and time sequences.

When it comes to material selection, should always use locally sourced materials, eco-friendly materials,
and high-performance materials. If there is locally sourced materials with high recycled content should
be used when available.

79
The reason that sustainability has become so popular in China, is because the government took the
initiative, set goals and implemented a series of regulations and guidelines for sustainable practicing.
The government also created a voluntary rating system that encourages green development – Green
Building Evaluation Labels (GBEL), also known as “Three-Star” rating system. Besides, green building
developers are in title of receiving support funds for incorporating sustainable technologies into their
project. Even with support funds from the government, the investment for a sustainable building is till
significantly higher than a standard building, it is a long-term investment.

Besides GBEL, the American Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is
also commonly used in China, and some Chinese developers prefer to use both.

Difference between GBEL and LEED reflects the different goals and philosophies of the organization
designing and running them. LEED was designed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a
collaboration between developers, architects, engineers, and green building material suppliers, to
generate a market for green buildings, green building products and services, and promote sustainable
design. GBEL on the other hand is a Government-led project. While GBEL shares market
transformation goals, it also has an overriding policy goal that fits into China’s long-term environmental
and energy policy: namely reducing building energy consumption.

Assessment programs together with innovation technologies will continue to have a huge impact in
green and sustainable industry of China.

6.2 Future Work

For future work, it would be important to conduct a questionnaire (indoor comfort) to employees and
guests of Shanghai Tower and conduct the same questionnaire to other two standard mixed use
buildings´ users. Then compare the results and terminate whether Shanghai Tower has the best
performance.

Shanghai Tower is a new building, therefore it would be interesting to analyse an existing mixed use
supertall building, for instance Jin Mao Tower which gained LEED Gold certificate for existing buildings.
Analysing the type of active and passive strategies are best suited for an existing building, which will
improve building performance, taking into account its performance/cost relation.

Would also be interesting to analyse a same green residential high-rise building (about 30-story) in
Shanghai and in Macau with the assistance of EnergyPlus. Comparing the results based on GBEL and
LEED assessment, analyse if this building is suitable for local climate, and then propose solutions to
each case study in order to achieve better building performance.

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Appendices

A. GBEL criteria for public building – I. Land-Saving and Outdoor Environment ............................ II

B. GBEL criteria for public building – II. Energy-Saving and Energy Utilization ............................. III

C. GBEL criteria for public building – III. Water-Saving and Water Resources Utilization ..............V

D. GBEL criteria for public building – IV. Material-saving and Material Resources Utilization .......VI

E. GBEL criteria for public building – V. Indoor Environment Quality ...........................................VII

F. GBEL criteria for public building – VI. Operational Management ..............................................IX

G. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Location & transportation .............................................................X

H. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Sustainable Sites ........................................................................XI

I. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Water Efficiency .........................................................................XII

J. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Energy and Atmosphere ...........................................................XIII

K. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Materials and Resources ......................................................... XIV

L. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Indoor Environmental Quality.................................................... XV

M. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Innovation................................................................................. XVI

N. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Regional Priority ....................................................................... XVI

O. Shanghai Underground Map .................................................................................................. XVII

P. Atrium Energy Performance: Summer Concept.................................................................... XVIII

Q. Atrium Energy Performance: Winter Concept ......................................................................... XIX

I
A. GBEL criteria for public building – I. Land-Saving and Outdoor
Environment

GBEL buildings have to reach all the prerequisites first. The blue colour items regard to operation and
construction stages of the project.

I. Land-Saving and Outdoor Environment (14 requirements) (MOHURD, 2006)

5.1.1 The construction of a site shall not damage a local cultural relic, natural water system,
moor, fundamental farmland, forest or any other protected area.
5.1.2 The selected site of a building shall be free from such a threat as a flood, landslide or
ammonia containing soil, and within the safe range of the building site, there shall be no
Prerequisites (5)

such a dangerous source as an electromagnetic radiation danger, fire, explosion or

poisonous substance.
5.1.3 No light pollution shall be brought to a surrounding building, and the sunshine
requirements from a surrounding residential building shall not be affected.
5.1.4 There shall be no pollution source exceeding a discharging standard within a site.
5.1.5 During the process of construction, concrete measures for environmental protection
shall be drawn up and implemented to control construction–caused pollution and the
influences on the surrounding areas of the construction site.
5.1.6 The ambient noise of a site shall accord with the existing national standard “Ambient
Noise Standards for Urban Region” GB 3096.
5.1.7 The wind speed on a pedestrian zone around a building shall be less than 5 m/s, not
General Items (6)

affecting the snugness for outdoor activities, or building ventilation.

5.1.8 Such a method as roof greening or perpendicular greening shall be reasonably used.
5.1.9 Indigenous plants adapted to local climatic and soil conditions shall be selected as
greening species, and multiple greening comprising trees and bushes shall be used.
5.1.10 The transport organization of a site shall be reasonable, with the walking distance for
arriving at a public transport station not exceeding 500m.
5.1.11 Underground spaces shall be reasonably developed and utilized.

5.1.12 An abandoned site shall be used reasonably for construction. A polluted abandoned
Preferred Items (3)

site shall be treated to relevant standards.

5.1.13 An old building that is still usable shall be made full use of and be included into a
planned project.

5.1.14 The area ratio of outdoor permeable ground shall be greater than or equal to 40%.

II
B. GBEL criteria for public building – II. Energy-Saving and Energy
Utilization

GBEL buildings have to reach all the prerequisites first.

II. Energy-Saving and Energy Utilization (19 requirements) (MOHURD, 2006)

5.2.1 The thermo-technical performance indexes for an enclosure structure shall conform to
the stipulations in the energy saving standards approved and put on record by the State.
5.2.2 The energy efficiency ratio of a chilling and heating source set for an air-conditioning or
heating system shall accord with the stipulations of Articles 5.4.5, 5.4.8 and 5.4.9 in the
existing national standard “Energy Saving Design Standards for Public Building” GB 50189-
Prerequisites (5)

2005.
5.2.3 An electric boiler or electric water heater shall not be used as the heat source of a
heating or air-conditioning system.
5.2.4 The illumination power density value for each room or site shall not be higher than the
specified current value described in the existing national standard “Design Standards for
Building Illumination” GB 50034.
5.2.5 The energy consumption for each part of a newly-constructed public building, chill-heat
source, transmission-distribution system or lighting system shall be independently
measured.
5.2.6 An architectural site planning design shall be beneficial to the sunshine in winter and
the aversion of the dominant wind direction in winter, and to the natural ventilation in
summer.
5.2.7 The opening area of the external windows of a building shall not be less than 30% of
the total area of the external windows. A curtain wall of a building shall have parts that can
be opened or shall be equipped with ventilating devices and air exchangers.
General Items (10)

5.2.8 The air-tightness of an external window of a building shall not be lower than the Grade-
4 requirement stipulated in the existing national standard “External Window Air-tightness
Classification and Inspection Methods” GB 7107.
5.2.9 Chill-heat-storage techniques shall be used reasonably.
5.2.10 Exhaust wind shall be used to pre-heat or pre-chill fresh wind so as to reduce fresh
wind load.
5.2.11 For an all-air air-conditioning system, the measures for realizing all-fresh-wind
operation or adjustable fresh wind ratio shall be taken.
5.2.12 When a building is subject to partial cooling or heat load and only a part of its spaces
is used, effective measures shall be taken to save the energy consumption of the ventilating
and air-conditioning system.

III
 II. Energy-Saving and Energy Utilization (Table 2)
5.2.13 When an energy-saving unit system is used, the unit wind-volume power consumption
of a wind machine for a ventilating and air-conditioning system and the conveyance energy
efficiency ratio for a cool hot water system shall conform to the stipulations in Articles 5.3.26
and 5.3.27 in the existing national standard “Energy Saving Design Standards for Public
Building” GB 50189-2005.

5.2.14 Residual heat or waste heat shall be utilized to provide steam or domestic hot water
for a building.
5.2.15 The energy consumption for each part of a newly-constructed public building, chill-
heat source, transmission-distribution system or lighting system shall be independently
measured.
5.2.17 Distributive thermoelectric cooling supply technology shall be used to raise energy
comprehensive utilization rate.
5.2.18 According to local climatic and natural resource conditions, reusable energy
Preferred Items (3)

resources such as solar energy and geothermal energy shall be made full use of. The hot
water amount produced from renewable energy shall not be less than 10% of the hot water
consumption for domestic use in a building, or the power generation amount produced from
renewable energy shall not be less than 2% the power consumption in a building.

5.2.19 The illumination power density value for each room or site shall not be higher than the
specified current value described in the existing national standard ―Design Standards for
Building Illumination‖ GB 50034.

IV
C. GBEL criteria for public building – III. Water-Saving and Water
Resources Utilization

GBEL buildings have to reach all the prerequisites first.

III. Water-Saving and Water Resources Utilization (12 requirements) (MOHURD,

2006)
5.3.1 During the phase of schemes and planning, a scheme for water system planning
shall be formulated so as to overall plan and comprehensively utilize various water
resources.
Prerequisites (5)

5.3.2 Reasonable and perfect water supply and drainage system shall be established.
5.3.3 Effective measures shall be taken to avoid pipe network leakage.
5.3.4 A sanitary ware in a building shall be water saving one.
5.3.5 When a non-traditional water source is used, safeguard measures for water-use
safety shall be taken so as not to produce bad effects on human health and the ambient
environment.
5.3.6 The schemes for storing, treating and utilizing rain water shall be determined by
making technical and technical comparisons.
5.3.7 A non-traditional water source such as resurgent or rain water shall be used as non-
drinking water for irrigating plants or washing a car.
5.3.8 An efficient and water saving irrigation method such as spray irrigation or micro-
General Items (6)

irrigation shall be used for irrigating plants.

5.3.9 When resurgent water is used as non-drinking water, a priority shall be given to
utilizing resurgent water from a nearby concentrated resurgent water works, but if there is
no such a works, other sources and treatment techniques of resurgent water shall be
selected reasonably by making technical and economic comparisons.
5.3.10 Water measuring metres shall be provided according to uses.
5.3.11 For an office building or supermarket building, the utilization rate for non-traditional
water sources shall not be less than 20%, while for a hotel building, not less than 15%.
Preferred
Items (1)

5.3.12 For an office building or supermarket building, the utilization rate for non-traditional
water sources shall not be less than 40%, while for a hotel building, not less than 25%.

V
D. GBEL criteria for public building – IV. Material-saving and Material
Resources Utilization

GBEL buildings have to reach all the prerequisites first. The blue colour items regard to operation and
construction stages of the project.

IV. Material-Saving and Material Resources Utilization (12 requirements) (MOHURD,

2006)
5.4.1 The harmful matter content in a building material shall accord with the requirements
Prerequisites (2)

in the existing national standard GB 18580-GB 18588 and “Limited Amount of Radioactive
Nuclide in Building Material”
5.4.2 Architectural form factors shall be succinct and shall not have many ornamental
components.
5.4.3 The weight of the building materials produced within 500km of a construction site
shall make up more than 60% of the total weight of the materials.
5.4.4 Ready-mixed concrete shall be used as cast-in-place concrete.
5.4.5 High-performance concrete and high-strength steel shall be used reasonably as
building structural materials.
5.4.6 Solid waste produced during the construction of a building, the dismantlement of an
old building or the clearance of a site shall be classified, and the renewable and recyclable
materials among the waste shall be recovered and reutilized.
General items (8)

5.4.7 The recyclable serviceability of a material shall be considered for use when a
material is selected during architectural design. Under the circumstances of ensuring
safety and not polluting the environment, the weight of the used recyclable materials shall
make up more than 10 % of the total weight of the used building materials.
5.4.8 The integration of design and construction shall be involved for civil and decorating
engineering, an existing building unit or facility shall not be damaged or dismantled, and
repeated decoration shall be avoided.
5.4.9 Inside an office or supermarket building, flexible partitions shall be used to reduce the
material waste and trash from re-decoration.
5.4.10 Under the condition of ensuring performance, the consumption of the building
materials made of waste shall make up not less than 30 % of the consumption of the same
kinds of building materials.
5.4.11 An architectural structural system that consumes a small amount of resources and
Preferred
Items (2)

has little effect on the environment shall be adopted.

5.4.12 The utilization rate for reusable building materials shall be greater than 5%.

VI
E. GBEL criteria for public building – V. Indoor Environment Quality

GBEL buildings have to reach all the prerequisites first. The blue colour items regard to operation and
construction stages of the project.

V. Indoor Environment Quality (15 requirements) (MOHURD, 2006)

5.5.1 For a central air-conditioning building, such parameters as room temperature, humidity
and wind speed shall accord with the designing and calculating requirements of the existing
national standard “Energy Saving Design Standards for Public Building” GB 50189.
5.5.2 The inside and surface of a building enclosure structure shall be free from frost and
mildew.
5.5.3 For a building with central air conditioning, the fresh wind amount shall accord with the
design requirements of existing national standard “Energy Saving Design Standards for
Public Building” GB 50189.
5.5.4 The concentration of indoor air pollutants such as free formaldehyde, benzene,
ammonia, radon and TVOC shall accord with the stipulations in the existing national
Prerequisites (6)

standard “Indoor Environmental Pollution Control Code for Civil Building” GB 50325.
5.5.5 The indoor background noise in a hotel or office building shall conform to Grade 2
requirements for the indoor allowable noise standards in national “Sound Insulation Design
Code for Civil Building” GBJ 118, while the indoor background noise level shall meet the
relevant requirements of national “Health Standards for Supermarket (Store) and Bookstore”
GB 9670.
5.5.5 The indoor background noise in a hotel or office building shall conform to Grade 2
requirements for the indoor allowable noise standards in national “Sound Insulation Design
Code for Civil Building” GBJ 118, while the indoor background noise level shall meet the
relevant requirements of national “Health Standards for Supermarket (Store) and Bookstore”
GB 9670.
5.5.6 The indoor illumination intensity, uniform glare value, general coloration index, etc. of a
building shall meet the relevant requirements of the existing national standard “Illumination
Design Standards for Building” GB 50034
5.5.7 The measures promoting natural ventilation shall be included in architectural and
structural designs.
General items (6)

5.5.8 Air-conditioning terminals with easy regulation and the function of raising human
snugness shall be used indoors.
5.5.9 The sound insulation performance of an enclosure structure component of a hotel
building shall meet Grade 1 requirements of the existing national standard “Sound Insulation
Design for Civil Building” GBJ 118.

VII
 V. Indoor Environment Quality (continuation)
5.5.10 The layout of architectural plane and the arrangement of space functions for building
shall be reasonable so as to reduce the noise interference from a neighbouring space and
the indoor influence from outside noise.
5.5.11 The indoor coefficient of lighting for more than 75% of the main-functional spaces in
an office or hotel building shall meet the requirements in the existing national standard
“Lighting Design Standards for Building” GB/T 50033.
5.5.12 An entrance or main activity spaces of building shall be provided with obstacle-free
facilities.
Preferred Items (3)

5.5.13 Adjustable external sunshades shall be used for improving indoor hot environment.

5.5.14 An indoor air quality monitoring system shall be established to ensure a healthy and
snug indoor environment.
5.5.15 Reasonable measures shall be taken to improve the natural lighting effects in an
indoor or underground space.

VIII
F. GBEL criteria for public building – VI. Operational Management

GBEL buildings have to reach all the prerequisites first. The blue colour items regard to operation and
construction stages of the project.

VI. Operational Management (11 requirements) (MOHURD, 2006)

5.6.1 A system for saving resources such as energy, water, etc. and for managing
Prerequisites (3)

greening shall be worked out and implemented.

5.6.2 No non-standard waste gas or water shall be discharged during the process of a
building operation.
5.6.3 Waste shall be collected and treated in a classifying way, with no secondary
pollution.
5.6.4 The construction of a building shall coordinate the balance of earthwork and the
construction of roads.
5.6.5 A property management department shall pass the authentication of the environment
management system of ISO 14001.
5.6.6 The arrangement of equipment or pipes shall facilitate maintenance, renovation and
replacement.
General items (7)

5.6.7 An air-conditioning and ventilating system shall be checked and cleaned periodically
according to the national Standard “Cleaning Code for Air-conditioning and Ventilating
System.” GB 19210
5.6.8 An architectural intelligent system shall be positioned reasonably, with perfect
functions of information network.
5.6.9 The automatic monitoring system for ventilation, air-conditioning, lighting, etc. in a
building shall have reasonable techniques and efficient operation.
5.6.10 The power consumption, cooling and heat quantity in an office or supermarket
building shall be measured and charged for.
5.6.11 A resource management and excitation mechanism shall be established and
Preferred
Items (1)

implemented, with the integration of management result, resource saving and

enhancement of economic effects.

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G. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Location & transportation

Possible Points Location & transportation (up to 32 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

LEED for Neighbourhood Development location intents to avoid development
LTc1 16 on inappropriate sites. To reduce vehicle distance travelled. To enhance
liveability and improve human health by encouraging daily physical activity.
Sensitive land protection intents to avoid the development of environmentally
LTc2 1 sensitive lands and reduce the environmental impact from the location of a
building on a site.
High priority site intents to encourage project location in areas with
LTc3 2
development constraints and promote the health of the surrounding area.
Surrounding density and diverse uses intents to conserve land and protect
farmland and wildlife habitat by encouraging development in areas with
LTc4 5 existing infrastructure. To promote walkability, and transportation efficiency
and reduce vehicle distance travelled. To improve public health by
encouraging daily physical activity.
Access to quality transit intents to encourage development in locations
shown to have multimodal transportation choices or otherwise reduced motor
LTc5 5 vehicle use, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and
other environmental and public health harms associated with motor vehicle
use.
Bicycle facilities intents to promote bicycling and transportation efficiency
LTc6 1 and reduce vehicle distance travelled. To improve public health by
encouraging utilitarian and recreational physical activity.
Reduced parking footprint intents to minimize the environmental harms
LTc7 1 associated with parking facilities, including automobile dependence, land
consumption, and rainwater runoff.
Green vehicles intents to reduce pollution by promoting alternatives to
LTc8 1
conventionally fuelled automobiles.

X
H. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Sustainable Sites

Must reach all the prerequisites first.

Possible Points Sustainable Sites (up to 10 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

Construction activity pollution prevention intents to reduce pollution from
SSp1 Prerequisite construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation,
and airborne dust.
Site assessment intents to assess site conditions before design to evaluate
SSc1 1
sustainable options and inform related decisions about site design.
Site development - protect or restore habitat intents to conserve existing
SSc2 2 natural areas and restore damaged areas to provide habitat and promote
biodiversity.
Open space intents to create exterior open space that encourages
SSc3 1 interaction with the environment, social interaction, passive recreation, and
physical activities.
Rainwater management intends to reduce runoff volume and improve water
SSc4 3 quality by replicating the natural hydrology and water balance of the site,
based on historical conditions and undeveloped ecosystems in the region.
Heat Island reduction intents to minimize effects on microclimates and
SSc5 2
human and wildlife habitats by reducing heat islands.
Light pollution reduction intents to increase night sky access, improve night-
SSc6 1 time visibility, and reduce the consequences of development for wildlife and
people.

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I. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Water Efficiency
Must reach all the prerequisites first.

Possible Points Water Efficiency (up to 11 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

WEp1 Prerequisite Outdoor water use reduction intents to reduce outdoor water consumption.
WEp2 Prerequisite Indoor water use reduction intents to reduce indoor water consumption.
Building-level water metering intents to support water management and
WEp3 Prerequisite identify opportunities for additional water savings by tracking water
consumption.

WEc1 2 Outdoor water use reduction intents to reduce outdoor water consumption.

WEc2 6 Indoor-use reduction intents to reduce indoor water consumption.

Cooling tower water use intents to conserve water used for cooling tower
WEc3 2 makeup while controlling microbes, corrosion, and scale in the condenser
water system.
Water metering intents to support water management and identify
WEc4 1
opportunities for additional water savings by tracking water consumption.

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J. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Energy and Atmosphere

Must reach all the prerequisites first.

Possible Points Energy and Atmosphere (up to 33 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

Fundamental commissioning of building energy systems intents to support
the design, construction, and eventual operation of a project that meets the
EAp1 Prerequisite
owner’s project requirements for energy, water, indoor environmental
quality, and durability.
Minimum energy performance intents to reduce the environmental and
EAp2 Prerequisite economic harms of excessive energy use by achieving a minimum level of
energy efficiency for the building and its systems.
Building-level energy metering intents to support energy management and
EAp3 Prerequisite identify opportunities for additional energy savings by tracking building-level
energy use.
Fundamental refrigerant management intends to reduce stratospheric ozone
EAp4 Prerequisite
depletion.
Enhanced commissioning intents to further support the design, construction,
EAc1 6 and eventual operation of a project that meets the owner’s project
requirements for energy, water, indoor environmental quality, and durability.
Optimized energy performance intents to achieve increasing levels of
EAc2 18 energy performance beyond the prerequisite standard to reduce
environmental and economic harms associated with excessive energy use.
Advanced energy metering intents to support energy management and
EAc3 1 identify opportunities for additional energy savings by tracking building-level
and system-level energy use.
Demand response intents to increase participation in demand response
technologies and programs that make energy generation and distribution
EAc4 2
systems more efficient, increase grid reliability, and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
Renewable energy production intents to reduce the environmental and
EAc5 3 economic harms associated with fossil fuel energy by increasing self-supply
of renewable energy.
Enhanced refrigerant management intends to reduce ozone depletion and
EAc6 1 support early compliance with the Montreal Protocol while minimizing direct
contributions to climate change.
Green power and carbon offsets intents to encourage the reduction of
EAc7 2 greenhouse gas emissions through the use of grid-source, renewable
energy technologies and carbon mitigation projects.

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K. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Materials and Resources

Must reach all the prerequisites first.

Possible Points Materials and Resources (up to 13 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

Storage and collection of recyclables intents to reduce the waste that is
MRp1 Prerequisite
generated by building occupants and hauled to and disposed of in landfills.
Construction and demolition waste management planning intents to reduce
MRp2 Prerequisite construction and demolition waste disposed of in landfills and incineration
facilities by recovering, reusing, and recycling materials.
Building life-cycle impact reduction intents to encourage adaptive reuse and
MRc1 5
optimize the environmental performance of products and materials.
Building product disclosure and optimization - environmental product
declarations intents to encourage the use of products and materials for
which life-cycle information is available and that have environmentally,
MRc2 2
economically, and socially preferable life-cycle impacts. To reward project
teams for selecting products from manufacturers who have verified
improved environmental life-cycle impacts.
Building product disclosure and optimization - sourcing of raw materials
intents to encourage the use of products and materials for which life cycle
information is available and that have environmentally, economically, and
MRc3 2
socially preferable life cycle impacts. To reward project teams for selecting
products verified to have been extracted or sourced in a responsible
manner.
Building product disclosure and optimization - material ingredients intends
to encourage the use of products and materials for which life-cycle
information is available and that have environmentally, economically, and
socially preferable life-cycle impacts. To reward project teams for selecting
MRc4 2 products for which the chemical ingredients in the product are inventoried
using an accepted methodology and for selecting products verified to
minimize the use and generation of harmful substances. To reward raw
material manufacturers who produce products verified to have improved
life-cycle impacts.
Construction and demolition waste management intends to reduce
MRc5 2 construction and demolition waste disposed of in landfills and incineration
facilities by recovering, reusing, and recycling materials.

XIV
L. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Indoor Environmental Quality

Must reach all the prerequisites first.

Possible Points Indoor Environmental Quality (up to 16 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

Minimum indoor air quality performance intents to contribute to the comfort
EQp1 Prerequisite and well-being of building occupants by establishing minimum standards for
indoor air quality (IAQ).
Environmental tobacco smoke control intents to prevent or minimize
EQp2 Prerequisite exposure of building occupants, indoor surfaces, and ventilation air
distribution systems to environmental tobacco smoke.
Enhanced indoor air quality strategies intents to promote occupants’
EQc1 2
comfort, well-being, and productivity by improving indoor air quality.
Low-emitting materials intents to reduce concentrations of chemical
EQc2 3 contaminants that can damage air quality, human health, productivity, and
the environment.
Construction indoor air quality management plan intents to promote the
EQc3 1 well-being of construction workers and building occupants by minimizing
indoor air quality problems associated with construction and renovation.
Indoor air quality assessment intents to establish better quality indoor air in
EQc4 2
the building after construction and during occupancy.
Thermal comfort intents to promote occupants’ productivity, comfort, and
EQc5 1
well-being by providing quality thermal comfort.
Interior lighting intents to promote occupants’ productivity, comfort, and well-
EQc6 2
being by providing high-quality lighting.
Daylight intents to connect building occupants with the outdoors, reinforce
EQc7 3 circadian rhythms, and reduce the use of electrical lighting by introducing
daylight into the space.
Quality views intents to give building occupants a connection to the natural
EQc8 1
outdoor environment by providing quality views.
Acoustic performance intents to provide workspaces and classrooms that
EQc9 1 promote occupants’ well-being, productivity, and communications through
effective acoustic design.

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M. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Innovation

Possible Points Innovation (up to 6 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

Innovation intents to encourage projects to achieve exceptional or innovative
INc1 5
performance.
LEED accredited professional intents to encourage the team integration
INc2 1 required by a LEED project and to streamline the application and certification
process.

N. LEED v4 BD+C NC criteria – Regional Priority

Possible Points Regional Priority (up to 4 points) (USBGC, 2014c)

Regional priority intents to provide an incentive for the achievement of
RPc1 4 credits that address geographically specific environmental, social equity, and
public health priorities.

XVI
O. Shanghai Underground Map

(Shanghai Metro, 2014)

XVII
P. Atrium Energy Performance: Summer Concept

(Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

XVIII
Q. Atrium Energy Performance: Winter Concept

(Shanghai Tower Façade Design Process, 2010)

XIX