Table Of ContentBioclimatic Double-Skin Façades
Visually enriched with over 250 photographs and drawings, Bioclimatic Double-Skin
Façades is an essential reference guide for understanding the types and functions of
double-skin façades. Author Mary Ben Bonham examines the history and continuing
potential of double-skin architecture, informing on the variety of approaches possible
and advising a rigorous integrated design process leading to application. Featuring a
wide selection of architectural examples, the book will be of interest to professionals
and students within the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction.
Characterized by a buffer-like air space between two glazed building skins, double-
skin windows and façades aim to improve building comfort and energy performance.
Double skins introduce complexity and initial costs, yet significant buildings in locations
around the globe continue to select this approach. In addition to exploring motivations,
benefits, and cautions for designing with double skins, the book provides a primer on
fundamental façade design concepts and strategies for control of thermal, luminous, and
acoustic environments. Chapters also address alternative types of high-performance
façades and implications for each phase of façade design and construction.
Bioclimatic Double-Skin Façades promotes bioclimatic design that is inspired
by nature, measured in performance, and uniquely adapted to climate and place.
In-depth case studies illustrate how double-skin façades have been adapted to a range
of climates and cultural settings: Marseille Library and Grenoble Courthouse in France,
Cambridge Public Library in Massachusetts, Manitoba Hydro Place in Canada, and the
Pearl River Tower in China.
Mary Ben Bonham is Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture + Interior
Design at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is a registered architect, NCIDQ-
certified interior designer, and LEED-accredited professional.
“The building skin is the lynchpin to achieving sustainability and resilience goals in
buildings and urban habitat, and double-skin façades are an established strategy in
pursuing these critical goals. Bonham makes an important contribution to this effort
with a long overdue articulate and comprehensive review of double-skin technology and
applications. Bonham gifts us with an articulate, comprehensive and beautifully written
review of double-skin façade technology and applications. This backward and forward
look at this well-established strategy in the critical pursuit to resilient and sustainable
buildings and urban habitat provides a much needed update and contextualization of
this rapidly evolving technology.”
Mic Patterson PhD LEED AP+
Ambassador of Innovation & Collaboration
Founder, Immediate Past President
Facade Tectonics Institute
Bioclimatic Double-Skin
Façades
Mary Ben Bonham
First published 2020
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Taylor & Francis
The right of Mary Ben Bonham to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bonham, Mary Benedict, author.
Title: Bioclimatic double-skin facades / Mary Benedict Bonham.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019024214 (print) | LCCN 2019024215 (ebook) | ISBN 9780415842143
(hardcover) | ISBN 9780415842150 (paperback) | ISBN 9781315661384 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Exterior insulation and finish systems. | Facades—Design and
construction. | Bioclimatology.
Classification: LCC TH2238.7 .B66 2020 (print) | LCC TH2238.7 (ebook) | DDC 729/.1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019024214
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019024215
ISBN: 978-0-415-84214-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-84215-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-66138-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Univers
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
For my husband Daniel L. Bonham and our son
Isaac B. Bonham.
And for my parents Libby Mattingly and
Ben S. Mattingly Jr., 1939–2015.
With deep appreciation for your love and support.
Contents
Case Study Location Map x
Acknowledgments xiii
Foreword by Terri Meyer Boake xv
Introduction xvii
1 A Bioclimatic View of Architecture 1
Climate and Nature 1
Climate and Culture 1
Bioclimatic Design 5
Sustainable and Regenerative Design 10
Framework for Analysis 11
2 Double-Skin Façade Concepts and Strategies 15
An Integrative Strategy 15
A Bioclimatic Kit of Parts 18
Bioclimatic Design Concepts and Strategies 27
3 Double-Skin Façade Classifications 41
Cavity Partitioning 42
Ventilation Type and Mode 55
Structural Classifications 70
Alternative Nomenclatures 73
4 Double-Skin Façade History, Part I: Origins 77
Buffer Zones in Vernacular Architecture 77
Mid-19th Century: Glass for Light and Heat 81
20th Century: Glass for Health, Thermal Comfort, and (Sometimes) Ventilation 83
Mid-20th Century: Ventilation and Acoustics in Early DSF Architecture 91
1970s: Energy Focus Feeds DSF Development 93
1980s: Experimentation 94
5 Double-Skin Façade History, Part II: Adaptations 105
1990s: Proliferation in Europe 105
21st Century: Global Expansion 111
Supertall 122
vii
6 Double-Skin Façades: Motivations and Alternatives 131
Motivations 131
Benefits, Cautions, and Costs 135
Alternatives 139
7 Double-Skin Façade Performance in Practice 159
Façade Performance 159
Façade Design Process 160
1 Predesign: Concepts and Criteria 162
2 Schematic Design: Models and Iteration 165
3 Design Development: Simulation of Performance 168
4 Construction Documentation: Collaboration with Fabricators 176
5 Bidding / Final Buyout: Final Fabrication Drawings 177
6 Construction and Closeout: Mockups, Installation, and Quality Assurance 177
7 Post-Occupancy: Evaluation and Feedback Loops 182
8 Double-Skin Façade Case Studies 187
8.1 Marseille Library | BMVR de Marseille (Marseille, France, 1997–2004) 189
8.2 Grenoble Courthouse | Palais de Justice de Grenoble
(Grenoble, France, 1994–2002) 221
8.3 Cambridge Public Library (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 2002–09) 249
8.4 Manitoba Hydro Place (Winnipeg, Canada, 2004–09) 279
8.5 Pearl River Tower | 珠江城大厦 (Guangzhou, China, 2005–13) 311
Resources 344
Index 348
Climate Classifications Map 352
viii
