Why is the center of Xiong'an called "the building with breath"?

In the Xiong'an New Area of Hebei Province, the Xiong'an Pilot Free Trade Zone Exchange and Exhibition Center is known as the "breathing building". The reporter recently visited here to learn about the "black technology" hidden in it.

On January 15, aerial photography of the Xiong'an Pilot Free Trade Zone Exchange and Exhibition Center.　Photo by Han Bing

Smart, green and innovative are becoming the unique business card of Xiong'an New Area. As one of the first batch of zero-carbon demonstration buildings in the new area, the Xiong'an Pilot Free Trade Zone Exchange and Exhibition Center (hereinafter referred to as the "Exchange and Exhibition Center"), which will be put into use in December 2023, has been designed with the concept of "green, ecological, brand, open and innovative" as the main purpose at the beginning of the design.

From a distance, this white building is elegant and elegant, full of artistic atmosphere. Walking into it, the construction achievements, investment promotion, and policy promotion of the Xiong'an Pilot Free Trade Zone are displayed here. In addition to the display function, its own high-tech attributes are also particularly interesting.

"The building is like a living organism, and through a combination of technologies, it can achieve energy self-sufficiency. Talking about why it is called a "breathing building", Zhang Lei, the designer of the exchange and exhibition center and the construction engineer of the Xiong'an Railway Construction Center project, explained.

When viewed from the air, the building reveals a unique glass dome. Zhang Lei said that the top of the AC exhibition center is covered with photovoltaic panels, and the roof is covered with photovoltaic glass skylights, relying on an efficient, reliable and intelligent photovoltaic power generation system to convert solar energy into current, and then through the optical storage direct and flexible technology, the intelligent adjustment of the entire DC microgrid is carried out, and finally the self-sufficiency of building power energy is realized.

In Xiong'an in winter, the outdoor temperature is low. In this building, however, the thermometer on the wall shows 24°C.

"In order to make the exchange exhibition center 'spring all year round', a ground source heat pump system is used here to provide heating and cooling services. Zhang Lei said that the ground source heat pump system discharges indoor heat to the ground in summer, and takes out the underground heat for indoor use in winter, effectively maintaining the balance between heat discharge and underground ecological environment, and realizing the energy saving and carbon reduction effect of the building.

In addition to the use of solar and geothermal energy, the building is also well insulated. Zhang Lei said that some doors and windows of the exchange exhibition center are implanted with electrically controlled central sunshade louvers, which can be adjusted through manual control and intelligent technology automatic control, so as to isolate the sun's thermal radiation to the outdoors.

Zhang Lei said that the combination of seven active and passive technologies, including ventilation corridors, thermal insulation and shading, ground source heat pumps, photovoltaic storage and direct flexibility, energy storage water tanks, high-efficiency electromechanical and intelligent operation and maintenance, makes this building have a "green core" and "can reduce carbon emissions by about 190 tons per year".

At present, Xiong'an New Area is vigorously promoting ultra-low energy consumption buildings, in addition to the Xiong'an Pilot Free Trade Zone Exchange and Exhibition Center, many ultra-low energy consumption buildings have been put into use. Nowadays, the urban framework of Xiong'an New Area has been fully opened, the prototype of the city is emerging, and this "city of the future" is growing jointly.