Tall Buildings. ‘Vertical facilities’ for the energy balance of the urban habitat

The Thesis has the general aim to inquire on tall buildings in relation to the quest for a more sustainable future, by going through research on their potential capability to produce energy from renewable sources. The final result is a systematic framework of tall buildings morphological and functional features related to building and renewable energy sources systems, and identifies critical elements and design variables as well, usefull for comparing tall buildings with targets such as Net Zero Energy Building and Plus Energy Building. The thesis is divided into three thematic areas. First of all, it investigates the tall buildings’ embodied and operational energy, by going through the most up-to-date literature and post occupancy evaluation data. The specific aim is to identify innovatory architectural strategies aimed at enhancing the energy efficiency of tall buildings. The second part of the research looks into the potential that tall buildings have of generating power from renewable sources. On the basis of an analysis of the technologies for generating power from renewable energy sources, the criticalities and the potential of each system implemented in tall buildings have been highlighted, focusing on the key issues of integration, maintenance and safety. Finally, a targeted selection of case studies, both built and experimental designs, are aimed to outline the state of the art, in terms of the implementation of renewable energy generation systems in tall buildings.