The Crystal Building

The Crystal
The Crystal is a Sustainable Cities Initiative

by Siemens.
LOCATION
• Between Olympic Park and ExCel in London

• Close to London City Airport
• Good connections to the London public transport
system
• Emirates Cable Car is directly next to the Crystal
Architectural Vision
Architecture
Image Courtesy of Wilkinson Eyre
•An exciting and iconic

Architects
form
•A set of Crystalline forms
•Concept of a Pavilion
building
The Building
Corporate Crystal Exhibition Crystal
Office Interactive Exhibition

Meeting spaces Classroom
Auditorium Shop
Café &
Restaurant
The Crystal
Building Facts and Targets
Dimensions 18 meters high, 45 meters wide and

1 88 meters long
Construction work started in January 2011, completed in

2 July 2012
Designed to be the first building in the world to have the

3 highest certification both according to BREEAM
Outstanding and LEED Platinum.
Sophisticated and integrated active and passive design

4 elements make it one of the most sustainable buildings in
the world.
The Crystal
One building with two parts
Key figures
 Whole building 6920 m 2,

thereof corporate areas
4098 m2 and exhibition and
street 2221 m 2
 Auditorium 270 seats
 Office160 desks
Exhibition  Expected visitors: 100,000
space p.a.
Auditorium  Designed to be the first
building in the world to
have the highest
certification both according
to BREEAM (Outstanding)
Main entrance and LEED (Platinum).
Cafe
Page 10 Sep-15
The Crystal
Passive design elements
1. Facade – highly insulated, 64% opaque, airtight and self shading.

2. Daylight – almost every area in the building has access to natural
daylight designed to minimise need for artificial light. Where needed
artificial lighting is controlled by joint motion and light sensors.
3. Natural ventilation – controlled by the BMS, sensing air quality,
temperature (internal and external) along with wind speed. A dual
mode functionality is provided when vents shut.
4. Landscape features – a critical balance of recycled, water permeable
and green coverage.
The Crystal
Active design elements
1. Photovoltaics – 1,580 sqm on the roof spread over SE, SW, NE and NW
orientations with the ability to generate 256 MWhr/yr. Siemens
inverters provide 98% efficiency.
2. GSHP – 160 no. piles under the building 21m deep plus 36 no. bore
holes outside the building 150m deep. This provides for heating and
cooling within the building via perimeter heating and chilled beams at
high level.
3. Solar thermal – 84% of the buildings hot water is supplied via a
combination of GSHP and solar thermal. 17 sqm of solar thermal collectors
produce 13 MWhr/yr of solar thermal heat.
4. Heat recovery – in the winter thermal wheels recover 60% of the
heat energy rather than letting it escape from the building.
5. LED lighting – the Crystal uses a combination of 65% fluorescent and
35% LED lights all controlled by an advance control system/BMS.
The Crystal
Active design elements
6. Low voltage – lighting and power distribution boards fitted with

power management meters. 53 no. electricity meters in total.
7. Rainwater harvesting – rain is collected into a 30 cubic metre tank under
the street and is treated via filtration and ultraviolet.
8. Blackwater – this receives the highest level of treatment when recycled
by passing through a biological tank with two treatment zones, anoxic
and aerobic, and two filers, a membrane filter and a long life carbon
filter.
9. Low flush toilets and low flow taps – less water and less energy used to
heat up water from the hot tap.
10.BMS – the Siemens Desigo system is critical to control all M&E systems. It
connects 11,000 no. BMS data points. This system will also be key to
proving the building does what has been stated it will do.
A Sustainable Building
3 5
2
8
7
6
1
Smart Buildings
Highlights the high-levels of
inefficiencies in most
buildings. Offers solutions
such as smart buildings,
reducing resources, and
making buildings more
efficient.
S
a
f
e
Keep Moving
Explores the
increased need for
transport
infrastructure as
people move to
cities. Discusses
the significance of
road and rail
electrification and
green transport
choices, integrated
traffic solutions and
e-mobility.
Water is
Focuses on the importance of
Lifeas a precious and finite
water
resource. Explores solutions that
provide access to drinkable
water including rainwater
harvesting, waste water
recycling, desalination, stopping
leaks, reducing water use and
improved water management
Go Electric
Highlights the difficulty of
matching energy supply and
demand and providing clean
energy. Explores the move to a
new electricity age. Solutions
include decentralised and
centralised energy generation,
smart grids, energy storage
and uptake of renewables.
Healthy Life
Displays the strain a growing
and aging population is putting
on healthcare systems.
Solutions include keeping
healthy, personalising medicine,
preventing diseases, reducing
costs through efficient processes
and infrastructure.
Clean and Green

Exhibits the pressure that
increased waste, pollution
and reduced air quality
places on our environment.
Features ways to improve air
quality, waste management
and CO2 emissions.

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The Crystal

The Crystal is a Sustainable Cities Initiative

• Between Olympic Park and ExCel in London

Image Courtesy of Wilkinson Eyre

•An exciting and iconic

Office Interactive Exhibition

Dimensions 18 meters high, 45 meters wide and

Construction work started in January 2011, completed in

Designed to be the first building in the world to have the

Sophisticated and integrated active and passive design

 Whole building 6920 m 2,

1. Facade – highly insulated, 64% opaque, airtight and self shading.

6. Low voltage – lighting and power distribution boards fitted with

Clean and Green

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