Energy efficiency in Thomas Herzog's architecture: from interdisciplinary research to performance form

Abstract

Pioneering in development of buildings aligned to their place and context, Thomas Herzog repudiates design of closed systems independent of their location. Energy crisis can be suppressed through his ecologically-aware housing designs. The outer skins can react flexibly to changing conditions, and the energy balance can be regulated like an open system in accordance with dissipative climatic structures. The key element of the building then is the envelope which is conceived as an energy-exchange medium that reacts to specific local conditions. This inductive assessment of the relationship between the building and its environment is a salient achievement which wards off the repeatable types or monolithic structures. Conventionally, Herzog’s architecture aims to reach to a self-sufficiency in ecology while the application of technology is his main concern, which is in fact an example of “technicist development” in the contemporary architecture. Encompassing a case study, this study is aimed at realizing how concepts are brought into construction by exploiting innovative energy efficient design. Further, it investigates less-focused concepts in establishing guidelines for future energy-efficient building design.