ControllablE Solar Shading

The New York Times Building

Project location:

  • New York

Project details:

  • Client:
    The New York Times Company, Forest City Ratner Companies, ING Real Estate
  • Architect:
    Renzo Piano Building Workshop & FXFOWLE Architects
  • M&E Consultant:
    Flack + Kurtz
  • Construction Manager:
    AMEC
  • Project Brief:
    To provide a movable sun tracking louver system

Colt Products:

Leaflet:


Optimisation of natural daylight at the New York Times' new headquarters

At 52 storeys and 1,046 ft (319m) high, The New York Times Building is one of New York's greenest skyscrapers. It has a co-generation plant that supplies 40% of the power requirements for the Times Company and its advanced daylight optimisation system produces overall Times Company energy savings of 30%.

Input was sought from the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) of Berkley Laboratories to investigate how to make this building a more energy-efficient, comfortable and productive place in which to work. Researchers tested alternative hardware and control solutions in a newly constructed, 4,500ft² mock up of a portion of the building.

The New York Times Building

As a result integrated technologies were used to reduce electric lighting energy use through the use of natural daylight, while controlling glare and cooling loads in this highly glazed building.

The glazed facade of the tower has a brise soleil consisting of 186,000 ceramic rods which link in with a dimmable lighting system.

 

Roof top view
Internal view

Colt has provided a movable Solarfin solar shading system above the skylight on the adjoining Editors Block measuring 130 ft x 70 ft. A Colt ICS 4-Link control system, linked to the building's BMS, ensures that the louvers track the path of the sun, whilst if the sky is sufficiently overcast the louvers open to allow in maximum daylight. Manual overrides allow personal intervention.