New Zealand House

Sector

Office Building

Location

London, UK

Year

2021

Architects

LDS Architects

Client

FMDC

3D Illustrations

LDS Architects & Riverfilm

LDS Architects proposed a renovation plan for the New Zealand High Commission building on Haymarket. It was originally designed in the 1950s and constructed in 1963. After renovation, the space will be more multi-functional with restaurants, bars and retail units.

The aim of this work was to summarize the performance of certain façade systems and glazing/shading build-ups for the refurbishment of the New Zealand House. The performance assessments are carried out with regard to:

Solar gains (set peak cooling loads)
Solar gains (different annual cooling loads)
Frequency of shading use affecting views out, appearance and real-life daylight
Façade (glazing) appearance

Our focus was not only to assess which façade solutions can meet a certain performance but also to look into the hourly performance that meets the occupants’ expectations. Selecting the right façade system is just the first step we need to take. As a second step, we needed to “tune” the system with the proper glazing types and shading properties to avoid excessive shading use, significantly compromising real-life performance and occupant satisfaction.