Ventilation System for Buildings with Atria
Atria are often designed into buildings to provide a light and
airy environment which is adaptable for the needs of the occupants.
By providing a flow path through the building, they can also aid
the adoption of a natural ventilation strategy for the surrounding
rooms.
Breathing Buildings has developed an innovative low energy
approach to the ventilation of buildings where rooms are connected
to a central atrium. The system can be deployed in buildings with
one storey as well multi-storey buildings. In winter, high level
vents or windows in the atrium are used to bring fresh cold air
into the building as well to exhaust the hot polluted air. The air
mixes naturally in the atrium owing to the convective flow patterns
which develop in the space. The Breathing
Buildings A-series units are then used to exchange the atrium
air with the occupied rooms adjacent to the atrium.
In summer the building is ventilated using upflow displacement
ventilation. Air enters through exterior windows in each room
before flowing into the atrium through specially designed Breathing
Buildings A-series transfer units. The air rises within the atrium
and exits through the high level windows or vents at the top of the
space. The large difference in height between the low level entry
of fresh air and the exit of warm air through the atrium creates a
large buoyancy effect which draws air through the building.
For more information please download the A-Series PDF document
in the Download box.