Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Nature Meets Sustainable Urban Landscape
The design of the 340,000 sf Lucas Museum of Narrative Art creates a seamless connection between nature and the urban landscape, while also functioning as a vibrant community gathering space. A standout and innovative feature is the waterfall and pools which blend natural beauty while harnessing the natural power of the site.
Highlights
The museum’s condenser water plant (medium-temperature cooling) features a triple modality with ground (geo) heat exchange, passive waterfall cooling, and concealed cooling towers, backed up with large-volume storage of medium-temperature cooling water below-ground. The unique, naturalist combination of “passive before active” cooling supports the centennial priority of conserving resources.
Energy and water savings may occur throughout the seasons with the museum’s hybrid cooling. When outdoor temperatures increase, the cooler ground temperatures maintain a higher efficiency.
During milder months, the waterfall and the water pools provide free-cooling, which is stored for both day- and night-time use. Cooling towers boost capacity at drier, lower temperature conditions. The multimodal cooling plant harmonizes resources on-site with a long-term view. The water pools are located on the north-west side of the building, with shaded conditions during parts of the year. The cascades of the waterfall aerates and treats the water naturally inhibits microbe growth, reducing the use of chemicals.
On-site chillers for low-temperature cooling are of all-electric, heat recovery type which provide simultaneous cooling and heating. Heating results as a by-product of active, low-temperature cooling. The free heating is used for warm-up sequences and temperature control throughout the premises, winter as well as summer.
As compared to a conventional mechanical cooling plant, the museum is anticipated to save more than 3,000,000 gallons of water per year.
