Collaborators: Victoria Lee and Yorgos Berdos
Re-tooling Balfron is a speculative energy retrofit to the 1967 London social housing project, Balfron Tower by Erno Goldfinger. Goldfinger used heliotropes to conduct solar model analysis as part of his working methods, and this project extends the use of analog modelling techniques--a filling tank model of the project illustrates the introduction of a buoyancy-induced ventilation strategy.
The design retains the existing concrete of the 26-floor tower for structure and thermal mass while introducing a series of environmental apparatuses for seasonally modulating heat and coolth. Sawtooth solar extensions on the south and west replace conventional balconies, intercepting summer sun and reducing overheating through increasing biomass. Circular ducts are integrated into each dwelling unit, extending like straws/snorkels up the building exterior, enabling buoyancy-induced natural ventilation. Large rainwater funnels on the roof channel water into rooftop storage tanks, which supply gravity-fed irrigation along the new east circulation / vertical garden.The former boiler tower becomes a data hub, ensuring data autonomy for its residents, while also generating excess heat that feeds into both living and social spaces in the adjacent residential tower, where every fifth floor is given over to a communal space including community gardening, outdoor pool, children’s playpark, and laundering facilities, all of which also act as winter heat sinks.