Factory in the Forest l Design Unit Architects Snd Bhd

Architectural competition-Factory in the Forest-winning entry for an electronics manufacturing plant. This site is conceived as a forest that penetrates, surrounds & steps over the building creating maximum contact with nature – green, breeze, scent, sound, touch. A canopy supported by a ‘forest’ of columns creates unity in the office & courtyard while giving protection from the tropical sun. Office levels give access to roof gardens and staff is encouraged out for breaks, meetings, or just contemplation.

A green courtyard separates the office & factory with views and access from both. A bridge over the courtyard links the office & production & this circulation route becomes a space for meetings, breaks & lectures. The factory has views to the landscape & the sky condition through full-height & clerestory glazing with glazing protected from the sun by free-standing off-form concrete fins and roof louvers. Rainwater cascades from roof spouts – heightening awareness to tropical storms, to storage tanks for landscape irrigation.

The plant receives natural diffused light across the entire factory floor reducing dependency on artificial lighting that, combined with chilled water floor slab cooling & cutting-edge air-conditioning technology reduces energy consumption to half that of a conventional plant of similar size.

Structure & materials are expressed; off-form reinforced concrete and steel structure, glazing, and landscape. With this small palette of materials, the building explains to us what it is, what it is made of & how it is put together. The approach was to create a stimulating & meaningful working environment for all employees – the forest to be the face of the building & company. Forests, critical for both macro & micro-climates are also vital for our psychological well-being.

Sustainability – From the project’s onset, the client wanted an energy-efficient and climatically responsive building. The cardinal sustainable design principles were energy efficiency, water efficiency, daylighting, and biophilia – the fundamental human need for connection to Nature.

The building is designed to shield against the hot & glaring tropical sun, while allowing diffused natural daylight to filter into the building. The office & courtyard are shaded by a louver canopy designed to provide effective solar protection during the hottest part of the day.

The factory skylight design was optimized to achieve an evenly day-lit work environment. The simulations and daylight measurements in operation show that the factory floor achieves an evenly day-lit work environment without glare throughout the year. Dimmable daylight responsive LED lighting and individual task lighting ensures that the required light levels are always obtained.

An innovative radiant floor cooling system works with embedded PEX pipes in the concrete slabs throughout the factory & office. By cooling down the slabs to about 21°C, this structural element of the building doubles up as part of the cooling system. The higher chilled water temperature and the water-borne cooling transport makes the radiant floor slab cooling twice as energy efficient as conventional air-conditioning.

Project Info:
Architects: Design Unit Architects Snd Bhd
Location: Malaysia
Area: 15000 m²
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Lin Ho Photography
Manufacturers: AutoDesk, ISEO Asia, Moonlight Industries, Trimble Navigation, WCEC Group, Zenith Project Sdn Bhd