It is probable to assume that one day in the near future, much of the worldÆs electricity will be generated by solar energy. Sunlight is decidedly advantageous over fossil fuels as an energy source in three significant ways; it is abundant, long-lasting, and nonpolluting. However, today the primary challenge with solar energy hinges upon cost effectiveness. Until solar energy can be made economical for businesses and private citizens, other fuel sources will retain the inside track that they have held for centuries.
Fortunately, solar energy technology has made great strides in recent years, culminating in buildings such as the Four Times Square Building in New York City- a building which is its own freestanding, environmentally friendly electric utility. Photovoltaic panels, gas fired absorption H-vac systems, high-efficiency variable speed pumps, motors, and fans, and high performance glass curtainwalls all come together in the Four Times Square Building to create an attractive, efficient, and non-polluting testimony to the power and practicality of solar energy(Brown, 1999, p. 36).
Buildings such as the Four Times Square pay homage to those that have come before them. One such building is the Shanghai Bank in Hong Kong, designed and built by Norman Foster in the early 80s. Norman Foster, regarded as an architectural visionary, has in the Shanghai Bank executed his plan to achieve harmony between a man-made structure and the natural environment. Foster, when approaching a design, has made a habit of asking himself and the community the following questions: ôHow do our buildings communicate with the planet? How do they reduce energy or use recyclable materials? What makes a building green?ö; these questions guide FosterÆs architectural philosophy(www.architectureweek.com, 2000, p. N1.2).
Twenty years ago, electricity generated by solar energy was costing more than one hundred dollars per watt by the time ...