A facade is green when its performance is measurable: lower U-values, controlled solar gain, airtight detailing and documented embodied carbon. This hub collects the engineering facts behind Hanart’s sustainable envelope work — carbon data, LEED-certified project records and the product systems that earn certification points.
Aluminum at 8–16 kg CO2e/kg, glass at 1.1–1.3, steel at 1.8–2.3 — and what recycled content actually saves on a 40,000 m2 project: 8,640 tonnes CO2e down to 3,240 tonnes. EPD documentation follows ISO 14025 / EN 15804 and feeds LEED v4.1 MR credits.
Carbon footprint of curtain walls →Four delivered projects with verified certifications — LEED Gold at Senlan International Plaza with 7 EA points, Platinum with 16 EA points at Qingdao Grand Theatre, and BIPV envelope contributions at Suzhou and Nanjing. Each claim links to the factual record.
LEED facade case studies →BIPV solar facades, ventilated double-skin envelopes, low-E triple glazing, ceramic fritting and recycled-aluminum framing — each system mapped to the LEED and BREEAM credits it contributes, with links to the full product pages.
Green facade product systems →
Operational energy is decided at the envelope. On a typical commercial tower with a high glazing ratio, the facade drives 40–60 percent of total energy demand — 25–35 percent from heating and cooling losses, 10–15 percent from lighting displaced by daylight and 5–15 percent from solar heat gain. Every lever below converts a specification decision into a modelable energy-saving number.
| Parameter | Documented value | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Envelope U-value | 0.9–2.2 W/m2K by climate and system | Plant test cabinet, mock-up thermography |
| Solar heat gain (SHGC) | 0.22–0.55 tuned by orientation; fritting cuts up to 0.20 | Datasheet + project-specific simulation |
| Recycled aluminum | 0.5–1.5 kg CO2e/kg vs 8–16 for primary | EPD per ISO 14025 / EN 15804 |
| BIPV generation | 740 MWh/yr on a 6,200 m2 envelope (2024 record) | SCADA monitoring, 25-year guarantee |
| Environmental management | ISO 14001 certified design, fabrication, installation | Certificate on file, audits on request |
The company-level sustainability narrative — credentials, commitments and the honest boundary of what can and cannot be claimed — lives at About Sustainability. This hub adds the engineering data layer: carbon figures, certification records and product credit mappings.
Facade decisions influence four LEED v4.1 credit categories. Energy & Atmosphere “Optimize Energy Performance” awards up to 18 points on building energy cost savings; EA “Renewable Energy Production” adds up to 3 points for BIPV; Materials & Resources awards up to 2 points for EPD-documented products and recycled content; and Indoor Environmental Quality “Daylight” adds up to 3 points. A documented facade upgrade — from baseline double-glazed clear to high-performance triple low-E — can move a building from 5 percent energy savings (1 point) to 35 percent savings (12 points). That 11-point swing is decided almost entirely by glazing specification, which is why we publish the data instead of a slogan.
It means the envelope’s energy, carbon and material claims are documented: U-values and SHGC verified by plant tests, embodied carbon backed by EPDs to ISO 14025 / EN 15804, and certification contributions mapped to LEED v4.1 credits. Claims that cannot be measured are stated as such, not marketed.
On a commercial building with a high glazing ratio, the facade drives 40–60 percent of total energy demand: 25–35 percent from heating and cooling losses, 10–15 percent from displaced lighting and 5–15 percent from solar gain.
Yes. Hanart delivered curtain wall systems on four LEED-certified projects, including LEED Gold at Senlan International Plaza (7 EA points) and LEED Platinum at Qingdao Grand Theatre (16 EA points). Details are on the LEED cases page.
Environmental Product Declarations for aluminum extrusions, glass, steel and sealants, prepared to ISO 14025 / EN 15804. They support the LEED v4.1 MR credit for Building Product Disclosure and Optimization.
Yes. The Suzhou International Science Plaza envelope generates 740 MWh per year and contributes 3 LEED points under EA Renewable Energy Production; payback was 6.8 years on a 25-year NPV of USD 1.42 million.
Send your climate data, glazing ratio and certification target through the RFI form. The engineering team responds with glazing, framing and BIPV options mapped to the EA, MR and EQ credits they earn, plus the EPD and test documentation behind each choice.
Building facades are replaced every 25–40 years, which means the envelope will be refurbished or reclad long before the structure reaches its 50–100 year design life. Choosing systems that are demountable, recyclable and documented with EPDs from the first installation makes the refurbishment phase lower-carbon than a conventional reclad with virgin materials. Hanart designs unitized panels with mechanically fixed connections, so glass and metal can be recovered at end-of-life rather than crushed with the frame.
Send us your climate data and certification targets — we will respond with glazing, framing and BIPV options mapped to the LEED or BREEAM credits they earn, backed by EPD and test documentation.
