Systems, Sites and Buildings Final Reflection

Over the course of the semester, I learned a lot about the interaction between human experience, spatial construction and the inherited dynamics of energy, heat, air, light and water. Each assignment helped to further my understanding of these topics.

Assignment 1: Solar Diagrams gave me a new understanding of the movement of the sun and its relation to how we consider architecture. There are major seasonal differences in what angle the sun travels through the sky. In the winter, the sun is much lower and creates more intense shadows. In the summer, we must consider shading devices to protect a building from overheating. It is important in design to consider the affect that the sun has on the building year round.

Assignment 2 and 3: Flow Diagrams was a great exercise in diagramming for one. I learned that two factors influence the water footprint of consumption in a country. The first is what and how much do consumers consume. The second is what are the water footprints of the commodities consumed. I created diagrams that communicated the gross virtual water import and export of the world regions between 1995 and 1999.

Assignment 4: The Bay Game taught me first about the Chesapeake Bay watersheds. When we played the game, I was a Land Developer in the James River Watershed. I was able to choose what types of land I should purchase and develop. Communication between the other roles in my watershed was key and should be considered as an important element in the actual development of the Chesapeake Bay watersheds.

Assignment 5: Energy Systems was an interesting assignment and allowed some creativity. We had to design for the delivery of energy needs to a population in the aftermath of a disaster. I chose to work on a design for my hometown of Melbourne, Florida, which is often effected by hurricanes.  I proposed to use solar panels to capture energy in the forms of heat and electromagnetic radiation to charge cell phones, heat water, and heat pools. I enjoyed this assignment for the purpose of teaching me more about different types of energy systems that can be used at both large and small scales.

Assignment 6: Thermal Perception taught me how to use and read a psychometric chart. By plotting the temperature and humidity on the chart one can determine design strategies that may fall within human comfort zone as well as passive solar heating and natural ventilation. For this assignment my measurements that I gathered and analyzed did not align with my personal experience in the location.

Assignment 8: Natural Ventilation was another great exercise in diagramming. I learned about the different types of ventilation, in particular, cross ventilation was applied in my case study. Cross ventilation uses air-pressure differentials caused by wind. It depends on two continuously changing factors: wind availability and wind direction. The wind creates a high pressure zone where it impacts the building and a low pressure zone on the leeward side, drawing air through the building. Pressure is highest near the center of the windward wall diminishing to the edges as the wind finds other ways to move around the building so air intakes are preferable near the center or the high pressure zones.

Assignment 9: Applying Principles in Design was a great summary of the entire course. It helped me apply all of the skills I gained from the course to my studio project. I found it beneficial to first evaluate the design of my house in plan in terms of sun angle/path, wind speed/direction, ventilation, and thermal comfort. I studied how the intervention of a porch would function in both the winter and in the summer. In particular I studied the differences of sun angle, natural ventilation, wind direction/speed, and thermal comfort. I explored two very simple material choices that would make sense for the particular season.

I will continue to apply the skills that I gained from this class. I already have noticed myself asking new questions and thinking about new strategies in design that I did not consider before taking this class.

Assignment 9-Charlottesville House

In my current studio project, we are working on remodeling a house in Charlottesville, VA (for confidentiality purposes of the homeowner I cannot reveal the exact location). Within the scope of our project we are only looking at design interventions on the first floor of the home. We typically work in a very iterative manner, which was important for me to consider when evaluating the particular design for this project.

I found it beneficial to first evaluate the design of the house in plan in terms of sun angle/path, wind speed/direction, ventilation, and thermal comfort.

It is important to recognize that the porch is being proposed as good solution to issues of too much solar gain in both the bedroom and kitchen due to southern sunlight.

In the following sections, I studied how the porch would function in both the winter and in the summer. In particular I studied the differences of sun angle, natural ventilation, wind direction/speed, and thermal comfort. I explored two very simple material choices that would make sense for the particular season. These ideas are easily communicated in the diagrams below:

Assignment 9 Preliminary

In my current studio project, we are working on remodeling a house on Page St in Charlottesville, VA. I decided that it would be beneficial to evaluate the house as is in order to influence some decisions that I will make. In my project, we are only making changes to the first floor of the house, so while the second floor appears in my sections I am not going to evaluate it.

The section I chose to investigate in my larger section is the current bedroom and kitchen. The rooms are connected by a door and each have a window. These rooms are connected in terms of natural ventilation and sunlight.

Sunlight:                                                                                                                                               As the house is oriented so that the two windows face east and west. Therefore, these two rooms receive a majority of their sunlight in the morning and late afternoon. In the winter, the sun covers more area of the bedroom and reaches into the neighboring kitchen. In the summer, the angle of the sun is much sharper.

Wind/Ventilation:                                                                                                                                              Wind direction tends to be similar in the summer and winter in Charlottesville. Wind blows from the southwest. Wind speed tends to be a little faster in the winter than in the summer (9 mph versus 7 mph). The positioning of the windows as well as the door would allow for cross ventilation. Also because it is such a short distance, the air passes through with a nice flow.

James Turrell at Rice University

Throughout his career, James Turrell has explored light as both a medium and metaphor for personal introspection. His work invites the viewer to greet the light.

Turrell’s artistic explorations have led him to create his signature work: “sky-spaces”. They are intimately scaled enclosures that allow his audience to view the sky through an opening in the roof while programmed lighting subtly washes the interior’s white surfaces with a slowly unfolding cycle of colors. During the periods of dawn and dusk, the celestial dome brightens or darkens. This changing light gradually alters the viewer’s perception of the patch of sky floating above. The sky’s infinite depth appears to flatten in relation to the two-dimensional ceiling plane and its color modulates in complement to the chromatic sequence. Each viewer’s experience is different from the next. In order to fully appreciate the experience of the skyspace, one must take an active role and become fully immersed in the art.

Twilight Epiphany at Rice University is Turrell’s 73rd skyspace. With its design, he introduces elements such as a pyramidal form, multilevel viewing, an open-air configuration, and audio components that heighten the metaphorical thrust of his invitation to greet the light. By working with these new properties, Twilight Epiphany takes on a sense of timelessness: it merges modern architectural characteristics with aspects of that recall the longing among earlier civilizations to understand their place in the vast universe.

At the center of the roof is a 14-square-foot aperture, which is the focal point of the skyspace. From outside, one might mistake the structure as being the principal art object, especially when flashes of brilliant light emanate from the object at dawn and dusk. The computerized displays illuminate the surrounding area and draw onlookers from across campus. In the minutes before sunrise and sunset, 244 synchronized LED fixtures, located in a recessed trough in the parapet handrail wall, throw vivid colors across the white surfaces of the atrium’s walls and ceiling. Occupants are mesmerized by the light show and its effect on their view of the sky above.

 

Source: http://www.archlighting.com/skylights/light-and-lightness_2.aspx

Natural Lighting Strategies

In terms of sustainability, natural lighting is one of the most important tools. The following are five strategies for natural lighting:

1. Window orientation to maximize the benefits of day-lighting. Through the size and location of windows, one can utilize sunlight in many ways. Day-lighting refers to capturing diffused light without compromising comfort and function. This strategy should also enhance the quality of light, depending on the nature of the room involved. However, the issue with day lighting is reduced insulation value. This problem is easily solved by using roof overhangs and by avoiding locating windows on the east and west side of the structure.

2. Use of clerestories. A clerestory is the part of the roof where a windowed section is provided. The ancient natural lighting strategy used mostly in Egyptian architecture is suitable for open plan homes where the ceiling follows the roof line.

3. Consider skylights. Although this strategy is linked to excessive heat gain as well as heat loss in the winter, proper installation can reduce these discomforts and enhance its mainbenefits. Translucent glazing should be used at a minimum. Tubular skylights are a type of skylight that aid in providing natural lighting on areas where windows are not possible because of the elevation or the room’s layout. This type of skylight uses a roof-mounted light collector that can reflect light into a metal or plastic tube, which then guides the diffused sunlight into the interior space.

4. Opt for retractable awnings. This strategy addresses the issue of controlling the intensity ofnatural lighting. In comparison to tinting windows, blinds, and fixed awnings, retractable awnings are far superior to other light diffusing strategies. It provides reduction of heat gain during warm seasons and insulation during winter.

5. Light shelves and louvered window coverings. The focus of this is to bounce out light from direct light sources. This reduces the intensity of the light, while distributing the light to areas where it may otherwise be unable to reach.

Assignment 8 – Yudell/Beebe House

Yudell/Beebe House- Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners

The Yudell/Beebe house is located in Santa Monica on an urban lot.  The house is shaped to optimize shading, natural ventilation and day lighting. Rooms have three to four exposures, while apertures are shaped so the house is painted with washes of daylight.

Santa Monica Average Temperatures and Precipitation:

Santa Monica Average Wind Conditions:

It is important to note that during the summer months there is a pretty focused Southwest to Northeast wind path.

Santa Monica Average Humidity and Wind Speed:

Psychometric Charts:

Year Round: Yellow shows comfort zone and red shows where natural ventilation can occur

Summer Chart: Yellow shows comfort zone and red shows where natural ventilation can occur

Natural Ventilation Diagrams (1) Temperature and (2) Direction of Air Flow:

The type of natural ventilation used in this house is cross ventilation, which uses air-pressure differentials caused by wind. Cross ventilation depends on two continuously changing factors: wind availability and wind direction. The wind creates a high pressure zone where it impacts the building and a low pressure zone on the leeward side, drawing air through the building. Pressure is highest near the center of the windward wall diminishing to the edges as the wind finds other ways to move around the building so air intakes are preferable near the center or the high pressure zones. My natural ventilation diagram shows how it works in the summer months. The house is oriented so that the pool side receives south westerly winds, which is typical for the summer months. Wind is therefore able to flow through the inlets and outlets that I am about to describe.

The inlet location is by the pool on the lower level of the house. Is is important that the primary inlet is here because it effects in what pattern the air flows. There is a secondary inlet on the second level, which provides comfort to the lesser occupied second floor. The outlet is located higher than the primary inlet creating a flow through the living area. Hot air rises so hot air is funneled out through the upper outlet windows. The system works well in the summer as a cooling mechanism.

This ventilation process is similar to that of stack effect ventilation because hot air rises and it is being pushed out of the clerestory windows of the house. The hot air rising creates a vacuum in the interior space, which is used to bring cooler air from the outside into the building. In this particular case, the vacuum is enhanced by wind.

At a human scale:

The diagram above shows how the natural ventilation would effect a human. Because the view is of the second floor of the house, it is much warmer. (Hot air rises.) The upper floor is cooled much faster, however, than if there were only inlet windows on the first floor. However, it is still much warmer up there than on the first floor. The cold air is pushing the warm air up and out the clerestory outlet windows.

Basement Tour

 

Last Tuesday, we went on a tour of the basement of Campbell Hall. We learned about all of the systems that work to make the building run smoothly. Systems include air, hot and cold water, electric, etc.

Cross Ventilation According to Kwok

Cross ventilation establishes a flow of cooler outdoor air through a space. The flow carries heat out of a building creating better circulation. Under appropriate climatic conditions, cross ventilation is a viable and energy-efficient alternative. There are two different design objectives when using cross ventilation: direct cooling of occupants as a result of increased air speed and lowered air temperature OR the cooling of building surfaces to provide indirect comfort cooling. The effectiveness of each of these cooling strategies is a function of the size of the inlets, outlets , wind speed, and outdoor air temperature. For direct comfort cooling, air speed is critical. For structural cooling, airflow rate is critical.

The cooling capacity of cross ventilation is fundamentally dependent upon the temperature difference between the indoor air and outdoor air (the outdoor air should be at least 3 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the indoor air). The less the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor air, the less effect cross ventilation will have. One cannot remove space heat or reduce space temperature by circulating air at room temperature. Another factor important to the cooling capacity is the outdoor airflow rate. The greater the airflow rate, the greater the cooling capacity.

Wind pressure, however, plays the biggest role as the greater the wind speed, the greater the cross ventilation cooling potential. Wind patterns can vary over seasons and throughout the day. If no air enters the inlet of a cross ventilation system, then system does not work.

A successful building form for cross ventilation requires maximized exposure to the prevailing wind direction, minimizes internal obstructions between inlet and outlet, and provides for adequate outlet area. An ideal building could be an elongated rectangle with no internal divisions with no external obstructions to wind flow such as trees, bushes, or other buildings. However, proper placement of vegetation, berms, or wing walls can channel and enhance airflow at windward openings. High inlets and outlets provide structural cooling but no air movement at occupant level. However, cross ventilation through lower inlets provides occupant level air movement.

Some examples of good cross ventilation strategies:

IslandWood Campus Bainbridge Island, Washington: Operable windows along a corridor allow air movement through a classroom building

Dog-trot house, Kauai, Hawaii: Wrap around porches used for indoor and outdoor living provide cross ventilation

Cafe, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii: Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and ceiling fans enhance air movement

 

All About Hurricane Sandy and What is to Come

Let’s look at how Hurricane  Sandy developed between last Sunday evening and Tuesday morning… On Sunday evening, Hurricane Sandy was described as having a warm core. All of the thunderstorms pump up and produce a lot of heat On land, there was a cold front coming east bound. On Monday morning, Sandy was still warm cored and moving north with the cold air continuing to surge east. It was even itself getting a separate low pressure center. On Monday evening, the interaction between Sandy and counterclockwise winds started to pull cold air all the way off to the coast. Winds from the cold air system started to move from east to west with the cold air about to wrap around Sandy. This moved the storm west bound creating a strong left turn in its path. Here was the transition from a warm cored storm to a cold cored storm occurred. On Tuesday, Sandy became a superstorm surrounded on the east side with the cold air wrapped around it. Waters off shore of New England are pretty cool so no tornadoes presented themselves throughout the course of the storm.

Climate change has been discussed as a potential cause of Hurricane Sandy. Strange weather patterns over the past several years as well as severe storms where they have not normall occurred have lead people to believe that climate change is an issue. In October, a survey found that 74% of Americans believe global warming is affecting the weather in the US .  The past is no longer a good guide to the future in terms of climate change. The issue can no longer be ignored.

Sandy was a hurricane embedded within a Nor’easter. Nor’easters typically occur in the north east of the US. They move in north easterly directions and wind blows from the north east. There is a Nor’easter forecasted for late Wednesday to into Thursday. Snow is forecasted as well as precipitation and cooler temperatures. It is predicted to reach down to parts of Maryland as well as the DC area. This will bring a lot of cold air, but is it enough for snow? Another factor that needs to be considered is moisture. Precipitation is predicted to be heavier along the coast with snow potentially higher in the overlap areas of heavy precipitation and cool air.

 

The Body and Thermal Comfort

In reading Moe’s Thermally Active Surfaces in Architecture, I found his connections made in relation to the human body most interesting.

The body must constantly modify its internal temperature through its own heat production and by absorbing the temperature of its surroundings in order to maintain thermal comfort. As the surrounding room temperatures increase, the rate of evaporative loss, also known as sweat, increases. When bodies come in contact with an architectural surface, conduction becomes the primary mode of heat transfer. However, this rarely happens that bodies are in direct contact with thermally active surfaces and objects. The body itself is a thermally active, hydronic heating and cooling system that transfers heat energy to and from its core to its skin. 

 

Certain thermal conditioning systems and configurations yield varying temperature profiles and corresponding levels of human comfort. The relationship between the temperature profiles in space and a human body demonstrates that various radiant sources yield more even temperature profiles and the lowest precipitation of thermal asymmetries in and around the body. This may be because of drafts, infiltration, the buoyancy of air, and the volatility of convection patterns in a space of thermal comfort. To fully account for human comfort, thermal calculations need to include surface temperatures of a space. James Marston Fitch noted that it is optimal to have thermally active surfaces on six sides of a space as show in the diagram below: