Friday, August 31, 2007

Natural Ventilation?


For any of you still struggling with passive vs. active space conditioning, here's a helpful flow chart that will assist your decision making process. It comes from a UK publication called " Natural Ventilation in Non-Domestic Buildings".

Incidentally, 30 - 40 W/m2 translates to 2.8 - 3.7 w/sf. Typical internal loads in an office building are 1.5 -2.5 w/sf before any envelope gains are included, so your building has to be pretty efficient to have any chance of making it work.

I will have "office hours" next Wednesday afternoon (9/5) from 2PM to 6PM EDT. If you wish to meet with me via phone, send me an email with your preferred 30 minute block.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

CS- Week 4 - the radio silence continues

Sorry folks. I had you give me permission to post to your blogs. Thanks for that. Unfortunately there is some bug in the blogger software; whenever I try to post something on your blogs the software reverts back to my own blog. And I spent way too much time trying to figure out how to make it work. So, I'm trying something else. Stay tuned and please elevate and detail sketch.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

CS - Week 4 - next steps

Hi all, sorry for the radio silence. google shut me out of my own blog for awhile...
I hope this doesn't happen for any of you.
Everybody has a slightly different path from here on. I need a bit more time to put together individual requests. But in the meantime we all should be pushing elevations, material and the beginnings of key details. Even if the plan changes, these elements will stay the same. I would like you to elevate at least the north and the south facing elevations, annotate for materials and rough sketch material transitions at ground, at a window, at the roof. The more the marrier. Posting a plus.

Monday, August 27, 2007

CS - Week 4


Hello everyone. I hope you all had a great trip home and caught up on some sleep. I know I haven't yet.

Please read the Final Blog Requirements under Course Documents and give Chris and I permission to post on your blog (see attached image; it should look similar). Thanks

Friday, August 24, 2007

AT - Lecture

Yesterday's Lecture is posted at:

www.greenengineer.com/lecture%202.pdf

AT Office Hours

Sorry to bug out early last night. If anyone needs some of my time, I will have office hours from 11:30 - 1:oo today.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

solar chimney + wind generation


Here's a "real" version of the solar chimney + wind power I was describing last night. It's a project in Australia.

You can find out more at: http://www.enviromission.com.au/index.htm

CS - Week 3: Parti (2)

A successful parti would answer a most of the following questions:

Site: - Access: Main Entry. Service Entry. Parking
- Topography: Main Elevation, how to make up drop on site
- Open Space: Leftover. Main feature

Geometry: - City Grid
- Transit Route
- Free standing / attached
- Object / Part of row

Program: - How many levels --- Footprint
- Expressed / Imbedded
- Where on site are major program elements
- How do major program elements relate to each other

Reactions to site influences:
- Transit, movement and noise
- Pedestrian movement
- Neighborhood qualities (grid, mass, materials, texture, etc)

Monday, August 20, 2007

My ecological footprint


Here's my ecological footprint

Despite my hybrid car, all those plane flights and the big house in the suburbs take their toll.

Of course the quiz doesn't asking me questions like: "What kind of electricity do you buy?","Is your house air conditioned?", "Do you recycle?", "How much insulation do you have".

In fact, the quiz makes many assumptions, and uses national averages in many places (try changing your location, and nothing else), so recognize it for what it is - A crude tool, designed to get our conversation started.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

CS – Week 3: Parti



If you would have to design a user guide for a surfboard, this would be the parti.
The parti organizes the program on the site, arranges the major geometries, establishes hierarchies, assigns major materials, locates main elements.
Choose goals from your vision statements, weigh them in importance and put together sketches to develop a parti. By changing the goals and the assigned weight, you will be able to develop different parties. Several parties will be required. Use plans, sections, models to best represent the essence of the parti.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

CS – Week 3: Vision

You already developed three+ environmental goals, you had an introduction to structural design considerations, and you visited the site. You know your program: living working, exhibiting for the intensive portion of a long distance learning program.
Now it is time to develop a vision for your project.
Determine three goals each for:
- the site.
- the program
---- livning quarters
---- working environment
---- exhibit / connection to community
- the neighborhood / community
- the "world" community
- the time we live in.
Discuss in small groups, determine goals (if you can’t agree on a common gaol, define your own), find images and/or descriptions to document your goals, document.
This vision will be the thesis of your project. It will be the benchmark for the rest of your semester.