Ana Ximena Sosa

Journal Entry For
Module 6 - Evaluate Your Alternatives
ACC Folder Link
https://acc.autodesk.com/docs/files/projects/8c5c6f0e-77ad-475c-b808-18ff440afe0a?folderUrn=urn%3Aadsk.wipprod%3Afs.folder%3Aco.jQR0CK32T_OccXZPPcAqiQ&viewModel=detail&moduleId=folders
Link to Student
Ana SoAbout Me

Module design process:

The two nodes created measure cooling tons and construction costs for both facade surfaces and floor area mass. The prompt calls for consideration of the most relevant metrics to a contractor / building developer, so the focus is costs. Costs can include two main components: costs of construction and costs of failing to rent/lease the space and not get return of investment. While cooling tons are not directly costs, a developer may be better to lease the place to clients if energy costs are low and overall a sustainable building can be an incentive for faster leasing and less time of idle renting with no return of investment.

I spent a few hours working with solar insolation to model the potential of a south facade integrated building PV. However, after working on it for a while I could not resolve several bugs and kept obtaining null results. Even after opening the starter file from the example, the solar analyze node was not working so I had to shift and ended up working on the two nodes above.

Node logic pictures:

2 node metrics added to the node logic from assignment 5 to report along with original 3 metrics
2 node metrics added to the node logic from assignment 5 to report along with original 3 metrics
1st custom node that calculates cooling tons using floor mass area and rule of thumb 1 ton of cooling for every 500 sq ft
1st custom node that calculates cooling tons using floor mass area and rule of thumb 1 ton of cooling for every 500 sq ft
2nd custom node that calculates construction costs using floor mass area linear regression of the building height and the cost (from USD $500 per square foot at ground level to USD $1000 per square foot at 750’ above the ground) and surface area facade ($400/sqft) and rule of thumb 1 ton of cooling for every 500 sq ft
2nd custom node that calculates construction costs using floor mass area linear regression of the building height and the cost (from USD $500 per square foot at ground level to USD $1000 per square foot at 750’ above the ground) and surface area facade ($400/sqft) and rule of thumb 1 ton of cooling for every 500 sq ft

Metric results of two new node metrics for cooling tons and construction costs (surface + area)

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  • Point to Ponder: Do the new evaluation metrics that you’ve designed capture the meaningful differences between the building form alternatives?

The most relevant metrics to as a contractor / building developer are costs. Costs can include two main components: costs of construction and costs of failing to rent/lease the space and not get return of investment.

The cost of construction is outlined in the second node with both floor area costs and facade surface area costs.

The costs of failing to lease can be connected to the ability to rent the space in the first place. A good way to rent the space is incentives: one being lower energy costs which are associated with lower cooling demands. Thus, the node measures cooling tons.

Height is a main driving factor for both since size changes, thus this was the input parameter changes within design. The height itself changing does not encompass all the drivers for the building performance change. I would like to measure solar potential for daylighting and a PV solar estimate of expected production on both the roof and facade for integrated PV. I tried doing so with the solar insolation nodes but it failed, so I switched to simpler cost estimation nodes.