I changed my site location from Bangalore, India, to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands to add the challenge of a humid climate. Bangalore enjoys moderate climate throughout the year, so Port Blair may be more exciting to design for. The site is located along the sea shore.
I was not able to find the site location Climate Consultant, so I used a comparable Indian city whose data is available on the database. Based on that, the psychrometric chart generated is below:
This shows that the major conditions that I would have to account for in my design are cooling, dehumidification, and sun shading; all of which checks out, since the site is located in a coastal zone.
Although my design concept and vision involves a more sculptural building, I tried to see if the energy analysis would change my mind about a more rigid form, and if I should rethink my design based on this. My main design options involve two of them, one organic, and the other more rigid. Form analysis:
- Insight Energy Analysis: After adjusting various parameters to get the lowest score possible for each option:
- Solar Analysis:
Conclusions: Option 2 is better, since it has better solar insulation for harnessing PV panels, and lower payback period. It also consumes lesser energy than that the other option. The energy analysis provides hints on the placement of window for cooling, shading, ventilation, etc. It also affects the orientation of the building; fortunately, the longer edge of the side is NE sea-facing, so there will be larger windows on that side, with the cool winds from the sea readily captured. the provision of courtyard/atrium would allow for cooler parts of the building. Another important aspect is the angling of walls facing the sun, which would allow for shading. I decided that the side of the building receiving maximum western/southern sun should be sloping inwards and with lesser glass, so that the shading effect is maximum. The roof can be used for PV panels instead.
To further bring down value in Insight, I would have to adjust HVAC type to high efficiency VAV, which is the only factor that would majorly impact the score. So, in a way, reaching Architecture 2023 at 6.7 instead of 17.9 would not be too easy. Changing the operating schedule and PV payback limit would also help.