Why is it important to accurately model the land features of your project site with a toposurface?
The topography of the land features are major context points of the project. They can alter the structural foundation, lighting, wind, and other natural features that can either aid or be an obstacle to designing the building.
What are the advantages of stacking the levels of a multi-story building vertically?
One building that doesn’t vertically stack is the Oodi Public library in Finland. The non vertical stacking allows it to explore different double story spaces and lighting. Apart from opening up the floor plan of a building, non vertical stacking can help create passive cooling systems that takes advantage of rising hot air to ventilate a building. Additionally, it can help introduce natural lighting to floors that otherwise wouldn’t receive it.
Why do stairs follow specific proportions with a set relationship between the tread length and riser height?
Stairs follow specific proportions primarily for safety of the people using it. If a stair tread is too high or narrow it can be difficult to climb making users more prone to falling. Additionally, stair proportions are designed for efficiency in moving people between levels even with limited space. Building modeling can help us do the math on stairs so that we know how much space they take up given the proper proportions.