Journal Entry For

Module 7 - Building Envelope Systems

Roof is hidden in this view in order to see each level and wall characteristics.

Features of my proposed building envelope:

The exterior walls are CMU on Mtl. Stud with an R-value of 54 hr-ft2-F/BTU in order to keep the heat in.
The interior walls

The main interior walls on the first floor, I used the interior 4 7/8” partitions with an R value of 21 hr-ft2-F/BTU. These were the walls surrounding the bathrooms, and therefore need to keep the heat in surrounding the changing areas and bathrooms.
For the walls surrounding the climbing areas, these were generic 12” masonry walls with an R-value of 1 hr-ft2-F/BTU. The reasoning behind this is to allow for the heat that is absorbed through the southern curtain wall to continue to flow in through the rest of the building for natural heating/cooling.

for the roof, I created my own roof made from two layers. The first layer was the roofing membrane 6”-thick. The second was the rigid insulation roughly 1’-thick. Together, these layers made a 1’6” thick roof with a resistance of 55.7203 hr-ft2-F/BTU. The thermal mass is 15 BTU/ft2-F.

Because I have a good amount of curtain walls, I only used windows on the east side of the building. I limited the number of them as to limit the amount of direct heat gain during the hotter months through these areas. I used fixed 36”x72” windows with wooden panels for aesthetic purposes, and overall rating of R2.

there is one huge curtain wall covering the entire South side of the building, and one on the north side of the arched exterior wall. The R-value for the curtain wall panels is 2.86 hr-ft2-F/BTU and will allow for a lot of thermal heat to pass through in order to heat up the entire space. Additionally, there is a curtain wall surrounding the climbing area on the second floor. This is to allow for visitors on the top floor to see everything happening from the café area upstairs. On the north side of the building, the curtain wall is located on the side with the indoor gym area. My idea for this space is to incorporate a lot of greenery (plants) and therefore this space needs light. I also love the idea of incorporating a lot of natural light into the workout areas to increase overall well-being, and mood.

The doors I used for my design were the largest fixed doors with the dimensions of 36”x84” with an R-value of two. These are the interior doors and do not need to be insulated well as the entire building is being used for fitness.

Originally, I wanted to have a lot of skylights over the climbing wall area. However, after my check in last week, I realized that because of the curtain walls, I may have too much heat in the space due to the radiation from people in the space. Therefore, for now I will not have skylights and will use the entire roof for PV arrays to power the building. However, if I feel that the skylights are necessary after further investigation into the radiation from people in the space, I will add one above the advanced bouldering area and one above the café seating area.

I added an overhang on the South side of the building, above the curtain wall. This will help prevent some of the direct solar heat gain from being too aggressive through the curtain walls.

Energy Modeling

Once I submitted my energy model to Insight, this is what my starting place was once adjusting the operating schedule to the BIM value:

I then began narrowing the ranges for the building-envelope factor tiles.

Building Envelope Adjustments:

After making adjustments, this was the new predicted mean:

Suggested adjustments/ main drivers for improvement:

Design Journal Entry - Module 7