Design Project Check-In: Design Inspirations & Big Feature Ideas
Design JOURNAL ENTRY – MODULE 1
FOCUS
- DESIGN INSPIRATION AND BIG DESIGN IDEAS
Milan Innovation District, Milan, Italy
The concept was inspired by the Milan Innovation District (MIND) and this is clearly a design inspiration for me. The idea which includes a science campus created by Carlo Ratti Associati and is intended to establish new benchmarks for sustainable urban renewal. Using tactics to preserve natural resources like water, MIND is dedicated to becoming a zero-carbon precinct "powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources," according to UKGBC.
Human Technopole: a new building for scientific research, Milan Innovation District, Milan, Italy
My inspiration was the how the campus area is intended to become an essential component of the public space by maintaining continuity with the Decumano and Cardo, as well as the ‘visual interaction’ with Palazzo Italia. The Common Ground, which serves as the center of the building's location and function, is supposed to serve as the focal point from which the two functional and flexible volumes that make up the new structure will grow and it is expected to server as a hub of activity, with offices and laboratories spread out over two distinct, functional, and adaptable volumes. The ground level will be partially glass and partially open which ensures equal access to light which creates adequate urban planning in terms of scale and space. The common area will begin at the bottom and wind between the 10 stories, forming a linked unicum that reaches the roof and offering additional areas for socializing and unwinding.
Also inspired of how the concept of the Laboratory space and administrative offices will occupy floors one through nine, with dining spaces, training rooms, boardrooms, executive offices, and terraces with direct access to the green space located on the top floor. The latter, which consists of a series of asymmetric pitches and green terraces facing south with views of Milan, is the most recognizable feature of the new structure.
Innovative Building / System Features
In keeping with the green design concept, the photovoltaic system, and the green roof itself enable the roofing system to facilitate appropriate water control and aid in the generation of renewable energy.
- DESIGN INSPIRATION AND BIG DESIGN IDEAS
Opening to the public on September 24, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture will serve as both a focal point for ceremonies and performances and the main exhibition area for African American history and culture. Nearly 37,000 historical objects, records, and images that track African-American history through slavery, reconstruction, the civil rights movement, and into the twenty-first century are kept in the Smithsonian Institution museum, which is situated on the National Mall.
A variety of items with political, cultural, and historical significance are on display at the museum, such as a handkerchief belonging to Harriet Tubman, a dress made by Rosa Parks during her protest, Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves, a fedora worn by Michael Jackson during his 1984 tour, and a lunch counter stool from the Greensboro, North Carolina sit-ins.
My inspiration was not just the building design but the sustainability design leading to attaining a certified Gold by LEED, the program for leadership in energy and environmental design. Photovoltaic panels are one type of sustainable element; they generate electricity for the buildings to heat water.
BUILDING DESIGN IDEAS
The design of the building features two distinct design elements—the “Corona,” the signature exterior feature that consists of 3,600 bronze-colored cast-aluminum panels weighing a total of 230 tons, and the “Porch,” which serves as the location for the main museum entrance on Madison Drive.
Another essential element of the threshold experience is the landscape, which establishes the location as a key element of the design and offers perimeter security and environmentally friendly storm-water management. The sequence of landscaped areas, which extend from the ground floor to the rooftop, is meant to represent a physical and metaphorical story, with water acting as a steady and lively companion all along the way.
A reflecting pool at the south entry brings the museum into the view of the National Mall, with calm waters meant to invite all to approach.
After crossing these symbolic thresholds, broad sweeping paths draw visitors into a landscape that is both continuous and sequential, layered with trees native to the South. Live oaks, magnolias and American beeches are part of diverse plantings chosen to reinforce the broad themes of the museum: resiliency, spirituality, hope and optimism.
ANOTHER INSPIRATION WAS THE INNOVATIVE MEP
At 92.0 kBtu/square feet, the proposed energy usage intensity (EUI) of the building exceeds the average code compliant ASHRAE 90.1-2004 building performance by 30.5 percent. This project represents the first usage of chilled beams, power generation, and sustainability at this level within the Smithsonian Institution.
Numerous cutting-edge features have contributed to the museum's attainment of this level of sustainability, including a 384-panel photovoltaic array that can generate 102,562 kWH of electricity annually; occupancy sensors for daylight harvesting; chilled beam units for office areas; demand-controlled ventilation; and a system for storing and reusing rainwater and groundwater.
- LLYS CADWYN FITNESS CENTRE, PONTYPRIDD
A decrepit shopping center was turned into an eye-catching mixed-use development by Llys Cadwyn, a remarkable flagship construction. Originally intended to be a catalyst for change, it has generated hundreds of new jobs and increased traffic to businesses that already existed.
Pontypridd, South Wales
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council initiated the £42 million Llys Cadwyn redevelopment project in Pontypridd, South Wales, realizing the value of completing a gateway project that would spur regional economic growth.
The abandoned site, which was formerly the Taff Vale Shopping Center precinct, held a crucial strategic position for the town center. The BREEAM rated Three parallel, two-to five-story buildings, including a dynamic new Transport for Wales headquarters, was developed to benefit the town, providing more than 1,000 individuals offices in 14,693 square meters including a café, exercise studio, gym, library, and customer service area.
I am inspired by the architectural design which was influenced by dynamic thermal model simulations, which also assisted in optimizing the building's glass and structure to maximize the development's passive solar thermal benefits. There is quite a bit of low-energy technologies installed and they are as follows:
- photovoltaic panels cover the two buildings' roofs
- Air source heat pumps with variable refrigerant flow to meet all three buildings' heating and cooling needs.
- An integrated heat and electricity unit to meet each of the buildings' hot water needs.
- Combined Heat and Power systems using hydrogen fuel cells.
- DESIGN INSPIRATION AND BIG DESIGN IDEAS
Zeal Hotel Exeter
Inspiration: Seventy percent of international tourists think that if they were specifically looking for
sustainable lodging, they would be more likely to select one. (Booking.com, Apri