Site Context - Somerville, MA (lot adjacent to 7 Putnam St.)
I chose for my site to be close to where I used to live in Somerville, MA. This is a city located right outside of Boston, and there was a recent expansion of the Boston Green Line subway to connect Union Square (in Somerville) to the Boston downtown area. This site is located about a 10 minute walk from the station and is currently an open grass lot.
Adjacent Buildings/Public Spaces
- Adjacent to the Somerville Community Growing Center (Situated on a ¼ acre of gently sloped hillside near bustling Union Square, Somerville - a rapidly-changing neighborhood in the most densely populated city in Massachusetts - it hosts rich programming including nature education and cultural performances and offers unique volunteer opportunities. - https://www.thegrowingcenter.org/about_us). The building could add to this community space, incorporating urban gardening into the building itself.
- Local Dog Park
- Neighboring homes - residential area.
Unique Site Features/Local Context
- Max height 3 stories for Somerville (max height potentially 50 feet?) within the residential zoning area (link here)
- Access may be an issue since it's a residential area - may need to think about parking area (and bike parking/infrastructure).
- Half mile from green line
Aesthetic and User Experience
I believe that this center should be eye-catching but not overwhelming dominant in the area around. For the most part, I want it to be a space that is interesting enough to stand out, but still be part of the community at which it is being placed. Overall compatible
General Sustainability Goals
- Large roof/canopy area to capture as much solar as possible
- Covered Outdoor spaces for the community to use during the warmer months and for events.
- Maximize daylight
- Use passive heating and have large thermal mass on the south side to support this.
- Rainwater collection - sloped roof
Local Climate Conditions
Using the climate consultant tool, I started to gain an understanding of the local climate conditions, design temperatures, average wind speeds, etc. The main theme for building in the Northeast of the US is to heat the building to meet the coldest temperatures of the year, but also be mindful that cooling during the hot summers is required (and could be possibly solved in part with passive ventilation and the stack effect).
Local Temp Ranges Over a Year (degrees F)
Local Wind Velocities
Psychrometric Chart
Design Option 1 - Single Building Mass
The first option would be a simple, single mass building housing the museum/education center on the left side (with the raised cylindrical atrium), the office/conference space on the right side, and then the auditorium on the southern bump out. This singular mass design would allow for potentially more green space to be kept on the plot and even keep enough to be used as a integral park. With regards to the amount of solar insolation hitting the space, the results from the solar study can be found below.
Solar Study Option 1
Using the Revit solar study tool, I was able to understand what surfaces were getting the most solar insolation and at what magnitude.
Energy Performance Simulation - Autodesk Insight
Option 2 - Collection of Buildings based on Use
The second option is a collection of buildings based on the three uses. The NW building would be the educational center/museum, the cylindrical building to the E would be the auditorium, and then building to the SW would be the mix-use office and conference center. All of these structures are connected by a mix of interior and exterior corridors (exterior for main use in the summer) and would be large enough to host a variety of events. This design option also create a courtyard between the three buildings can be used for community gatherings and would be open to the public 7 days a week (with outdoor tables and seating).
Solar Study Option 2
Energy Performance Simulation - Autodesk Insight
Net Zero Energy Target
Right now the current EUI of the building (obtained through Insight) shows a possibility to meet 44 kBtu/sf-year. This translates to about 1,739,232 kBtu on an annual basis for this building (or about 510,000 kWh in energy usage per year.
Based on the revised solar study only taking into account the roof areas, it looks like this building may have the ability to cover this energy usage (assuming 100% of the roof spaces could have solar PV on them). Realistically, there must be room for equipment and fire department mandated clearances, so if I cannot design to bring down the EUI, then I may need to include a carport structure of sorts with PV on the top to achieve the net zero energy vision.
Conclusions
Design Option 2 seems to be more interesting and fit into the surrounding neighborhood specifically as a community gathering space with separate buildings for the different uses. Having different spaces for education/museum center, the auditorium and conference area, and the hybrid work/collaborative space makes sense from a user perspective, and uses the site more adequately, creating a central greenspace for public gathering and enjoyment. Though both designs have similar EUI calculated based on the same parameters in Autodesk Insight, design option 2 increases the roof area for allowable solar PV array. For these reasons, I will be moving forward with the concept design option 2 of a collection of spaces connected by interior and outdoor corridors.