Module 2 - Points to Ponder

Why does it matter to model the real terrain and real neighboring buildings?

It’s important to model the real terrain and real neighboring buildings because they can impact what you are designing. For example, if there’s tall buildings surrounding your building you might not be impacted by wind so much, but will probably receive less sunlight. 

◦  Which aspects of a building design are most affected by surrounding context?

The building itself. For example, if we are building a house in a neighborhood that has a light color paint job on the exterior of the houses and all houses are gated. You would probably not want to have a dark colored house or no gate because it would ruin the type of style the neighborhood is going for. 

◦  What kinds of mistakes only become visible once the context is present?

How the wind/sun actually impact your design of a building. Beforehand you can only assume what you think is going to happen, you might not always be right.

Should the building adapt to the site, or the site to the building?

◦  From a developer's perspective?

The site adapts to building. A developer wants to make money and typically they have an idea for a house that will do just that. This means they might flatten the terrain, add more trees for more value, and use up all the space to add more rooms. 

◦  From a designer's perspective?

It depends on what they are given. They aren’t there to pick and choose what to do, they are there to just listen to the owners ideas and give feedback. Sometimes a client might have the building adapt to the site or sometimes have the site adapt to the building. 

◦  From the perspective of the neighbors who already live there?

They would want it to adapt to the site because they probably already have a certain aesthetic going and changing that would ruin that look.

Sun hours and wind frequently want opposite things from the same massing.

◦  How should a team break the tie when two analyses disagree?

Assuming we are talking about sun hours and wind, we should select what would have less of a safety issue. For example wind if conditions are bad we should account for that because they could have structural impacts and we could always add more lighting to account for the lack of sun. 

◦  Who should have the final say, and at what point in the process?

City code officials and structural engineers make sure codes are being followed and that its safe during the early design phase. 

◦  What is a rapid operational energy analysis leaving out?

Peak hours and coincidences