Working share link to your Forma project
https://app.autodeskforma.com/buildingdesign/pro_wjhdwvx1rk/7f1efef4-4736-49fc-b563-2d3618ae3581
One page facade comparison showing both options with their metrics
Typical floor plan image with unit types or zones labelled, plus the unit mix schedule
One AI render of the chosen scheme
Design memo of 300 to 500 words: how the massing changed from Week 2 and why, what the facade studies showed, what you chose, and where you overrode the automation
From week 2, I extended the bottom floor of the building to add more commercial space and to add some more dimension to the building so it was not just a rectangle. For the floor plan, I decided to have all of the apartment units on the outside of a U-shape design with the interior being the elevators, common space, and a trash room. The two staircases touch exterior walls to ensure the egress paths are simple, easily accessible, and will put the residents outside the building in the quickest way possible. From the facade study, I started with putting a balcony in every apartment. On the south side of the building this caused shadows from the upper level balconies to the bottom levels. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it was something to consider for the second design. For this design, I made all of the 5’ x 5’ windows bigger like the ones that are seen by the balconies. I wanted to see how the bigger windows would impact the sunhours, but it did not change as much as I thought it would. What did have a bigger impact was me getting rid of the balconies on the south side of the building. When this wall only has windows, there are no shadows and all of the sun can go straight into the apartments. I overall decided that I would prefer to have a building that has balconies in every apartment to keep that aspect uniform throughout the whole building. I made this choice because the balconies from the upper level apartments did not impact the sun hours into the lower level apartments, they just covered the other balconies. The total carbon used for the first design is also lower than it is for the second design which makes it a more desirable design choice as well. One place I had to design manually was for the window facade. I did not have consistent dimensions across my building, or at least not in a pattern, so I manually placed all of the windows, doors, and balconies. When designing buildings in the future, I will try to have repetitive dimensions in order to make this part of the design process more efficient.