For this analysis, I chose to look at the Jasper Biological Preserve which is shown below.
There are not many buildings in this area, so I do not need to worry too much about how this building will interact with other surrounding buildings. Also, there is a lot of vegetation and nice views which can be taken advantage of when designing the building.
The weather in this area is relatively mild and dry with a lot of sunlight. As shown in the chart below, most of the discomfort issues come from the temperature being too cold. For this reason, design should maximize passive solar gains. Also, natural ventilation and sun shading can also be implemented to help cool the building in the summer. Because heating systems need to be included, the solar potential will be evaluated to see how much energy can be generated.
Solar Analysis was done, and it can be seen that a lot of solar energy can be generated from this location. Additionally, there is increased solar insolation when the south facing wall is angled inwards.
An energy model was then created for this building.
A second conceptual mass was created, and the results are shown below.
The second conceptual mass is able to generate more solar energy and has a slightly better benchmark comparison. Also,