Design Journal Entry - Module 12 Wrap Up

Journal Entry For

Module 12 - Sharing Your Project

Overview

Two core structure: small size cores for utilizing prefabricated timber
Mass Timber shell: warm atmosphere, sustainable material compared to using concrete
curtain walls: Maximizing natural light, minimizing construction schedule by using prefabricated curtain walls
Two big interior exhibition rooms: Exhibition can be hosted regardless of the weather conditions.
Open Kids play zone: Parents can watch their children while having a coffee at the café.
Adjacent café and gift shop, considering visitors route

Your Big Successes -- what worked very well and what features you're most proud to share as examples to inspire others.

I try to use timbers for all shell structures. Although some frames are designed with the steal due to the structural stableness, most of the materials are designed with the timbers. Timber can embody a lot of carbon, so the overall life cycle carbon emission of the building can be decreased significantly by using it. I try to unify the size of the frame materials for maximizing prefabrication and minimizing on-site work.
Rather than using many windows, I decided to use curtain walls. Also I install shades on the curtain walls to achieve two main goals simultaneously: optimizing building energy requirements and maximizing natural light.
Roof top garden: which can enhance building energy efficiency, visitors can enjoy fresh air and nice view.
High floor level

Your Big Challenges -- what aspects of the project created the biggest challenges and what would you do differently (in hindsight) to avoid or overcome these challenges.

My big challenges are structural design. Since the building includes some large spaces which require long span girders and beams. I mainly use timber for the girders and beams under 00 feet, and ended up changing long span girders and beams to steel. This is because steel frame generally can maintain longer span than the timber one. Both interior exhibition rooms have 50' spans.
Also this big exhibition rooms require long and tilted timber columns. I designed brace to the columns

This building contains two different type of rooms which are respectively, research rooms and commercial rooms. Also, this building was planned to use natural light as much as possible, so it was long width shape. Those two conditions challenge the utility system design. I ended up designing two cores at the either end of the building, so the MEP and sewer can be separately connected to each core depending on the rooms' purpose.
Lack of the restroom area: I designed the restrooms next to the utility rooms and cores for efficiency.
Lessons Learned -- what sage words of advice would you share with other students who are embarking on a similar project.

I would like to suggest using grid at the early stage of the design to easily coordinate the architectural model and the structural model.
Revit energy analysis is greatly helpful to glimpse overall sustainability of the building, but I suggest the other students to consider additional sustainability in the conceptual design phase, such as material life cycle or local material availability. Even if the materials can reduce the energy consumption of the building remarkably, they could require large amounts of carbon emissions in the logistic stage. I learned those detail considerations of materials also can affect building sustainability by conducting research at the early stage of conceptual design phase in this class.

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