Overview
The building is designed as a Sustainable Built Environment Learning and Exhibition Center that is going to educate and inspire professionals and the community at large, such a center can help to promote a more sustainable future for the built environment. The building is located in the rural open area near Stanford Dish. The advantages can be Natural Beauty, greater design flexibility, and less congestion.
My building design goal is to create a structure that meets the needs of its intended occupants and serves its intended purpose efficiently and aesthetically pleasingly.I set four specific targets to achieve sustainable, buildable, usable, and operable design goals. They are to use Sustainable Materials, Pre-fab Assemblies, Maximize User Satisfaction, and Reduce Energy Use (Lights, Heating, Cooling, etc).
- Key / Essential / Unique Design Features that you explored in your project.
- Curtain Wall
- Light Shelves
- Open space
- Your Big Successes -- what worked very well and what features you're most proud to share as examples to inspire others.
- Optimizing energy performance
- Space arrangement
- 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.
- Mechanical System Design
- Lessons Learned -- what sage words of advice would you share with other students who are embarking on a similar project.
- Don’t expect to finish the design at once.
- Although modifications are needed, plan before modeling.
- Have the design goals as a reference throughout the process.
I set two-level high curtain walls to increase natural light and reduce the cost of lighting. With adequate natural light, it creates a comfortable and inviting indoor environment. It’s energy efficient reducing consumptions of heating and cooling.
Light shelves increase the energy efficiency and let in natural light too. They reduce glare which provide more comfortable environment compared to
By utilizing steel frame and appropriate space layout, the open space was maximized. Open space accommodate flexible plans and needs for exhibition and events. It’s also cost -effective and good for ventilation.
This was the first time I knew about energy modeling. With the assistance of Insight, simulations of energy consumptions under different building conditions got simplified and visualized. By setting benchmarks, efficient comparisons were made. HVAC and lighting optimizations were made based on Insight results.
It took hours for me to finally meet every requirement of the space need for an exhibition center. I was trying to maximize the space to accommodate multiple exhibitions and events. And then I found out I would like an efficient and comfortable traffic flow as a visitor. Moreover, I considered placing the space that need more natural light near the curtain walls facing south. At last, modifications were made to meet the accessibility and safety requirements.
HVAC system modeling took me the longest time through the project. There were several constraints that cost efforts. My design started from performance requirement, and first was limited by the size constraint. Then I needed to integrate HVAC system with other systems. Overall, there was a balance that I had to achieve during the process.
To meet the design requirements or to improve the performance, times of changes for architectural, structural, and mechanical system design can’t be fixed. Also, the process of iterations may trigger innovation and creativity.
Plan ahead like scratches and mind map on paper will help avoid repetitive work. It makes sure the design involve every need.
As it is a long journey, it’s natural to feel lost in the details and the design goals will take you back to the track.