Dagny Carlsson

Journal Entry For

Module 11 - Sharing Your Project

Overview

The design works well with the landscape, and matches the curving hills - aesthetically pleasing.
The design minimizes heat fluctuation by placing some of its exhibition halls below ground, also working with the landscape.
The windows on the south side should help to naturally heat the building during the cold winter months, and much of the building should be shielded from direct sun on the days when cooling would most be desired.
The green roof can help with water collection, one of my main sustainability goals.
There is plenty of space for solar panels.
The green roof also provides a fun place for student gatherings, in addition to a cool attraction.
The building is sustainable, beating the Architecture 2030 standard.

My design was curved, so this made the structure more difficult in that I had to cantilever curved corners and attempt to hide columns.
I did not initially anticipate having a sizable mechanical room, so late in the design process I had to reconfigure other spaces in my project to allow for one. This means that my mechanical room is probably too small.
I had to use Robot to model a cantilevered terrace, which was difficult to design and accurately model.
I had to model a green roof.
My restrooms were not stacked, so every plumbing component had to be modeled individually rather than copied.
My design includes terrace that splits the second floor into two parts, making it inefficient to route HVAC ducts from a single system.

Stack your bathrooms! It was so difficult to plumb each restroom individually because each one was unique. It was also difficult to place risers because the restrooms were located in different parts of the building. For simplicity, place them close by and make them symmetrical.
Get really good at coordinating between your projects! You can change the settings in Manage Links to make links into attachments, and they will automatically unload if you have all of your mechanical/architectural/structural projects linked. This way you can always see a coordination view, no matter which project you are in.
Use the 3D views and walk around to get a good sense of where your components are, and make sure they don't overlap.
PRIORITIZE THE CORE! Remember that buildings need a core to work, and that mechanical components will need to be routed somewhere. If you don't take this into account when planning, you will have to make up for it later. This includes mechanical spaces behind restrooms.
KEEP IN MIND ALL THE SYSTEMS NEEDED. Do not forget that you will need to model structural, plumbing, HVAC, AND architectural elements. This is important for the ceilings in particular - you will need to keep in mind the heights of the structural members so they don't overlap with the HVAC system. If you keep this in mind for the entire design process, it will help save lots of time.