Design Journal Entry - Module 12 Wrap Up

Scored

Your Name

Ma, Matt

Journal Entry For

Module 12 - Sharing Your Project

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ACC Revit File Link

Created

Jan 6, 2025 12:34 AM

Last Edited

Jan 6, 2025 12:34 AM

Created by

Glenn Katz

Overview

Replace this text with your reflections on your design journey through class from a higher level and share your insights about the entire experience. What were:

Key / Essential / Unique Design Features that you explored in your project.

I was deeply captivated by the idea of modular construction before the start of the quarter and wanted to utilize the opportunity of taking the BIM modeling workshop to not only consummate my Revit skills but also experiment the practice of large scale modular construction and assess the feasibility of such practice in the future from a design’s perspective. Therefore, the main unique feature about my project is modularity. Upon observation, it is not difficult to tell that the architecture structure of the building is heavily dictated by each of the triangular modular units (I think this is also one of the limitations that I have discovered about modular construction; since the standard modular units are determined and prefabricated in the first place to reduce construction timeline, modular construction can be quite challenging when employing on projects with more whimsical shapes.)
Additionally, I want to underscore the importance of sustainability. My intention is to maximize the use of the natural renewable energy and decrease the dependence on grid energy to achieve this goal. Approaches taken include installing high performance tinted glazings on the south face to utilize solar energy for heating the building to reduce reliance on the mechanical systems. Also, the greywater collection systems are incorporated into the plumbing network to prevent excessive waste of water. Moreover, Solar PV units are installed on the top of the green roof to effectively provide sufficient power to the building.

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

The biggest success for me is not only being able to explore the idea of modular construction but also learn design inspirations from others. Through this class, I am able to realize I am not the only person that is passionate about using novel construction techniques. Alonso and I shared the similar opinions in modular construction and I was able to gauge the future of civil engineering from others perspective. In addition, this is my first time successfully to incorporate the architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and the plumbing models as a whole; the sense of accomplishment to see my first actual building design coming to live is incomparable, especially when appending all the mind blowing rendering effects using Twinmotion. Moreover, this is an indication that I enjoy the process of modeling! And I look forward to working with Glenn again in CEE 220C in the next quarter :)

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.

Speaking of the biggest challenges, what immediately springs to mind is modeling the mechanical systems. A very valuable lesson learned in the process of designing mechanical system is that I did not reserve enough space in the mechanical shaft for the duct runs in the initial space planning phase of the design. This has resulted in not having ambient space for a certain portion of the duct that requires large cross-section area to meet the required CFM at that specific location. This has put me in quite of a predicament since the only place sufficient enough to house that portion of the duct is outside of the building. However, the approach of putting main ducts outside of the building would not be viable since the ambient environment (temperature, moisture, etc.) will have drastic impact on the energy efficiency of the ductworks. Therefore, I will ensure to include enough spaces for mechanical rooms on each level to encounter similar challenges.

Lessons Learned -- what sage words of advice would you share with other students who are embarking on a similar project.

It is totally acceptable to be perplexed with too few or too many ideas in the beginning of the quarter, but make sure to establish a decision point for yourself and know when to move forward because the modeling will become increasingly intense in the later weeks and will easily get overwhelmed, especially if you are also taking other intensive classes alongside.
Don’t be afraid to model! You always have CTRL + Z in Revit!!