Assignment 2- Passive Design Strategies ARCH-2306-EL Prof. Jean-Philippe Saucier Adayah Okung, Tanya D’souza October 22, 2020
Contemplative Space; The Meditation Center
The design process of this meditation center entailed analysing and exploring the site. This crucial step entails understanding the surrounding areas of the site, as well as climate conditions such as wind and solar patterns, shadows and surrounding vegetation. The intentional analysis of these elements aid designers to achieve a passively designed building. This exposition sheds light on the step by step analysis of the paths, site and site conditions that led to the orientation and layout of the building.
Site Analysis; Sun Path; The Sun path was the first site condition studied and finding the path of the sun during the winter and summer solstices was the first step here. The sun travels from the East to the West throughout the day. Using the website, SunEarthTools.com, the sun path was tracked for two different dates, the first being January 21st, 2020 for the winter solstice and the other being July 21st for the summer solstice to figure out the sun's altitude and azimuth during these seasons. In the summer solstice, (See Figure 1.1)at solar 9 am, the altitude was 60 degrees with an azimuth of 4 degrees(ESE). At solar noon, the sun travels with an altitude of 65 degrees and an azimuth of 0 degrees. At solar 3 pm, the azimuth was -45 degrees and an altitude of 60 degrees. The altitude and azimuth differ at these same times in winter (See Figure 1.2). The solar 9 am had an azimuth of 45 degrees, with an altitude of 10 degrees. The solar noon had an azimuth of 0 degrees and an altitude of 25 degrees. The solar 3 pm had an azimuth of -45 degrees and an altitude of 10 degrees.
Figure 1.1. Sun path from source. (Source: sunearthtools.com. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.sunearthtools.com/)
Figure 1.1. Sun path from source. (Source:sunearthtools.com. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.sunearthtools.com/)
Those particular times were intentionally chosen to decide the orientation of the building, to prevent poor solar maximization and to plot the shadows of the area to prevent limited passive solar potential when the building is built on the site. It also helps with the next step, which is calculating shadow patterns of the site. It aids in locating where the sun would rise and set on those dates, which guides one to an adequate site to locate a building to maximize natural and passive daylighting.
Shadows; Studying the site's shadow is important for site analysis as it guides the designer to look at the best areas to use as a site to maximize passive solar potential. Understanding the sun's path throughout the year aided the study and calculation of the vegetation's shadow in the area. A majority of the shadows came from the surrounding trees. The conclusion that winter tree shadows fall in the northwest direction (See Figure 1.3)and mostly in the north direction during the summer (See Figure 1.4).
Figure 1.3. Tree Shadows in Winter
F igure 1.4. T ree Shadows in Summer
Prevailing Winds; Information about the prevailing winds in the different seasons was sourced from weatheronline.co.uk. It shows the precise direction of the prevailing winds and was a very helpful source to refer to when choosing the final location and orientation of the building. The results showed that summer prevailing winds come from the South-West direction. While the winter prevailing winds come in from the North-East direction. These results permitted further thinking and development on the building's orientation. The possibility of angling the side of the building with the largest windows between the South-West summer and North-East winter winds in order to avoid the harsh winds coming in from the surrounding water bodies during the winter as well as maximize the cool breeze during the hotter months.
Surrounding Vegetation; Continuous site visits allowed for a broader understanding of the habitat and vegetation around the site. Most of the vegetation in the area are coniferous trees, an efficient wind-breaker. There is a large cluster of pine trees (See Figure 1.5) towards the north direction of the area. This acts as a windbreak, reducing the harsh winter winds approaching the site from that area. The opposite end of the site, towards the North, has a sparse amount of trees, such as red maple and birch (See Figure 1.6)and shrubs, allowing easy access to the cool summer winds coming onto the site from Bennett lake, allowing for natural ventilation around the site. Sun access, however, is affected by the cluster of trees towards the north, as it prevents a lot of sunlight from entering the area, causing solar shading in that area. Although, the south side has no sunblock
and allows for a good view out onto the lake while still allowing the site to receive a lot of solar daylighting and radiation.
Figure 1.5. Pine tree from source. (Source:treemusketeers.net (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.treemusketeers.net/pine-tree/)
Figure 1.6. Birch tree from source. (Sourcer:pixelsquid.com (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.pixelsquid.com/png/birch-tree-1008810057447511318?image=I14)
Figure 1.6. Red Maple tree from source. (Sourcer:kindpng.com (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/TxThhx_red-tree-red-maple-tree-png-transparent-png/)
Conceptual intentions; After analysing the different elements and components of the site, the development process of the building form began. The focus was on designing a building that correlated with the findings to make an effective and passive meditation center. The decision to angle the meditation room, with the biggest window between the summer and the winter winds. This maximized the views that were to be captured and blocked the jarring winter winds. The final form was developed from viewing wind and sun paths, vegetations, shadows, movement and noise from the trails. Several programs and schematic diagrams were explored to find a form that would fit the program, while also considering passive design strategies. The building is located by the lake in order to have the deck hovering over the lake using stilts, creating a connection between the building and the lake, possibly as a ski ramp in the winter or a platform to stand on during the warmer seasons. A more in-depth analysis was done for meditation room 1, facing the south-east direction. The large door is oriented to frame the view as well as avoid extremely hot or cold, south and north winds, respectively. The majority of the rooms are facing the south, or lie within the sun's
daily path, as the south light is easy to control. The high sun angles from the south light are easy to manipulate compared to buildings in the north angle with higher heat loss.
Orientation and Programmatic spaces; The final site was chosen to be Bennet Lake. An area located near the path, for easy access, and close to the lake, to frame a specific view. Building off the site analysis developed during the 1st Architectural Communications assignment the form reflected a mirrored building, with one meditation room facing the southeast view of the lake and the opposite end facing the southwest. The final layout; 2 open corridors, 2 meditation rooms, a sunroom (facing south) and a reception (facing east). These were intentionally placed to capture the view, maximize the wind and sun on the site, inducing passive design strategies as well as allowing natural ventilation and solar retention. In the Summer, the south-facing side of the building is not blocked by thick trees, allowing the wind to go over the water and cool the surrounding, a passive ventilation strategy for our building. The location of the deck over the lake allows people to walk out of the meditation room onto it for a view of the lake and hill. The (outdoor gathering area) allows for the maximization of south winds during the warmer months, allowing natural ventilation in the room. The main programmatic spaces are located facing the lake, away from cold winter winds, and oriented towards the warm summer winds.
Passive solar strategies; The thorough planning of the schematic layout and form allows it to perform as a passive building by considering natural ventilation and daylighting and natural windbreaks. The
alignment of the building to the south allows for natural daylighting therefore creating a passive and natural light source for the building. The trees blocking the winter winds act as a windbreaker reducing the cost of heating for the building, reducing the use of non- renewable resources. Natural ventilation is created with the use of the south-east facing door and the open ceiling in meditation room 2 (See Figure 1.7). These work to create a linear and circular ventilation system in the two rooms. By facing the room towards the south direction, it allows for passive solar heating as the room retains the heat energy. Orienting the major rooms to face the south views takes advantage of the beautiful views on the site as well as maximizes solar lighting during the day for those rooms.
Figure 1.7. Schematic Plan Layout
Concluding, a thorough site analysis is essential when designing a building. It aids the designer to effectively make a structure that not only meets the program requirements but also
protects the environment by prioritizing passive design strategies with on-site and natural resources, rather than non- renewable resources. Building the habit of designing with nature rather than against it would help reduce the harm to the environment in the long term.
Bibliography Saucier, J.P. (n.a). Sustainable Architecture Representation Guide Smoke, E. (n.a). Planning and Programming, An Introduction Info@sunearthtools.com. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.sunearthtools.com/ Weatheronline.co.uk. (n.d.). City Forecast. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/ Figures 1.1. sunearthtools.com. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.sunearthtools.com/ 1.2. sunearthtools.com. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.sunearthtools.com/ 1.3. Tree Shadows in Winter 1.4. Tree Shadows in Summer 1.5. treemusketeers.net (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.treemusketeers.net/pine-tree/ 1.6. pixelsquid.com (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.pixelsquid.com/png/birch-tree-1008810057447511318?image=I14)
1.6. kindpng.com (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/TxThhx_red-tree-red-maple-tree-png-transparent-png/) 1.7. Schematic Plan Layout