Critical Evaluation of Project

As 13 weeks of this design studio comes to a close, the concerted grind saw the both of us producing models and design iterations at a never before jammed - pack pace. There were times we felt lost, however we exercised intuition and logical reasoning to guide us through these decisions. Feeling confused is part of the designer’s life as there are many grey areas and undefined boundaries. Still, the both of us are glad at the outcome of this collaboration, as evidenced by the quality of the work that hints the synergy between us.

Winds in Singapore’s built environment are generally lacking. With the exception of monsoon winds and thunderstorms, Singapore does not have a consistent wind flow at ground levels. Even with the best intentions of designing a prototype around a Prairie - dog system, will likely not work in Singapore. Heat stacking to induce air flow is possible, and a key principle for natural ventilation in the hot tropics. Though unlikely for the prototype to be physically built, the ideas behind engineering the airflow for the purpose of self - isolation is a key takeaway from this project.

In our experimentation, we are rigorous with the testing of geometry in relation to passive - induced prairie - dog ventilation, however the results are so similar that we virtually do not regard it as significant. We learnt that asymmetry controls airflow direction. To delve more into the specifics of form influencing wind speed would be to take up the mantle of being a physics student and meticulously engineer the results needed as evidence to guide the design. This, was not possible under 13 weeks of design studio. Hence we employed principles to guide our design, in what we think would alter the airflow to our advantage.