Net Positive Municipal Building San Diego, CA 2019
Competition Entry with WSP Built Ecology
The competition was sponsored by ASHRAE and asked participants to design a municipal building that would also operate as an emergency operations center in case of a natural or man-made disaster. The building would have to operate on its own power and backup water supply for two weeks. In addition, the competition brief called for a strong focus on resiliency, health and wellness, and energy performance.
The program area formed a staggered, porous wall around a central courtyard. The openings in this enclosure allow light and air into the interior while creating exterior space on every floor that can act as flexible working space. Narrow floor plates provide good daylighting and natural ventilation opportunities.
The courtyard is spanned by a trellis of PV panels that provide shading while generating more energy on an annual basis than the building will require. Innovating water recycling technologies greatly reduce the potable water demand in the building.
The project won first place in the competition and was also voted people’s choice by the attendees of the ASHRAE conference where the finalists were presented.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIO
Driverless Future
New York, NY
2017 Competition Entry
Driverless car technology promises to revolutionize transportation. The Driverless Future competition asked how this technology could be used not only to increase transportation efficiency, but also increase the quality of life within our urban environment.
Areas of the street previously needed for vehicular movement and parking can instead be put to higher and better use in order to serve the environmental, economic, and social goals of the city.
This proposal recommends that the newly freed up areas be used for pedestrian purposes and green infrastructure. Wider sidewalks will create more room for walking and allow additional outdoor seating areas for businesses. A clear system of dedicated bike lanes will promote the use of alternative transportation while better separating cyclists from vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Planted sidewalk edges, shortened street crossing widths, and wider crosswalks will increase pedestrian safety. Dedicated pick up areas will allow driverless cars to be boarded without impeding the flow of traffic.
Some streets and avenues can be closed entirely to vehicular traffic entirely, providing an additional public amenity to all the residents and visitors of the city. These pedestrian promenades will also be a boon to New York City’s businesses that will benefit from additional foot traffic passing by. Sculptural planters down the promenade can provide space for more trees as well as integrated seating.
The proposal will also provide many environmental benefits to the city. Replacement of asphalt roads with permeable landscaped areas will reduce the severity of stormwater events in the city. The shade from trees and evapotranspiration from plants will decrease the urban heat island effect. The large increase in planted material will improve the air quality within the city. In addition to benefiting the environment, these features will contribute to the health and welfare of the residents of New York City.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIO
Viet Capital Center
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2013
Professional Project with WSP Built Ecology
The Viet Capital Center is a mixed use tower designed by SOM. Built Ecology offered integrated design consulting services for the project in terms of energy, daylight, and water performance. As part of that process, a great deal of attention was paid to the design of the facade and its external screen. Parametric modeling was used to refine the facade elements so that the exterior screen would provide effective solar protection against solar loads and glare while maintaining daylight levels and views of the city.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIOInter-generational Community Queens, NY
2011
Graduate Project, Competition Entry
The project was undertaken as both a submission for the AIA Design for Aging Review Student Competition and as a graduate project. It was awarded a special recognition from the competition committee.
The competition brief called for the design of various types of senior housing on an urban site. Two understated requirements of the original program, a small daycare for inter-generational interaction and a concern about sustainability, became the genesis of the proposed design. The competition was used as a vehicle to reevaluate the role of the elderly in contemporary society and to create a model of social sustainability and environmental design.
The program was expanded to include a variety of uses, including a supermarket, an office block, retail, and housing for families of all ages. It also included a community garden and several other indoor and outdoor spaces for social interaction. The idea was to create a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood where the seniors were an integral part of the community. This would create a broader network of social support than envisioned in the original program, and provide physical and mental well-being for the seniors.
Building energy usage, on-site energy generation, and outdoor comfort were the sustainable concerns that were modeled for the project. Solar collector panels imbedded in the facades of the towers collected heat to provide a large percentage of the development’s domestic hot water needs.
Net Zero Energy House
Washington DC 2011
Graduate Project, with Debashree Pal [Harvard] and Ali Qureshi [MIT]
The project is a net zero energy house using the program requirements of the annual Solar Decathlon competition.
The house has been designed with a narrow floor plate to maximize daylighting and cross ventilation. The kink in the plan is meant to increase the area of the southern facade for solar collection during the winter while an overhang prevents unwanted solar gain in the warmer seasons.
The program is stacked on one side of the house to create a more compact form while maintaining rooms with exposures on both sides. The plumbing and mechanical functions are integrated into one centralized core to minimize distribution runs.
Chilled water coils are integrated into the facade to precool and dehumidify incoming air as a means of extending the natural ventilation season. A water to water ground source heat pump provides energy efficient cooling and heating, while a roof mounted PV array generates electricity.
Passive Cooling Building Skin for a School Phoenix, AZ
2010
Graduate Project, with Andrea Love [MIT] and Debashree Pal [Harvard]
The school is based in the hot and arid climate of Phoenix. The goal of the project is to greatly reduce energy usage with passive thermal, ventilation, and daylighting strategies. Thermal mass is used to shift loads and buoyancy effect drives the natural ventilation. Air is introduced to the space low and exhausted high as it is heated by occupants and equipment. Nighttime flushing helps cool the interior surfaces to reduce the radiant temperatures during the day.
During parts of the year with extreme heat, evaporative downdraft cooling towers are utilized to cool the incoming air. Outside air passes through a wetted pad that is fed by a small electric water pump. The evaporation causes a decrease in temperature, and the cooler and heavier air drops down the tower. The dropping air causes more outside air to be pulled in from the outside.
The cooling towers become defining elements on the facade. They are made of precast concrete panels with surface impressions for self shading. The depth of the impressions very by orientation and cut the amount of solar radiation falling on the surface by as much as 75%. The cooling towers also act as an exterior shading device to block direct sunlight and solar heat gain.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIO
Urban Tabernacle: Chabad Synagogue New York, New York
2009
Professional Project with ME Architect Unbuilt
The design for this Chabad synagogue in lower Manhattan was based on the proportions and programmatic organization of the Tabernacle that the ancient Israelites used as place of worship during their 40-year sojourn in the desert.
Instead of the curtain that adorned the entry of the Tabernacle, the front of the synagogue is a transparent glass facade behind a metal screen. The activities of the social hall are visible from the street, welcoming visitors to participate. The transparency compliments Chabad’s mission of hospitality and outreach.
The Sochi
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn 2005-2009
Professional Project with ME Architect Unbuilt
The site for the Sochi is located in Brooklyn, NY, across the street from a public park and with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. The building is designed to give every residential unit an ocean view. The project also includes two floors of medical offices and an automated parking system.
A series of box like protrusions and glass balconies creates a three dimensional effect on the facade. The protrusions reflect the changing floor layouts and variety of apartment types, while simultaneously creating an assortment of spatial experiences on the exterior.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIO
Venice Glassworks Venice, Italy 2004
Undergraduate Project
The project is a new glassworks studio for the artist Dale Chihuly. The site for the glassworks is a new island to the south of San Giorgio in Venice, Italy. The program calls for eight glass studios, a public campo, a formal restaurant, an informal restaurant, and residences for the eight studio masters and their apprentices. The design is inspired by the campi of Venice as well as Chihuly’s own on-site installations.
The masonry container’s exterior houses the residences and relates to the context of Venice. The campo in the center of the design provides places for performances, terraces for dining, and unique spaces for Chihuly to display his glass masterworks to the public. The eight glass studios within the masonry container are pavilionlike glass and steel constructions that allow public space to permeate into the buildings. The formal restaurant is located at the top of the tower, permitting dramatic views to the mainland of Venice.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIO
Steven’s Institute School of Architecture Hoboken, NJ 2003
Undergraduate Project
The project is a building for the new School of Architecture of Stevens Institute in Hoboken, NJ. The site has a unique sectional relationship to the campus because it is located on the waterfront, thirty feet below the cliff that the rest of Stevens Institute is situated on. The upper body of the building contains the classrooms, studios, and faculty offices. This element is raised up to the same elevation as the rest of the campus. The lower elements seek to recognize the building’s responsibility to the public given its prominent location on the waterfront.
The school of architecture simultaneously becomes an asset to Hoboken and while engaging the public with architecture by sharing its library, lecture hall, and gallery spaces with the community. Some of the review rooms are located in the first floor and are therefore open to anyone who wishes to participate in the critique of the students’ work. The upper and lower elements are unified by voids that cut through the building where the elements intersect. The programmatic elements of the school are placed along a ramping central spine which creates new and varied spatial experiences.
ELLIOT J. GLASSMAN PORTFOLIO
