Grant Joerger Architecture Portfolio
STUDIO PROJECTS RESEARCH DOCUMENTATION
DIPLOMA STUDIO - GRAND CANYON VERTICAL CITY 03-12
INTEGRATIONS STUDIO - TVA MUSEUM 13-22
MASTER PLANNING STUDIO - WATTS BAR RESORT 23-30
PROGRAMMING STUDIO - CLYDE YORK 4-H CAMP 31-38
STEEL COMPETITION - LIBRARY ADDITION 39-46
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Gay Street Visitors Center Model 2014
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To contextualize the project, it is important to view civilization not as 7 billion humans, but one human organism, spreading and organizing itself across the landscape. By comparing our organism to organisms found in nature, we can begin to envision what shape our civilization may eventually take in light of major advances in intelligence and information networking. Early civilization, hunter-gatherer and agrarian, most easily compare to simple multi-cellular life, all competing against one another for resources in their environment. Our post-industrial civilization most easily compares to that of Ctenophora, that is, creatures that possess a nervous system but no ganglia or brain to process the information. This mirrors our own connected, networked communication and information grids, which lack a central processing and decision-making apparatus. The final level is that of the animal with a brain, who can gather and analyze the information of its senses and make decisions accordingly. The parallel to our own civilization remains unimaginable, images of god-like artificial intelligences, or human hive minds come to mind, yet these remain broad conjecture, and nothing more. What we can do however is attempt to accelerate this sort of civilizational evolution, by becoming further networked, and further propagating intelligence in that of our artificial counterparts and ourselves. When considering the current form of human decision-making, we rely primarily on hierarchical control structures. Moving down this hierarchy, information and instructions are able to become increasingly complex as individuals can carry out more and more specialized tasks. Likewise information must streamline and condense as it moves up the hierarchy in order for the level of complexity to be discernable to the individual or individuals at the top. This type of control structure has limitations, that is, limited to the level of understanding of the individual. Large-scale problems like global financial stability, Climate Change, and other complex problems have exceeded the capability of the hierarchical structure to address. If these problems persist, the entire system will inevitably fail, and a more networked, decentralized control structure will take form. We have seen a more chaotic version of this in history before. When the Roman Empire’s large centralized control structure was unable to deal with the various complex problems it faced, it disintegrated into many smaller states. In the context of this project, the world has again reached a point where large centralized states
have failed to fully address the problems Climate change has created, creating the necessity for a decentralized, yet networked civilization in which human population centers are more influenced by their regional economic and cultural ties than by a central government. This is not the final stage, but a necessary stage in the evolution of civilization towards a fully networked and integrated civilization. One that will be able to one day create a central information processing hub, and become a creature with a brain. The Grand Canyon Vertical City is one of these various population centers. A city that spans 22 miles of the Grand Canyon, it is capable of holding up to 7.2 million, more than the entire population of Arizona. It is ironic that such a civilization that organizes itself in such a decentralized way appears so rigid and centralized, however this is the outward nature of increasingly complex organisms. Individuals live, work, and learn from the comfort of their private pods. Thanks to increased networking, all business is conducted online, as is education. The physical locales of such activities become redundant and obsolete. Elevators housed within the primary column structure provide all vertical circulation. Lateral circulation is provided for by a monorail tram system that runs the length of the city. A central spine runs along the top of the city, which houses the tram system and the public amenities such as parks, groceries, theaters, bars, gyms, community centers, virtually anything that brings well-being and social interaction to the citizens of the city. Beneath the central spine, a service road runs above a continuous stretch of warehouse and manufacturing centers. The gap between provides space for a series of bridge cranes that can run the length of the city, moving goods, individual’s pods, and even the hundreds of wind power generation units that populate the gap between pods, which can be moved and replaced based on various factors such as efficiency. Locating the city on such a grand, immense site impresses upon its citizens a sense of smallness, a humbling feeling that invites a greater appreciation for the natural world, reminding residents that a lacking of such appreciation caused the collapse of their ancestor’s previous civilization. The Grand Canyon Vertical City is one of intense rationality, efficiency, community, connectivity, and appreciation for the natural world and our place in it.
DIPLOMA STUDIO - GRAND CANYON VERTICAL CITY Finalist for the UTCOAD Faculty Award and the Diploma Candidate Bronze Medal
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Site Plan - Grand Canyon
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Airport Section
Hospital Section
Public Amenities Section
Government Section
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Public Concourse
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Located between the Henley and Gay Street bridges on the riverbank opposite downtown Knoxville, the site for this museum carries the potential to become a gateway into South Knoxville. With the addition of greenway connectivity and a marina, the presence of the Tennessee Valley Authority Museum is not just a new cultural destination, but a space for outdoor recreation, entertainment, community events, and education. The entirety of its program is arranged in three main components: a terraced landscape, a programmed roof, and a
parking tower. The construction itself is almost exclusively comprised of concrete, utilising technologies typically used for building bridges to raise the massive beams. We felt that a building of this scale and construction type is very appropriate since this building will represent the Tennessee Valley Authority’s impact, presence, and history in the region, which involved the construction of many concrete infrastructures such as dams and bridges.
INTEGRATIONS STUDIO - TVA MUSEUM AND LANDSCAPE In collaboration with Jessica Bub and Frank Potts Nominated for AIA middle Tennessee design award and Brewer Ingram Fuller award
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Site Plan
Innovative Design Opportunities Cisterns located within the roof beams collect rainwater for re-use on site A geothermal system utilising ‘slim jim’ heat exchangers draw heating and cooling energy directly from the river Regional / Community This museum is dedicated to studying the innovative efforts of the TVA and its impact on the region The multifaceted use of the site creates a new gateway for Knoxville Serves as a new cultural destination and an extension of downtown Knoxville Provides a new public park, plazas, greenway connectivity, and a marina for the community
Programmed Roof Plan - 02
Programmed Roof
Lobby Plan
Entry Level Plan - 01
Terraced Landscape In order to reduce the amount of excavation necessary for this project and to create a connection between the street and the river below, our interior and exterior spaces are carved from the site in a unified system of terraces that follow the slope of the original riverbank as closely as possible. On the interior this allows for a series of tiered gallery spaces which share a single meandering circulation path rather than a disjointed system of rooms and floors. These tiered galleries then transition into a terraced plaza space with covered pavilion areas as well as green space that is open to the sky. 12 16
Site Section - Total Site
Cast-in-place Roof Cantilever 5-6 inches of Rigid Insulation Concrete Panel Finish
Cast-in-place Column
Construction Assembly
Beam Assembly A beam houses two cisterns used for irrigation that feed from the roof. A third central cistern collects sky light rain and is used for grey water. The entire system can collect over 3,000,000 gallons of rainwater per year, enough grey water to flush the building’s toilets and irrigate plantings year round. Column Assembly Primary columns house the return air ducts. Their H shape allows for a large cavity to house the ducts and blowers, which route air into larger subgrade ducts that return air to each core for redistribution and exhaust. Air Supply Assembly Air is supplied from fan coil units located within the cores. These units are fed by heat exchange coils under the bed of the adjacent Tennessee River. Each of the 4 cores is connected to a series of submerged“slim jim” heat exchange coils. Air is routed through either ducts in the plinth of terrace or beneath grade and up through the hollow precast columns supporting the terrace waffle slab. Air routed through the columns is dispersed into the space via free standing “snorkels”.
Metal Louvers Cover Air Return Ducks Housed In Column
Tension Cable Glazing System Spider Clip Connections 5’ x 5’ Glazing Panels
“Snorkel” Integrated Air Supply Diffusers with Custom Perforations Pre-Stressed Hollow Column
Terrace Transition Section Detail 6-8 inches of Rigid Insulation Weather-Proof Aluminum Panel with Flashing
Planted Terrace 6 Inches Soil for Grass 6 Inches Gravel, Drainage Medium Two Way 2.5’ Depth Holedeck System
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Garage Site Section
Programmed Roof Appearing as a mass hovering over the terraces, the gallery ‘roof’ in actuality houses the library, offices, and restaurant. Using only one system of beams that extend the entire height and length of the roof, this piece is essentially a huge roof that happens to have enough interstitial space to Section Perspective accomodate program elements. The aperture in the center of the roof not only brings light into the museum underneath, but also ensures that all the spaces within the programed roof receive ample day lighting. Cisterns located in the beams collect rainwater, which is used to irrigate the roof gardens, flush toilets, etc. Construction Assembly
Parking Tower The opposite side of the site is where the auditorium and parking tower are located. Linking the parking tower and museum is the system of terraces, connecting the two program elements on multiple levels. In addition to 500 parking spaces, the tower houses an auditorium for large expositions and events, public basketball courts, spaces for food trucks, and a skatepark.
Garage Section
Museum Terrace Section
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Land Use and Site Ecology Reduction of runoff with use of permeable paving, green space, and a rainwater collection system Overall reduction of runoff into river Bioclimactic Design Terracing reduces excavation, erosion Using an available resource (the river) for heating and cooling needs with a geothermal system Glazing does not receive direct sunlight, which reduces solar heat gain and eases cooling loads Diffused daylighting through skylights reduces need for artificial lighting during the day
Detail Section Perspective
Museum Site Section
Roof Assembly Gravel Finish Rigid Insulation Waterproof Membrane Hollowcore Plank
Outdoor Garden Growing Medium Irrigation Pipe Drainage Mesh Waterproof Membrane
Floor Assembly Concrete Pavers Waterproof Membrane Hollowcore Plank
Plaza Floor Assembly Permeable paving Drainage Aggregate (No. 8) Permeable Base (No. 57 Aggregate)
Substructure Backfill Material Concrete Retaining Wall Drainage Pipe
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The Watts-Bar Resort Lies on a Parcel of land adjacent to the Watts Bar Dam. Originally, the site was used as a CCC work camp, housing workers of the TVA dam project. When the dam was completed, the workers camp was retrofitted for use as a water front resort. For years the Resort operated successfully, but as economic conditions shifted in the region, and larger interstates drew away potential customers, the resort slowly drifted into disrepair. In the early 90’s, the resort closed its doors for good, and in the early 2000’s the resorts infrastructure was demolished. Today adjacent municipalities are looking to re-develop the site, to make use of the pristine land and access to the Watts-bar Lake. The new Watts-Bar resort operates year round as a campground, park, and boat landing for
recreational water sports including boating and fishing. A restaurant near the waterfront brings users of the site that otherwise wouldn’t stop. A retreat center and adjacent cabins brings in business from local and regional church groups, businesses, and school outings and can be used as a single day trip or multi-day overnight stay. In the summer, the campsites and retreat center shut down to accomm odate a youth-scout summer camp, while keeping the boat landing operational for non-campers. The various camp programs ensure continued use of the site throughout the year, as well as a constant source of revenue for TVA and the adjacent municipalities operating the site.
MASTER PLANNING STUDIO - WATTS BAR RESORT
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Habitat Areas
Site Circulation
Disturbed Areas
Slope Study
Warm Slopes
Cold Slopes
Land Use Plan
Dam Overlook Park - YEAR ROUND ACTIVATION
Boating Vacation - FALL, WINTER, SPRING ACTIVATION
Youth Scout SummerCamp - SUMMER ACTIVATION
Retreats - FALL, WINTER, SPRING ACTIVATION
Campgrounds - FALL, WINTER, SPRING
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01 Typical Camp Cluster - Ampitheater
03 Retreat Center - Lodging
Master Plan 02 Boat Ramp - Bait Shop - Restaurant Camp Water Front
01 Typical Camp Cluster The campgrounds are comprised of three separate camp clusters, each centered around a bath-house. Each cluster can accommodate up to 150 campers. Camp clusters are distributed throughout the site, each having roughly a ten-minute walk to the retreat center, ensuring feeling of privacy and communion with nature. The main camp cluster is located adjacent to a council amphitheater, capable of holding the entire summer camp for opening and closing ceremonies. 06 28
02 Boat Ramp - Bait Shop - Restaurant Focus area 1 is comprised of the sites waterfront attractions. The boat ramp is open year round for fisherman and recreational boaters. The boat ramp is a remnant of the original Watts-Bar resort. The adjacent facilities include a restaurant, using locally caught fish for much of its menu. A bait and tackle shop accompany the restaurant to cater to the fisherman utilizing the ramp and lake. The restaurant building is built 20 feet above the lakes maximum water level line, as the water level varies throughout the year due to TVA’s power generation requirements.
03 Retreat Center - Lodging The retreat center is comprised of a dining and gathering facility, 9 cabins, and a chapel overlooking the lake. The retreat center can accommodate a number of programs, and in the summer is converted for Youth Campers and counselors.
Cabin Exploded Axon
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The Crossville 4-H camp is situated on a beautiful, historic site in the rolling hills of East Tennessee. What is now a popular 4-H camp was once a P.O.W. camp for German soldiers during WWII, known as Camp Crossville. Today, the only surviving remnants of the old camp are several concrete pads on which buildings once stood. These camp remnants are located on a disused part of the 4-H camp, an area that is now being cleared in preparation for new facilities. The camp needs a better venue for services such as church retreats, weddings, and camps for children and people with
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special needs. In order to provide 4-H with the new facilities it requires and to ensure the remnants of the P.O.W. camp remain intact and appreciated by future visitors, the design cloisters itself around the remains, encapsulating them within the walls of the facility. The inward focus of the facility expounds on the underlying idea behind church functions and camps that require withdrawing from daily life and getting to know one’s self and one’s friends and colleagues better, to look inward, to retreat.
PROGRAMMING STUDIO - CLYDE YORK 4-H CAMP
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The 4-H camp retreat proposal is located on the Southeastern portion of camp property, and has been recently cleared of new growth. The remnants of the P.O.W. camp are clustered together on the high ground of the immediate site. This high ground made locating an obvious choice, being the most historically significant part of the site with the most panoramic views. Logging roads that connect to existing camp infrastructure also make the proposed location an easy solution for logistical issues, including guest access and deliveries. The location of the proposal is about five minutes walk from the existing 4-H camp, far out of sight and sound from the main camp. Because the camp caters primarily to children, and the proposed facility will cater mainly to adult functions, it was thought that for safety and legal reasons the retreat center be located so far from primary camp activity.
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The design organizes itself around 2 primary stie condtions. Preserving the POW camp remnants is prioritized by encapsulating them on the site. Next, topography re-orients the shape of the cloister and subsequent program elements. Because the remnants sit atop a somewhat linear hill-top, the building orients itself to sit upon the topography in a manner that creates the most level accomodations, to create a facility that is as handicap accessible as possible. 34
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The facility cloisters itself around two zones containing P.O.W. camp remnants, and encapsulates them. By organizing itself around these zones the retreat center creates two outdoor gathering places that offer quiet and privacy from the outside world. P.O.W. camp remains can be used as picnic table pads or simply hardscape to gather on. Organization around these remnant zones is advantageous because by simply sinking into the topography of the hilltop, the retreat center is able to sprawl with relatively little elevation change, meaning a cost effective and pleasant means of accommodating the handicapped, Because the area the retreat is to be
built upon has already been cleared of new growth, construction means virtually no old growth trees need to be removed prior to construction. The program accommodates a number of classrooms, an auditorium, dining hall and adjacent facilities, as well as a large number of hotel style rooms, bunkhouse style housing and several family size accommodations. This program can accommodate any number of events, including weddings, church retreats, corporate seminars or lectures, conferences, special needs camps, school outings, and many more activities. 20 38
The library of the 20th century has served its purpose. What once housed the only source of public knowlege is seemingly becoming a tomb for books in a society of instantaneous information. To continue being a useful and neccesary tool for the public, the library has evolved to fit the needs of the 21st century. Those who cannot afford their own computer rely on the library to carry out their business in the information age. Not only has the function but the building itself has changed. What was once
meant to be quiet place of scholarly study has become for lack of a better term, a community center. Where society has seemed to be growing apart since the introduction of information technology, the library of the 21st century is a force that counteracts this trend. With the proposed addition, Lawson McGhee Library can continue to be a neccesary tool for the public.
STEEL COMPETITION - LIBRARY ADDITION
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The Lawson McGhee library is a beautiful mid 20th century Brutalist structure designed by Bruce McCarty, one of the most celebrated architects of Knoxville. The library’s Brutalist construction is strong and prolific yet warm and inviting, an often rare characteristic for such a building. Currently the library and the federal building are the only occupants of the block they reside on. The location of the library makes it an important landmark in the urban fabric of Knoxville. Located just a block East from the convention center and worlds fair park, and only a few blocks west of Gay Street and Market square, the library carries great potential to connect the heart of downtown with worlds fair park and the adjacent UT campus. The addition brings with it 30,000 square feet of additional program. While alleviating the current library’s desperate need for media space and a larger children’s area, it also provides an auditorium for community gatherings, collaboration space, conference rooms and private gathering space, and a cafe to engage the street. Downtown Knoxville
Site Plan
Basement Plan
Support Space
Reference Room
Ground Plan
Service Space
Media Rental
Childrens Stacks
Reading Room
Best Sellers
Stacks
Entrance
Conference Rooms
Cafe
2nd Floor Plan
Childrens Room
Group Space
Service
Computer Room
Auditorium
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Site Section
North Elevation
The existing library has a small sub level that currently is occupied by the children’s area, which is illuminated by a light well that separates the building from the sidewalk and street. The addition embraces and carries this light well across the entire north side of the site, and makes full use of it by housing much of the important program on this level. By building down, the overall size of the addition is controlled, in keeping with the architecture of additions design philosophy. Because Lawson McGhee library is such a grand example of brutalist construction and a staple of
Knoxville architecture, the addition must be carefully tailored to respect it’s host building. The addition only rises to the second floor, remaining subservient to the original library, which rises three floors. Part of the original facade is removed and engulfed by the addition, making for a cohesive and simple integration of building skins. The structure of the addition is made of steel, contrasting the heavy concrete construction of the original library. While structurally the two buildings contrast, spatially the spaces of both buildings compliment each other in both size and scale.
Structure
Solar Shading Media Room Perspective
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Addition Section Perspective
The addition embodies a number of features that make it environmentally friendly. The glazing is comprised of insulated translucent glazing panels, bringing R values down while allowing for large sources of indirect light. The north and south facades, while composed largely glazing, are protected by shading fins. The South facade utilizes these fins in a horizontal configuration, providing shade from high angle summer sunlight.
The North facade utilizes vertical fins to protect the north facade from harsh late afternoon sunlight coming in low from the western sky. Because both facades are largely glazing, the design has very low lighting requirements. The design is comprised largely of recyclable metals, including the structural steel and aluminum facade panels, as well as reused concrete aggregate.
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North Facade Section
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North Facade Elevation
1 Terra Cotta Panel 2 Concrete Retaining Wall 3 Earth
Roof Assembly 08
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Roof Assembly Detail (In order from Top to bottom)
1 Roof Flashing 2 Roof Membrane (Reflective White membrane) 3 Rigid Insulation 4 Corrugated Liner Sheet 5 Custom Steel I Flange 6 Steel Channel 7 Steel L beam 8 Steel Fastener 9 Steel Shading Fin
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03 06 05 04
07 10 08 11
Shading Fin Assembly
North Facade Detail (From Left to Right) 1 Steel Shading Fin 8 Mullion
2 Steel Fastener 3 Steel L Beam 4 Custom Steel Wide Flange 5 Terra Cotta Panel 6 Z Clip 7 Rigid Insulation
9 Pilkington Glazing system -1/4 inch Glass Panel -Translucent Insulation -1/4 inch Glass Panel 10 Steel Wide beam 11 Custom Steel Wide Flange
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RESEARCH STUDY ABROAD STUDIO PROJECTS
URBAN HISTORY - THE DESTRUCTIVE INTERSTATE 49-54
URBAN WIND - MORPHOLOGIES AND DESIGN STRATEGIES 55-74
Gay Street Visitors Center Detail Model 2014
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Much of American urban planning practices of the 20th century were based under the assumption that high densities of humans living amongst one another is no way for people to live. Most urban planners of the late 19th and early 20th centuries sought to alleviate the problems found in large cities by effectively scattering the populations into smaller communities spread across the countryside. This delusional view that the people who had left their pastoral environments to dwell in close proximity with one another wanted to return to the country couldn’t be further from reality. Yet, this idealized view of the built environment persisted and lived on in the ideals of the new school of architects and urban planners, the effects of which are still felt to this day. This pastoral ideal found its greatest proponent in Corbusier’s garden city concept, which subsequently took up residence in the minds of planners and architects of the mid 20th century. As the problems cities faced persisted, and the centers of urban life were in need of a face lift, planners who believed in the pastoral evacuation of the city found salvation in two major drivers of urban change, the emergence of interstate systems and freeways, which allowed large amounts of city dwellers to achieve the pastoral vision of isolation and fields of grass, all while carving up large swathes of urban fabric, often isolating large areas from one another, all-too-often purposefully. The other half of this destructive equation, urban renewal, based on the same false promise of the saving grace of grass, demolished vast acres of old but functioning blocks of neighborhoods, and built in place of these large fields of grass and park benches with large buildings peppered amongst them. This model was tried and almost all too often, failed miserably, as
we have now learned. Most slum-status projects appear this way, large apartment blocks rising from a park environment at ground level, and it is because of the removal of the city street and sense of community that they fail. The main factor that makes a street feel safe as opposed to one that is avoided by locals is the almost constant presence of pedestrians. The unconscious policing that people using the street exert on would-be wrong doers is a very powerful and almost always unnoticed force. Yet the removal of this vital factor in areas “renewed” has led to their demise, as super blocks comprised of a park with entirely housing tenements rising throughout makes for a very unsafe, unwatched area, particularly at night with no nightlife or reason for people to be moving about. This scattering of the city that has happened over the past 50 or so years has had vast psychological affects on our society. I believe many of the social problems Americans are and have been experiencing are a result of, at the most fundamental level, these backwards urban ideals that brought about ideas like urban renewal and suburban living. The following images catalog the changes in urban fabric various American urban centers have underwent over the past 70 years. Some cities are examples of successful freeway integration, with very little loss of urban fabric to show for. Others however, are examples of poor planning, and exemplify communities with problems that go far deeper than the surface level changes expressed on the built environment. In some ways the physical changes these cities experienced were exacerbated by the socio-economic climate that suburban stratification had on the populace.
URBAN HISTORY - THE DESTRUCTIVE INTERSTATE
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12%
loss
Boston, MA
10%
loss
Rochester, NY
17%
loss
Cleveland, OH
25% Houston, TX
loss 52
15%
loss
Atlanta, GA
11% loss Baltimore, MD
5%
loss
Portland, OR
30%
loss
Knoxville, TN
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The objective of this study is to develop guidance for urban designers in responding to wind conditions in a range of climates. To understand the issues, particularly those faced in areas of rapid urbanization, we first investigated two models for development at play in China, where cities are growing rapidly. Analysis of wind-related performance for the modernist super-block type is compared against an alternative transit-oriented development model (TOD). This is followed by a study of a generative tool for urban morphology in response to wind and finally with development of generalized guidance for selecting families of design strategies in different climates. The first stage of the investigation involved examining Chinese super-block developments in Wuhan, China. Five super-block developments were chosen and analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software to assess pedestrian comfort, air quality and building ventilation potential. One site, Fudidonghu (Fudi), was chosen for further examination because it’s density most closely matched TOD density classifications. This established a baseline for comparing wind field performance of alternate urban schemes. The Fudi site was redesigned using Transit Oriented Development guidelines, found in Peter Calthorpe’s Sustainable Cities China: Design manual for Low Carbon Development (Calthopre, et al 2012). This redesigned scheme was used to compare the metrics being tested in the original super-block scheme. The first TODscheme wasn’t as dense as the super-block,
thus a second TOD model of equivalent density was required for accurate comparison. This second design provided an opportunity to incorporate wind design strategies based in research, that improved the scheme’s wind performance. These strategies shaped clear logical forms that responded to site-specific climatic needs. Next, we investigate forms for a particular condition that could address an array of climatic responses to different locations. To explore the issue of urban form’s affect on wind, a series of broad morphological types were created in response to various wind conditions. The morphologies make up matrices of typological urban forms based on wind directions and responses of either admitting or blocking the wind by varying degrees. The intention of the matrix is to facilitate a site-specific response to wind conditions in a specific climate zone. The last stage of the study utilizes the morphologic matrices and corresponding tables of climatic design priorities and strategies to acheive the priorities to create a solution for Albuquerque, New Mexico. This example is one of the many responses a given morphology can have across a variety of climate zones, and shows the potential for enacting informed, responsible design decisions at the scale of a neighborhood or district, which can ultimately lead to more sustainable urban forms and create the necessary conditions (access to sun, wind and light) for more sustainable urban buildings.
URBAN WIND MORPHOLOGIES AND DESIGN STRATEGIES
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Urban Development in China The approach chosen in studying the particular situation of urban development in China, was to use the design practices outlined in Sustainable Cities China: Design Manual for Low Carbon Emissions, a manual that re-organizes the typical Chinese city layout according to the principles of Transit-Oriented-Development (TOD), as the basis for experimenting with sustainable design strategies, specifically those regarding utilization of prevailing wind. Current Chinese urban planning practice has called for large, multilane boulevards that make pedestrian and cycling transit all but impossible, and promote dispersed buildings with single-use zoning, which is not conducive to supporting public transit. This urban pattern shackles the Chinese middle class to the automobile, while making all other forms of transit inconvenient. TOD creates more sustainable, heathy cities by reducing dependence on the automobile. China is at a critical crossroads where it’s infrastructure is racing to keep up with it’s rapid urbanization. The benefits of planning cities around sustainable transportation infrastructure are far reaching. The TOD guidelines suggest sub-dividing super-block road networks; creating a finer grid of lower speed,
Figure 1 - Comparison of a typical superblock grild with arterial streets with recommended urban grid of smaller blocks and a dense network of narrower streets (Calthorpe, et al, 2012)
lower density roads, and creating smaller blocks. By fostering a more inter-connected, better-distributed road network, traffic and pollution is reduced significantly, and greater pedestrian walkability and street frontage for buildings is achieved within the newly created blocks. If Chinese cities can plan according to these principals, dependence on autombiles will wane, public transit will become more efficient, residents will become healthier as air pollution decreases and walking and cycling again become the most convenient forms of transportation. Traffic congestion will not pose as serious a problem, and households will have more income not tied to costly automobiles,and greenhouse gas emissions will be significantly reduced. By employing low-carbon TOD principles Chinese cities can skip over many of the problems and mistakes faced by other industrial population centers across the globe. Hypothesis While it appears important that Chinese developers begin implementing TOD, it is unclear what affect this will have on the relationship between wind and the urban form. Currently, super block development appears to foster rather heatlhy air movement. Despite the super-block’s high density, floor area is highly concentrated in a smaller number of tall buildings, making urban blocks quite permeable to air movement. Under TOD, this high density is more evenly distributed, making for less permeable urban forms. We expected that CFD analysis would show that super block development had better wind performance than its TOD counterpart. In a region so heavily plagued by poor air quality and pollution, it is important to ensure that whatever urban development strategy is ultimately adopted, good urban ventilation and air quality can be acheived. By testing the new standards, it will be determined whether or not the TOD model falls short in this respect, and if so, how short-comings could be mediated by sustainable design strategies.
Methodology Initially, a development site in Wuhan called Fudidonghu, a typical “towers in the park” high-rise residential superblock (figure 2) was chosen to analyze and re-design. Fudidonghu has an area of 6000 square meters (64,600 sq ft.) and a perimeter of nearly 1000 meters (3280 ft). Following TOD suggestions, we divided the block into four separate, smaller blocks (figure 4), using a street profile of 20 meters (66 ft), which is defined in TOD guidelines as a “local street”, made up of two lanes of traffic, a lane for street parking, bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks. The original development had a total occupiable floor area of 200,000 square meters (2,153,000 sq ft). To test the effects different urban spatial organizations can have on pedestrian comfort, air quality, and building ventilation, a new housing development scheme was designed according to two of TOD’s zoning categories appropriate to the site, those being “High-Rise Residential” and “Tower Residential.” To design according to these zoning categories, TOD guidelines set a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 3.5 and 4.0, respectively. Floor Area Ratio is the ratio between occupiable floor area and the area of the site being built upon.
Building heights and placement were determined according to three major factors, the first being solar access rules already in place in the Chinese building code. Solar access codes require all apartments to receive a minimum of 2 hours of direct sunlight every day. The building code didn’t leave many options for tall building placement; essentially the only viable configuration meant placing tall buildings on the south side of city blocks so that the shadows cast fell mostly on open land in the middle of the block and not on the façade of neighboring buildings in the block. Buildings placed on the north sides of city blocks were limited in height by the width of the road they fronted, meaning that the width of the road set the height of the building, and ultimately, the amount of sun each building receives (figure 3). The “local street” condition chosen limits buildings placed on the north side of the block to 20-25 meters (66-82 ft), since their shadows would fall just before the façade of the building across the street. Solar access played a major role in the external shape of the design, and was probably the hardest requirement to meet.
Figure 2 - Fudidonghu Super block aerial view from SketchUp model
Figure 3 - height limitations by solar access (Calthorpe, et al 2012)
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The second major factor was street frontage. TOD guidelines require all east-west Streets to be 70% minimum fronted by buildings, and streets running north-south require 60% minimum street frontage. This is intended to make streets more pedestrian friendly, and to support mixed use, non-residential occupancy on lower floors. Typical super block development makes for unsafe walking conditions, as nothing faces the street, creating a greater potential for crime, and high speed traffic. By placing more buildings along the street, more eyes and ears guarding the street, make it safer for pedestrians. These requirements limited building placement and how high buildings would rise given the allotted FAR. The final factor was a maximum site coverage limit of 40%, meaning building could comprise up to 40% of the site as building footprint, the other 60% remaining open space, of which 30% minimum green space is required, with a maximum of 10% surface parking. (Figure 5) In sum, FAR limited floor built area, while street frontage, solar access and site
Fig. 6. Fudi site redesign version 1, using TOD guidelines for “High Rise Residential Zone� Floor area = 180,000 m2, Net FAR = 3.5
coverage requirements largely dictated the shape and organization the development took. Within these urban form guidelines, buildings were planned based on typical Chinese prototypes (figure 8). Most Chinese apartments are not air-conditioned, and require at least two facades that can be opened to prevailing breezes. This drives building form away from the spine type circulation typical of American buildings (for example, the double-loaded corridor) and towards a point-loaded circulation, meaning all apartments are accessed by a central circulation core, allowing the surrounding apartment units access to at least two different facades for passive cooling via natural ventilation, and that all apartments get access to southern sun. In general, the Chinese building code ensures access to more passive forms of heating and cooling than in many other countries, and the building types and urban form reflects this.
Figure 4 - TOD Scheme 1 plan
The next step in the investigation applied urban design strategies for better wind circulation and urban permeability. Wuhan China lies in a 3B climate zone, remaining hot and humid in the summers and cool and wet in the winter months. Climates like Wuhan’s require ample ventilation and cooling to not only fight the uncomfortable humid heat at the pedestrian level but to ventilate and cool buildings. This required strategies that promoted better distibution of air flow and wind “turbulence”, for pollutant dilution and fresh air provision. To compare the TOD scheme to the original site, the original site’s built floor area of 200,000 square meters (2,150,000 sq ft) had to be matched. The initial TOD design (figure 6) had an FAR of 3.5, the maximum FAR for the “high-rise residential,” which yielded around 180,000 square meters (1,940,000 sq ft), meaning the scheme had to be redesigned to the next level of density, “high-rise residential zone,” which allows for 200,000 square meters with a max FAR of 4.0 and a maximum height of 110 meters (361 ft). (figure 7) Once the new scheme matched
Fig. 7. Fudi site redesign version 2, using TOD guidelines for “Tower Residential Zone” Floor area = 200,000 m2, Net FAR = 4.0
the density of the original site, we applied additonal wind design strategies, to the updated TOD design. These included design strategies for air quality, air permeability and wind circulation at the urban scale. These strategies took form as follows:
Intersection Plazas Research shows that opening up intersections increases movement of air and replenishment of old air with the new. This also helps ventilate secondary streets, as well as increases air turbulence, carrying off particulate that would otherwise settle at the pedestrian level. This was applied to the second TOD scheme by creating more open public squares by setting buildings set back from the street edge at intersections.
Figure 8 - Intersection Plaza
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Building Podium Gaps Tall buildings act as tremendous barriers to air movement. By adding a two-story separation between the towers and their 6-story base, movement of wind through dense blocks increases significantly. This helps to equalize pressure on windward and leeward sides, which also reduces the downward wind affect on pedestrians.
Figure 9 - Building Podium Gaps
Networked Green Space (Linked Squares) The initial TOD scheme was not intentionally designed to efficiently link open space on the block interiors and our CFD models reflected this. By aligning mid-block building gaps, more direct links between green spaces were created. These gaps were expected to foster greater ease of air movement between blocks. This is also important when the wind blows from secondary directions.
Figure 10 - Linked Squares
Figure 11,12 - Air Quality, indicated by Air Age Plots
Figure 13, 14 - Pedestruan Comfort, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) Plots
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Air Quality Contour plots for air age were output in post-processing with contour bands set for a range of time in seconds. (figure 11, 12)The same analysis method described above for PMV was used to determine the percentage distribution on the site in each time band. Results are shown graphically in the air age plots. (figure 12) Results of comparative statistical analysis are shown in Table 2. A common standard for indoor air age as an indicator of air quality is a maximum of 300 seconds (5 minutes). For outdoor air, there is no similar standard, but healthy air can likely be present at longer ages than indoors, assuming the city is being supplied with
fresh air, as the ratio of air volume per person is much greater outdoors. In general, air age can be used as a relative indicator for outdoor air quality (Ramponi, et al, 2015). The results do not represent the air age at a particular point; that is how long that local volume of air has been in one place. Rather, it measures “the average lifetime of air at a particular location in the [site] relative to the time when it first entered the [analysis boundary]. It gives an indication of the air freshness.” (Fluent, 2007). Because the distances are much greater than for an indoor room, mean air age values are longer than for indoors. Air age is therefore an imperfect freshness indicator. TABLE 1 Statistics for Pedestrian Comfort near the ground from two directions in Fudi super-block development and TOD redesigns, PMV score, NNE is winter, SE is summer condition
Pedestrian Comfort PMV (predicted mean vote) was calculated in the CFD software for pedestrians, assuming moderate walking (MET = 2.4) and summer conditions of 30˚C (86 ˚F) with CLO = 0.57, and winter conditions of 5˚C (41 ˚F) with CLO = 1.12. We generated contour maps from the CFD software at intervals on the PMV scale. (figure 13,14) Output was an indexed eight-color raster format, which isolated contour zones to specific
single-color bands, shown in PMV spreads. The specific site areas within bounding streets were excerpted graphically and analyzed by color range in Photoshop using the histogram function to count pixels and determine the percentage of site area outdoors within each PMV band. The distribution percentages are graphed. (figure 13, 14)Comparative PMV statistical analysis is shown in Table 1. TABLE 2 Statistics for air age near the ground from two wind directions in five superblocks, seconds
Ventilation Potential Most Chinese residential buildings are one unit thick to promote cross-ventilation through the home. To assess cross-ventilation potential for buildings, we examined wind pressures at points on opposite building faces and calculated pressure differences between point pairs. The CFD software allows for export of a grid of data points for each building face. The vertical grid was in 2 m (6.6 ft) increments and the
horizontal grid, at least ten points per face, as required under Chinese standards for ventilation assessment. After the pressure differences were calculated, data were grouped and analyzed within vertical facade zones of 33 m height (108 ft). For example, a 100 m (328 ft) tower has Low (L), Middle (M) and High (H) zones. Shorter buildings have one or two zones and very tall towers have an additional Tower (T) zone.
Conclusions from CFD Analysis Our analysis of the three models used to compare air age and pedestrian comfort offered some unexpected results. Pedestrian comfort remained close to the same for all three schemes for warm SE direction, however TOD schemes performed slightly better than the super block scheme in colder months when wind is from the NNE. Results for air age were as expected, the super block scheme was able to replentish the site with fresh air faster than both TOD schemes. However the air age times for TOD should also be suficient for acceptable air quality. Overall, the super block scheme performed marginally better than the TOD schemes, however some things should be noted. PMV was found not to be the best standard for summer outdoors a PMV score of +3.0 is hot in all conditions, and shows very little variation, even though everyone living in a warm-humid climate experiences significant spatial comfort variations based on shade and breeze distribution. The PMV needs a scale extension or the CFD software a better metric. Air Age is also an imper
fect indicator as the upwind buildings always have the best air quality. This metric works well for comparison of schemes but not for localized decisions and requires further research. Overall, the super-block model has better wind performance criteria than its TOD counterparts, but not by a significant amount. Further experimentation of form could yield a TOD scheme that outperforms the super-block model. These results do not detract from the fact TOD provides more sustainable and livable cities on multiple measures. While the super block scheme still provides marginally better urban ventilation than the TOD models for the two schemes tested, it still represents an unsustainable and unhealthy form of urban growth and development. Towers and slab types were promoted in the 20th century as good for providing light and air. If pedestrian-, urban- and energy-friendly TOD can provide equal light and air at similar density, then it will be another positive argument for its emergence as a model for rapidly expanding cities in China and elsewhere.
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Stage 2: Wind Morphologies Across Climate Zones As we learned in the Wuhan, China investigations, the layout of urban districts, especially those of medium and high density, can have significant effect on the wind patterns and velocities in the city, yet there are tensions and strategic conflicts present for the urban designer. Depending on the climate, wind can be either an asset or a liability—or urban wind can be an asset for a portion of the day or year and a liability during the other period. Addressing one condition can exacerbate effects of the opposing condition. Urban morphology in all but very hot-humid and very cold climates, is challenged to solve for more than one condition. There is another potential tension. In general designers desire to block wind when it has an undesirable impact on comfort, which can be when the temperature is either too cold or too hot and when the wind brings a load of dust or other pollutants. This “block” strategy is in tension with the need in cities to provide virtually all of the time fresh air for ventilation and to remove pollutants from automobiles and other urban sources. Air quality concerns ask us to “admit” wind most of the time.
In contrast to the needs of hot-humid Wuhan, the Chaudière Island Master Plan, designed by the firm Perkins and Will for the winter city of Ottawa, Canada, is an excellent example of considerations for wind and pedestrian comfort affecting urban form (figure 15). The master plan activates Ottawa’s waterfront and Chaudière Island, a once largely derelict industrial zone. The master plan called for a number of plazas that received winter sun, however harsh winter winds would have made these plazas uninhabitable during the winter months. To mediate this, Perkins and Will designed meandering streets and offset intersections to prevent wind from channeling down them. By disrupting the movement of wind through the street grid, these sunny streets and plazas were made more inhabitable and comfortable. (Perkins + Will 2015) To address combinations of design strategies in different climates, we developed a versatile wind morphology language. This wind morphology strategy provides matrices of options based on street patterns and block massing, and gives an example of applying the morphologic approach to the mixed-dry climate of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three wind field morphology matrices follow, based on street layout alternatives. In Figure 16, Neighborhoods with Aligned Streets allow wind to flow freely along both orientations of the streets, admitting wind along two axes. These morphologies apply mostly to warm or hot-humid climates where the wind is always a positive attribute. In Figure 17, Neighborhoods with Discontinuous Streets in One Direction admit winds in one direction, but use T-intersections to restrict flow in the perpendicular direction. These morphologies make sense in mixed climates that need to admit wind in the warm season but block it in the cool season, especially if the prevailing direction shifts seasonally. They may also be useful in hot-arid climates when there is a directional shift between very hot daytime winds that need to be blocked and
cooler evening breezes that can be admitted. In Figure 18, Neighborhoods with Discontinuous Streets in Two Directions restrict wind flow in both street orientations to minimize wind all the time. These morphologies apply primarily to cold climates or potentially to very hot-arid climates without a day-to-night directional shift. The vertical axis of all the wind field morphologies show variations for: • Uniform Heights, which are common to many zoning codes • Stepped blocks of relatively small increments gradual height transitions • Varied block heights creating a turbulent skyline. While uniform heights are often required by law, they neither promote the best wind protection, nor the best urban ventilation. Gradual height transitions minimize downwash effects in the cool-climate streets, while the strategy of varied building heights can create greater down-wash effects for warm climates and importantly, offer greater potential for improved ventilation and pollutant removal or dispersion. As a simple guideline, the Stepped blocks or buildings are defined based on the research literature at height increment
changes of less than 50 (for example, 4 to 6 to 9 stories), while the Varied approach works best with height steps of 100 or more (for example 4 to 8 to 16 stories). The horizontal axis of the morphologic matrices show block massing variations of: • Solid Blocks, which would yield a minimal perimeter-to-volume ratio good for reducing the effects of wind and building ventilation • Closed Courts, which have better daylight than solid blocks and provide a wind-protected block interior • Open Faced Courts, which can be oriented to the prevailing wind as a wind catcher or oriented to be closed to the wind to provide outdoor protection. They could also face the winter sun to become winter courts. • Open Courts with One-Way Axis, lend themselves to admitting wind in one direction, but blocking it in the perpendicular direction • Open Courts with Two-Way Axes, which admit wind to the block interiors in two directions and make sense in warm or hot climates when wind is an asset most or all of the year.
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Figure 16 - Wind Field Morphologies - Neighborhoods with Aligned Streets
Figure 17 - Wind Field Morphologies - Neighborhoods with Streets Discontinuous in One Direction
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Stage 3: Applying Morphologies to inform site-specific Design Decisions Depending on the climate and wind directions, one or more of these morphological alternatives can become the starting point for a neighborhood or district design. An example illustrated in six steps can be seen in Figure 19, Transformations of Urban Wind Morphology for Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1) The example begins with a morphology from the matrix, in figure 17, Wind Field Morphologies: Neighborhood with Streets Discontinuous in One Direction. Because Albuquerque is a zone 5B mixed-dry climate with cool winters and warm summers, (ASHRAE 2013) the intention is to block north winter wind and admit east summer wind. The seasonal winds are perpendicular. We chose a Varied/Solid Block morphology oriented to admit east breezes. The varied heights of 4, 8 and 16 stories create a turbulent skyline that is both good for air quality and ventilation. Step 1, shows the initial transformation of the base morphology by creating longer south facades to intercept winter sun as recommended in the strategy Elongated East-West Building Groups (Dekay + brown 2014). Figure 18 - Wind Field Morphologies - Neighborhoods with Streets Discontinuous in Both Directions
’
50
30
0’ 20
’ 10
0’
0’
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1) Modify base morphology of “Streets Discontinuous in One 2) Add alleys and rotate 30 degrees to the east for “Breezy Direction: Varied Heights/Sold Blocks,” with “Breezy + Calm Streets” while meeting criteria for “Rooms Facing the Sun + Streets”; Elongate blocks for winter sun. Wind.”
3) Protect winter solar access to “E-W Elongated Building Groups” with simplified Solar Envelope.
4)Generate “Climatic Envelopes” by adding “Daylight Envelopes” to provide daylight to street facades
6) Hypothetical buildings within development envelopes following typical Albuquerque property sizes and development patterns
5) Modify “Daylight Envelopes” to ensure daylight to alley facades
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2) Step 2 rotates the district to 30 degrees east of south for a better balance of positive and negative pressures, as described in breezy streets(Dekay + Brown 2014), yet not so much as to exceed the recommendations for orientation in Rooms facing the sun and wind (Dekay + Brown 2014). The illustration also shows the addition of 20 ft (6 m) alleys common in Albuquerque blocks. Primary streets are 100 ft (31 m) wide, allowing for increased air flow while secondary streets are restricted to 50 ft (15 m), limiting movement of air in this direction.
29°
12’ above street level
Figure 20 - Step 3: Street Winter Solar Access
3) Step 3 reduces the volume of tall blocks to allow winter solar access based on a profile angle of 29° representing the sun’s position in the sky translated to normal to the long facades. The profile angle originates 12 ft (3.7 m) above street level, assuming ground level one occupancy produces more internal gains requiring less solar heating. This is similar to recommendations in elongated east-west building groups (Dekay + Brown 2014). Only the tallest two blocks of 16 and 8 stories cast shadows across the streets onto neighboring buildings. In a mixed climate or a cold one, wind is not the only climatic issue that the city form has to address.
60°
60°
Figure 21 - Step 4: Street Daylight Access
4) Step 4 further modifies the form to combine block scale development envelopes for solar access to southerly facades (Step 3) and envelopes for daylight access. Daylight Access Envelopes (SWL3) assure access to light from the sky using a sky exposure plane cut at 60° based on SWL3 reccomendations, applied to all building facesoriginating at ground level. The combination of these two envelopes create Climatic Envelopes. (SWL3) 5) Step five modifies these envelopes further by protecting daylight access to the alleys. Alley sky exposure planes are cut at a 65° angle, originating 12 ft (3.7 m) above street level, as the steepest plane recommended in the strategy Daylight Envelopes. 6) Finally, Step 6 shows one possible massing for buildings that follows the wind morphology and also protects access to sun and light. The building widths and footprints are based on typical conditions observed in central Albuquerque. Many other massing solutions are possible.
65°
65° 12’ above street level
Figure 22 - Step 5: Alley Daylight Access
Table 3, Urban Design Strategy Priorities by Climate Type and Wind Regime, lists example cities from climate zone categories (columns) with three different combinations of seasonal wind directions. For example, El Paso, Texas, is located in a Mixed-Dry climate zone (4B) with northerly winter winds opposite from southerly summer breezes (ASHRAE, 2013). Zone 4 has a roughly equal balance between summer and winter. El Paso experiences 2458 cooling degree days 65F (1366 CDD 18C) and 2864 heating degree days 65F (1591 HDD 18C); therefore, one would not bias the urban design toward either season. They are both important contexts. Priorities for design intentions given in rough order of importance are listed in italic Roman numerals below the city name and wind directions. In some cells of the matrix, these priorities are listed by season. For Hot-Dry climates (zone 0-2B), the priorities are given for daytime winds (too hot) and nightime winds (cooler). In other climates, when not designated, the priorities refer to conditions all year. The listed priorities refer to those found in Table 4, Urban Wind Field Design Strategies for Climatic Design. The table lists strategies from Sun, Wind & Light, 3rd Edition (Dekay + Brown 2014) that can be used to achieve one of six climatic design intentions. Strategies labelled [N] are new strategies not published in SWL3. To use the advice in these tables: 1) First determine the city’s climate zone from the maps of International Climate Zones (SWL3, p 40–41), for the US and Canada, or from other sources, such as ASHRAE (2013). The new standard also inlcudes
new “Extremely Hot” climate zones 0A and 0B. 2) Consult climate data to create a summer and a winter seasonal Wind Rose, or Wind Square (Dekay + Brown, 2014), to determine the wind regime. For wind directions, one useful source is the website, WindFinder (2017), which offers monthly wind roses for most international sites. Data to create wind roses for 800 site worldwide can be found in NCDC (2000). Daily patterns of wind direction are harder to find, but can be rather easily assessed via the custom plots offered in the Climate Consultant software (Milne & Liggett, 2017). 3) Based on the city’s climate type, find the column in Table 3, Urban Design Strategy Priorities by Climate Type and Wind Regime. Based on wind directions, determine the row that best fits the city’s seasonal (or daily if needed) wind regime. Note the recommended climatic urban design priorities. 4) In Table 4, Urban Wind Field Design Strategies for Climatic Design, find the recommended priorities and note the possible design strategies that can help to achieve the project intentions. A selection among the recommended design strategies can be combined with an urban morphology to help generate neighborhood or district massing that supports climatic design for wind responding to most climatic and seasonal variations a designer might find. By designing for wind at the scale of the neighborhood or district, sustainable, passive design becomes more attainable and effective to the designer at smaller scales.
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Wind Direction winter / summer
Aligned
Opposite
Perpendicular
Zone 6-9 Cool & Cold
Zone 3-5B Mixed–Dry
Zone 3-5A Mixed–Humid
Zone 0-2B Hot–Dry
Zone 0-2A Hot–Humid
Zone 3-5C Marine
cold all year
zone 3: bias summer zone 4: balanced zone 5: bias winter
zone 3: bias summer zone 4: balanced zone 5: bias winter
hot all year directions: Day(hot) / Night(cooler)
hot all year
wet winter/dry summer
Stockholm, Sweden (8) W / W+S
Salt Lake City, Utah (5b) S/S Winter: I, II, III Summer: VI, VII
Lyon, France (4a) N/N Summer: IV, III, VI Winter: V, III, II
Lima, Peru (2b) Day S / Night: E
Honolulu, Hawaii (1a) E+NE / E+NE
San Francisco, California (3C) W+NW / W+NW
Harbin, China (7) S/S
Denver, Colorado (5b) S/S
Paris, France (4a) S+W / W
Tuscon, Arizona (2b) Day W+SW / Night S+SE
Nassau, Bahamas (1a) E/E
Vancouver, Brit. Columbia (5C) E/E
I , II , III
Winter: I, II, III Summer: VI, VII
Summer: IV, III, VI Winter: V, III, II
Day: V, VI, III Night: III, VII
IV, VI, VII, III
IV, VI, VII, III
Juneau, Alaska (7) S+W / E
Spokane, Washington (5b) S+W / N+E Winter: I, II, III Summer: VI, VII
Beijing, China (4a) N/S Summer: IV, III, VI Winter: V, III, II
Cairo, Egypt (2b) Day S / Night: E
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (1a) S / N+S
Santa Clara, California (3C) N+NW / SE
Kodiak, Alaska (6) N+W / E
El Paso, Texas (4b) N / S+E
Shanghai, China (3a) N / S+E
Pheonix, Arizona (2b) Day S / Night: N
Houston, Texas (2a) N/S
Kaloomps, BC (5C) E / W+E
All Year: I , II Summer: III
Summer: III, IV, VI, VII Winter: I, II, III
Summer: IV, III, VI Winter: V, III, II
Day: VI, V, III Night: III, VII, IV
IV, VI, VII, III
IV, VI, VII, IV
Ottowa, Ontario (6) W/S
Las Vegas, Nevada (3b) W/S
Mangislan, Korea (4a) N / S+W Summer: IV, VI, III, VII Winter: I, II, III
Yuma, Arizona (1b) Day S+SW / Night SE
Hong Kong, China (1a) N/E
Portland, Oregon (4C) E+SE / N+NW
Toronto, Ontario (5a) W/N
Albuquerque, New Mex. (5b) N/E
Mexico City, Mexico (3a) E+NE / N
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1b) Day S / Night E
Miami, Florida (1a) N/E
Nanaimo, Brit. Columbia (5C) W+SE / NNE+E
All Year: I , II Summer: III
Summer: VI Winter: I, II, III
Summer: IV, VI, III, VII Winter: I, II, III
Day: VI, V, III Night: IV, III, VII
IV, VI, VII, III
IV, VI, VII, III
Table 3: Urban Design Strategy Priorities by Climate Type and Wind Regime
Seattle, Washington (4C) S/S
Eugene, OR (4C) S/N
I Protect from Cold Winds in Winter (block) [N] [N] [7]
discontinuous street PATTERNS
IV Admit Cooling Breezes in Warm Season (admit)
in winter wind direction
[N] [N] [N] [7]
attached buildings
in prevailing direction with high blockage ratio (wide buildings + narrow streets) [8] gradual height transitions (sheltering skyline) [11] winter courts [17] calm streets (Orientation) [21] Urban wind breaks dense urban patterns
II Increase Ambient Temperatures [6] [11] [15]
in summer wind direction
linked squares PERMEABLE BLOCKS
in prevailing direction with low blockage ratio. Wider streets in cooling breeze direction loose urban patterns
[8+] turbulent skyline [17] BREEZY STREETS [19] dispersed buildings [58] breezy courts V Protect from very Hot Winds (block daytime hotarid)
glazed streets
[N] discontinuous street patterns [N] attached buildings [7] dense urban patterns [8] gradual height transitions (sheltering skyline) [58] calm courts
winter courts solar envelopes
III Promote good Air Quality + Ventilation
VI Reduce Ambient Temperature
[N] green boulevards [1] converging ventilation corridors (New name: topographic air drainage) [8+] turbulent skyline Modify With: [4] daylight density [13] daylight blocks
continuous street patterns
[2] [9] [10] [16]
shared shade
with narrow north/south streets in hot arid
interwoven buildings and planting interwoven buildings and water shadow umbrella
[5] climatic envelopes [14] daylight envelopes
TABLE 4: Urban Wind Field Design Strategies for Climatic Design Intentions
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DOCUMENTATION STUDIO PROJECTS RESEARCH
NAKKILA KIRKKO 77-82
Cade’s Cove Visitors Center Model 2013
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The church at Nakkila is the first functionalist church built in Finland. Designed by architect Erkki Huttunen in 1937, the church serves not only the town of Nakkila but the surrounding countryside as well. The Church’s massive steeple towers over the entire town, making a powerful impression on all who pass through. Sharing the site with the church is a beautiful parish center, designed by Juha Leiviska in 1970. Our class visited Nakkila for 3 days, measuring and recording both buildings and the surrounding cemetery. Dimensions were taken using tape, water levels, and 4 meter measuring sticks. Several teams tackled measuring specific elevations, interiors, and site. After three days of documenting, our class returned to Helsinki to Produce Drawings and a site model.
NAKKILA KIRKKO, FINLAND
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Once we had returned to Helsinki with all the measurements and drawings, the class divided into two groups. One team produced a set of graphite drawings, rendered using watercolors and charcoal. Guidelines were drawn using red graphite. The second team set about building a site model of the church and adjacent parish center. Topography was cut from 1/4 inch plywood, and the church itself was made from birch wood, creating a beautiful light facade that abstractly represents the white of the church quite well. The class took about three weeks to draft and build all produced material. The model is now on display in the Museum of Finnish Architecture, in Helsinki.
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