Fig. 1 Context Plan 1:1000
Fig. 2 Sun path
Fig. 3 Redesign fragment 2
Fig. 4 Photos of PathĂŠ Schouwburgplein
Analysis of Pathé Schouwburgplein Source: own illustration and photography
Pathé Schouwburgplein Revised
A redesign of the Pathé cinema’s southern and eastern façades Kay John YIM - 4243587, 3000 words 1. Abstract In the pass few decades, cites of fast growing countries or those that suffer from war destructions have strong desires of development. Such development boom often results in building lack of long-term consideration in climatic control and sustainability. As a postwar contemporary city, Rotterdam is one of the kinds. With the current architectural focus of buildings shifting from aesthetics to sustainability, climatic controls of contemporary buildings should no longer be overlooked. A fragment of Pathé Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam is chosen to study the theoretical feasibility of improving underperforming existing building with implementation of a solar gain sunspace to the façades. Standing for only 20 years, the contemporary Pathé already faces poor climatic and architectural problems. With references to precedents of excellent climatic performance and efficiency, it is put into comparison alongside, analyzed and then improved in 3 major aspects: heating, ventilation and material. The redesign proposal eventually contributes to answering the question of whether an existing building can be enhanced with similar redesign strategies. Although the theoretical redesign might be costly at the present stage with inclusion of relatively new materials and non-mainstream construction procedures, it poses a new possibility to building redesign, and suggests future goals for improving building technology. Besides climate, sustainability and embedded structure, other details as building planning and context involvement are critically addressed to achieve a realistic redesign.
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Total Incident Solar Radiation (Average daily value, 8am ‐ 6pm, 2012 year‐round)
A B C D E
Fig. 5 Total incident solar radiation analysis in Ecotect I
Façade
Area (m2)
Total incident solar radiation per m2 (Wh/m2)
Total incident solar radiation (Wh)
A B C D E
890
800
712000
390
1000
390000
140
200
28000
205
1000
205000
140
400
56000
Energy stored on an average day from incident solar radiation (Assuming no heat loss)
Southern façade (D+E) / kWh
Eastern façade(A+B+C) / kWh
Southern + eastern / kWh
261
1130
1391
Fig. 6 Total incident solar radiation analysis in Ecotect II Fig. 8 Spreadsheet showing calculation of maximum total energy stored from southern and eastern façades
Fig. 7 Prevailing Winds Analysis in Ecotect 4
Analysis of Pathé Schouwburgplein Source: own illustration
2. The fragment chosen The fragment that has been chosen to redesign is the southern and eastern façade facing the Schouwburgplein Square. Its original design causes climatic and ventilation control problems. The two façades are cladded with corrugated polycarbonate horizontally, which does not benefit the building but worsens the building’s durability by catching dirt and blocking water drainage. The polycarbonate cladding is also a poor insulation; therefore the building depends solely on mechanical heating or cooling throughout the year. Several cinema staffs reflected a frequent repairing record on the air conditioners due to heavy usage. Pathé Schouwburgplein was built on a raised stage in the Rotterdam city. Its prime location allows direct daylight / sunlight radiation without blockage of tall building. A total incident solar radiation analysis on the building in Autodesk Ecotect shows the southern and the western façade perceives the most solar radiation on an average day from 8am to 6pm all-year round, 261kWh and 1130kWh respectively (Fig. 8). According to staff interview and self-experience, air inside the building easily gets stuffy. As heat escapes quickly from poorly insulated façades, mechanical ventilation is turned down to cut power costs, resulting in trapping of warm exhaust air. Besides climate and lighting problems, the building’s appearance is also a current issue. The corrugated polycarbonate cladding is prone to dust and dirt, which is unpleasant to the eye. This project covers redesigning of Pathé Schouwburgplein’s southern and eastern façades, aiming for better climatic control, less power usage and improved ventilation. Resulted building will be more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and will be a more pleasant cinema for both staff and visitors.
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Fig. 9 NCSU Solar House, US
Fig. 10 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Germany 6
Fig. 11 30 St Mary Axe, UK
Fig. 9 Reference project: NCSU Solar House source: http://hiddeninthehistory.wordpress. com/2011/04/13/the-solar-house/ Fig. 10 Reference project: Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Datei:Rheinisches_Landesmuseum_Bonn.jpg Fig. 11 Reference project: 30 St Mary Axe, UK source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_ Axe
NC Solar Center - Advancing Clean Energy for a Sustainable Economy . 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ncsc.ncsu.edu/. [Accessed 25 September 2012].
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WebCite query result. 2012. 30 St Mary Axe. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.webcitation. org/5nIR2V7z9. [Accessed 5 December 2012].
2
3. The research question The research question is: “How can an isolated gain sunspace be implemented to improve temperature control and facilitate natural ventilation when redesigning façades of an existing building.” The aim of the research is to rethink about “green house” system. In reality, isolated gain sunspaces are usually found in small house rather than large public buildings, mainly due to its demand of space and expenses; instead double façades of similar technical principles but of lower efficiency are applied. Given no budget and space limitations, the practicality of “green house” in contemporary building redesign is to be researched. The climatic and ventilation problems of existing Pathé Schouwburgplein are to be tackled in the research. The redesign should not be purely technical; redesign considerations including users’ convenience, comfort and interaction with Schouwburgplein Square are also taken into account. The design should not be merely a combination of precedents and the Pathé Schouwburgplein, but is also to redesign the isolated gain sunspace as the building itself in respect to local climate and structure. Modern elements should be incorporated to improve the performance of conventional isolated gain sunspace. 4. Reference Project Three projects are studied to achieve the desired redesign fragment, on the basis of similar climates with Pathé Schouwburgplein, including • • •
Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn in Germany, NCSU Solar House in the US, 30 St Mary Axe in the UK.
Both Rheinisches Landesmuseum and NCSU Solar House utilize isolated gain sunspace system for energy conservation. The system is a “glass box” offset from the building façade that allows passive solar gain, creating a thermal buffer zone to reduce fabric and ventilation losses (Fig. 15). Sunspaces are built around the southern façade of a building to take advantage of maximum solar radiation in both of the reference projects. The sunspace has lower temperature swings than direct gain systems, thus providing more climate control over interior space. It also provides additional usable space. NCSU House is an excellent example of passive solar gain driven sustainability. It was built in 1981, and has an average heating bill of less than $70 annually1. This proves the high energy efficiency of sunspace in the long run. Rheinisches Landesmuseum serves as the precedent for the practicality of adding an isolated gain sunspace to an existing building. Due to aging of façade and structural materials, the redesign, taken place in 1998, is one of the few examples of isolated gain sunspace utilized in a building with a scale similar to Pathé Schouwburgplein. It therefore provides feasible construction and structural assembly reference to the redesign project. 30 St Mary Axe has 6 atria around the building core, functioning as space for natural ventilation through 180m heights where window openings are not possible2. The building’s atria has a similar structural assembly to an isolated gain sunspace, therefore is of referencing value for implementation of natural ventilation into the redesign. 7
low temperature swing in solar gain sunspace allows incoming air to be heated up, thus more control over ventilation through openings
solar gain sunspace stores heat from solar radiation temporarily
temporarily stored heat is generally transferred into thermal mass faรงade for weekly / seasonal storage depending on temperature
Fig. 15 Solar gain sunspace functioning, as in NCSU Solar House & Rheinisches Landesmuseum
ventilation grills at the top of building allows exhaust air to escape through stack effect, weather proof with lead flashing
air is heated up from glazing faรงade, therefore rises, constantly pulling air into building
ventilation grill around building core where fresh cool air enters Fig. 16 Natural ventilation functioning in 30 St Mary Axe, UK 8
Fig. 17 Comparison of volumetric heat capacity of potential thermal mass
Left: Reference projects’ operation climate analysis Source: own illustration
3 different glazing façade structural systems are compared, on premise of load-bearing, sufficient height and span for application in redesign:
Right: Glazing façade structure & material analysis Source: own illustration
self load-bearing structure means most ease of maintence i.e. replacement of glazing panels
extra structure required to hold up section space for ventilation grills large horizontal railing blocks sun radiation
ventilation grills
least sun radiation blockage due to transparency
limited height of glass fins, hard to transport & assemble
low cost of construction, easy to transport and assemble
Post-and-rail steel columns
(as in NCSU Solar House)
Post-and-rail glass fins
most service area for implmentation of ventilation grills
Trusses
(as in Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn)
*Trusses is chosen as main structure, with steel post and rail as substructure due to expansion and maintenance considerations
Fig. 18 Comparison of glazing façade structural system
Potential Truss Material Comparison Research of lighter structure for minimum sun radiation blockage
Stainless steel
Titanium
Carbon fiber*
Strenth (Mpa) Density (g/cm3)
2000
1300
4300
7.86
4.51
1.75
Specific strength (kN∙m/kg) Breaking length (km)
254
288
2457
25.9
29.4
250
13.4% stronger
867.3% stronger
Comparison to stainless steel
* Use of carbon fiber as structural material is only found in conceptual projects, therefore titanium is chosen as truss material for the redesign exercise
Fig. 19 Comparison of potential truss material 9
Energy Spreadsheet of existing Pathé Schouwburgplein BUILDING DATA (INPUT) I Floor length / m Floor width / m Floor‐to‐ceiling height / m Number of storeys Glazing area (% of useable floor area) Air change rate / ac/hr (assumed average value) ELEMENT U‐VALUES II Walls / W/m2K Floor / W/m2K Roof / W/m2K Glazing / W/m2K ESSENTIAL DIMENSIONS Exposed floor area / m2 Useable floor area / m2 Glazing area / m2 Gross wall area / m2 Net Wall Area / m2 Ceiling area (for heat loss) / m2 Volume (ventilation) / m3 III HEAT LOSS CALCUALTION IV Heat loss through walls / °CΔT Heat loss through floor / °CΔT Heat loss through roof / °CΔT Heat loss through glazing / °CΔT Specific Ventilation heat loss Qv V Total building envelope heat loss / °CΔT Total heat loss over a whole day / Whrs/K VI Energy required to raise the internal temperature by 1°C / kWh per Degree Day VII AVERAGE ENERGY CONSUMPTION Desired indoor temperature / °C VIII Average outdoor temperature / °C IX Total energy required to raise internal temperature from 10°C / kWh
I
COMPARISON WITH TOTAL ENERGY STORED (REFER TO FIG. 8) Total energy stored / kWh Conserved energy / %
70 30 20 2 30 0.5
0.27 0.13 0.19 1.8
2100 4200 1260 8000 6740 2100 10500
1819.8 273 399 2268 1732.5 6492.3 155815.2 155.8152
21 10 1713.9672 1391 81.1
Largest building dimensions from various floor levels of the building are taken and assumed to be uniform over entire building, therefore the output value (% of conserved energy) is slightly smaller II S. Lo, 2010, AR20297 Environmental design: building form and fabric, University of Bath Dept. Architecture and Civil Engineering, Bath. Slide 66: UK Building Regulations 2010 Part L. III Volume (ventilation) = (Air change rate/0.1) X ceiling area IV Heat loss = U‐value of element X net element area V Specific ventilation heat loss = 0.33 X Air change rate X Volume VI Total heat loss over a whole day = Total building envelope heat loss X 24hrs VII Energy required to raise internal temperature by 1°C = Total heat loos over a whole day / 1000 VIII Hartley, Anne (1 March 2006). "Fuel Poverty". West Midlands Public Health Observatory. Birmingham, UK: West Midlands Public Health Observatory. [Retrieved 5 December 2012]. P.3: Comfortable indoor temperature. IX Rotterdam average temperatures, 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.holiday‐weather.com/rotterdam/averages/. [Accessed 5 December 2012] Further research is required for a more accurate calculation, which is beyond scope of the redesign project
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Fig. 20 Analysis of solar gain sunspace implementation: energy spreadsheet Source: own calculation Concrete Design Ideas, Contractors and Pictures The Concrete Network. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.concretenetwork.com/. [Accessed 25 September 2012].
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Novacem. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://novacem.com/. [Accessed 25 September 2012].
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Sound Insulation Properties of Concrete Walls and Floors. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. concrete.net.au/publications/pdf/SoundInsulation. pdf. [Accessed 25 September 2012].
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Kwok, A & Grondzik, W (2007). The Green Studio Handbook. Oxford: Elsevier Inc. p120-121.
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Eco-principles. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theyellowhouse.org.uk/eco-prin/princip.html#p7. [Accessed 25 September 2012].
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5. Literature references The building fragment requires climatic and sustainable issues to be solved. Mentioned reference projects give the redesign precedent, backed up by several literature and Internet references. The redesign begins from the replacement of current corrugated plastic façade with concrete claddings. Produced from abundantly available limestone, concrete is efficiency resourced. It can be produced from waste materials as slag cement and fly ash. It is commonly recognized as a strong and durable building material for contemporary architecture, and more importantly it has high thermal mass (2060kJ/m3K) (Fig. 17) for improved energy efficiency in the building3. Concrete made from Novacem, a new type of cement, is used for the cladding materials in the redesign. It has a zero carbon footprint, since its base material, magnesium silicates, releases no carbon when being extracted. Every ton of Novacem absorbs threequarter of a ton of carbon dioxide, and it costs the same as Portland concrete. Though there are currently no projects of the same scale built with Novacem concrete, the Developers of Novacem are almost getting the concrete out of testing stage and will be in practice within a few years4. In long term, the concrete façade will last longer structurally and aesthetically due to ease of maintenance and repair. Its excellent acoustic performance reduces costs for extra insulation material5. The second layer glass façade is then built around the concrete wall to create an isolated gain sunspace in between. Solar energy is collected, stored in concrete thermal mass and later distributed around the building’s interior by natural radiation, conduction or convection. Transferring of heat depends on temperature differences between thermal mass and interior space, therefore heat is automatically moderated without overheating the building. Stored heat in the summer will be trapped in the thermal mass due to less temperature differences, thus can be stored through seasons depending on thermal mass volume. The advantages of isolated gain sunspace over double skin façade are the spatial and thermal separation between occupants and the passive heating system6. The additional usable space has potential for a semi-outdoor café for the cinema, which increases physical interactivity with the Schouwburgplein Square. A total radiation incident solar radiation analysis on Pathé Schouwburgplein’s (Fig. 5) shows that if isolated gain sunspace is installed on southern and eastern façades, a maximum energy of 1391kWh can be stored on an average day (Fig. 8). An energy spreadsheet is then developed to calculate the average energy consumption in the existing building, which results in 1713kWh (Fig. 20). Comparison of both spreadsheet data displays that an implementation of the isolated gain sunspace results in a reduction of over 80% in energy consumption in heating. Although there are more heat loss factors in real life, the calculation puts on view a theoretical level of energy efficiency in such system. Air grills are installed at the top and the bottom of the sunspace structure in reference to 30 St Mary Axe (Fig. 16), allowing exhaust air out through stack effect – cold air inside the sunspace is heated up by solar radiation, enters the building as warm air, rises up as exhaust air and eventually escapes through the air grills7. This helps naturally circulate warm and fresh air, reducing power for mechanical ventilation. 11
steel grill as exhaust air vent
double glazing façade allows solar radiation into the solar gain space, trap heated-up air temporarily roof truss and façade truss as main supporting structures of the double glazing façade for ease of maintenance, with steel posts as vertical and horizontal substructure 5m offset from eastern and southern façades, 0.5m offset from western and northern façades as minimum space for structural installation 300mm concrete cladding installed on eastern and southern façades as major thermal storage
ground area around building replaced with 300mm concrete flooring as additional thermal storage
original interior layout, polycarbonate eastern & southern façade panels removed reinfoced column to support additional concrete cladding load
*Roof northern & western façades are not major aspects of the redesign. Figure only shows dependent structural elements for redesign. 12
Fig. 21
Exploded view on assembly of structure and façade elements source: own illustration
6. Redesign The redesign of southern and eastern façades of Pathé Schouwburgplein aims to turn the building into both an environmentally friendly and energy efficient building without alteration to the interior plans. The concept of an isolated gain sunspace originates from agricultural greenhouse – letting heat in but preventing heat escaping to provide a warm and constant temperature for plant growth over the year. The redesign of southern and eastern façades of Pathé Schouwburgplein holds the same concept, allowing heat in to be utilized later for constant comfort throughout seasons. 6.1 Structural design The essential form of the redesign is a new glazed façade around a redesigned concrete façade to achieve passive solar heating. The choices of truss as a main structure to the glazing façade allows maximum height and buckle strength in addition to smaller substructures, whereas large horizontal beams will be required if in the case of steel columns or glass fins to extend up to 24m high, resulting in more blocking in sunlight. Glass fin appears as an initial architectural match to the glazing façade, but considering ease of transportation, construction and maintenance, truss is the rational choice as supporting structure (Fig. 18). The triangular sections of trusses allow maximum service area for maintenance or repairing of individual glazing panels without weakening the load-bearing structure. The glazed façade is composed of double glazed laminated glass panels at 3m x 2m panels as a balance between ease of maintenance and wind dissipation. The internal concrete façade is constructed out of 3m x 2m concrete claddings for uniform façade pattern together with the glazing façade. Steal columns are added behind the concrete façade to support concrete claddings and as self load-bearing structure (decision of load-bearing as the maximum load allowance of presence steel-frame structure is unknown). In consideration of structural materials, concrete panels utilized in the redesign eliminate the main environmental concern, as they are produced from Novacem with zero carbon footprint. Acoustic-insulated property of concrete serves as a bonus to improvement of cinema experience. Titanium alloy is used for production of trusses. With a specific strength of 288kN ∙ m/kg comparing to steel of 254kN ∙m/kg, titanium truss is 13.4% thinner than traditional steel truss, thus allowing an overall lighter structure and less blockage to solar radiation (Fig. 19). The redesign requires few alteration to the existing interior planning, therefore minimizing waste of existing material. 6.2 Construction design Existing polycarbonate façades are removed and later replaced with load-bearing insulated walls with 300mm thick concrete claddings. The exterior steel flooring panels around the southern and eastern façades are replaced with 300mm concrete flooring panels. 13
HEATING I.
HEATING III.
Heat is stored in isolated gain solar space temporarily
Stored heat is released when there is a temperature difference between concrete faรงade and interior space
HEATING II. Heat diffuses into concrete
VENTILATION
faรงade for storage
14
Fresh air enters by trickle ventilation, exits by stack effect
Fig. 22
Operation climate concept Source: own illustration
The installation of the new concrete façade follows the original building form to avoid alteration to interior plans. Double glazed glass panels are placed 5 meters away from the concrete façades, allowing sufficient air volume as temporary heat storage before concrete thermal mass being heated up. The glass panels are installed on a 3mx2m structural grid consisting of 1300mm wide titanium alloy trusses at 6m centers and steel posts at 2m centers with double glazed spider bolts. Steel grills are installed at the top and the bottom of the glazing façade to facilitate natural ventilation. 6.3 Climate design • Heating (Fig. 22 heating) Isolated gain sunspace as the major element of the redesign fully takes advantage of minimum usage of lighting inside a cinema. Long-period lighting is hardly required in any of the cinema theaters; foyer lights are also dimmed even during nighttime to render customers a cinematic experience before entering the theater. The new concrete façade covers the entire southern and eastern façade to take full benefit of solar radiation into weekly or seasonal heat storage, depending on temperature difference between concrete façade and interior space - heat stays in the concrete façade during summer when interior temperature is higher, and keeps storing up until winter, diffuses out and warms up the building when interior temperature is lower. The same principle also applies to day and night temperature difference, but at a smaller scale of heat transfer. The present ground floor glazing wall stays in the redesign, providing optimal lighting for the entrance and ticket counter. Surrounding 5m wide exterior flooring panels are therefore replaced with concrete claddings to compensate the ground floor wall surface area. The choices of truss as a vertical supported structure to the glazing façade enables later expansion to the redesign, for instance addition of UV louver panels if the isolated gain sunspace turns out to function better than expected. The vertical façade trusses connect to the roof trusses spanning over the building. • Ventilation (Fig. 22 ventilation) The isolated gain sunspace is a perfect companion to natural ventilation. The truss structure allows sufficient service volume for steel grill to be installed at the top and bottom of the glazing façade. As cool air falls due to lower density, it enters the glazing façade through the bottom grills and providing trickle ventilation into building. As the cool air is heated up in the isolated gain solar space, it generally rises up and becomes exhaust air after circulating inside the building. The bottom grills and top grills have a cross section of 180mm and 285mm openings respectively; this result in less air in, more air out, thus a lower air pressure level in the building together with the isolated gain sunspace when comparing to the outside air pressure level. The difference in air pressure results in stack effect ventilation - fresh air is constantly drawn into the building, whereas exhaust air leaves through the top grills. Door openings are installed on the ground floor level for more control over ventilation. There is less of a zoning or security concern thanks to the glazing façade, even when leaving the doors all open during summer to allow more cool air entering the building. They even provide convenient access into and out of the building when the isolated gain sunspace functions as a café. Both the introduction of passive heating and natural ventilation will raise the level of 15
B
A
16
Fig. 23 Elevation
Fig. 24 Horizontal section
A
B
Left: elevation and horizontal section view Source: own illustration Right: section view Source: own illustrationv
SCALE
0
1
2m
Fig. 25 Longitudinal section A-A (as indicated in Fig. 24)
17
detail D
detail A
detail F
detail B
detail E
detail C
SCALE
0
1
2m
Fig. 26 Cross section B-B (as indicated in Fig. 24)
18
detail D
Left: section view Source: own illustration Right: detail Source: own illustration
detail A
detail B
detail E
detail C
detail F
SCALE
0
100
500mm
Fig. 27 Details (as indicated in Fig. 26) 19
weather protection ventilation grill with lead flashing
2m deep roof truss
1.5m deep faรงade truss
double glazing faรงade panel steel rectangular hollow section 300mm concrete thermal mass
double glazed spider bolt
20
Fig. 28
Exploded view of roof & wall connection view Source: own illustration
7. Peer Review I. What is the most relevant paragraph of the article in relation to the research question and why? Which paragraph is the most irrelevant and why? II. Which of the writers used argument(s), to your opinion, establish conclusive proof positive of the selected design solution? Draw up the argument(s). Describe to which part of the design the arguments apply to. III. Describe elements in the redesign which show the realised integration and cooperation between structure, façade and climate design.
by Walter van Jaarsveld (student no.: 4044703) I. The most relevant paragraph of the article in relation to the research question is the one with the literature references (paragraph 5 of the article). The writer references literature that is connected to the different measurements he wants to make in the redesign. The most irrelevant paragraph in relation to the research question is the abstract, as the research question isn’t stated anywhere in the text. Therefore the abstract might need some revision. II. The arguments about the Rheinisches Landesmuseum establish conclusive proof positive of the design solution. It has a lot of similarities with the Pathé building, for instance a redesign of an existing building. It has a similar scale like Pathé Schouwburgplein. The referenced ventilation system of 30 St Mary Axe into the redesign is a significant enhancement to the isolated gain sunspace, which also contributes to a strong argument. III. Figure 21 is the best element that shows the realized integration and cooperation between structure, façade and climate design. Since it is an exploded view, all the different parts of the structure of the façade are clearly visible at first sight, functioning as a visual summary of the article with the aid of annotations. In figure 22 and 23 the climate system becomes more comprehensive by the use of diagrams. by Tatiana Starchenko (student no.: 4239180) I. The most relevant paragraph of the article in relation to the research question is “literature references” (article 5). The author describes the technologies and materials used in the redesign in relation to the existing buildings. In this paragraph special features and advantages of chosen technical solutions are discussed in the light of the research question. I must admit that the most irrelevant paragraph in relation to the research question is the abstract. Although I believe it is important to the article in general, introducing the study on climatic performance of different façade systems. II. The arguments, explaining the use of concrete façade are very clear in my opinion. The performance of the materials is well researched and advantages of structural design are highlighted. The use of isolated gain sunspace system is also sufficiently explained, referring to the system performance in existing buildings. All the arguments apply to the redesign of eastern and southern façades, improving the building performance, but avoiding major alterations in interiors. III. An isolated gain sunspace is created by addition of the second façade, composed of double glazed laminated panels supported by vertical trusses. Vertical structural elements provide more sun radiation penetration, easier connection to the roof trusses, and enables later alteration to façade system (e.g. sun shading). The vertical truss structure also provides enough space for installation of ventilation grills at the top and bottom of the structure, which create an air pressure difference, enabling successful natural ventilation. 21
Page for additonal drawings redesign (not mentioned in lists) (shortcut: ctrl + d, browse for image)
22
Fig. 29
Redesign in location source: own illustration
8. Self Reflection Abstract is revised on reflection of peer reviews concerning lack of research question relevance. Reviewed as the most relevant text to the research question, paragraph 5 on literature references is taken further with few additions of diagrams on the design development. The rest of the article is reassessed in general to meet equality in relevance to research question, for instance in paragraph 5 long sentences are rephrased to convey the climatic concept in simpler words, whereas diagram and texts are utilized more comprehensively to explain to explain redesign in paragraph 6. Annotations on diagrams are revised in response to good utility in figure 21 as a clear combination for summarising text. 9. Conclusion The redesign of the southern and eastern façades of Pathé Schouwburgplein improves climate and ventilation control with a major introduction of an isolated gain solar space, thus a rational answer to both the proposed research question and Pathé’s existing problems. Accompanied advantages as improved acoustic insulation and space expansion also contribute to an improved building experience. New questions arise alongside the redesign of Pathé, namely acquiring and use of expansion space, construction scale and expenses. The cinema expansion space in between the façade is a bonus to the redesign. Due to highly solar-radiation exposed glazing, the space may not be used during all seasons, especially at peak temperatures during summer or winter when it gets too hot or too cold for a long stay. Though trusses allow easy installation of sun shading louvers at a later stage, this might defeat the purpose of the redesign. Further studies will have to be carried out to measure the precise efficiency of the redesign. The redesign is premised on expansion of Pathé to the exterior of the Schouwburgplein Square at a 5m perimeter. The expansion of such project might not be negotiable or might require huge costs, thus most contemporary buildings opting for small-scale but not-so-energy-efficient double façades. The redesign includes only the southern and eastern façades, and cannot be applied universally due to climatic considerations. The accompanied construction scale and structure of the redesign fragment extends far beyond the fragment, almost covering the entire building. Therefore it would require consultation of engineers on the connecting structure to the rest of the building, which exceeds the scope of the redesign exercise. Ultimately the proposed redesign poses a huge change to the façades and the Schouwburgplein Square. Varieties of cultural and entertainment activities are carried out every week at the Schouwburgplein Square to improve Rotterdam’s cultural qualities at the present. The increase of Pathé in scale, and more importantly the choice of utilizing the expansion space will affect the public interaction between building and the square, and eventually functional zoning and circulation of the entire area. Such consequences should not be underestimated. 23
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10. Bibliography NC Solar Center - Advancing Clean Energy for a Sustainable Economy . 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ncsc.ncsu.edu/. [Accessed 25 September 2012]. WebCite query result. 2012. 30 St Mary Axe. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.webcitation.org/5nIR2V7z9. [Accessed 5 December 2012]. Concrete Design Ideas, Contractors and Pictures - The Concrete Network. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.concretenetwork.com/. [Accessed 25 September 2012]. Novacem. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://novacem.com/. [Accessed 25 September 2012]. Sound Insulation Properties of Concrete Walls and Floors. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.concrete.net.au/publications/pdf/SoundInsulation.pdf. [Accessed 25 September 2012]. Kwok, A & Grondzik, W (2007). The Green Studio Handbook. Oxford: Elsevier Inc. Eco-principles. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theyellowhouse.org.uk/eco-prin/ princip.html#p7. [Accessed 25 September 2012]. S. Lo, 2010, AR20297 Environmental design: building form and fabric, University of Bath Dept. Architecture and Civil Engineering, Bath Hartley, Anne (1 March 2006). “Fuel Poverty”. West Midlands Public Health Observatory. Birmingham, UK: West Midlands Public Health Observatory. Rotterdam average temperatures, 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.holidayweather.com/rotterdam/averages/. [Accessed 5 December 2012]
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