Solstice on the Park Daylighting and Thermal Study

Arch 6320_Built Ecologies 1_F20 | Final Assignment | Jingshi Zhang

Part 1. Case Study Building Analysis - Solstice on the Park, Gang 1a. Background Information Section

• Date built

• Type

2018

Residential

• Location

• Size

1616 E 56th St, Chicago, IL, 60637

400,000 sf/272ft/250 units

• Client Mac Properties

GIS Site Map

1. Google Map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Solstice+on+the+Park/@41.7932556,-87.5879619,16.25z/ data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e290cec3d27ef:0xd95e477573b124ad!8m2!3d41.7936693!4d-87.5857001 2. http://media.designerpages.com/2018/11/architectural-profile-solstice-on-the-park-by-studio-gang/ 3. https://studiogang.com/project/solstice-on-the-park

Climate Data Winter

Spring

Summer

SITE Fall

STRUCTURE

SKIN

SERVICES

SPACE PLAN

STUFF

Site’s Koppen Climate Classification - Dfa

Latitude: 41.8N

Chicago, IL

Longitude: 87.6W

1b. Shearing Layers Analysis

Main Climate: Snow Precipitation: Fully Humid Temperature: Hot Summer

The Dry Bulb temperature demonstrates that high temperatures are concentrated in June, July, and August. The average is between 80 to 90 F. Annual precipitation is evenly distributed. Radiation in the summertime is higher than in other seasons. The sky is cloudy all year round according to the diagram. Chicago gets the most strong wind in spring, less wind in other seasons.

Wind Rose Spring

21 MAR 1:00 - 20 JUN 24:00

Summer

21 JUN 1:00 - 20 SEP 24:00

Fall

21 SEP 1:00 - 20 DEC 24:00

Winter

21 DEC 1:00 - 20 MAR 24:00

1b. Shearing Layers Analysis

SITE

STRUCTURE

SKIN

SERVICES

SPACE PLAN

STUFF

Psychrometric Chart and Passive Strategies

In the summertime, Chicago has a relatively high temperature. Using fans as a passive strategy will dramatically improve comfortable hours. Evaporation cooling also is an option for summer. Solstice on the park uses the solar carving strategy to reduce direct sunlight.

Occupant Use of Fans(16.08%) No passive strategies(29.66%) Evaporative Cooling (32.57%) Occupant Use of Fans (44.31%)

No Passive Strategies(25.99%)

Passive Solar Heating(17.21%)

Without passive stragies, the percentage of comfortable time is 25.99%. If add passive solar heating, 17.21% comfort will increase.

In summer time, using fans will help to reduce heat and increase 16.08% comfortable time.

Clothing: Women’s underware, T-shirt, walking shorts, shoes or sandals

No Passive Strategies

Evaporative Cooling

Occupant Use of Fans

Winter: Passive solar heating increases comfortable hours. Solstice on the park makes the sunlight go as deep as possible to gain heat in wintertime.

Passive Solar Heating (23.86%) Internal Heat Gain (0.09%)

Clothing: Women’s underware, boots, long-sleeve dress shirt, trousers, coat

No Passive Strategies (0.36%)

No Passive Strategies

Internal Heat Gain

Passive Solar Heating

1b. Shearing Layers Analysis

SITE

STRUCTURE

SKIN

SERVICES

SPACE PLAN

STUFF

Glazing: The glazing was designed to be carved by an angle according to the summer altitude angle in Chicago - so that the angled windows function as a system of natural solar shading devices. During the summer, this orientation prevents the heat of direct sunlight from entering the building.

In winter, the sun is lower and sunlight can go into the interior and warm up indoor space. Both effects are enhanced through the use of Solarban 60 glass. Combined with clear glass in a standard 1-inch insulating glass unit (IGU), Solarban 60 glass offers visible light transmittance (VLT) of 70 percent and a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.39, which make it one of the most commonly specified solar control, low-emissivity glasses (Low-E) on the market.

Columns and Walls: The exterior walls are dark grey and beige-colored panels. Dark grey panels aim at highlighting the building’s structure which is hidden inside.

The light-beige cladding responds to surrounding buildings’ colors. This beige color is also designed to complement the wooden finishes inside the apartments. The concrete panels designed by Rieder aim to show how climate-friendly construction can be integrated into high-rise buildings. The tiles, each 13-millimeter thin, are made from non-combustible glass fiber reinforced concrete.

Floors

https://www.buildingenclosureonline.com/articles/88952-glass-creates-energy-savings-for-chicagossolstice-on-the-park? https://www.archdaily.com/930072/solstice-in-the-park-studio-gang http://www.linn-mathes.com/project-post/solstice-on-the-park/ https://www.dezeen.com/2019/09/09/rieder-studio-gang-solstice-on-the-park-chicago/#:~:text=Dezeen%20promotion%3A%20materials%20developer%20Rieder,south%2C%20park%2Dfacing%20 facade.

1b. Shearing Layers Analysis

SITE

STRUCTURE

SKIN

SERVICES

SPACE PLAN

STUFF

Solstice on the Park - Typical Floor Plan Inside Solistice’s bright ground floor, guests are greeted at a front desk flanked by two communal spaces for residents. To the left is the library, a transitional space set up for chess or group meetings around a large wood table reclaimed from a tree that stood on the site. On the right is a resident lounge with a big screen TV, game room, additional seating areas, access to the building’s fitness center and an under-construction outdoor deck where the tower’s hoist once stood.

Ground Floor Plan https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/9/17/17822868/solstice-on-the-park-hyde-park-studio-gang https://www.archdaily.com/930072/solstice-in-the-park-studio-gang/5df118783312fd16790007a1-solstice-in-the-park-studio-gang-photo?next_project=no Library

Lounge

Living Room

Each floor has ten units. Units share 3 elevators. The units on the south side have beautiful balconies. Each bedroom gets sunlight because all of them are located at the perimeter.

Balcony

Bedroom

1c. Thermodynamic Strategy Synthetic Diagram - Solar Carving

Left two diagrams show solar latitude on Winter Solstice day and Summer Solstice day.

The design cuts into the building’s facade in response to the sun and orients surfaces to the optimum 72-degree angle for

24.5

Winter Solstice December 22 12:00

Chicago’s latitude, maximizing sunlight in winter for passive solar warming and minimizing light and heat gain during summer to reduce air-conditioning usage.

In winter, the sunlight enters the rooms deeply, bringing warmth and light to the interior. In Summer, the self-shading form reduces direct sunlight into the rooms, so reduce heat gain on hot days.

In addition to Solar Carving, the building’s windows can be opened for natural ventilation.

71.4

The two passive strategies help the building save energy.

Summer Solstice June 21 12:00

https://studiogang.com/project/solstice-on-the-park

1c. Thermodynamic Strategy Synthetic Diagram - Point-in-time Illuminance

The Building with Solar Carving (4th Floor) Point in time Illuminance

The Building without Solar Carving (4th Floor) Point in time Illuminance

Winter Solstice December 21

Summer Solstice June 21

Winter Solstice December 21

Summer Solstice June 21

9:00/12:00/17:00

9:00/12:00/17:00

9:00/12:00/17:00

9:00/12:00/17:00

Mean(Lux) 2033 Median 125

Mean(Lux) 2520 Median 253

Mean(Lux) 1451 Median 125

Mean(Lux) 955 Median 210

Mean(Lux) 4198 Median 150

Mean(Lux) 5123 Median 251

Mean(Lux) 2909 Median 152

Mean(Lux) 1335 Median 237

Mean(Lux) 89 Median 23

Mean(Lux) 984 Median 162

Mean(Lux) 56 Median 21

Mean(Lux) 854 Median 151

Columns: Matte White Wall Wall: Matte White Wall Floor: Light Wood Floor Glazing: Solarban 60 Tvis0.696 SHGC0.461

Is solar carving really helpful in terms of summer and winter sunlight control? Balconies on the original plan are highlighted in the black dash line. In winter, of the building with solar carving, natural light goes a little deeper into the interior than the one without. In summer, some illuminance over 3000 lux is reduced indoors (balconies excluded) because of the self-shading strategy. (compare the pink areas without solar carving and with solar caring strategy at the same time point in time illuminance)

1c. Thermodynamic Strategy Synthetic Diagram - Radiation Map The Building with Solar Carving (4th Floor)

Total Solar Exposure - 174 kWh/m^2.yr

The Building without Solar Carving (4th Floor)

Total Solar Exposure - 77 kWh/m^2.yr

These two Radiation Maps look very similar. The building with solar carving has a total solar exposure of 174 kWh/m^2.yr. The building without solar carving has a total solar exposure of 77 kWh/m^2.yr. Theoretically, in summer, the solar carving will provide self-shading for the building’s indoor. It’s hard to say which one gets more radiation in winter because both plans won’t be influenced by the facades (sunlight will still go in). I guess the reason the original building gets more irradiation is balconies have no cover. High radiation results from direct sunlight hitting balconies floor.

1d. Precedent Work/ Successive Work

Heliomophorism means that urban and building forms response to solar orientation and solar performance. Ralph Knowles suggests designing the buildings with nature. In winter, it’s essential to keep the sunshine entering every dwelling unit. In summer time, buildings’ envelopes take wind in for cross ventilation.

Typical housing project: viewed from the east, this test project illustrates multiple land parcels with housing over street-front shops; solar envelopes provide 6 h of solar access above a 20 ft shadow fence at neighboring properties (left); all designs under the solar envelope provide at least 4 h of solar access and cross-ventilation for each dwelling unit (right). Based on the relationship between density and surface-to-volume ratio, Knowles concludes that three to seven stories generally represent the best size range for urban housing in LA.

Knowles’s research into environmental conditions and theories about solar envelope zoning prefigured the parametric tools architects and planners use today. This scheme for an L.A. row-housing project demonstrates how dense developments—both low- and highrise—could still provide equity in terms of natural sunlight.

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/03/solar-oriented-cities-3-housing-density.html https://www.metropolismag.com/sustainability/ralph-knowles-pioneer-solar-design/

Part 2. Design for Change -

Design Strategy 1: Glazing Material Change

Studio Gang also paid attention to the choice of the material. Solstice on the park uses Solarban 60 glass for its glazing. Combined with clear glass in a standard 1-inch insulating glass unit (IGU), Solarban 60 glass offers visible light transmittance (VLT) of 70 percent and a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.39, which make it one of the most commonly specified solar control, low-emissivity glasses (Low-E) on the market.

Point-in-time Illuminance June 21 12:00 Mean(Lux) 5123 Median 251 Columns: Matte White Wall Wall: Matte White Wall Floor: Light Wood Floor Glazing: Solarban 60 Tvis74.4 SHGC 0.461

Total Solar Exposure - 174 kWh/m^2.yr

Point-in-time Illuminance June 21 12:00 Mean(Lux) 5123 Median 251 Columns: Matte White Wall Wall: Matte White Wall Floor: Light Wood Floor Glazing: Solarban 90 Tvis50.3 SHGC 0.336

Total Solar Exposure - 162 kWh/m^2.yr

These two point in time illuminance and radiation simulations show the glazing parameters change will influence the indoor environment. Solar Heat Gain Coefficient(SHGC) is the fraction of incident solar radiation admitted through a window. The smaller the value of SHGC, the less solar heat transmitted. Compared with the upper, the lower two simulations show both light and solar exposure are reduced.

https://www.buildingenclosureonline.com/articles/88952-glass-creates-energy-savings-for-chicagossolstice-on-the-park? https://www.efficientwindows.org/shgc/#:~:text=The%20SHGC%20is%20the%20fraction,less%20 solar%20heat%20it%20transmits.

Part 2. Design for Change -

1 Summer Solstice

Design Strategy 2: Shifting Carving Angle

September 21 12:00

3 Winter Solstice

Sunlight Entering Rooms Blocked Sunlight

3

47

2 Fall Equinox

Using summer solstice solar altitude for angled carving is the best strategy for self-shading? We can see Chicago has high temperatures from June to September. On summer solstice day, the sun has the highest location. Then in the following days in summer, solar altitude is less than 71.4. The slanted windows with 71.4 will not work because sunlight can still go indoors.

September 20 is the last day of summer. Any sunlight between 47 and 71.4 should be avoided. The second strategy is carving into the building by an angle of 47. The simplified section on right shows the new carving angle.

2

1 3

2

1

Original design

New design

Original Building Point in Time Illuminance JUN 21 12:00 Indoor overlight area

Original Building Point in Time Illuminance DEC 21 12:00 Indoor overlight area

New Facade Apperance

New Building Point in Time Illuminance JUN 21 12:00 Indoor overlight area reduced

New Building Point in Time Illuminance DEC 21 12:00 Indoor overlight area

Part 2. Design for Change -

Design Strategy 3: Solar Carving Variation

1 Summer Solstice

2 Fall Equinox

Sunlight Entering Rooms Blocked Sunlight

3

3

Building Surface Solar Hour Analysis Original Site Building Surface Radiation - Original Site 772 kWh/m^2.yr

3

2

2

2

3 Winter Solstice

1

1

1

The building has a good view of the city because there are no high surrounding buildings on the original site location. The building shares the sunlight without any shading on the south side. According to the surface solar hour analysis and surface radiation simulation, we can the south wall of the building is radiated uniformly.

Building Surface Solar Hour Analysis Manhattan Building Surface Radiation - Original Site 314 kWh/m^2.yr

But if we move the building to Manhattan, to a location where surrounding buildings will cast shadows on Solstice on the Park building. The lower part of the building will receive less radiance and have less solar hours. The upper part of the building has more sunlight. The south facade will be carved variably according to the amounts of sunlight receiving. Therefore, upper levels avoid redundant glare, while lower levels of occupants will enjoy more natural light.

Strategy 3 aims at designing solar carving variation for different contexts.