Weekly summaries

Section 08: Weekly summaries

Week 1 Summary

Studio Takeaways:

Embodied energy is energy consumed by all the processes associated with the materials e.g. mining, transportation, manufacturing, processing. Operational energy is the energy that is used during the occupancy stage of building life cycle for heating, cooling, lighting, and running equipment/appliances. Water management in a building involves usage, storage, maintaining quality, harvesting, and distribution. Waste management involves construction waste, operational waste, and demolition waste.

IDS Presentation Takeaways:

The importance of language when communication with those from a different background (e.g. engineers, architects, consultants) Federation Square project was a collaboration between several different bodies including City of Melbourne, Vic government, LAB architects Labyrinth under the ground as a passive cooling system when you cannot close off a space to acclimatize it Carbon in buildings is caused by on-site emissions, embodied energy, power generation from off site Steps to create a zero carbon building include: passive design principals, active systems, plant systems, renewable energy, and offsetting

Week 2 Summary

Studio Takeaways:

There are 300 ambulance branches in Victoria Ambulance branches are the point of base where paramedics depart from Ambulance branches are domestic in scale and have the same heating/cooling requirements as a large house Branches run 24/7 therefore thermal comfort all day is important Need to future proof ambulance branch design Generally branch landscape and interiors can be improved pvwatts.nrel.gov is great website for solar load and energy budget calculations

A10 Targeting Zero Presentation Takeaways:

Importance of a high performance facade and passive design Natural ventilation and passive cooling strategies (cross ventilation is best) Mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems Renewable onsite energy production Need to reduce onside energy consumption as much as possible Think about embodied energy (concrete, steel, aggregate are bad) Think about how to offset carbon footprint e.g. investing in planting trees Resilience against climate change is important

Week 3 Summary

A10 Presentation Takeaways:

Climate analysis of how people feel comfortable thermally Want lots of wind in summer to keep building cool 40-60% north, 20-40% east and west, 20% south windows Plants can act as shading Double sided cross ventilation or low to high single sided ventilation Ventilation outlet should be bigger than inlet Light is really important physiologically What is community missing? What will the branch look like post Covid-19?

Stuart Harrison Presentation Takeaways:

Albert park office and depot located within park Shared facilities for but office and depot functions Visitors enter through courtyard Flexible space connects to entrance courtyard 100% CLT structure Grass crete paving to reduce amount of runoff Bathrooms have good light Chains to help plants grow in a certain direction Outlook, operable windows, ventilation, natural materials Avoid fences as they are hostile Need one surface to absorb sound in workplace No plasterboard used -- only raw materials Importance of good detailing

Week 4 Summary

Brickworks Presentation Takeaways:

Meets both LBC and greenstar sustainability frameworks Net zero energy building On-site renewable energy which generates more than the building consumes, on-site energy storage Membrane aerated bioreactor water treatment (MABR), uses less energy Include agriculture on site through urban farm and greenhouse 90% of construction waste diverted from landfill Salvaged and recycled materials utilized Importance of biophilic design

Wyndham Community Center Presentation Takeaways:

Wanted off grid reliability Functions as a cluster of buildings rather than monolithic form Replicate natural conditions in landscape Importance of water on site -- should soak into land Water stored in tank and released slowly into creek system Clerestory roofing to allow for natural light Constant connection to nature Building and landscape and connected to each other Reduce amount of artificial light required (save energy) Placing moments in building where interactions can occur Carpark stormwater drains into swales

Week 5 Summary

Studio Takeaways:

Importance of complexity of ideas around mid semester Resolution of ideas is less important at this stage Make sure drawings do the talking Milanote should be used as a supplementary material Research booklet should be more formal than reflective journal Show how I progressed as a designer Make sure research is robust

My Feedback Takeaways:

Do massing to show solar gain during the day How will outdoor spaces be used during the day? Have security line to show where public can go Think about the impact of ventilation on spaces Garage does not have to meet PH standard Greywater treatment needs more maintenance Think about how wetlands can be utilized in the summer Use of stormwater vs use of greywater in wetlands Play with mechanical system e.g. mechanical heat recovery ventilation Think about zoning for mechanical air systems Bio-filtration needed for greywater Start experimenting in section

Week 6 Summary

Mid Semester Critique Takeaways:

Wind idea is good but should do more wind studies Try and condense planning and form Expand the turning circle of the garage Think about how much water is needed in the wetlands Work on justifying wind and what happens if it does not work Think about mechanical ventilation system Think about summer vs winter conditioning loads There is a good connection to landscape Do math to work out how wetlands will look over the year Mental health clinic provides a nice street frontage

Studio Week 6A Takeaways:

Have key site plan in corner of the section Use colour highlights to animate plans Thicker line weights in plan Have minimum three ergonomic studies Focus on ventilation, social distancing, size of objects Be careful about relying on small text Ergonomic studies can be done in either section or plan

Week 7 Summary

Studio 7A Takeaways:

Should experiment with design to create unique and fun ideas Inspire AV and do not be afraid to propose something drastic Think about how the branch will work in the future Design elements which do more than one thing e.g. windows provide passive cooling and covid mitigation Should be designing for 2030 not just 2020 Think about better alternatives to plasterboard Recycled concrete aggregates for concrete slab

Studio 7B Takeaways:

Research ventilation systems -- how can covid inspire this system Look into low carbon materials Non-treated timber as a sustainable option CLT is good for modular design like garages Possibility of a wind farm Consider worst case scenario to design for e.g. more covid waves How can this solution be rolled out to any branch Think about the hypothesis and assumptions of system

Week 8 Summary

Javier Presentation Takeaways:

“Farmhouse” by Prech uses modularity, start at cell “House of Would” by Elii uses modules and symmetry “APROP” by Straddle3 uses shipping containers as modules “Machine House” by Adhoc uses prefabrication to create minimal site impact “Opening the Black Box” by Elii uses citizen participation in power management “Neighbour Hub” by Swiss Team uses solar solution in the facade, can adjust as needed

PHPP Presentation Takeaways:

Make sure to include capacity for thermal mass Want good balance between heat loss and gains Heat recovery should be inside thermal envelope Advantages of using hydronic panels for heating Want heat pump to be located within thermal envelope Use mono-silicone PV panels as they are most efficient

Week 9 Summary

E-Tool Presentation Takeaways:

Benchmarks reference projects When doing E-tool first do business as usual and then see how much you can improve Generally 100 year life service Templates is how you add materials Can add insulation and cladding separately to include it in the calculations Add bathrooms and appliances for accurate calculations Can change recycling rate as necessary

My Feedback Takeaways:

Building form is coming out nicely Emphasis on stack ventilation in form Think about how materials can be highlighted Timber can help elongate elements Understand modules of material and use this information to inform the design Explore the public landscape in-front of the mental health clinic more Think about annual landscape cycle e.g. plants, wind, rainfall

Week 10 Summary

Structure Presentation Takeaways:

Prefabrication can help move building towards zero waste Factory built units achieve zero onsite waste 2D panels include timber floor cassettes, timber stud walls, precast concrete walls, and hollow core 3D volumetric panels include all services within which makes them great for saving time. When using modular design the floor-to-floor height will be larger Roof can span 12m maximum when using CLT Rafters can span 6m maximum in CLT The only thing you cannot modulate is corners and angles

My Feedback Takeaways:

Integrate column in living room into joinery or furniture Demarcate where corridor starts and ends with joinery Use half walls to subdivide space in living room and kitchen When creating a window seat do not have it at all the windows in the hallway Place the window seat at the end of the hallway and use it to frame parts of the landscape design

Week 11 Summary

Studio 1 Feedback Takeaways:

When choosing a white cladding try and stick with wood as it has a lower embodied energy Dining room does not need acoustic insulation PV panels should be based off domestic usage Make sure your render views show small moments in the building Explore how the structure meets around corners, it may help to model this in Rhino Window box detail is breaking the form of the section so need to experiment with different ways of shading

Studio 2 Feedback Takeaways:

Black slate could be difficult in terms of heat gain Louvers can be hard to seal so maybe look into alternative window systems Hinge windows could be a good alternative Look up night purging examples for window design Connect windows to mechanical system and/or heat recovery ventilation system Make sure that garage doors are not entirely glass

Week 12 Summary

Studio 1 Feedback Takeaways:

Make advantages of my engineering system clear Annotate drawings with text Figure out whether I want a traditional mechanical system or heat recovery ventilation Good use of case studies in presentation Make sure to tell a story in my final presentation Make sure to move between different scales

Studio 2 Feedback Takeaways:

Only include key dimensions in drawings Graphics and concept is clear Order of presentation is good Be careful not to overwhelm the viewer with information Cut out some parts to make sure information can be processed slowly Include lots of animations Zoom out and then zoom back in to focus Talk about engagement with the street and wider community Reinforce message about pandemic at the end of the presentation