SOLOMON CORDWELL BUENZ
Tooker House Arizona State University
LOUVER DESIGN LO CAT I O N
Tempe, AZ SIZE
458,000 SF
Due to the intense solar characteristics of Tempe, Arizona understanding the radiation exposure on the south facing façades was key to the overall sustainable success of the project. The inclusion of the perforated aluminum louvers was intended to mitigate the severity of this reality. While developing the design for the louvers, SCB established parametric design constraints by employing Grasshopper to conceptualize and analyze the impact of design decisions instantly. Via Grasshopper’s image sampler, louver heights, spacing and rotations referenced a desert-inspired gradient created by the design team that aspired to cut solar radiation at the exterior façade and student windows. The gradient was conceptualized as a map for shading - painted to blanket student unit windows while Grasshopper functions “opened” and “closed” louvers accordingly via incremental rotations that responded to the grayscale of the gradient. As an integral part of this process, the design team utilized Ladybug to interface with regional climate files in order to analyze annual solar radiation reaching the façade. The numeric and color gradient output provided by Ladybug for both direct beam radiation and global diffuse radiation allowed the designers to evaluate the actual level of solar mitigation achieved by each design iteration. Ultimately the final Grasshopper definition struck a balance between efficient solar control and visual transparency for the student residents looking back to campus from within their units.
precedent
gradient
composite elevation
radiation exposure without louvers
louvers
radiation exposure with louvers
STEEL TRUSS EXTERIOR FINISH STEEL KNIFE PLATE CONCRETE SLAB
CONTINUOUS STEEL ANGLES PERFORATED ALUMINUM LOUVER