ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
CLIMATE CHANGE The World as we know is in the brink of Climate change and it is the talk of the world today. It affects more than just a change in weather, it refers to seasonal changes over a long period of time. These climate patterns play a fundamental role in shaping natural eco-systems, human economies and the cultures that depend on them. The UK temperatures including British coastal waters have risen considerably. Extreme weather patterns are predicted to be more common that have negative impact on humans, animals and plants. 2000 to 2009 had been the warmest decade for UK since 1850. The average temperature of the Earth rose by 0.75 degrees since 1900. The global temperatures could rise between 1.1 to 6.4 degrees by the end of 21st century. The global temperature should not exceed a rise of 2 degrees to prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change according to experts.
www.tewkesbury.gov.uk
esru.strath.ac.uk
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CAN WE DECREASE THE RATE OF TEMPERATURE INCREASE? AS ARCHITECTS AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS, WHAT CAN WE DO? That brings us to the need to do Research on this module. INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING DIRECTLY RELATED CLIMATE CHANGE
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A RESEARCH PROJECT HOPE TO DECREASE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON BLDGS.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
INTRODUCTION The project aim is to analyze thermal condition of the outdoor environment with respect to the indoor at a micro-climatic level in a neibhourhood. The technological advancement enables us to simulate urban conditions and understand their influence on the thermal impact of a building in the present and for future condition. The outdoor simulations are carried out in the Envi-met while the indoor is done in Ecotect and both the thermal analysis results are combined in U-Campus for a holistic analysis of the environmental changes, building impacts, comparisons of the present day scenario with macro and micro climate weather file, their behavioral changes, that lead to climate change impact on the future scenario. This process gives us the precise weather predictions of the future. As Architects, this kind of process enables us to think in new dimensions to enhance future design development projects. BUILDING DESIGN PROPOSED
IMPROVED 2012 REDESIGNED BUILDING PROPOSAL WITH THERMAL COMFORT
2012 WEATHER CONDITIONS
IDENTIFIED THE CHANGES ON WEATHER, ENVIRONMENT AND PROPOSED BUILDING
2050 WEATHER FILE CREATED & APPLIED
MODIFY DESIGN PROPOSAL AS PER NEW WEATHER DATA
BLDG FABRIC PLANT NEW TREES
BETTER EXTERNAL ELEMENTS. REGENT COURT is taken as a detailed case study for this project. It is the largest building in the Grid having maximum floor area. It is a brick building completed in 1993, and is home to department of IT & CSC. It has a central portobello entrance and is enclosed by a large central court. It is a G+5 structure and is surrounded by equally similar high buildings on 3 sides with 3 connecting streets. This casts shadows on the building and reflect in receiving the least direct solar radiation on all the facades.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
DESIGN PROCESS - OUTLINE Energy Plus Weather data for the Present day
2012 Finningley Weather 2050 Finningley Weather
+
Average data from Receptors in 2012 & 2050
Envi-Met outdoor simulations
Micro Climate Weather data file generated for 2012 & 2050
Ecotect Simulation and then U-campus
DESIGN PROCESS - DETAIL ENVI-MET PROCESS For EnviMet modelling and its Simulation
Data collection Neibhourhood survey that includes different grasslands, type of tree species, Bldg materials, Road networks, Pavements, the material colors, Albedo's and their U-Values
Positioning of all the Receptors around all 4 bldgs.
Input the Configuration file
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Generation of both the Weather data files for 2012 and 2050
Output of Climate data and visualize them in Leonardo
Compare both Simulations in 2012 & 2050 for Relative Humidity, the Wind speed and Direction, temperature and the Mean Radiant temperature
Export to VRML
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012 A Special task force group (STF) of four was formed to prepare the Master plan of the neibhourhood in Envi-Met. An initial Site visit was carried out to identify different outdoor elements and mark their dimensions including specific heights and their coverage area. The site measures 150m X 100m that forms a Master Grid on Envimet. Each grid forms a 1m X 1m module for further design process. Four buildings namely ICOSS, JESSOP BUILDING, JESSOP WEST WING AND REGENT COURT were to be documented in detail as they became each individual group's case study for a detailed analysis. Initially a bmp format image was imported from U-campus to Envimet as reference. Several details and dimensions were missing that proved to be difficult in Envimet. The software was new, understanding the way it works, its positives, negatives and placing the data according to the coordinates was a challenge. Identification of colors was difficult, hence a scaled Google image was incorporated to ease the further process. The differentiation of materials for buildings, roads, pavements, soils and landscape was determined and finally Autocad image of site gave the extents of all four buildings. A second site study was performed at a personal level to determine the building heights and landscape typologies around the Regent Court building. The Interface Jpeg shows the master plan of six grids of Sheffield city with the buildings, roads, grasslands, trees and pavements.
ENVI-MET USER INTERFACE 5 Msc SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES
REGENT COURT BUILDING TECHNICAL REPORT
ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
GENERATION OF WEATHER DATA FILE In order to have an appropriate WDF to be used in Ecotect, the existing Weather Data File in Ecotect should be refined. Receptors derived from Envi-met (for 2012 and 2050) have been used in the first stage of refining. Regent Court being the largest building in the grid, it has the maximum number of Receptors:
E9-E7-E3-F3-F9-F5-F4-E4-E5-E6-E1-E2G3-F7-F2-F8-G8-G1-G2-G9(Fig1)
12 RECEPTERS ON THE EXTERIOR 08 RECEPTERS WITHIN THE COURT Every Receotor is an excel file which includes weather data for different hours. From every file the weather data for 6 hours (11-16) have been chosen and copied and pasted in a new sheet of excel. In order to open every Receptor file first an excel file should be opened and then in the Open file it should be set in ALL FILES, then every needed hour should be chosen and after pushing the open botton a window named ‘Text Import Wizard’ can be seen which should be set on’Delimited’ then Next and then ‘Space’ buttom and Next and Finish, now the information about the Receptor can be seen in an excel file. (Fig 2) Fig1.Envi-met File for Receptors 6 Msc SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
Fig 2.Excel file for Receptor at 11o’clock in the height of 10.50
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012 As can be seen in the Figure 1, the height of the Regent Court is 23m, in the Receptor file the information for the half or near the half of the height of the building should be chosen and here the closest number is 10.50m. After choosing all 6 hours information from 20 Receptor file and putting them in an excel file (shown in the Figure 3), the Average of information of all the same hours should be calculated (Figure 4). Fig3.The 6 hours Weather Data for G3 and G8 The preparation of WDF is a long and sophisticated process that needs many mathematical calculations. A small program could be developed to perform such calculations which can enhance design and save time. Fig4.The Average of information for 11 o’clock
all
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012 Then seven columns in the new sheet of excel should be selected: 1.wSpeed.
In the next stage the Climate Calculator should be used to put three values:
2.wDir 3.T=Temperature(Kelvin) It should be converted to Celsius
1.Temperaure 2.Press.p in Pascal
4.q.rel
3.Relative humidity(q.rel)
5.SW.dir
And achieved the Dew point and put all appropriate values in the new Excel sheet.
6.SW.dif 7.Press.p(Atmosphere) should be converted in Pascal. SW.dir+SW.dif=Global.dir
These 7 columns should be imported onto the origin Finningly WDF and be swapped with the previous data to achieve the refined WDF in excel. (Also the dry Bulb column in the Finningly file should be swapped with Temprature in the new sheet of excel).(Fig 5) Then this excel file should be saved as CSV and through using Weather Data File Convertor should be saved as an appropriate and usable file in order to be loaded in the Ecotect (the Data Type should be: Energyplus comma separated variable (CSV) format, and the output format should be square one WEA Data Format)
Fig 5.The refined Weather Data in excel 9 Msc SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES
Finally, this process should be done two times, once for 2012 and the second one for 2050. TECHNICAL REPORT
ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
ECOTECT PROCESS
For the Ecotect modelling and its Simulation
Data collection of wall and window materials, thickness of the external building fabric, cladding details, building heights and all the U-Vaues of the materials. FINNINGLEY 2012
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Simulate for Mean Radiant temperature on the hottest day 6th july 2012 & 2050 Apply all the four weather data files
1. 2012 FINNINGLEY WDF
Export to VRML
2. 2050 FINNINGLEY WDF 3. 2012 MICRO CLIMATE WDF 4. 2050 MICRO CLIMATE WDF FINNINGLEY 2050
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
MICRO-CLIMATE 2012 SIMULATION The Chart shows a comparison of all the above four different simulations results. The Receptor file simulation proved to be more effective and precise with the result. The percentage of rise in the temperature remains constant for 2012 and 2050 although there is rise of 1 degree between the two. 11 Msc SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES
MICRO-CLIMATE 2050 SIMULATION The Simulation with the micro climate weather data file proved to be effective and more accurate. Further Research could enhance the analysis and refine the methodology.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
U-CAMPUS PROCESS Import the Envimet VRML Files 3ds Max Visualisation
MAPPING
Positioning the coordinates to scale, match both the scales and export combined file in the VRML
Import VRML in to the U-Campus and present the COUPLED SIMULATION
ANALYSIS
Application of Design
Import the Ecotect VRML Files
COUPLED SIMULATION OF MICRO CLIMATE 2012 AND 2050
There is a clear difference seen in the above files of the outdoor files and the indoor files. This shows how several softwares can be utilized to provide a holistic approach to building design and Thermal comfort. Better analysis of the outdoor and the indoor can be processed in this manner. Further we shall see the Design Analysis and Design Solutions for this Project.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
ANALYSIS OF CLIMATIC PARAMETERS 1. Mean Radiant Temperature
The Mean radiant temperature is normally influenced by many parameters like the surface temperature, material, surrounding influence, positioning of green elements and natural phenomenon. For the Regent court, we see that the MRT around the building is nearly the same for 2012 and 2050 scenarios. The temperature around it is somewhere close to 305 K (32 C). The green area above the building acts as a buffering zone to reduce the MRT around the site. The 2012 to 2050 scenarios show an increase MRT of green spaces due to Global warming factors. Also, the surrounding areas experience a rise of MRT from 2012 to 2050.
2.
Pot Temperature
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
The ambient temperature of the building has definitely risen by a few Kelvin from 2012 to 2050, yet having a minimal temperature gradient in Celsius. The area just outside the building perimeter too has increased in temperature gradient. The average temperature has increased by 1 Kelvin which makes a minuscule difference in comparison to Celsius. Also, the area near the trees and bushes right in front of the building, has been notably seen a rise in ambient temperature. If we compare the MRT to the Temperature scale, we find that the difference in the average values is way compared more, that proves that just the air temperature in the surrounding shouldn’t be accounted for, but all aspects should be taken into consideration.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
3.
Relative Humidity
Th e relative humidity inside the building is much higher as compared to the outside humidity of the surrounding. Humidity factor depends on temperature of the surrounding and the close proximity to a water body. As it is clearly seen that the humidity just lies under 50% on an average in both the scenarios, perspiration can’t occur, hence keeps the surrounding area less moist as compared to the internal areas. The humidity around the green areas gradually decreases from an average of 45 % in 2012 to 43% in 2050. Such a difference can increase the temperature gradient in that particular zone.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
4.
Wind Speed & Direction
Wind speed and direction affects the overall climatic aspects of the surrounding area. Higher the wind speed more is the circulation of air, which results in increasing the ground speed air flow, hence helps in ventilation.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
The above graph gives us an idea of the % increase and decrease in the 3 different climatic parameters with respect to the surrounding areas. The negative on the graph indicates the % decrease of that particular parameter from 2012 to 2050. Positive indicates the % increase of the parameter from 2012 to 2050.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ANALYSIS DATA ON DESIGN
Plan of Regent Court
View showing the massive courtyard in between the building.
After clearly understanding the climatic analysis data by EnviMet Receptor files and Ecotect Analysis, the main reason of low temperature inside the built form is due to the central court getting enveloped in between the building. The diagram on the left explains how the cold air rises from below and warms, there after rising above and escaping out from the court, hence cooling the surrounding area and the built form. We shall conclude our arguments by giving our inference by the following points below: 1. Central Court acts as a "Introvert Passive System" which radiates all the heat from the ground to the atmosphere and makes the ground level cooler. 2. The ratio of Window to Wall is higher than usual structures. 18 Msc SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012 3. The structure has Single Glazed facade, which makes it more susceptible to cold radiation due to having a 1:3 Window Wall Ratio. 4. Orientation of the building is North-South. 5. The structure is enveloped by surrounding buildings which normally keeps it under shade most of the time. Hence, the average mean temperature around the structure is low.
DESIGN REFORMATION Due the central court in between the built form, the temperature is always being lower than conventional temperature in the building. Below are few design solutions for the building.
The courtyard can be enclosed with a glass dome/pyramid over it so as to stop allowing the heat to escape through it. Also, it can give in passive radiation which will in turn heat the atrium space inside and keep the temperature under comfort zone.
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ARC 6700 - INTERACTIVE URBAN VISUALISATION MODELLING 2012
Bibliography 3ds MAX. (2012, May 24). Sheffield, South yorkshire, UK. Amar. (2012). Sheffield. Climate change. (n.d.). Retrieved may 24, 2012, from The Guardian.co.uk website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-change Climate change. (n.d.). Retrieved May 24, 2012, from WIKIPEDIA.ORG: http://www.wikipedia.org/ Ecotect Analysis. (2012, May 24). Sheffield. Energy PLus Data. (2012, May). Retrieved May 23, 2012, from US Department of Energy: http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/ Envimet Analysis. (2012, May 24). Sheffield, South yorkshire, UK. Google Sketchup. (2012, May 24). Sheffield, South yorkshire, UK. LEONARDO. (2012, May 24). Sheffield, South yorkshire, UK. U CAMPUS. (2012, May 24). Sheffied, South yorkshire, UK.
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