AND THE WINNER IS…………………………………
Posted: September 1, 2009 by Michelle, Category:Sustainability
The Boston Architectural College/Worcester Polytechnic Institute Advanced Studio Course Comes to an End
In a previous blog, I had written about a class that I was assistant teaching during the Spring 2009 semester, along with Andreas Savvides AIA, AICP of Boston Architectural College and Alan Quinn of Sasaki Associates, Inc., Masters and Bachelors of Architecture students have been teamed with, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, cost estimating students to evolve their creative designs into affordable, energy efficient structures.
Through the use of the VE-Ware, Revit plug-in, and the VE-Toolkits, students were able to explore their designs in a way they had not experienced before. Perhaps the most surprising thing to the students was how badly their buildings performed initially before making changes to the building envelope, heating and cooling system, orientation, etc., especially when compared again CBECS (Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey) data. Once students had successfully translated their Revit models to IES, the initial results were noted and became the starting point for a competition. The student who could make the greatest impact on their building energy consumption, looking at the variable of “design building energy use intensity”, would receive a year student license of IES’ full suite of software, as well as a write-up on the IES Blog.
Craig W. Herrmann, a student at Boston Architectural College in the Bachelor of Architecture program and a Project Coordinator at Jacobs Engineering, employed multiple strategies to reduce his building’s energy consumption. By incorporating roof overhangs, external shading devices, a very energy efficient building envelope, and the most appropriate heating and cooling system, Craig was not only able to win the contest, but was also able to cut the energy consumption almost in half. As you can see from Craig’s presentation, the resulting structure was both aesthetically appealing and thoughtful to its environmental impact.
You can view the full presentation here
In the next few years, courses that include energy modelling are becoming more and more prevalent at architectural colleges around the country. The Boston Architectural College pushes to stay at the forefront of this technological movement, and I will be back to teach more courses like this in the future.
However, I need to finish my own Master’s thesis first. Wish me luck!
Michelle
