B4: Group C - Alexis

My group is studying daylighting technologies in intelligent building for the final project. Daylighting is one feature of design that has a large impact on occupant productivity, energy efficiency, and aesthetics. We plan to study lighting sensors, smart glass windows, and passive daylighting techniques as three types of daylight harvesting strategies. Our project will also look into the energy usage of these three topics to compare their efficiency and common applications. My group was interested in researching the future advancements of daylighting, especially sensors and controls. I think this topic will be helpful for my senior design project as well. My team is working on designs to retrofit a historic warehouse to become a middle school. We want to incorporate the large existing windows of the warehouse into the overall lighting design in order to enhance the classroom environment and student productivity.

This research paper will be challenging in that the technology is only as beneficial as the occupants allow. Manual overrides that are not reset could potentially reverse the annual electricity savings. It will also be challenging to narrow our research since it is a broad topic and widely adopted in new construction.

This topic is tied to intelligent building because it is one aspect of adaptive technology. Lighting sensors read ambient light levels and will adjust the intensity of interior fixtures in response to the outdoor conditions. This control sequence depends on location, building orientation, and type of space. The photosensors adjust the electric lighting in the space based on the intensity of available daylight through building fenestration. The most advanced types of systems are connected to dimming switches, which will regulate the amount of electric powered lighting throughout the day. These systems are generally more difficult to install and more costly because of the additional sensors and integration with the building automation system.

All three daylight harvesting systems that we chose could be used together. Dimming systems will work the best in spaces with skylights, clerestory windows, light tubes, or glass curtain walls. Since these sensors and calibration have a high initial cost, they are most common in open commercial spaces like lobbies, open office spaces, schools, and malls. Passive lighting is nothing new to the building design industry, but adaptive technologies have found ways to take advantage of the variations in lighting levels throughout the day. Photosensors are now a common characteristic in new construction projects for occupant productivity and increased energy savings compared to the baseline model.

Reference:
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/daylighting/rp_simplifiedconcepts.asp

Comments:

Cathlene,
Very interesting topic - even though there is still a lot of research and testing to be done, this type of 3D printing could transform building design and construction. I am a bit skeptical that we will see this applied in the near future because of the two issues of buildability and flowability like you mentioned. It is a really interesting concept but there are still huge developments to be made before we see this applied at such a large scale as a building envelope. I think architectural firms will be the
most eager to adopt this technology for modeling complex forms and curved facades. This type of advancement will also call for a new skill set in the structural engineering field, since designers will need advanced software to model stresses around the built-in openings for duct mains, conduit, and piping.

Maq,
Sounds like a great project - it will be extremely helpful to have a 3D model that your group can develop throughout the term for section views and refer to for schedules. You may be able to link the AutoCAD plans to your Revit model through the Manage Links tab. That might help you match the existing floor plans which you can place on the demolition phase, and all new mechanical and structural systems can be on a separate new construction phase. Even though the central model and local files are not available here, having a 3D model will help your team visualize any coordination issues.

B4 - Group E - Allison Lock

For out term project, Laura Worley and I are planning to examine the present and future of adaptive, dynamic building systems. The term adaptive building generally refers to a system which senses changes in an environment and responds accordingly to benefit the building and its inhabitants. Adaptive systems are a young and rather undeveloped as a technological field. This is primarily due to the necessity if sensors in such a system. Sensors are used to provide real time information but they were not readily affordable until a couple of years ago.

Currently intelligent systems are becoming more common installations. The most typical systems include motion activated lights, air temperature control systems such as nest, and shifting, sun oriented facades. They are being applied across a wide range of construction types from grocery stores to offices and from high tech buildings to private homes. However we believe that the field is still rather undeveloped. With the expectation that the field will continue to grow significantly in the coming years, due to high sensor and computational capabilities, we have chosen to write a research paper that analyzes discusses upcoming applications and the future of adaptive building systems. It is expected that brief analyses of the history of adaptive systems, current uses, and personal predictions may also be included.

Since there will be a heavy focus on technologies that are currently unavailable and other future extensions of the field, it is expected that restricted research and prediction formation may be the most difficult part of constructing such a paper. It was decided that dynamic buildings are a worthwhile topic to study because of the quick and growing implementation of such technologies into common societal use. We expect this trend to continue and wish to examine the how much integration will occur, how it will affect daily life, and overall environmental and societal impacts.

Adaptive, dynamic buildings relate to intelligent buildings because they simplify control processes which would otherwise be labor intensive and detrimental to energy savings. The implications of such tools across general areas would allow for interactions between buildings to increase effective energy use while eliminating unnecessary waste and byproducts.

I commented on Cristian Almendariz’s and Alex Palma’s posts.

Construction Specialities Inc. "Adaptive and Dynamic Buildings – The Future of Environmental Design & Architecture."ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

Kim, Jieun. "Adaptive Façade Design for the Daylighting Performance in an Office Building: The Investigation of an Opening Design Strategy with Cellular Automata." International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies. Oxford Journals, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.