Echenagucia, Tomas Mendez; Moroseos, Teresa; Meek, Christopher. (2023). On the Tradeoffs between Embodied and Operational Carbon in Building Envelope Design: The Impact of Local Climates and Energy Grids. Energy & Buildings, 278.
View Publication
Abstract
The building envelope has a substantial influence on a building's life cycle operational and embodied car-bon emissions. Window-to-wall ratios, wall assemblies, shading and glazing types, have been shown to have a significant impact on total emissions. This paper provides building designers, owners, and policy makers with actionable guidance and a prioritization framework for establishing co-optimized lifecycle carbon performance of facade assembly components in a broad spectrum of climate contexts and energy carbon intensities. A large parametric study of building envelopes is conducted using building perfor-mance simulation and cradle-to-gate embodied carbon calculations in 6 US cities. The authors derive the total carbon emissions optimization for commercial office and residential space types using standard code-reference models and open-source lifecycle data. Comparisons between optimal total carbon solu-tions and (i) optimal operational carbon and (ii) minimum required assemblies, show the impact of under and over investing in envelope-related efficiency measures for each climate. Results show how the rela-tionship between embodied and operational carbon is highly localized, that optimal design variables can vary significantly. In low carbon intensity energy grids, over investment in envelope embodied carbon can exceed as 10 kgCO2e/m2, while under investment in high carbon intensity grids can be higher than 150 kgCO2e/m2.Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
Facades; Building-integrated Photovoltaic Systems; Carbon Emissions; Carbon; Building Performance; Building Designers; Building Envelopes; Refuse Containers; Building Performance Simulation; Embodied Carbon; Operational Carbon; Parametric Modeling; Environmental-impact; Search
Oshima, Ken Tadashi. (2012). Metabolist Trajectories. Log, 24, 28 – 32.
View Publication
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner; David A. Rash. (2017). Research Notes: Design for Mobility: Intercity Bus Terminals In The Puget Sound Region. Buildings & Landscapes: Journal Of The Vernacular Architecture Forum, 24(1), 67 – 91.
View Publication
Abstract
Keywords
Narjes Abbasabadi, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. Dr. Abbasabadi also leads the Sustainable Intelligence Lab. Abbasabadi’s research centers on sustainability and computation in the built environment. Much of her work focuses on advancing design research efforts through developing data-driven methods, workflows, and tools that leverage the advances in digital technologies to enable augmented intelligence in performance-based and human-centered design. With an emphasis on multi-scale exploration, her research investigates urban building energy flows, human systems, and environmental and health impacts across scales—from the scale of building to the scale of neighborhood and city.
Abbasabadi’s research has been published in premier journals, including Applied Energy, Building and Environment, Energy and Buildings, Environmental Research, and Sustainable Cities and Society. She received honors and awards, including “ARCC Dissertation Award Honorable Mention” (Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC), 2020), “Best Ph.D. Program Dissertation Award” (IIT CoA, 2019), and 2nd place in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Race to Zero Design Competition (DOE, 2018). In 2018, she organized the 3rd IIT International Symposium on Buildings, Cities, and Performance. She served as editor of the third issue of Prometheus Journal, which received the 2020 Haskell Award from AIA New York, Center for Architecture.
Prior to joining the University of Washington, she taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Illinois Institute of Technology. She also has practiced with several firms and institutions and led design research projects such as developing design codes and prototypes for low-carbon buildings. Most recently, she practiced as an architect with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), where she has been involved in major projects, including the 2020 World Expo. Abbasabadi holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Architecture from Tehran Azad University.
The College of Built Environments launched a funding opportunity for those whose research has been affected by the ongoing pandemic. The Research Restart Fund, with awards up to $5,000, has awarded 4 grants in its first of two cycles. A grant was awarded to Real Estate faculty member Arthur Acolin, who is partnering with the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development to understand barriers that homeowners, particularly those with lower incomes, face to building Accessory Dwelling Units…
Chalana, Manish; Sprague, Tyler S. (2013). Beyond Le Corbusier and the Modernist City: Reframing Chandigarh’s ‘World Heritage’ Legacy. Planning Perspectives, 28(2), 199 – 222.
View Publication
Abstract
The heritage of Chandigarh, India is a complex subject. While widely acknowledged by academic and professional communities worldwide as a significant work of modernist architecture and urban design, Chandigarh's specific temporal, geographical and cultural contexts complicate efforts to get the city inscribed on United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's World Heritage List. This article outlines the persistent attempts by both local and international organizations to achieve this inscription, efforts that have not yet been successful. Relying on historical scholarship and fieldwork, the authors reassess the value of Chandigarh's heritage both in terms of historical significance and contemporary planning. By addressing the complexity and scope of the design and planning process, embracing the inhabitation and appropriation of the city, and fostering an appreciation of modern architecture, Chandigarh can develop a more localized understanding of heritage yet one that can be appreciated worldwide.
Keywords
World Heritage Sites; Historic Sites; Modern Architecture; Urban Planning; Architecture; Modern Movement (architecture); Preservation Of Historic Sites; Twentieth Century; Chandigarh (india); India; Chandigarh; Le Corbusier; Modern Heritage; Preservation Planning; Unesco; World Heritage List; Le Corbusier, 1887-1965
Dannenberg, Andrew L.; Burpee, Heather. (2018). Architecture for Health Is Not Just for Healthcare Architects. Health Environments Research & Design Journal (herd) (sage Publications, Ltd.), 11(2), 8 – 12.
View Publication
Keywords
Building Design & Construction; Public Health; Quality Of Life; Built Environment; Public Spaces
Parsaee, Mojtaba; Demers, Claude M. H.; Lalonde, Jean-francois; Potvin, Andre; Inanici, Mehlika; Hebert, Marc. (2020). Human-Centric Lighting Performance of Shading Panels in Architecture: A Benchmarking Study with Lab Scale Physical Models Under Real Skies. Solar Energy, 204, 354 – 368.
View Publication
Abstract
This study investigates shading panels' (SPs) impacts on daylighting features in a lab scale model in terms of parameters representing potential human eyes' biological responses identified as image forming (IF) and non-image forming (NIF). IF responses enable vision and NIF responses regulate internal body clocks known as circadian clocks. Human-centric lighting evaluates photopic units, representing IF responses, and melanopic units representing NIF responses, combined with correlated color temperature (CCT) of light for potential biological effects. SPs' impacts on such parameters of daylighting have not yet been studied. Previous research mostly studied panels' impacts on visual comfort and glare related to IF responses. This research explores the impact of SPs' color, reflectance, orientation, and openness on photopic and melanopic units and CCT of daylighting inside a 1:50 physical scale model of a space. Approximately 40 prototypes of SPs were evaluated. An experimental setup was designed under outdoor daylighting conditions to capture high dynamic range (HDR) images inside the model. HDR images were post processed to calculate and render the distribution of photopic and melanopic units, melanopic/photopic (M/P) ratios and CCTs in the captured viewpoint of the model. Results reveal the behavior of SPs' color, reflectance, orientation, and openness in modifying daylighting parameters related to biological responses. Bluish panels, in particular, increase daylighting melanopic units and CCTs whereas reddish panels increase photopic units and reduce CCTs. The research results were discussed to provide an outline for future developments of panels to adapt daylighting to occupants' IF and NIF responses.
Keywords
Models & Modelmaking; Shades & Shadows; Daylighting; Color Temperature; Benchmarking (management); Ecological Houses; Eye Tracking; Circadian Rhythms; Adaptive Design; Healthy Lighting; High Performance Façade; Photobiology; Responsive Building; Design; Sensitivity; Illuminance; Systems; Spaces; Impact; Glare; High Performance Facade; Reflectance; Scale Models; Biological Effects; Human Performance; Prototypes; Parameter Modification; Lighting; Shading; Eye (anatomy); Color; Parameter Identification; Light Effects; Panels; Mathematical Models; Images; Biological Clocks; Orientation
Sprague, Tyler S. (2013). Beauty, Versatility, Practicality: The Rise of Hyperbolic Paraboloids in Post-War America (1950-1962). Construction History-international Journal Of The Construction History Society, 28(1), 165 – 184.
Abstract
The hyperbolic paraboloid was relatively unknown in the United States prior to 1950 but, by 1962, it had gained widespread recognition and acceptance among practising and academic architects, structural engineers and builders. Aligning with the architectural trends and structural capabilities of the post-war era, hyperbolic paraboloids were used to construct everything from churches to warehouses and residences to gas stations. They could be constructed in many different ways and built with different materials including reinforced concrete, plywood and aluminium. The hyperbolic paraboloid became synonymous with innovation and experimentation in construction technology. This paper reviews the people and buildings that influenced the rise in popularity of the hyperbolic paraboloid forms, traces different construction practices used to build them in the post-war Americas, and tracks their emergence as a built form that characterised the American post-war era.
Keywords
Hyperbolic Paraboloid; Construction Innovation; Aluminium; Plywood; Concrete Construction; Formwork; Usa; 1950s
Mahankali, Ranjeeth; Johnson, Brian R.; Anderson, Alex T. (2018). Deep Learning in Design Workflows: The Elusive Design Pixel. International Journal Of Architectural Computing, 16(4), 328 – 340.
View Publication
Abstract
The recent wave of developments and research in the field of deep learning and artificial intelligence is causing the border between the intuitive and deterministic domains to be redrawn, especially in computer vision and natural language processing. As designers frequently invoke vision and language in the context of design, this article takes a step back to ask if deep learning's capabilities might be applied to design workflows, especially in architecture. In addition to addressing this general question, the article discusses one of several prototypes, BIMToVec, developed to examine the use of deep learning in design. It employs techniques like those used in natural language processing to interpret building information models. The article also proposes a homogeneous data format, provisionally called a design pixel, which can store design information as spatial-semantic maps. This would make designers' intuitive thoughts more accessible to deep learning algorithms while also allowing designers to communicate abstractly with design software.
Keywords
Associative Logic; Creative Processes; Deep Learning; Embedding Vectors; Bimtovec; Homogeneous Design Data Format; Design Pixel; Idea Persistence