Build Test Iterate Repeat
Constructing Low-Tech, Low-Cost Thermal Testing Strategies in Building Facades
Presented on August 12, 2020 at Facade Tectonics 2024 World Congress
Sign in and Register
Create an Account
Overview
Abstract
The global increase in atmospheric temperature rise combined with the rapid growth of previously underdeveloped climate zones presents a growing need for low cost solutions that serve those without access to modern technologies. However, when an emphasis on emerging issues in high performance building design exists in core architectural education, there is often a tendency towards expensive, high-tech strategies. In fact, students without a comprehensive understanding of basic building physics are exploring flashy, high-tech building facades as the primary means to reduce energy consumption. The integration of digital simulation and energy modeling tools often empowers innovation yet enables an already tech-savvy generation to lean on digital outputs without a solid understanding of the physical metrics.
In response, this study employs project-based learning to empower students to use tangible, physical experiments as part of the design process to make informed, climate-specific decisions about building systems and facades. It addresses methods to analyze, explore, and communicate underlying building science principles with low-cost, low-tech tools to enable the development of accessible technologies, materials and assemblies. Using the hand in tandem with digital tools, students use advanced methods to explore the most basic of building science principles. Students created devices, which are used to quickly and affordably communicate thermal and hygric phenomena, without specifically quantifying heat and mass transfer values. The author discovered that the design of the experimental setup was often more meaningful than the data itself. Student projects explored, among others, the thermal properties of air, latent heat, solar shading, and passive dehumidification strategies.
Authors
Elizabeth L McCormick, RA, CPHC, LEED AP
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
lizmccormick@uncc.edu
Keywords
Introduction
The global increase in atmospheric temperature rise combined with the rapid growth of previously underdeveloped climate zones presents a growing need for low-cost solutions that serve those without access to
Access Restricted
Background
The integration of digital simulation and energy modeling instruments can empower innovation, yet these increasingly user-friendly tools can enable an already tech-savvy generation to lean on digital outputs without a
Access Restricted
Method
The course was open to upper-level undergraduate or graduate students of all disciplines with a basic understanding of thermodynamic principles in buildings & materials. Architecture students were expected to have
Access Restricted
Data
Student projects not addressed in this paper explored thermal properties of air, latent heat, solar shading and sound transfer, among others. This section explores the experimental procedures and performance implications
Access Restricted
Explanation
The projects presented in this paper are significant not because of the specific findings, but because of the experience gathered while generating these results. The data from the first project
Access Restricted
Conclusion
An interdisciplinary group of students created small-scale apparatuses, which were used to quickly and affordably communicate thermal and hygric phenomena in building materials without specifically quantifying heat and mass transfer
Access Restricted
Rights and Permissions
Addington, D. Michelle, and Daniel L. Schodek. 2005. Smart Materials and New Technologies: For the Architecture and Design Professions. Routledge.
Canizaro, Vincent B. 2012. “Design-build in Architectural Education: Motivations, Practices, Challenges, Successes and Failures.” International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR 6 (3): 20–36. https://doi.org/10.26687/archnet-ijar.v6i3.113.
Carlson, Lawrence E., Jacquelyn F. Sullivan, and Benjamin Franklin. 1999. “Hands-on Engineering: Learning by Doing in the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program.” International Journal of Engineering Education, 20–31.
Cerolini, S., M. D’Orazio, C. Di Perna, and A. Stazi. 2009. “Moisture Buffering Capacity of Highly Absorbing Materials.” Energy and Buildings 41 (2): 164–68.
Fitch, James Marston. 1999. American Building: The Environmental Forces That Shape It. [2nd ed.]. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fox, Jonathan, Paul Osmond, and Alan Peters. 2018. “The Effect of Building Facades on Outdoor Microclimate—Reflectance Recovery from Terrestrial Multispectral Images Using a Robust Empirical Line Method.” Climate 6 (3): 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli6030056.
Han, Yilong, John E. Taylor, and Anna Laura Pisello. 2015. “Toward Mitigating Urban Heat Island Effects: Investigating the Thermal-Energy Impact of Bio-Inspired Retro-Reflective Building Envelopes in Dense Urban Settings.” Energy and Buildings 102 (September): 380–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.05.040.
Hinson, David. 2002. “Community Centered Design/Build Studios: Connecting the Past and the Future of Architectural Education.” In Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2–13. Portland, OR: ACSA Press. https://www.acsa-arch.org/chapter/community-centered-design-build-studios-connecting-the-past-and-the-future-of-architectural-education/.
Hinson, David. 2007. “Design as Research.” Journal of Architectural Education 61 (1): 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1531-314X.2007.00124.x.
Janda, Kathryn B. 2011. “Buildings Don’t Use Energy: People Do.” Architectural Science Review 54 (1): 15–22. https://doi.org/10.3763/asre.2009.0050.
Lozhechnikova, Alina, Katja Vahtikari, Mark Hughes, and Monika Österberg. 2015. “Toward Energy Efficiency through an Optimized Use of Wood: The Development of Natural Hydrophobic Coatings That Retain Moisture-Buffering Ability.” Energy and Buildings 105 (October): 37–42.
Osanyintola, Olalekan F., and Carey J. Simonson. 2006. “Moisture Buffering Capacity of Hygroscopic Building Materials: Experimental Facilities and Energy Impact.” Energy and Buildings 38 (10): 1270–82.
Özkar, Mine. 2007. “Learning by Doing in the Age of Design Computation.” In Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures (CAADFutures) 2007, edited by Andy Dong, Andrew Vande Moere, and John S. Gero, 99–112. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6528-6_8.
Patterson, Mic, and Jennie Matusova. 2019. “High-Performance Facades.” Insight 03, Advanced Technology Studio of Enclos Chapter 15. https://www.enclos.com/assets/docs/Insight03-Chapter15-HighPerformanceFacades.pdf.
Pisello, Anna Laura, John E. Taylor, Xiaoqi Xu, and Franco Cotana. 2012. “Inter-Building Effect: Simulating the Impact of a Network of Buildings on the Accuracy of Building Energy Performance Predictions.” Building and Environment 58 (December): 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.06.017.
Smith, David Lee. 1987. “Integrating Technology into the Architectural Curriculum.” Journal of Architectural Education 41 (1): 4–9. https://doi.org/10.2307/142490... Welty, Emilie, Ann Yoachim, and Austin Hogans. 2019. “Design-Build Studio Outcomes; Researching Potential vs Practice.” In Practice of Teaching, Teaching of Practice: The Teacher’s Hunch. Antwerp, Belgium.
United Nations. 2015. “World Urbanization Prospects, 2014.” http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Report.pdf.