TERM : Fall 2013
COURSE : Advanced Construction
INSTRUCTOR : David Newton
DURATION : 5 Weeks
GROUP PROJECT : Simon Lussier

OBJECTIVE : To design and develop an envelope system which endeavors to innovatively address the important quantitative and qualitative needs of an architectural program. The designed system should balance poetics and pragmatics, while leveraging contemporary technology to innovate. The designed system must also incorporate a responsive component in its design – meaning that at least some aspect of the design should have the ability to change itself through time in response to stimuli in its context. 

DESCRIPTION : The project is a reversible building envelope that targets the inherent characteristics of El Paso’s climatic condition. We were initially inspired by the potential of wind-catchers, a traditional Persian architectural element, to create natural ventilation in buildings. It is a passive system that relies on the proper orientation of the building’s facades in relation to the prevailing winds. Through research, we discovered that the efficiency can be enhanced by introducing an evaporative cooling system. Water will evaporate from a wet surface if it is exposed to air with a dew point lower than the surface temperature. Therefore, hot dry air  from the exterior will be cooled within the double skin prior to circulating through the building. The ceramic pipes integrated within the concrete blocks “sweat” cold water which cools the hot air as it passes through the masonry blocks.

 

El Paso also has relatively cold winters and nights, so we developed a system that would be able to passively heat the air as well. By placing the masonry wall inside the double skin system, we use the thermal mass of the concrete to create a solar chimney effect. Therefore wind would enter the building through the wind-catcher, cooled by the evaporative cooling system and extracted out of the solar chimney located on the south facade. Lastly, the vents of the solar chimney can be closed to create an internal trombe wall system that would passively heat the air within the building.