CIVL3811: Building Design Process Quiz

Introduction to Building Technology

• Course code: CIVL3811
• Course title: Engineering Design and Construction
• Offered by: School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Sydney

Design Process

• Part of the building procurement process
• Design professionals translate owner's needs into documents for contractors
• Involves various stages like inception, scoping, appraising, surveying, initial concept, scheme design to planning and specialized inputs
• Professionals consult various stakeholders, plan, and review design
• Important to consider optimal routes, access points, street continuity and enclosure, and sun's path's influence on design
• Design involves different elements like site context, noise, impact, urban drainage, privacy, and views

Influences on the design process

• Codes and standards
• Costs
• Passive and active approaches
• Energy efficiency
• Passive house performance
• Green building design strategies
• Carbon-neutral design
• Design strategies for sustainability
• Regenerative design strategies

A philosophy of design

• Let nature do the work
• Consider nature as model and a context
• Aggregate rather than isolate
• Match technology to the need
• Seek common solutions to disparate problems
• Shape the form to guide the flow
• Shape the form to manifest the process
• Provide multiple pathways
• Manage storage

Design Intent

• Statement outlining the expected outcome of the design process
• Example intents include outstanding occupant comfort, consideration of current information technology, green building principles, carbon neutrality, and flexibility.

Conflicting Design Criteria

• Trade-off between different objectives in the design process

Active and Passive Systems

• Passive System: Uses no purchased energy (e.g., electricity, natural gas, fuel oil)
  • Example: daylighting system, where system components have multiple roles (e.g., concrete floor as structure, walking surface, and solar collector).
  • Typically tightly integrated with overall building design and often designed by architects.
• Active System: Primarily uses purchased (non-renewable) energy
  • Example: electric lighting, gas furnace.
  • Often non-architectural and loosely integrated into building design.

Hybrid System

• Combines active and passive approaches, primarily leaning toward passive
• Example: ceiling fans (active) added to a natural ventilation (passive) cooling system to enhance performance and reduce energy consumption.

Net-Zero-Energy Building

• Produces enough energy from renewables (solar or wind) to match consumption from non-renewable resources.
• Core components include maximizing energy efficiency, prioritizing on-site renewables, utilizing off-site renewables, and measuring/managing net-zero operations.
• Additional components include electrification readiness, optimizing building-grid integration and minimizing on-site fossil fuel consumption.

Regenerative and Restorative Buildings

• Produce more energy than consumed and share excess; create opportunities for urban agriculture; recharge groundwater systems or create ecosystems for local species.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE)

• Systematic and rigorous evaluation of buildings after construction and occupancy
• Collects feedback from users and operators to improve performance.

Design for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort

• Focus on energy efficiency and thermal comfort in design
• Charts and diagrams illustrate the factors of thermal comfort like sunlight, temperature, humidity, airflow, and radiant heat.

Energy Efficiency

• Efficiency is the ratio of system output to input.
• Higher output for a given input indicates higher efficiency.
• Sustainability involves meeting current needs without hindering future generations.
• A sustainable project avoids negative environmental impacts.
• Green projects aren't necessarily sustainable.
• HERS (Home Energy Rating System) is a scoring system developed by RESNET (Residential Energy Services Network) to express a home's energy efficiency. HERS sets a baseline performance (100) and exemplary (0) performance.

HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Index

• Scoring system developed by RESNET
• Used to express a home's energy efficiency
• Baseline performance is 100; exemplary is 0

Green Star Rating

• Sustainability rating system for Australian buildings
• Launched in 2003 by the Green Building Council of Australia
• Tyree building at UNSW has a 6-Star Green Star Design rating.

ABS Building – The University of Sydney

• The building is located on the UNSW campus.

BASIX

• NSW Government building sustainability index.
  • Calculates thermal loads based on occupant behaviour for openings (windows, doors, and shading).
  • Analyses data to ensure compliance with water and energy targets.
  • Assesses anticipated water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Three BASIX online assessment tools for new dwellings (single and multi-family), and alterations/additions.

Environmental Footprint

• Plots resource demands of an area as a footprint on the planet.
• Commonly measured as the land and sea area needed to provide resources for a population and assimilate waste (in global hectares).

Thermal Comfort

• ASHRAE condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with thermal environment.

Controlling Factors for Thermal Comfort

• Air temperature
• Humidity
• Mean Radiant temperature
• Air speed
• Metabolic rate
• Clothing level

Radiation-Thermal Comfort

• Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) is the surface temperature of a uniform enclosure where an occupant exchanges the same amount of radiant heat as actual space.
• MRT is affected by factors like surrounding walls, ceiling, floor, and windows.
• MRT is measured using a globe thermometer and can fluctuate depending on ambient air temperature, heat flow, and solar radiation.

Air Speed-Thermal Comfort

• Wind speeds below 0.1 m/s can cause stuffiness.
• Wind speeds up to 1.0m/s are comfortable indoors.
• Higher speeds lead to discomfort.

ASHRAE Standard

• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard defines comfort level.
• uses thermal sensation scale.
• Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) represents the average thermal sensation response.

Comfort Zone

• Range of dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, mean radiant temperature, air speed, clothing insulation, and activity considered comfortable.
• These conditions can be represented on a psychometric chart.

Indoor Air Quality

• 90% of our lives are spent indoors.
• Indoor air can be 2 – 5x more polluted than outdoor air.
• Common indoor air pollutants include airborne particles, formaldehyde, household odors and gases, ozone, and carbon dioxide.

Wall Opening

• Example of a design issue involving knocking down walls between rooms.
  • Client needs to knock down walls for a new opening/hallway

Where to start in a wall opening Project

• Critical considerations for wall openings include load-bearing status, wall/framing materials, and loads running through the wall (electrical, plumbing, etc.). Assessment of approvals, appropriate fire ratings, and any impact on neighbors/property is needed.

Structural Design

• Drawings demonstrating orange denoted plates for structural support
• The project involves various structures (B1, B2).

Removing Load Off Walls

• Temporary supports (props) are critical for structural integrity during demolition or modifications of interior structures.

Needling

• Temporary supports to sustain the structural stability of parts being worked on.

Photos During Construction

• Illustrations of how part of the construction is progressing to demonstrate different structural elements.