Mass timber high-rise construction is gaining momentum in the United States. Developers are finding that along with its beautiful aesthetic and sustainable appeal, mass timber is a cost competitive and schedule-advantaged structural material. Using the mass timber and concrete designs presented by Timmers et al in the report Mass Timber High-Rise Design Research: Museum Tower... Read more »
This study demonstrates a design of a code-compliant, highrise mass timber apartment tower in Los Angeles. Using the existing reinforced concrete Museum Tower Apartment building in downtown Los Angeles as a basis, the study demonstrates architectural, structural and fire performance improvements and trade-offs of the mass timber design compared to the reinforced concrete design. The... Read more »
ABSTRACT: The paper will discuss the design of a bi-directional thermo-hygroscopic façade as a dedicated outdoor air system to cool and dehumidify outside air. The system is a variant of dedicated outdoor air systems to separate dehumidification and cooling in air-conditioning equipment and locates components within the building envelope. The integrated hybrid-building envelope relies on... Read more »
ABSTRACT: Available energy analysis and optimization methods do not produce fast and accurate enough results to provide guidance to professional design teams making massing and technology decisions. This paper proposes two methods using the reduced-order Energy Performance Calculation (EPC) toolkit with parametric building models and optimizers in Rhinoceros, Grasshopper and MATLAB to provide rapid feedback... Read more »
Conference Outline: This conference, held on June 26th, 2012, in San Francisco, explored the notion that current developments and trends in technology, demographics and social software networks are impacting how residents of certain major metropolitan areas are approaching the means by which they are getting around their city or region. The current transportation models have evolved into... Read more »
Abstract Parking is among the most discussed topics in local politics, with citizens and business owners frequently concerned that supplies are too low. However, numerous research efforts have shown that parking is routinely oversupplied in single-use districts in the United States, and others have documented the same trend in mixed-use districts. This research considers parking... Read more »
The open office has been a central theme in contemporary workplaces, reasoned to provide flexibility, natural light, supervision, cost savings, transparency, democracy, and collaboration. While almost 70% of US workers occupy open plan or open seating settings (International Facility Management Association, 2010), this design strategy remains contentious (Kim & de Dear 2013). These settings may... Read more »
The facade is one of the most significant contributors to the energy budget and the comfort parameters of any building. Control of environmental factors must be considered during the design process. High-performance facades need to block adverse external environmental effects and maintain internal comfort conditions with minimum energy consumption. The purpose of this research was... Read more »
This article discusses the importance of perception of spaces, and involvement with spaces during the design process. Over the last decade, mapping the relationship of architectural spaces to human experience has become popular as a successful design methodology. The beginning phase of the design process is characterized by perceptual integrity; unfortunately, this integrity often fades... Read more »
Driven by a bottom-up architectural approach to integrate phase changing materials and digital fabrication tools, such as industrial robotic arms, this article presents a novel materially generated fabrication process. The process 3D prints and stretches plastics, where the extruding and freezing temperatures, pulling speeds and angles are controlled through highly customized heads mounted on robots.... Read more »
The U.S. healthcare industry is changing and shifting its focus toward prevention and community health. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and interactive mapping can help healthcare clients visualize problem areas in their communities and help answer questions about how best to improve community health with limited financial resources. This research project reviewed existing literature to determine... Read more »
