The jury for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative, a joint program of the College of Fellows and the Board Knowledge Committee to support knowledge sharing between practitioners and academicians, has announced the four projects selected to receive grants. The purpose of this grant, now in its ninth year, is to provide base funds for applied research projects that advance professional knowledge and practice. The 18-month long project grant qualifies recipients to have their findings and outcomes published both electronically and in a nationally distributed publication. The total award of $100,000 will be spread across the selected proposals. The four selected projects are listed below.
Auto-Shading Windows: Smart Thermobimetal Solar Blinds
Principal Investigator: Doris Sung, AIA (DOSU Studio Architecture)
With pressure from the outdoor environment such as swells in temperature, humidity, precipitation and demands from the interior to achieve variable comfort standards and evolving uses, buildings need to adjust automatically. By incorporating new, smart materials and creative assemblies, buildings now have the potential to modulate changes throughout the day. Smart materials require no added energy or computer controls. Thermobimetal is a smart material that automatically curls when heated and, when utilized strategically, can help liminal building surfaces automatically and optimally respond to temperature changes and direct sunlight. This proposal seeks funding to build a window prototype that will automatically block up to 90 percent of the sunlight entering a building while retaining a high level of visibility and view throughout the day. The net effect of this zero-energy system is energy and cost savings.
Building Resilience: A Tool for Planning & Decision-making
Principal Investigator: David Fannon, AIA (Northeastern University)
Recent events show the urgency of designing resilient new buildings and upgrading existing ones. However, it is not clear which combinations of attributes make buildings more likely to maintain useful function and adapt in the face of disturbances. Furthermore, buildings can be assessed based on the impacts from and contributions they make to the robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity to recover of surrounding urban ecological systems. These are critical questions for architects, communities, and businesses, and yet there is very little information to guide decision-making about resilient building attributes. To meet this need, this project will develop a web-based tool to evaluate and compare multiple dimensions of resilience and sustainability in buildings, including technical and socio-ecological performance, energy use, and lifecycle impacts.
Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles
Principal Investigator: Kristina Yu, AIA (University of New Mexico; McCLAIN + YU Architecture & Design)
This proposal aims to demonstrate the design opportunities of the mobile installation of a new system of photovoltaics also known as solar panels. This investigation will examine the energy capture difference between the separate but related test project of the microelectronic photovoltaic (MEPV) taut mechanical shade system vs. this proposal’s novel design for a mobile simple install of a Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles MEPV system. The Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles MEPV system aims to capture sufficient to abundant energy to supply a home without the cumbersome and panelized PV panels which require extensive installation and space requirements. The MEPV technology affords a higher level of energy capture while providing a new tactility and versatile flexibility uncommon to PV systems today. The researchers aim to simplify the component pieces of the current MEPV taut shade and to create a functional temporary MEPV system that has the duality of ‘ease of install’ and ‘ease of use.’ Much like placing clothes on a line to dry in limited vertical spaces, the panels, with visual and high efficient variety, can be placed outside to collect the sunpower to harness and store within the interior space.
Point-of-Decision Design (PODD) to Support Healthy Behaviors in the College Campuses
Principal Investigators: Upali Nanda, Assoc. AIA, and Michelle Eichinger (Center for Advanced Design Research and Evaluation – CADRE/HKS; Designing4Health)
This research study aims to address the causes of weight gain, also known as obesogenic, in students on college campuses by answering the question: how can we make the healthy choice an easy choice through the design of critical point of decision prompts? The hypothesis is that well-designed point of decision prompts can promote healthier choices by students that can have a ripple effect on mental and physical health related to obesity. At each point of decision, design can help/hinder the healthier choice. There is a need to collate the vast information in planning and public health domains on a range of successful point of decision prompts and translate it into architectural guidelines that help define the edge condition for critical point of decision prompts. The researchers propose to develop a POD (point of decision) Design Guide and Analysis Tool.
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Kentucky’s first green adaptive reuse project earns Platinum
(FER) studio, Inglewood, Calif., converted a 115-year-old former dry goods store in Louisville, Ky., into a 10,175-sf mixed-use commercial building earned LEED Platinum and holds the distinction of being the state’s first adaptive reuse project to earn any LEED rating. The facility, located in the East Market District, houses a gallery, event space, offices, conference space, and a restaurant. Sustainable elements that helped the building reach its top LEED rating include xeriscaping, a green roof, rainwater collection and reuse, 12 geothermal wells, 81 solar panels, a 1,100-gallon ice storage system (off-grid energy efficiency is 68%) and the reuse and recycling of construction materials. Local firm Peters Construction served as GC.
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Former Richardson Romanesque hotel now houses books, not beds
The Piqua (Ohio) Public Library was once a late 19th-century hotel that sat vacant and deteriorating for years before a $12.3 million adaptive reuse project revitalized the 1891 building. The design team of PSA-Dewberry, MKC Associates, and historic preservation specialist Jeff Wray Associates collaborated on the restoration of the 80,000-sf Richardson Romanesque building, once known as the Fort Piqua Hotel. The team restored a mezzanine above the lobby and repaired historic windows, skylight, massive fireplace, and other historic details. The basement, with its low ceiling and stacked stone walls, was turned into a castle-like children’s center. The Piqua Historical Museum is also located within the building.
| Feb 11, 2011
Justice center on Fall River harbor serves up daylight, sustainable elements, including eucalyptus millwork
Located on historic South Main Street in Fall River, Mass., the Fall River Justice Center opened last fall to serve as the city’s Superior and District Courts building. The $85 million facility was designed by Boston-based Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc., with Dimeo Construction as CM and Arup as MEP. The 154,000-sf courthouse contains nine courtrooms, a law library, and a detention area. Most of the floors have the same ceiling height, which will makes them easier to reconfigure in the future as space needs change. Designed to achieve LEED Silver, the facility’s elliptical design offers abundant natural daylight and views of the harbor. Renewable eucalyptus millwork is one of the sustainable features.
| Feb 11, 2011
Research facility separates but also connects lab spaces
California State University, Northridge, consolidated its graduate and undergraduate biology and mathematics programs into one 90,000-sf research facility. Architect of record Cannon Design worked on the new Chaparral Hall, creating a four-story facility with two distinct spaces that separate research and teaching areas; these are linked by faculty offices to create collaborative spaces. The building houses wet research, teaching, and computational research labs, a 5,000-sf vivarium, classrooms, and administrative offices. A four-story outdoor lobby and plaza and an outdoor staircase provide orientation. A covered walkway links the new facility with the existing science complex. Saiful/Bouquet served as structural engineer, Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers served as MEP, and Research Facilities Design was laboratory consultant.
| Feb 11, 2011
A feast of dining options at University of Colorado community center, but hold the buffalo stew
The University of Colorado, Boulder, cooked up something different with its new $84.4 million Center for Community building, whose 900-seat foodservice area consists of 12 micro-restaurants, each with its own food options and décor. Centerbrook Architects of Connecticut collaborated with Denver’s Davis Partnership Architects and foodservice designer Baker Group of Grand Rapids, Mich., on the 323,000-sf facility, which also includes space for a career center, international education, and counseling and psychological services. Exterior walls of rough-hewn, variegated sandstone and a terra cotta roof help the new facility blend with existing campus buildings. Target: LEED Gold.
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Chicago high-rise mixes condos with classrooms for Art Institute students
The Legacy at Millennium Park is a 72-story, mixed-use complex that rises high above Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The glass tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is mostly residential, but also includes 41,000 sf of classroom space for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and another 7,400 sf of retail space. The building’s 355 one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom condominiums range from 875 sf to 9,300 sf, and there are seven levels of parking. Sky patios on the 15th, 42nd, and 60th floors give owners outdoor access and views of Lake Michigan.
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Iowa surgery center addresses both inpatient and outpatient care
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Grocery store anchors shopping center in Miami arts/entertainment district
18Biscayne is a 57,200-sf urban retail center being developed in downtown Miami by commercial real estate firm Stiles. Construction on the three-story center is being fast-tracked for completion in early 2012. The project is anchored by a 49,200-sf Publix market with bakery, pharmacy, and café with outdoor seating. An additional 8,000 sf of retail space will front Biscayne Boulevard. The complex is in close proximity to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the downtown Miami entertainment district, and the Omni neighborhood, one of the city’s fast-growing residential areas.
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Chicago architecture firm planning one of China’s tallest towers
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners was commissioned by developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. to design a new 294,570-sm mixed-use tower in Tianjin, China. The Tianjin R&F Guangdong Tower will be located within the city’s newly planned business district, and at 439 meters it will be one of China’s tallest buildings. The massive complex will feature 134,900 sm of Class A office space, a 400-key, five-star hotel, 55 condominiums, and 8,550 sm of retail space. The architects are designing the tower with multi-story atriums and a high-performance curtain wall to bring daylight deep into the building, thereby creating deeper lease spans. The project is currently finishing design.
