SENV 7006
Case Study
Weather Tightness
Due to the climate of Iowa, which has hot summers and cold winters, the design team used geothermal heat pump system, underfloor air distribution system and energy recovery ventilator to provide heating and cooling based on the stable temperature below the ground. These devices are not only belongs to HVAC systems, but also have energy efficiency.
To cooperate with the HAVC system, the insulated walls and shading devices were installed for cutting off the heat from outside. Operable windows provide multiple choices for occupants.
Building Integrity
Fig1. Bioclimatic Design for Des Moines, Iowa. [1]
Aesthetics
The whole design concept is clean and simple. Based on the rule of “less is more”, the design team did not try to make this architecture more complicated and fancy. At the same time, the simple design about the appearance and the floor plan makes modularity practicable in this project.
Although the basic building appearance is simple and plain, the use of exterior shading devices and different kinds of materials makes the façades more interesting and not boring.
Fig2. South Wing Evaluation. [1]
Fig3. North Wing Evaluation. [1]
Durability
The Building Automation System (Siemens Apogee) and Power Monitoring System (PowerLogic) are installed in this building for the energy control and energy saving. The temperature, water, CO2 level, occupancy, window status and weather would be monitored. These methods would not only save energy, but also make this building more sustainable.
Materials and Construction
Fig4. Materials and Construction. [1]
The design team excessively careful chooses materials based on a lot of green strategies concept, such as recycle materials, high quality, cost efficiency and pleasant visual experience to make better use of limited resource. Figure 1 shows some information about overall materials selection. For example, interior decoration is applied to precast panels for example, exposed as a lightly sandblasted hard-troweled concrete finish, saved significant material and cost. What’s more, the material can be recycle since there exist some recycling containers for expand use in open spaces by both staff member and guests.
Integrity Design
Design Team:
Architect: BNIM Architects
• Landscape Architect: BNIM Architects
• Building Energy Modeling: The Weidt Group
• Structural: Charles Saul Engineering
• Mechanical: KJWW Engineering Consultants
• Electrical: KJWW Engineering Consultants
• Civil: Snyder & Associates, Inc.
• Building Automation: Siemens Building Technologies
• Energy Monitoring: Schneider Electric
• Energy Efficiency Advisor: Iowa Energy Center
Fig5. Collaboration. (from Google)
We could see that the IUB/OCA building design was leaded by BNIM, but a lot of experts in different areas and different companies involved and worked together to make building high performance achieved. Nowadays the division of work becomes more and more popular. Only with collaboration, the best results could be got.