A Change is Going To Come

     James P. Cramer came from Greenway Group to lecture about the changes in the field of architecture. One of his first points that he made was that change will never again be as slow as it is today. People and technology are changing by the minute and as architects it is imperative that we keep changing our current status and keep growing and learning within our field. Cramer posed the question about how much individuals have changed within the last year and stated that if individuals are doing the same thing they did a year ago, they have not changed and as a result will not be successful. This question was part of a checklist for professional planning, which in affect is a good way to be successful in changing. The other questions focused on: the future of what will change next, why individuals do what they do, and how others do what individuals want them to do. All of these questions are catalysts to becoming successful and being open minded to change.

    In today’s field of architecture, change is always a constant variable. Technology and information keep getting updated and as designers, it is important to stay focused and updated with the new information that is becoming more readily available to us. The more open-minded individuals are, the more willing they are to grow within their position. Cramer also outlines what it takes to run a successful enterprise. The most central part to running a successful enterprise is effective leadership which in affect is surrounded by speed, connectivity, and productivity, which are all useful to help designers stay relevant and current with the information that is rapidly changing through technology. The internet is the most important part of connectivity due to information that is readily available or information about projects done by architectural firms. Cramer even suggested that the more we change, the more our convictions become stronger as architects and designers and even suggests that the roles between those in the design field are blurring due to this constant learning process. Professionals are branching off and getting a broader knowledge of more information that is available to them. With all of this information, it is easy to believe that architects truly do get stronger the more they choose to learn about a subject that might not even pertain to architecture. The two sustainable competitive advantages that professionals have are a continuous learning and adaptability to change. Cramer states that if you do not have an advantage, that professional will fall short. If professionals limit themselves to what they only know, they might be missing out on information that could be extremely useful in a design, whether this project is current or in a few years. The truthfulness of this statement comes clear whenever anyone learns about a certain topic and it becomes extremely beneficial to them a few years later and because that individual chose to learn, they have also grown stronger in the process. Limiting beliefs will only limit the success and satisfaction of that individual. 

    Cramer also talked about the life cycle analysis which is the process of learning and becoming adapted to change. The chart starts off with testing, the process in which an individual tries different ideas to see if they will work. From testing comes incoming, where the designer focuses in on a certain idea and builds off from it. Then comes pre-peak of the design, where the design is coming together, which also then leads to post-peak when the new ideas start to flow. The cycle concludes at outgoing, which is the most crucial part of the cycle. From the vantage point of outgoing, the designer has two options to work with. The first being they can start back with the cycle and start back at testing or they could decide to stop with the idea all together. However, with more knowledge comes better results and with a fresh colorful perspective it is valuable in a sometimes black and white world. 

    In conclusion, James P. Cramer talked about change in thinking. It is imperative for a professional to constantly change their thinking habits because it will only get them a professional advantage from their peers. As designers, knowledge will only lead to better, more integrated designs; even if that means that traditional professional roles are being blurred in the process. It is important that with a successful enterprise, to harvest connectivity because it will only help a designer keep up with the changing technology and information. In the world of professionalism, any advantage will only give that individual another learning experience to learn from which demon demonstrates how the learning process is a continual pattern that also corresponds to personal growth and well-being. 

The Future of Glazing

     Michael Maiese and Josh Keller from Bohlin Chwinski Jackson lectured on Bohlin Chwinski Jackson’s experimental practice of glazing with different types of architectural projects. The group lectured on three different projects that focused on the importance of experimental techniques in glazing that included new innovations in glazing applications; such as, sun shading through glazing, storefront applications, and colored gradient glass with the three projects lectured on being the Rakow Research Library, Apple Store on Regent Street, and the Campus For A Global Entertainment Company.  

    The first project that the representatives from Bohlin Chwinski Jackson lectured on was the Rakow Research Library in Corning, New York which is also a museum for glass. The design team wanted to do something innovative in the field of glazing that would also be beneficial to the building and its program, which houses an unique collection of historical drawings that cannot have sunlight hit the surface. The resulting design was the idea of creating a shading design within the glazing to help protect the amount of sunlight that would enter the space. The shading design was compromised of staggering line patterns on both sides of the façade that was able to shade the interior from the outside sunlight. The designers looked at sun patterns throughout the years and strategically placed the line pattern to best allow for shading into the building. This design pattern can be applied to different buildings around the world, making this a sustainable day lighting strategy by accommodating for different environmental conditions. The idea of using lines on the glass to shade the interior can help replace costs of maneuverable louvers, if economic concerns are prevalent in design development.

    Another experimental condition the firm worked with was a store front condition in the Apple Store on Regent Street in London. The project is an adaptive reuse building, which is own by the crown, located on the first floor of a several floor structure. Natural day lighting was a main concern due to the lack of sunlight the store would get from the sky and the local weather conditions of London, England. Another major concern was how to get people upstairs to view the company’s project. The response to these issues included making glass transparent so that no boundaries were placed between the consumer and the product. The team also focused on creating an overhead lighting system that would mimic natural day lighting, by using a mixture of natural and electric lighting, to entice people to go upstairs. The idea of mimicking natural day lighting is a sustainable strategy for allowing natural day lighting to serve as the forefront to providing as much natural day lighting as possible but also allows for enough electric lighting needed to light a space, depending on the weather conditions. 

    The final project the representatives talked about is the Campus For a Global Entertainment Company in Los Angeles, California. The design focused on color treatments to glazing applications. This particular project focused on the color range from blue to white that used a two line work gradient. The notion of colored glazing can be used in sustainable design by providing shading to the interior of the building and could also reduce solar radiation inside the building. By creating colored window treatments, sunlight can be transparent to the inside of the building, without the interior spaces heating up which is integral to the area that this project was built for but could be used in other regions of the world including the Midwest due to the hot and humid summers that the region experiences. 

    In conclusion, the design firm of Bohlin Chwinski Jackson uses experimental techniques in developing glazing that provides for maximum sustainability within a building. The projects of the Rakow Research Library, Apple Store at Regent Street, and the Campus For a Global Entertainment Company in Los Angeles provided different examples of different sustainable techniques used for each project that included the topics of: sun shading, natural day lighting mimicry, and colored gradient glass. Each of these different techniques can be modified to best suit the region of the design project so that the building performs to the best of its abilities. By creating sun shades within the glass, less glare is transmitted inside the building providing for better work areas and less solar radiation. Mimicking natural sunlight is a sustainable strategy that can use a mixture of natural day lighting and electrical lighting to provide amble lighting in a store front condition. Finally, colored glazing is used to provide less reflectance of the sun within the work area providing for less glare and better work areas. Each idea presented in the lecture demonstrates that with the future of glazing, anything is possible.

When Size (In Terms of Scale) Matters

    Rob Morgan from McKnight & Associates redesigned two different parks, in two different contexts. The first project, Perk Park located at Chester Avenue and East 12th Street in Cleveland, Ohio and the second project being the Greenspace at Zone Recreation Center also located in Cleveland. Both projects are similar by the way that they valued the people, the ecology of the site, and the economy of its patron and dissimilar by the size of the project.

    Until recently, Perk Park had been seen as unsafe and furthermore was the location of a gruesome crime in 2009. Now, in credit to McKnight & Associates, the park is seen as a contemporary safe haven due to renovations to the once unsafe location. The project itself is only one acre in size and had to conform to the site conditions of being on a corner with surrounding cityscapes. The first phase of the project, started with the plaza design which included demolishing existing walls and raised plaza grade into a flat surface to improve visibility of the park and visibility to the surrounding buildings. The landscape architects wanted to give the park its urban context back and open it up to the surrounding site so that it fits contextually within the city. Phase two of the project dealt with security issues such as adding additional lights and opening the space up making it more visible and less likely to house another malicious crime. The architects achieved this by creating two different grass planes; also referenced as a “forest and meadow” concept where shade trees and mounds were preserved from the old design but accentuated with an open lawn with precast concrete seating created through the lawn. The site also includes a program of economy that includes food vendors as part of the site with café seating underneath the red trellis. The achievement of the park is remarked to have opened the space up and create an axis to the surrounding buildings which in affect makes it one of the most aesthetically pleasing ways to approach the building.

    The second project that Rob Morgan worked on was the Greenspace at Zone Recreation Center, which unlike the Perk Park, had twenty acres of land. The first phase of the project dealt with knowing the surrounding conditions of the site, which included a community center and a border along a major highway. The architects then grouped off the site into different areas; such as, area of greatest infrastructure outside of the building footprint and the highest degree of use within the site. With the data collected, they created an undulating path through the site connecting the different programmatic elements of the site and also focused on using sustainable strategies throughout the park. For example, solar panels provide energy for lighting the restrooms and concession stands but also designed the park gardens to absorb the storm water runoff. The architects also masked some of the highway sounds by placing trees in select areas and creating sloping mounds to dissipate some of the sounds coming from the highway. Along with designing with nature, the architects focused on designing for the people and for the economy of the patrons. First, the architects focused on designing for the people who would use this park. For example, the architects reached out to the skateboarding community and focused on what they would like in part of the site and the architects were able to accommodate their wants in the skateboard ramps included within the site. However, the design was also limited due to funds for the project. Unlike Perk Park, Greenspace is a twenty acre project which therefore, requires more funding to be used and was dealt with effectively by choosing materials that would work with the site and the economy. 

    In conclusion, the two different projects talked about by Rob Morgan were different in size of scale. Both the Perk Park and the Greenspace at Zone Recreation Center projects focus on landscaping architecture that is beneficial to the neighborhood but also to the people. In the case of Perk Park, it changed the appearance of that particular space with much success. Even though Perk Park is an acre, it creates spaces intended for different uses such as café seating, outdoor seating areas, and green areas. The Greenspace at Zone Recreation Center focuses on the same concepts of creating spaces intended for different program. Even though the projects were different in terms of size and context, the design phases were similar to the effect of knowing the existing conditions and designing off of prior knowledge. Successfully, both projects benefit the neighborhood by increasing green space throughout a city, benefiting the livelihood of the people who live in the city, and the economy of the patrons who funded the projects.  

Dynamics of Delight

     Recently, Lisa Hechong, author of Thermal Delight of Architecture, spoke on the dynamics of thermal delight. Her research began thirty-five years ago when the first energy crisis hit and there was the concern with the rising cost of imported oil. She wondered that there has to be a better way to heat and cool a space and started to research these ideas deeper in the specific types of energy that are necessary for the building, delight of the space to the inhabitant in terms of thermal comfort, and the affection that reinforces the social ties. Since buildings currently use a lot of energy, thirty percent of all energy used in the country and sixty-seven percent of all electricity uses because the inhabitants want them to be uniform in temperature and one of the best ways to control the electrical use of artificial lighting is to think about natural sunlight into spaces. 

    Currently, lighting and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) are designed for eighty percent comfort levels within a building, which means that seventy-nine percent of all people are comfortable with less.  One way to work with comfort levels is to allow occupants to control the thermal comfort of interior spaces of an office building because the satisfaction of the occupants increases to maximum performance. If more people are comfortable while doing their job, they will consistently be more active and more productive instead of being too warm or too cold in an office space.  Natural day lighting is an important factor that can make an important improvement in the quality of office spaces and using less electric lighting. By maximizing daylight, daylight can be echoed through office spaces and lets people feel like they are not confined into their work spaces. Heschong argued that if a designer was to use electric lighting, the designer should use the lighting as a focal point or a highly focused bright area that draws people’s attention. She also warned to never match daylight to electric light because natural lighting always is variable throughout the day but instead have the two be two different entities so that occupants of the building have different expectations from the lighting. By creating two different lighting entities, natural lighting and electric lighting, the occupants can enjoy the natural sunlight more, which ultimately will make them gravitate towards the better natural light because colors are saturated and true. 

    Another thermal delight strategy that Heschong talked about was having operational blinds to the windows which provide occupants to a building with control. When the occupants get to control the blinds, they get to decide how much natural sun lighting they want flowing into their space and how much electric lighting that they want to have. One problem that mechanic blinds have is that every time the sun hits the window, the blinds close fully, which causes occupants to feel claustrophobic about not being able to see outside. By providing choice to occupants, they personally get involved with their own thermal comfort, which in the long run is what is needed to help change the total amount of energy consumption of a building. Overall, a person spends ninety-five percent of their lifetime in a building so they should be able to control how much sunlight and how much of a view that they will want to see out from the window. One problem with too much natural sunlight is glare, which can ultimately make seeing objects harder. The future of natural sunlight systems is glare control and designing better products that produce better views with more sunlight that also preserves energy savings. Systems that preserve natural sunlight and prevent glare will only fully maximize thermal comfort of the occupants of a building.

    In conclusion, Lisa Heschong talked about how to best thermally comfort the users of a building. For example, people are thermally comforted while at work are more likely to be more productive at work and with natural day lighting, people do not have to feel claustrophobic by not being able to see the outside environment.  By using operational blinds, the occupants have full control of how thermally comforted they can be and since people spend ninety-five percent of their lives in buildings, why not make it the most thermally comforted space for them and let them have full control of how much natural sunlight is let into a space in order to reduce the total amount of electric lights being used. 

Imitating Nature

     Two representatives from Great Lakes Biomimicry lectured on the topic of how biomimicry can be used in relation to architecture and the built environment. The main objective of biomimicry is supporting nature in local ecosystems by learning through the environment which can be applied to architecture. Representative, Carol Thaler, told the story of the Shinkansen Bullet train which was designed off the aerodynamics of a bullet, which was troublesome to the local inhabitants due to the sonic boom that prevailed when the train exited a tunnel, making it uncomfortable to live in the surrounding areas. The designers redesigned the nose of the train so that it could mimic the nose and beak of a king bird, which enhanced the design of the train to not create sonic booms after exiting the tunnels, which therefore made the environment better for the inhabitants who lived in the surrounding areas. This same principle can be used in architecture by modifying buildings to have biometric design elements within the system to enhance the performance of the building.

     The process of biometric design focuses on the three components of form, process, and function accomplished with applying the six life principles of design. The first life principle of design is to evolve to survive with nature which includes replicating designs that are successful and accounting for the unexpected when designing a building. The second principle is to adapt to changing conditions which includes incorporating diversity and being able to modify buildings to the surrounding ecosystems. Next principle is to be locally attuned and responsive which includes being conscious of design materials that are sustainable and energy efficient to the building and followed by the principle of using life-friendly chemistry cycles to help break down products into benign composts that can be reused and reincorporated in different aspects to the site; such as, water filtration. The subsequent principle is being resourceful and efficient in materiality and energy consumption by recycling materials, fitting form to function, and using low energy systems that are not intrusive to the environment. Finally, the last principle is integrating development with growth by accounting for how much growth and load constraints that would affect the building. 

     With these six life design principles, designers can import these strategies into their designs to create a building that can easily sustain the local ecosystems. By using different techniques, designers will be able to create exciting forms that connect to nature, since there is 3.8 billion years of experience from the history of the environment since its creation. These biometric buildings can also be used to transform the energy systems into sustainable systems that use water collection and storage, water filtration, evaporation, temperature and thermal control, and soil quality. All of those systems would be able to sustain the land by recycling energy instead of using energy to create energy. Sustainable systems allow for buildings to achieve more than ever before designed. Overall, the six different life principles are fairly similar to the Living Building Challenge and its seven pedals, which is a system that works well by maximizing environmental usage and therefore using less electrical usage within the building. 

     In conclusion, designers can use biomimicry within the field of architecture with the six life principles that are design lessons from nature. Within the six different principles, sustainability is the main goal in sustaining the ecosystem of the surrounding environment. Precedents of changing the design of the Shinkansen Bullet train to resemble a king bird’s beak instead of a bullet is one of the many example of how using a biometric design can produce better results for the surrounding environment. Since the earth was created 3.8 billion years ago, designers can use the Life’s Principles since there is so much experience and design principles that can be used and applied for better results in our built environment. Overall, the Life Principles resemble the Living Building Challenge by maximizing sustainability in buildings to the fullest potential, which is something that as designers should be using and applying to design. With 3.8 billion years of experience, biometric design has proven itself as a useful standard to help sustain the land the best way possible and by using these principles in design, it becomes inspiration for what buildings can be.

A Belief System To Live By

    Recently, scientist Carl McDaniel visited to lecture on his belief system and how he translated that system into architecture. The first few lecture points that McDaniel made focused on how culture and family form a person’s belief statement and for Carl McDaniel that could not be truer. McDaniel crew up in the late 1950’s to early 1960’s when there was an environmental crisis triangle, which ultimately made him want to go into the field of biology. McDaniel posed the question if architecture is evidence based and answered with stating that since sustainable architecture is based on numbers and results, architecture has to be evidence based to help us progress our buildings to receive better performance and in the case of McDaniel’s Trail Magic house, it is maximized in energy performance. 

    When McDaniel retired, he wanted a house that would reflect his belief statement in biological developments and maximized his idea to work with the land, not harm it. Trail Magic is a positive energy home that produces more energy than what it needed. The house is also a climate positive home and retains heat and takes carbon dioxide out of the air, not into the air. McDaniel stated that the house itself costs no more to build than standard construction methods but stated that it was an investment he wanted to make to the future. Since this house makes more electricity than needed to supply, the extra electricity gets sent to the power company. McDaniel also does not have to pay anything for heating or cooling because passive cooling systems are supplemented by a pond source heat pump that uses a few hundred Kwh. Natural lighting is also maximized throughout the house so that artificial lighting is not necessary during the daytime. Also, this house uses 80% less water and 70% less hot water than an average two person home. 

    The one problem that McDaniel posed was with the rate of change with the fact that someone else built a passive house before him. McDaniel discussed that only twenty years before, only a few people owned a passive house and as architects, that needs to change. Since, the production and manufacturing cost of a custom house is similar paid to a regular house, all new houses should be living to the standards of the Trail Magic house and these houses should incorporate water filtration, natural ventilation, natural lighting, and sunlight. The more designers follow this sustainable path, they must inform their client to start a new lifestyle change to adapt to the sustainable world. Little changes can make all the difference in the building by following the succeeding rules: smaller is better, the building envelope should be tight and well insulated, the orientation of the long axis of the building facing east and west maximizing on sun lighting and natural ventilation, and other categories to refrain from using volatile chemical products. The next step would be to think about the materials of items and think about the life-cycle cost of upgrading to a better more efficient system. Sometimes, people look away from updating their homes because the project would be too expensive. However, it is an investment cost that will have a better return for them in the future and as designers, this mission should be taken to serve the greater good of the community to help sustain the earth. 

    In conclusion, Carl McDaniel wanted to invest in a house that possessed his belief systems. He then commissioned the Trail Magic house which is an energy and climate positive house that makes more energy than produced and takes carbon dioxide out of the air and not back into it. As designers, the future of architecture can be influenced to lead building construction of new homes down a better, more efficient path by using sustainable systems of natural ventilation, water retention, water filtration, sun light, and better site strategies. Custom built houses cost no more to build then a standard house and even give out a better lifetime benefit by producing energy and not taking in energy. Trail Magic is the story of a belief system that should be followed by all in order to help sustain the world and help sustain the local community at hand. 

Designing For The Future Classroom

     For my Professional Practice class this semester, we took a field trip to the STEM Lab located in Seitz Hall on the Virginia Tech campus. The lab provides an area for many different areas of educational research. The project total was $1.2 million that includes new technology equipment and a lab to make and test ideas that are researched through classroom instruction. The lab is foremost designed to be used for educational purposes. Classes are held in the lab and can incorporate students in the classroom and students teleconferencing in who might be in different parts of the globe. The lab was also designed to be inclusive to any outreach programs that the School of Education wants to partake in. For example, during the summer months, educators work with students in elementary school and develop summer activity programs for the students. The lab is also designed to be used for research purposes that includes instruction and outreach programs but also as a space to provide students access to test the ideas they researched.

     I believe that the STEM Lab is a prototype of how classrooms might resemble in the future years to come. I believe that all classrooms will be better equipped for integration of different academic principles. For example, the STEM Lab incorporates all the necessary equipment for educational purposes of lectures and in class assignments that can be used in several different academic departments. I believe that classrooms in the future will also have a laboratory section of the classroom devoted to testing ideas that are presented in the classroom lectures or in class activities. I believe that by offering students a hands-on approach to learning, educators can provide better learning environments to different types of learners.

     Of course money and funding will always be an issue in all educational facilities and will take sometime to be fully integrated into all classrooms of all types. However, the integration of lab and learning spaces provide students an opportunity to learn in the best educational environment possible. In every academic discipline, no two students are the same; each has their ways of learning. Some will be hands-on learners, learners who can use the laboratory to construct and get a better understanding of how things go together. Other students will be more research inclined and will benefit from having the technology in the classroom to do so.

     Also, with new technologies provided, students do not necessarily have to be located in the same region as the classroom, which is a direction that might be utilized more in the future. The value of higher education is becoming more and more important in society. Sometimes there are circumstances that prevent students from relocating to go to a certain university. With new technology, students can still be apart of classroom instruction and classroom activity. This would be beneficial to many academic disciplines that might not include use of a laboratory through the primary curriculum of their discipline. Some academic fields will always have to be taught on campus, such as science or researched based disciplines. But by providing students with advanced technology, some classes can be taught and include students in different parts of the world.

     Furthermore, I believe that the overall design of classroom buildings will change in the future as well. I believe that there will be more academic buildings that are sustainable and provide natural sunlight and ventilation and will try to produce more of its own energy through photovoltaic panels and wind turbines. Essentially, the building will be a living entity that provides the best learning environment in different weather conditions and different seasons.

     The future of how classrooms will be designed is an exciting time for architects, designers, students, and teachers. With new technological developments, we can only speculate on how educational facilities might look like in 30 years but it will be exciting to see the adaptation of more technology within campuses and within educational classrooms and laboratories to provide cutting edge designs to help students and teachers in the educational process.