Thesis Problem Statements

By Jason Skidmore

For this week's blog post I have decided to share my thesis problem statements. These are issues that I am working through in the design of my thesis project. Some of them are problems that are solved through design. Look for future blog posts to reveal some of the unique ways I have chosen to solve these problems within my building. Especially how technology can be integrated into a building to make it simply a better building. I feel the future of architecture requires that architects understand technology at a level of software development. The process of creating software is actually not too far off from the process of creating a components in a building. That is why the two disciplines will mesh together very well as buildings become hardware, or hardware becomes buildings. It just depends on how you look at it.

1. Research buildings need to have a balance of open vs. closed labs. The building needs to have social aspects to encourage team based research. Many times research conducted within a laboratory is closed and not shared with anyone until a breakthrough has occurred. This is most likely because people don't want to share ideas until they have a solution. People want recognition for what they accomplish. This however in many instances only stifles the progression of accomplishing a goal. Encouraging the sharing of ideas and community within a building can help to accomplish a goal by people helping one another.

2. The space in which a person does work has certain influences on the worker beyond the external variables such as temperature, humidity, amount of light, etc… these certainly are influential aspects of an environment, yet they are not the only thing that can influence creativity. The space itself should influence behavior. Keep a person focused, comfortable, healthy, etc…

3. A renewable energy research laboratory should not be hypocritical in its design. The goal in developing these new and exciting breakthroughs in energy is to create a sustainable and efficient source of energy that does not detract from the environment as a whole. In fact some types of energy research are suggesting that the actual act of using energy can enhance and not take away or degrade the surroundings. Having said this, a building that houses such breakthroughs should be as sustainable and energy efficient as possible. It should strive for LEED certification.

4. The design of research buildings needs to be as flexible as possible. According to WBDG, "Many private research companies make physical changes to an average of 25% of their labs each year. Most academic institutions annually change the layout of 5 to 10% of their labs." This means that the design needs to be adaptable. Through the use of certain flooring systems and wall systems flexibility can easily be achieved.

5. Integration of technology into design of a building can have a great influence on successful operation within the building. Providing advanced communication systems within a building can help a building not only function well within its walls, but it connects the users to the outside world and allows them to function well globally. Within the building the integration of technology is now everywhere. It no longer only exists as a computer sitting on a desk. It is fully integrated into the building, helping to make buildings function more efficiently and effectively.

Vertical Eco City

By Zac Collins



I had a preliminary thesis presentation yesterday, and I have to say, it was a very beneficial meeting. We discussed a lot about my concept of using biomimicry for my high rise. The more we talked about it and how we could implement some ideas, the more excited and interesting the discussions were becoming and in general, an excitement for the project. So my next step was to divulge myself into the biomimicry world and learn more about it. I started researching buildings that used this concept and come to find out, a lot of them are high rises; very appropriate for my project. I came across a very interesting building that is still in the concept/design phase. Nothing is being built, or planning to be built, but this notion of “city” towers, or mile high towers where a whole city can live in one building really is becoming a hot topic. I came across a specific one that is called the “Two Mile High Ultima Tower” and it uses biomimicry for sustainable practices. It’s very impressive. Read some of the article below. Enjoy!

We’ve seen a whole slew of gigantic, volcano shaped, city-in-a-building towers, each promising to be the largest building in the world. First it was the wacky X-Seed design for Tokyo, and then even Norman Foster got into the game with his proposal for the massive ‘Crystal Island” development in Moscow. Well now, architect Eugene Tsui is taking the gigantic volcano tower concept to a whole new eco level, by taking design inspiration from the natural world. His new design for the Ultima Tower – a 2-mile high Mt Doom-esque structure – borrows designprinciples from tress and other living system to reduce its energy footprint. We are always intrigued by architecture that uses biomimicry– the borrowing of principles from nature’s designs – and Tsui’s concept for this towering, ultra-dense urban development has certainly captured our attention with its thought-provoking design.

Population growth rates and rural-urban migration are creating a trend of chaotic urbanization that brings environmental, economic and social challenges. Within the next 7 years, 22 megacities across the globe are expected to have populations that exceed 10 million people, according to the UN. The Ultima Tower is an innovative green design concept proposed to resourcefully use earth’s surface and allow sustainable distribution of resources within a dense urban setting.

Designed to withstand natural calamities, Ultima Tower is highly stable and aerodynamic. Rather than spreading horizontally the structure rises vertically from a base with a 7,000 foot diameter – inspired in part by the termite’s nest structures of Africa, the highest structure created by any living organism.
Surrounded on all sides by a lake, the building would use building integrated photo-voltaic solar cells to meet most of the electrical energy requirements. The tower would also use Atmospheric Energy Conversion to exploit the differences in atmospheric pressure at the bottom and top of the tower and convert this differential into electrical power. Wind turbine energy would also be used to power the tower.

Taking a cue from the principles of transpiration and cohesion (Joly-Dixon’s cohesion-tension theory) as used by the tree to move water from roots to aerial parts, the designers are working on a method of carrying water from the bottom of the tower to the top utilizing water potential difference between the two points.
Other significant features of the design include bodies of water placed at 12 separate levels, 144 elevators at the periphery of the building, use of vertical propulsion through compressed air, specially designed windows with aerodynamic wind cowls, reflecting mirrors to bring direct sunlight into the building, open garden balconies, electric cars run by propane and hydrogen gas, complete absence of internal combustion engines or toxic pollutants. The whole building is envisioned by Tsui as a large ecosystem teeming with structures that are ‘living and breathing’.

Article from: http://www.geoisla.com/page/14/

Lambert Airport St. Louis

By Matthew Owens



My thesis is to design a new passenger terminal for Williamson County Regional Airport. So as an independent study I have been taking an airport planning course through the aviation department this semester. I actually finished up the class this last week, turns out it was a six week course that meets from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays, not how I thought I would be spending my Saturdays, so I am glad to have that over with. I enjoyed the course taught by Dr. NewMyer whom is also serving on my thesis committee. I got a lot of really good information out of it and I know it will help make my thesis that much stronger.

One of the interesting things that we got to do in the planning course was to take a trip to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. On this trip to the airport we got to speak with the director of airport planning, got to ride around the airfield and around the terminal building, we also got a tour of the control tower and got to check out concourse C, which was the concourse that was severely damaged in a tornado last April.

As you may or may not remember there was a tornado that ripped right through the airport last April. The airport was closed for almost twenty-four hours, not letting flights in or out. The damage that the airport sustained was quite large. The majority of the windows in the main terminal building were blown out; debris was strung out all over the airfield, and concourse C was hit hard. In our talk with the director of airport planning, he showed us actual video surveillance of the airport when the tornado hit. It was pretty amazing to see the people scrambling for cover while debris starts to fly all over the place. Fortunately no one lost their life and no one was severally injured, only a dozen or so people had to go to the hospital to be treated for cuts and bumps. Concourse C was hit the hardest since the path of the tornado went right over the top of it. Large sections of the roof were completely blown off and most of the windows were blown out, so concourse C has been closed since last April while they have been reconstructing it. Luckily the airport had a concourse that was not being used at the time, so they could transfer the operations of concourse C to that concourse. The construction costs to repair concourse C is now up to 100 million. The planners for the repair took the opportunity to upgrade the facilities in the concourse, so concourse C will have the latest and greatest of technologies throughout it.

I snapped a photo looking down the concourse which as you can see is pretty close to being completed, they are hoping to have it open and functional by this April.

By Erik Illies

Again I am on my way northward to the city known as Chi-ca-go… it’s told that they have good pizza and good baseball, but I know better! What they do have good is some progressive policies in place for sustainable practices and incentives toward their urban development process. I was fairly suppressed to find that they have vertical farms written into their zoning ordinances along with a slew of requirements associated with them. Very good for me since now I don’t have to backwards/ sideways/ and from up underneath interpolate how this vegetative monstrosity of mine would be zoned!

Conveniently enough, as well, I found a site that is mostly abandoned former manufacturing buildings and is already zoned for future development. How lucky! It’s surrounded by dense residential neighborhoods, a school, commercial corridor, and has a Metra transit stop on-site. Too Cool!!! But enough about my awesome site and how well it falls into my intended design scheme… how about some architecture talk.

News of this first came from a colleague of mine, so I should give Jason Skidmore his due credit…. There, he has his credit. In Sweden there has been broken ground for their first Vertical farm. It’s called the “Plantagon” and is a 36 meter tall sphere with growing floors that spiral up and around inside of it. So far I’m extremely jealous if the name, and very intrigued in how their spiral floor will work.

Looks awesome though: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=187818094655385&set=a.133173343453194.22122.131696156934246&type=1&theater

Seven Ingredients for Good Design…

By Audrey Treece



I am moving right along with my thesis work and after a great preliminary review; I am ready to start really designing. I have done tons and tons of “research” (although Dr. Wendler doesn’t understand what it means) and truly feel that I am at a point to move on. I have used all of the “research” that I have done to really wrap my head around the problem and fully understand the who, what, when, where, why and how of my project.

One resource that has been the most valuable to my project is by Anita Rui Olds titled the Child Care Design Guide. She wrote a book designated entirely to the design process of child care centers, if you didn’t already pick that up from the title, and covers everything from the dilemma of child care all the way to understanding the design process of architects. It has been the best resource guide that I could have got my hands on.

Part three is titled Ingredients of Good Design. It is complimented with seven chapters or topics that she, from all of her research and studies, believes are the most important to pay attention to during the process. The seven ingredients include healthy buildings, sounds, light and lighting, windows, doors and security, color, interior finishes and furnishings. After reading through all of these chapters, I realized that these “ingredients” are applicable to just about any project that you would work on. Although she references child care centers specifically, I highly suggest that all designers should take a few minutes to read through this part of the book and really think about how it affects their design. There are a lot of ideas expressed that are important to the well-being of people and how they use your building.

If you are like me and don’t have time to spare to read, refer to an excerpt from my preliminary presentation. We will call it the cheat sheet….

TITLE: ZERO ENERGY HIGH-RISE

By Molly Moran

Zero energy buildings, or ZEBs, have several definitions:

1. net zero source energy buildings means that it has an onsite power plant that at a minimum produces as much energy as the building uses,
2. net zero site energy buildings produces the same amount of energy that it uses, but the entire site is closely monitored for energy usage,
3. net zero energy cost buildings uses both energy efficient design and renewable energy devises to counter the initial cost of construction and materials back, and
4. net zero-energy emission buildings uses both energy efficient design and renewable energy devises to reduce or equal the carbon impact that the building has or has made.

Once a ZEB type is selected there are numerous methods and systems that can contribute to the building’s success. Using net zero site energy description I plan on developing a zero site energy high-rise that can produce, store, and return energy to the grid.

Net zero site energy is the energy quantity obtained by on-site renewable energy systems is equal to the amount of energy used by the building. The general public usually assumes that a “zero net energy building” refers to this type of building. The National Renewable Energy laboratory explains net zero site energy building’s definition as, “A site ZEB produces at least as much energy as it uses in a year, when accounted for at the site.”

In most case studies a single solitary system does not achieve zero energy by itself. Zero energy is usually achieved by several, or several dozen, complicated interconnected systems that add and subtract energy consumption down to zero. Renewable energy systems commonly associated with ZEBs are wind turbines, solar facades, solar shading, and geothermal. Architectural features incorporated with ZEBs systems are daylighting designs, green roofs, radiant floors, and double skins for insolation. Even small devices like CO2 harvesters, ambient lighting sensors, and new technology like piezoelectricity can be utilized in a zero energy building.
By using a variety of renewable energy systems, architectural design, and new technology I will generate a net zero site energy high-rise that will minimize its carbon impact and thrive on the energy it produces.

References
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy06osti/39833.pdf

St. Louis Trip

By Micah Jacobson

My wife and I were able to visit St. Louis over the weekend. We visited the Science center and stopped by to look at the progress on the art museum addition. I wanted to do more research on museums, since that is what I am designing for my thesis. I was particularly interested in the structures exhibit in the St Louis Science Center. It is located on the bridge that links the Science Center to the planetarium.

There were many very cool, hands on activities about how structures work and particularly how the arch works as well as some really cool Lego Architecture displays. For anyone headed to DC soon, the National Building Museum is having a Lego Architecture exhibit that is really cool, I wish I could go.

I was able to get some good ideas as well as learn and have fun. The Science Center has a recent addition also, though it doesn’t stand out from the older building as much as the new addition to the art museum does. It was designed to look more or less like the original.

Visit: http://www.slsc.org/GeneralInfo/ExhibitionHallExpansion.aspx for construction pictures. Te artist rendering is a little deferent from the finished product (http://www.slsc.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=uMyMBp9B%2bBg%3d&tabid=452 ).

Overall it was a fun trip, except for leaving my memory card at home and having to use my iPhone for all pictures, good thing I recently upgraded from my old junky phone!