Heart of the Campus, The Miquon School
Professional Work | SMP Architects
Exploring Building Simulation Software
Professional Work | SMP Architects
Revitalizing Camden: Transforming Urban Housing into Regenerative Communities
Graduate Thesis
Renderings & Graphics
Professional Work | SMP Architects
Projects Graphic Design Photography
Heart of the Campus building at The Miquon School incorporates a new library space and two classrooms each with a mezzanine level. The design follows the ethos of the School for exploration and being outdoors. It is equipped with a fire pole and slide that connects the classroom deck/ porch to grade encouraging play and connection to nature.
Location: Conshohocken, PA
Completion: 2024
Area: 4,350 sq.ft | Estimated Cost: $3,000,000
Structural Engineer: Ann Rothmann
MEP Engineers: Chestnut Engineering
Landscape Architects: Ground Reconsidered
Civil: Grist Design
Contractor: Wolfe Scott Associates
A design charrette was conducted in April 2022, participants included school students, staff, faculty, parents, leadership and design teams. 4 groups developed designs through the day and a final stacked design was chosen. The idea was to stack the library and classrooms and reduce the horizontal footprint, to maintain more area on campus to be the playground. Schematic design stage massing energy modeling was done while roof forms were explored. The final design went through major changes during design development & value engineering, with a smaller layout
Software Used: Revit + Insight | EUI unit: kBTU/sq.ft/year
Early on at SMP Architects, I worked on exploring different building simulation software to understand which would best suit our requirements and integrate well with our workflow. Using a test case of a small residential project in the schematic phase, I generated output from three software programs. The major uses would be to -
• To make design decisions informed by simulation results – Schematic design through Final Stages.
• Understanding & supporting impacts of certain design elements through metrics & visual data.
• Studying design options towards Net-Zero/Net-Positive results.
Software
Low Revit + Insight 360
High Rhino + Grasshopper (Ladybug/Honeybee tools)
Revit + Cove.tool
Medium
Free Plug-in with Revit subscription, might need to purchase cloud credits for Lighting analysis
Approx. US$ 995 (Permanent license, does not expire)
Approximate range : $5500 - $9500 annual subscription for unlimited number of projects. (Most expensive amongst other tools)
Cautions Optimisms
• Project work is already done in Revit
• Good for Solar Radiation studies
• Very accurate results, constantly updating software
• Useful for almost any type of simulation or analysis
• Simulation is cloud based and easy to follow
• Can collaborate with engineers/consultants on the cloud platform
• Revit is more of a construction documentation tool than simulation
• Daylighting & Energy studies might not be as clean and reliable as other tools
• Need to model simultaneously on Rhino as the project progresses
• Needs knowledge of coding and scripting in Grasshopper
• Revit is more of a construction documentation tool than simulation
Revit + Insight seemed to be the most appropriate choice for the office especially with initiating in-house early stage building simulation. Since all the projects were modeled in Revit, using Insight helped seamlessly integrate the simulation into project workflows. While other software have more accuracy and update faster with new features and capabilities - this tool has been easy to learn and use while being cost efficient.
Creating a Model Generating Energy Model (within Revit)
Upload & View Results in Insight 360 (on the cloud)
Run Lighting Analysis (using Revit plug-in)
Optimize (to see impact on Energy Use Intensity)
Results Generated
Project Type: Graduate Thesis
Thesis Guide: Robert Fryer, Chitsanzo Isaac
Site: Camden City, NJ
Complete Thesis Paper:
Thesis Presentation:
Key Highlights: Regenerative Development, Incorporating Scales, Sustainable Design & Metrics
Located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, a once-bustling Camden lies in hibernation. Today, Camden City is brimming with potential, but many are hesitant to be there. The city faced a steady decline during the postindustrial era with lack of jobs, racial riots, increased environmental degradation, high crime rates and abandoned properties. The seed for this thesis came on one such visit to the Camden waterfront, questioning the lack of people enjoying the nice waterfront with beautiful views of Philadelphia’s skyline.
Thesis Statement: Bytransformingurbanhousingintoregenerativecommunities, environmentaldegradationfrompastindustriesandcurrentunjust practiceswillreverse,newgreenjobswillbecreated,andthesocioeconomicfabricofCamdenCitywillbegintothriveagain.
Current housing stock is aging, poorly maintained & abandoned. In need of urgent repairs & redevelopment. Environmental degradation from past industries disproportionately affects low income, minority communities. Tax breaks and incentives to big corporations. Large scale disinvestment resulting in rapid decline of Camden City.
Lack of well paying jobs, increased crimes and a strained socio-economic fabric.
Food Insecurity35,000 residents facing food insecurity in Camden City.
This thesis approaches the design through the lens of regenerative development. In doing so, the project considers three levels of system. The innermost level is the housing scale, Ablett Village Housing Development which is nested within the second level that is the neighborhood of Cramer Hill which is then nested within the larger whole of Camden City. For the scope of the project, the boundaries are defined by these three levels but the positive impact of the solution continues to impact smaller scales at housing cluster level and larger scales, i.e. at the New Jersey state level.
Principles of Regenerative Development
Work with whole systems
Work with potential, not problems
Develop capability
Build a collaborative field
Work with nested systems
Find nodal interventions
Work from uniqueness of each place
Nature of Place:
Strong resilient community, strong art and cultural fabric, waterfront city
Whole System: Neighborhood Scale
Three neighborhoods in Camden City were shortlisted - Cramer Hill, Waterfront South & Lanning/ Bergen Square. Based
Each cluster includes four townhouses designed to fit like a puzzle. EUI was analyzed and studied to understand how different roof forms impact the energy use of the cluster. Using Integral Framework as a basis, four options were studied. The roof form for the Experience approach was selected for its lower EUI and potential of a butterfly roof for rainwater harvesting. Software used: Revit Insight | EUI Unit : kBTU/sq ft/ year
ExperienceLarger surface area for PV panels, roof sloping towards the South
CultureConventional roof form similar to neighboring buildings, PV panels on sloping roof facing South
Further iterations of the selected roof form were studied.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Two options were close in the resultant energy use, a version of the form with butterfly roof was selected.
• Potential to harvest rainwater
• Available surface area for solar panels
• Simplicity of roof form
PerformanceLarger surface area for PV panels, roof sloping towards the South
SystemsFlat green roof with portion of roof sloping towards South
The final design ensures ample light into the main occupiable spaces - living rooms, bedroom and kitchen. On the second floor, both bathrooms have a clerestory window to bring in daylight while a skylight allows natural light into the corridors. The South elevation has more windows to bring in the much needed daylight in the winters, the
Most spaces receive comfortable daylight within the range of 200 to 3000 lux. Cautions: Bathrooms in the middle units of the cluster receive low daylight & will require adequate artificial lighting at all times of the day.
Chart below showcase the reduction in EUI at every step of the design development reaching net positive after including the energy generated by the PV array.
This section showcases graphics for various projects at SMP Architects. Renderings include images used for fundraising during the several construction phases of The Philadelphia School, progress renderings for The Miquon School, a nature center and The French International School.
Software used: Revit + VRay + Photoshop | Revit + Photoshop | Canva
Plan axonometric view showing Phase 1 construction at The Philadelphia School
Jui Soni Sustainability Specialist | Architectural Designer
juisoniarch@gmail.com