Architectural Design Positions + Technical Detail Study Purpose
Climate Change
footprint and last for a long time.
Building & Life Safety
In terms of fire safety at a detailed level, it is important to take a look at the material and its flammability. The building’s superstructure consists of concrete and mass timber. Concrete is inflammable and is used commonly in fire escape routes. Although timber does burn, it burns by creating chars that protect the core of the material. To make sure that in case of a fire, it burns safely, tried to use thick enough CLT slabs and a glulam frame structure. The wood fibre insulation also burns but it should have an adequate amount of fire retardants should be added during the manufacturing process to ensure fire resistance. The internal lining also should be made out of fire-resistant material. The ETFE facade has a high melting point and is self-extinguishing. Lastly, sprinklers are installed on the ceiling to extinguish the fire as soon as possible.
Constructibility
The
The primary timber beams and columns are responsible for carrying the loads imposed by the building. Dead loads and live loads are transferred via the timber beams and carried vertically through the columns. This system allows for the efficient use of materials and helps to create an open and flexible floor plan. To ensure the safe distribution of loads, a concrete transfer slab is installed underneath the mass timber structure. This slab helps to distribute the weight evenly and reduces the risk of overloading any particular point in the structure. The rigid concrete base also allows for the safe and efficient installation of the CLT components, which can be easily supported by the transfer slab. By utilizing the strengths of each material, it is possible to create a building system that is both structurally sound and visually appealing.
The ability of the structure to endure lateral stresses, such as wind and rain loads, is one of the most important safety factors. In this case, the ETFE facade is essential to the structure’s ability to absorb potential lateral loads. ETFE is a good material for exposed constructions because of its great weather resistance. The first component against wind and rain loads is the ETFE facade. The load must be transferred from the facade to the primary structure to ensure that the building remains stable. This transfer of load is achieved through the use of cross-bracing to prevent the timber structure from rotating. The connections between the ETFE facade and the main structure need to be fixed. These connections play a crucial role in ensuring that the load transfer from the facade to the primary structure is efficient and effective.
Processes
For BA3 Technologies Part C, the students were asked to choose a fragment of their building and develop/resolve it from a technological aspect. Aside from resolution, choosing a fragment was a difficult task for me because my studio design is quite large. Therefore, I had to prioritize certain aspects of my buildings to develop in the coming few weeks and strategically choose a respective part of the building. My priority for the Tech Part C project was to explore the wall build-up, floor build-up, structural joinery, and facade design. I chose the south-side clinic side as it was much more manageable to extract a fragment, and the construction methods will be the same as all the other parts of the building. The overall building form is intended to maximise the natural sun exposure and solar gain. To fight climate change, the measures will be taking at the architectural fragment scale are: - Utilising passive design to minimize energy use in the building - Using high-quality insulation and materials to thermally wrap the building to reduce heat loss - Using sustainable building materials and structures to reduce embodied carbon and encourage the circular economy. Glulam superstructure Using timber for construction has tons of advantages like carbon sequestration, low carbon footprint, and longevity. Wood is also a great renewable source for construction. Passive design strategies The building design should make a smart use of passive design, so the space stays energy efficient, cost effective, and resilient, especially in case of power outages. Facade materials The outer layer of facade is using ETFE, which is a lightweight, translucent, durable material. It allows for softer and diffused light to enter the space, eliminating the need for artificial lights. ETFE Individual cushions to be clamped to the main support structure. Space frame support Steel space frame structure which connects to the main body of the building and supports the cushions. Steel base Base structure for the space frame to connect to the base and distribute the structure load. Concrete mixer mixes the concrete to keep the consistency Reinforcement bar reinforce the concrete and improve its strength Concrete pump transports the mixed concrete to the desired location on the construction site Steel cutters cut and bend the reinforcement bars to the desired shape and size Scaffolding provides a safe working platform for workers to work on the wall and roof Cranes Large cranes are typically used to lift and manoeuvre the heavy timber panels into place during the construction process Scissor lift lifts up an down small scale components, people, and tools both from inside and outside of the building. It provides a stable and level platform for the workers to safely work on. In addition to the tools listed here, all the workers should be equipped with PPE. In order to bring the design to life, the current building on the site needs to be demolished. I plan to recycle the former building’s concrete in the new building’s foundation to reduce construction waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The process involves collecting the debris from the demolition site, sorting them based on size and quality, and transporting it to the manufacturer. Then the concrete is crushed using various crushers, screened and reused for future use. Sustainably managed forest Strength grading Sanding the pieces Packaging and transporting Construction use Finger joining Glue application Bonding under pressure Harvesting the raw material Laminate production Drying the pieces In addition, the modular nature of the ETFE cushion system makes it easier to carry out maintenance, replacement, and fixing in case of damage. This also means that when the refurbishment is being carried out, the majority of the building can be still in use. As time goes on, the building components age, especially due to weather exposure. A big benefit of the design is that the ETFE outer layer protects the internal timber structure from wind, rain, and snow. Vibrator removes any air pockets in the concrete and ensure that the concrete is evenly distributed Trowel used to smooth the surface of the concrete after it has been poured Drills create holes in the timber panels for connectors and other components CNC machine precisely cuts and shapes the timber panels, ensuring that they fit together perfectly during the assembly process Timber connectors Various types of connectors, such as nails, screws, and bolts, are used to connect the timber panels together Formwork create the shape and dimensions of the wall and roof Aluminium rain screen cladding The exposed part of the building will have aluminium rain screen cladding. Aluminium is chosen for the durability, lightweight, and low maintenance. It is also highly flexible in terms of design choices. The colour and finish should match with the exposed framing of the ETFE facade to keep the building exterior look coherent. Internal lining The internal lining material is currently undecided, but the material should ultimately be very natural, low maintenance, and durable. It should provide good thermal and acoustic insulation and have wide range of design choices. External lining The internal lining material is currently undecided, but the material should be sustainable, visually appealing, and practical. Thermal insulation The initial insulation material in consideration is wood fibre insulation for its thermal, sustainable, and acoustic properties. It can be used in various sizes, textures, and thickness. CLT slabs Timber is chosen primarily for its environmental, structural, and thermal aspects. Triple glazed windows The window frame should be decided in the future. The initial choice for now is wood frame. Concrete beam Concrete transfer slab As the timber structural grid doesn’t fully align with the concrete part, I decided to use transfer slabs. Concrete column Concrete wall Steel reinforcement Glulam beam Glulam column Steel angle Triple glazed windows The windows should be thermally sound to also reduce heat loss and comply with Passivhaus standard. Recycled concrete The ground floor walls, roof, and foundation will be made out of reinforced concrete. It is important to stay aware of the not sustainable nature of concrete and make sure the structure is durable and recyclable. The former building’s concrete will be crushed and sorted to be used in the foundation and wall. Sustainable thermal insulation The insulation material should be sustainably sourced and natural for low carbon footprint. The insulation should result in a low U value, preferably one that complies with the building regulations and passivhaus standard. Having efficient insulation also means heat loss is reduced and the space has less need for a mechanical heating. Interior lining materials Aside from the structural and insulation material, the interior lining materials should be chosen carefully. Although it hasn’t been fully realised yet, the internal finish should promote good mental and physical health, low carbon
fragment has 3 stages of construction. While the concrete is being poured on site, the timber parts can be manufactured in a factory to save time and cost. When the concrete is dry, the timber is assembled and lastly, the facade should be installed. The concrete column and beam is poured. Prior to the pouring, proper formwork should be finished. Steel reinforcement is then placed and tied at the right location. It is important to recycle and repurpose the excess formwork material. After the concrete base is finished, the glulam columns and beams should be installed with the cross bracing. This process needs use of tall cranes, joinery tools, such as steel angle, bolts, and drills. The installation of CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber) slabs comes after the glulam primary framework has been built. To create a strong and long-lasting foundation for the building’s floor, this technique comprises carefully connecting the CLT panels to the main structure. The wood fibre thermal insulation is then installed. To safely position them, there should be a secondary structure to support the insulation panels. Internal and external linings are then finished as well as the flooring. The floor and wall finishes both have their respective layering, which should be resolved in the future. All the timber window frames are prepared for the window fittings. These require accurate positioning, leveling, and fixing. Ceiling risers are installed with the HVAC and electrical system. In this process, it is important to safely fix all the services to the ceiling. The windows and doors are fitted in their places. Facade framework is installed and fixed to the primary structure. The ETFE cushions are then connected to the frame. The same process is repeated for the concrete ceiling. For the pouring process, the formwork should have adequate support underneath. When the concrete is still wet, the vibrator will be used to get rid of air bubbles to ensure the strength. Thermal insulation is installed with the proper damp proofing. Additionally, the outer facade of the concrete part is installed. It would be preferable if the facade is durable, easy to install, and visually appealing. Superstructure Load path Wind load Facade to main structure connection Cross bracing Timber components Concrete components Facade Insulation Internal lining Sprinklers CLT substructure Like glulam, CLT also made by laminating layers of timber, which retains the carbon stored in the wood. The wood should come from sustainably managed forest and transported in the most efficient way possible. CLT is prefabricated off site, which means the product is cut with high precision, so the on-site production waste is negligible. In order to minimize the energy use in the building for ventilation, it is important to use natural ventilation methods. In order to do that in the open, public areas, the facade should be able to support stack effect with openings in the appropriate locations. With help of operable windows, the specialist rooms also should be able to receive natural ventilation. Areas available for solar PV facade to generate energy on site. Floor space available for solar gain and overnight radiation. However, this will heavily depend on the material choice Hot air escaping Cool air entering Cool air entering Summer sun Winter sun From the first extraction, I tried to choose the key wall-to-roof, wall-to-floor and facade to the base connections so that the results will apply to all parts of the building. All the chosen parts are compressed into a box that roughly fits the suggested box. Fragment 2 is more suitable for facade development whereas fragment 3 is better for detail development. Size of the suggested fragment Size comparison Passive design strategies - Solar gain Passive design strategies - Ventilation Fire safety strategies Structural stability strategy Lateral stability strategy Heating system Electric system Plumbing system Ventilation system Fire system Current building on site Concrete sorting and collecting process Crushing the concrete and mixing it back Timber prefabrication process Conceptual section Building close up Preferred joineries 1 2 3 BA3 Technologies Part C Technologies Positions Misheel Altan-Erdene CPU[ai] 1
Architectural fragment location
Material Tools
Material build up iterative testing
The primary testing of the small fragment was to identify the best way to achieve the minimum heat loss and determine the U value of the thermal envelope while using the least amount of materials. It was crucial to reduce the amount of embodied carbon and stay environmentally friendly, therefore, the superstructure and main insulation material should be sustainable and effective. As I have split the fragment into 3 components of construction, I decided to trace over the scaled base drawing to find out the construction method and material build-up to reach the goal. The reason I chose to do the iterative testing by hand was to familiarize myself with the scale and think about the connections while drawing.
Facade iterative testing
Iteration 3
The third iteration was an attempt to change the frame geometry. Voronoi was the very first choice for the frame to code due to its visual appearance, but when it comes to constructing the building, the Voronoi pattern is susceptible to structural stability. This time, I tried using the Delaunay mesh component on the grasshopper to extract a more triangular pattern. I was drawn to the triangular pattern for its structural stability and appearance, but could not figure out a way to inflate the panels or surface morph the geometry.
Iteration 4 Because it was really hard to make the surface morph work, decided to stop translating the base surface to a flat surface. Instead, I found it better to directly work with the base. Also, wanted to finalise the frame structure and move on to the step of inflating the ETFE cushions. The fourth iteration is a very simple script to create a hexagonal pattern and pipe it. It looked quite interesting but it was not quite what I was looking for.
Prior to the detail testing, needed to evaluate the fragment regarding the 3 key factors of the experiments. It was really important to strategically test and resolve the detailing since the fragment detail applies to every part of my building. The main goal of the testing was to find out the best material build-up, joineries, and thermal performance using minimal material with less embodied carbon. It was hard to do individual testing for each of the performances, so decided to do sketch iterations of the connection and material build-up and assess them based on all three of the performances. In addition, it is crucial to consider the interior atmosphere and building services.
Iteration 1
The second iteration eliminated the ceiling riser and integrated the essential services for the movement laboratory, like the moving camera, acoustic panels, and lights. I included some gravel to protect the DPM and slow down the
Iteration 2
The second iteration had thicker wall insulation, therefore, both the wall and roof heat loss values are satisfactory. The biggest realisation of this drawing was that was initially trying to achieve Passivhaus standards with the mass timber part
Iteration 1
of the triangular ETFE cushions, meaning the section cut was through the triangle edges. The cushion clip detail drawing accompanies the main drawing. The clip detail for this iteration shows only one cushion.
Iteration 2
The second iteration shows a cross-section through the triangles. The ventilation slat on the reinforced concrete base was integrated into the drawing to show the stack effect in the building. The clip detail shows how two ETFE cushions connect. The clipping technique was inspired by the EDEN project by Grimshaw Architects.
Iteration 3
Reflections on Constructability
The iterative testing via hand drawing made me reflect on the ways each component is installed and connected. The initial iterations didn’t show the specific connections or logical layering of materials, but they gradually improved along the way with the reasoning behind them. Using less material and adopting standard and simple construction methods, not only saves time and material, but it also makes the construction process easier. The construction technique of this fragment will apply to all parts of the building. The prefabricated nature of the mass timber components will make the construction much faster and more accurate. More importantly, construction waste is significantly reduced due to prefabrication. In the future, the testing needs some more physical and practical presentation. I hope that the tactile model I will produce for the Studio unit will reflect the constructability and logical reasoning of my fragment after the testing.
thickness.
Although it was the last drawing of the testing, there are more things to be added in the final drawing. The CLT walls need to be shown in detail. I was told by a visiting architect to add a small amount of floor insulation above the CLT slabs. Finally, the floor build-up, wall finishes, and connections should be more clear and visible in the final drawing on sheet 3.
Iteration 3
The final iteration didn’t have a lot of changes from the previous one in terms of overall connection and section cut. But decided to change the ETFE cushion clipping detail.
The detailed drawing shows not only the ETFE connection but how the cushions would connect to the support structure.
The clipping solution was inspired by the Leicester space centre’s main exhibition hall by Grimshaw Architects. This was a very simple yet clever way of connecting the cushions, therefore was my final choice.
Reflections on Building and Life Safety
The material build-up and U value testing had the most effect on the thermal performance of the building. Providing adequate insulation helps to maintain a comfortable indoor environment and reduces the need for mechanical heating, ensuring the services will be exhausted less.
The choice of materials, the size of the beams and columns and the connections are strong enough to withstand the forces and keep the building stable. The weathering envelope ensures the materials under it stays safe from moisture, which can cause serious damage to the building’s structural stability and lead to hazardous mould growth. The materials are adequately fire-resistant and the space is well equipped with sprinklers. The materials are fairly durable and should require minimal maintenance. In case of damage, the fragment is also easily fixable.
Before I started the iterative testing, consulted with tutors and architects on my initial design of the fragment to change some of the elements. It saved some time to make decisions and gave me a good ground level to work with. The ceiling riser in the public space was eliminated to minimise the material and expose the timber structure. I got more aware of the thermal envelope and reduced the insulation thickness in between the floors. In addition, the floor insulation is over the floor slabs to expose the timber more and retain the natural atmosphere.
Before finalising the tests and the final fragment design, also tried to finalize the glulam beam and column connections. explored some traditional connections as well as more unique ones. In the end, went with a rectangular dowel joint to make sure both beams are safely secured to the column on the same level.
Iteration 1 The initial iteration used Grasshopper’s Voronoi component. The base surface was translated to a flat surface with the same dimensions. Then it was populated with random points to create the Voronoi pattern. It was offset and extruded to create the frame. However, for an unknown reason, the surface morph tool failed to work correctly, so I had to extrude afterwards to a single direction which didn’t exactly reach the results I needed. chose 2 patterns to manually model inflation to conclude that it is so much better to code the inflation as well as the frame. A big goal of my Tech Part C project was to finalize the ETFE facade design and technologies. Therefore, I have started my testing process with different iterations of facade design. The goal was to find a computational way to digitally model the ETFE facade, which will later be applied to the entire building. For this purpose, I have chosen fragment 2, defined on the first sheet, as the facade testing required a larger scale model. I needed the final output to be a geometric steel frame with three-layer inflated cushions. I used Rhino and Grasshopper because of the organic nature of the base form and to avoid long hours of manual modelling. Iteration 2 The second iteration used the same logic of translating the surface first to a flat surface. used the same Voronoi tool, but this time, went a little further to determine the centre point of each panel and extrude the point to the Z direction in both ways. Then the created mesh ran through Weaverbird’s Catmull-Clark subdivision component to smooth each pyramid. The result was exactly what I wanted to achieve, however, wasn’t able to morph the geometry back to the base surface. suspected that it was because of the extrusion direction. The first iteration was a more detailed sketch of the design had originally did the calculations of the wall and roof U values and neither of them reached the passivhaus standard.
It
concluded
floor insulation doesn’t
to
as thick as the roof since it is not included in the thermal envelope. From the U value calculations, figured that wood is a great thermal insulator compared to steel or concrete. The roof U value was extremely good, but the wall insulation needed to be a little thicker.
As with the previous testing, my first iteration was a more detailed sketch of the most recent design I had. The ceiling risers are kept in the clinic consultation rooms for a more clean and more neat internal finish, but there are no ceiling risers for the public areas to minimize the material and preserve the natural look.
was
that the
have
be
facade
work at a 1:5 scale. The first iteration
perfect cross-section
The final testing was to determine how the
detailing and the connections would
showed a
of the building like the reinforced concrete part. However, the reinforced concrete part needs to be well insulated because it is exposed to the outside. The timber part, on the other hand, is inside the ETFE facade, which means it is not fully exposed to the outside. So stopped trying to reach the Passivhaus U value as well as replaced the triple-glazed windows with double-glazed ones. The final iteration
solar panels
walls facing south.
safety. As
previous U
didn’t
massively
integrated the
on the
The balcony area had a handrail added for
the
values were very good I
try to
change the insulation
flow of the rainwater
the
thickened, they still didn’t reach Passivhaus standards. The third iteration not only reached the standards but also resolved the facade and column connection to the base. I decided to use a fully cast concrete wall and roof for the movement lab instead of the reinforced concrete frame construction like the rest of the ground floor. Iteration 1 Iteration 2
to the drainage. Although
insulation and the concrete slabs were
Iteration 3
Iteration 5 The fifth iteration was a more mathematical and deconstructing approach to the frame pattern. divided the surface into segments and deconstructed the brep to extract the different geometries. Then the vertices were composed to create a triangular pattern I quite liked this method for its visual appearance, structural stability, and the fact that the pattern could be varied easily. Iteration 6 The sixth iteration was the one that looked the most different out of the bunch. That is because it was a purely experimental script. Instead of starting from the base surface, the script starts from a rectangle, which is voronoid and mapped to the base surface. Then used Weaverbird’s thicken and catmull-clark components to create the final output. Although it was a fun process that ended up in a beautiful geometry, it looks more like a ceramic or terra cotta facade than a steel frame. Iteration 7 The final iteration came up with my most desired geometry. I used the triangle panelling tool to create the isosceles triangle pattern. The brep was deconstructed to determine the centre point. Then each surface was evaluated to find the normal and the centre points are all extruded to their respective normals in two directions. Then the mesh was smoothened with the help of the catmull-clark subdivision component to create the cushion geometry. The frame is stable and the repetitional nature of the triangles will make the construction easier. The inflation is visible from both outside and inside. Initial detail sketch with components to test & resolve Climate performance strategies Structural safety & construction strategies Updated detail sketch Areas of concern Construction stages & considerations Base drawing 1 Base drawing 2 Timber Base drawing ETFE Slab Beam Column Thermal testing 1: Timber heat flux Thermal testing 2: Timber heat flux Thermal testing 3: Concrete heat flux 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Thermal testing 1: Timber temperature Thermal testing 2: Timber temperature Thermal testing 3: Concrete temperature As the purpose of my tests was to reduce heat loss and keep the building thermally sound, I couldn’t have missed the thermal bridging test. I used CAD-based software called HTflux to see if my tests were successful. Both the timber part and concrete part reached my expected results. The timber part went through 2 tests because the first one assumed it was completely outside and the second one was closer to an environment inside of the ETFE envelope. As preparation and conclusion, I have created a sequential isometric drawing showing the construction steps and how the materials are layered and attached to the primary structure. BA3 Technologies Part C Prototyping Misheel Altan-Erdene CPU[ai] 2
Iterative Testing | Record of Process
Evaluations
