Evolutionary Performance
Evolutionary Performance
Volume 3, Number 6
www.design-journal.com
Introduction
USTAINABLE DESIGN IN the next century will involve multidisciplinary collaboration that enables building performance to evolve through informed and deliberate
design. Sustainable design processes will change not because of a radically different
approach but rather out of a desire for conserving vital natural resources while
maintaining economic growth. This paper will use a case study of a hotel designed by
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill from 2006-2007, to demonstrate how a collaborative process
and an emphasis on environmental factors have allowed the design to evolve to a more
sophisticated solution. It will begin by describing the context in which this design process
was developed followed by the results of a climate data analysis. Synthesis of the data informs
the mass and orientation of the building which is the foundation for further optimization.
Once the form is optimized the formal aspirations of the client and the design team is explored and tested relative to set of goals established early in the design process. Three different
types of goals inform the final design of the exterior enclosure: design, performance, and
fabrication. This study shows how important environmental parameters and sophisticated
digital tools are to creating sustainable and evolutionary design.
Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal
Volume 3, Number 6, 2009, http://www.Design-Journal.com, ISSN 1833-1874
Common Ground, James Kraus, All Rights Reserved, Permissions:
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The case study is a building and exterior envelope design of a 250-room boutique hotel
for the Appejay Surrundra Park Hotel Group in Hyderabad, India. The building will be the
clients first newly constructed project and serves as its flagship Hotel. The Park Hotel Group
wanted the hotel to reflect the highly optimistic and sustainable culture in a growing India
through a forward-thinking architecture. Once completed, it will be the first LEED Gold
Hotel in India. To further encourage development and tourism, the national government has
developed new economic incentives that eliminate any tax duty on products imported for
the hotel and tourism industry. The design team included engineers, computer specialists,
energy simulators, and university researchers, all embracing the opportunity to contribute
to design decisions throughout the process. Many decisions have been informed by environmental research including building program, orientation, massing, and faade optimization.
The energy-and resource-intensiveness of the hotel typology has underscored the importance
of these results. The process sought to redefine the typical role of master architect and designer to address a specific challenge of sustainable design in emerging economies through
an in-depth understanding of climate and culture.
Climate Analysis
Hyderabad lies at 1720N 7830E in the Andrah Pradesh state in central India. It is in the
Tropical Monsoon (Am) region as defined by the Koppen classification for international
climate. Summer months between March and May experience a large diurnal temperature
swing between 25C to 42C. The Monsoon season stretches from mid-June to September
and brings heavy rains and prevailing wind from the northeast. The fall season or postmonsoon is characterized by high humidity with minimal rainfall.2 The winter months carry
much cooler temperatures and pleasant breezes that create opportunities for passive cooling
and natural ventilation. The temperatures range from 20C to 32C (humans are most comfortable in a range between 18 and 25 degrees, depending on wind speed and humidity).
The hourly temperature chart below highlights the maximum and minimum diurnal temperature throughout the year overlayed on the human comfort zone. Of significance in this
climate data is the high solar radiation, particularly in the winter season from December to
April. The direct solar radiation drops significantly in the summer from June to August, as
the monsoon season mitigates the direct solar gain through the building envelope. (Fig 1.)
Wind analysis reveals that the prevailing wind during the monsoon is from the west/southwest. Building outdoor spaces should be positioned to protect them from the higher winds
and wind-driven rain in the summer months. (Fig 2.)
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Environmental Types
The analysis of the local climate and application of this analysis to the design process recalls
the words of James Marsden Finch in his book American Building, The environmental forces
that shape it: Our physical environment must be thought of as being of composite structure,
formed of many distinct, coextensive and coexistent yet interacting elements which may
actually be viewed as complete subenvironments1 He describes seven types of environments that are only concerned with those factors that which act directly upon the human
body and which can be immediately and directly modified by buildings. For the purpose of
the climate analysis, five of the seven environmental parameters are used: thermal, aqueous,
sonic, atmospheric, and luminous. The thermal environment in Hyderabad consists of low
diurnal swings and consistently high temperatures all year. The aqueous environment is
characterized by the high relative humidity and high levels of rainfall through the year. It
presents an opportunity for water collection during the monsoon months. The sonic environment relates to acoustics and ambient noise that impact the building user. It manifests itself
in the building through internal-borne sound such as vibration from equipment or from external sound such as train horns and car traffic. The luminous environment pertains to the
spectrum between 380 and 700nm that allows for visual light to be perceived.
Arguably, a balance between the luminous and thermal environments is the most important
aspect of design in this climate. Thus, the design prioritized strategies that struck a balance
between these two parameters. The next step was to focus on leveraging the impact of
passive strategies before designing the mechanical or active systems.
The design team needed to reconcile the clients many preconceptions about the design
of a modern and progressive building. The first bias was the idea that a modern building
should be a completely glass and transparent enclosure. This preconception combined with
a hotel typology presented a challenge for the team in terms of developing a low energy
prototype, but also provided an opportunity to educate the client about the process of collaboration and high performance buildings.
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Design Process
The process of sustainable design is not the same for every project, nor is it a strictly linear
process. Differences between projects emerge during the design process to provide richness
and individuality. Each client has different goals and aspirations and each climate is different,
but one thing remains constant: the multidisciplinary input and collaboration needed to design
an environmentally sensitive building. The process diagram for this project involved many
groups at different phases of design and illustrates the sequence of setting goals and analysing
data for the building information model based on parametric input and feedback loops. (Fig
3.)
JAMES KRAUS
from the prevailing wind. The program space was organized around the courtyard, with a
double loaded corridor and guest rooms positioned to provide maximum view of a large
lake.
Heat gain through radiative transfer (direct solar gain) has a direct impact on cooling load
and energy balance. Therefore, it was essential to focus on reducing these loads before they
entered the enclosure. This condition was particularly important for a hotel typology, with
multiple individual rooms on each floor which may or may not be occupied during the day.
The remainder of the heat gains come from equipment, lighting, occupants and roof enclosure.
Intuitive design moves based on climatic understanding were diagrammed to present to the
client in early design presentations (Fig 4.)
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The client also wanted the building to capture impressive views to the east. The east-facing
glazed sections of the building had significant exposure to sun, therefore, the solar stress
on the faade was measured with Ecotect (a solar simulation analysis software). (Fig. 7.)
These solar stress or insolation values were then used to estimate heat gain and resultant
cooling load inside the building. They also provided a baseline for further faade development.
The results were shared and compared with an energy simulation model developed by the
mechanical engineering team to determine the final equipment configuration.
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case was to minimize and diffuse the harsh tropical sun to prevent radiant heat transfer, and
to supply usable light to offset heat generated from the buildings lighting during the day.
Glass Selection
The client wanted a glass that had minimal sound transmittance and best rendering of visual
light and solar control. A range of industry glass types were simulated in Radiance models.
Glass selection was determined by three main parameters: the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
or SHGC, visual light transmittance as determined by the solar stress, and visual sensitivity
studies of the external acoustic environment. The visual sensitivity studies were used to
simulate a range of glass types. The glass types were cycled through the simulation to find
a manufacturer with a relatively high SHGC and high visual light transmittance in the range
of 50-70%.
An understanding of the acoustic environment was facilitated by an acoustical consultant
who pinpointed the peak sound load generated from passing trains in a series of field tests.
The tests registered passing express train horns with 90-100 Decibels when they passed the
hotel. The distance from the sound source and the background noise from equipment led to
the selection of laminated glass outboard light, 24mm air space and 5mm inboard light. The
greater mass of the assembly prevented the outdoor noise level from exceeding the threshold
of waking, a ratio between ambient indoor noise such as HVAC units and noise sources
outside such as trains or emergency sirens. The hotels design standard specified that the
Noise Coefficient of the rooms needed to be below this threshold despite the proximity to
the local train station and express train traffic. The final selection consisted of a 35mm insulated glazed unit by China Southern Glass, thicker than the industry standard IGU of 24mm.
The unit make up was a 6mm laminated outer light, at 24mm air gap, and a 5mm inner light
with a double low-e coating on the #4 and #5 surfaces.
geometry was a perforated in flat metal and combined into a repeating pattern across the
faade. (Fig 9.)
At this point in the design, a building energy simulation was conducted and the screen was
found to yield a 20% reduction in a baseline energy building model as defined by ASHRAE
90.1-2004.
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depth of the shelf or return was determined by the initial shading and solar stress studies
to be 200mm. (Fig 18)
The fabrication data was a summary of lessons learned from the prototyping process such
as joint and panel connections and material thresholds. These data sets were used to control
the size and extent of the shape defined in the parametric computer model. The primary
pattern component or trillium perforation was modelled as a series of interlocking nested
hexagonal shapes in Digital Project (parametric design software developed by Gehry Technologies) (GT) (Fig 19.). GT consultants provided help with developing a full building
geometry model using existing elevations. A custom script was developed to populate the
nested shapes across all building facades based on an optimal opacity. The custom tailored
pattern responds to varying lighting needs and program types around the hotel. This digital
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project software output generated 6000 custom panels. The panels were then surveyed to
determine similar shapes or patterns within a performance family that could be calculated
and sent back to the fabricator for pricing and construction. The final count consisted of
approximately 300 custom perforation patterns or performance families.
Fig 19: Trillium Pattern used to Create Overall Screen Pattern and Opacity
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Conclusions
The final solution for the Park Hotel evolved from an intuitive response to a detailed environmental analysis and collaboration with fabricators and consultants. The design performance
and ecological impact of the building developed through a collaborative process in which
all groups had input and impact on the final design. This process resulted in 20% reduction
in energy loads from a baseline design. The optimized design would not have been possible
without the use of building information parametric modelling and environmental analysis
to inform and produce the metal screen. The final design combined sustainable, energy-efficient, and performance-based design results with regional, environmental, and cultural
sensitivity to allow for design and performance evolution through multiple inputs.
Acknowledgements
Key design team members include: SOM New York design team Roger Duffy, Peter Magill,
Mark Igou, Peter Lefkovits, Thomas Behr, Katherine Wong, Paul Cha, Michael Kirchmann,
Kwong Yu, Eric Van Epps, Herb Lynn, Victor Keto, Keith Besserud, Josh Cotton, Neil Katz,
Ajmal Aqtash
Environmental Consultants Environmental Design Solutions, New Dehli (India)
HVAC Consultants Spectral Services Consultants, Noida (India)
Acoustical Consultants Cerami Associates, New York
Curtain Wall Contractor Permasteelisa India Ltd, Bangalore, India
Client Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels
References
1.
2.
3.
Fitch, James Marston. 2: The Environmental Forces That Shape It 2nd Ed. (New York:
Schocken, 1972), p.6-7
Kohli, Varun, Form Follows the Sun: SEZ Office Complex 25th Conference on
Passive and Low Energy Architecture (October 2008)
Hausladen, G., Saldanha, M. de, Liedl, P., Sager, C. Climate Design: Solutions for
Buildings that Can Do More with Less Technology (Basel: Birkhauser, 2005), p. 20
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JAMES KRAUS
ation in London in Environment and Energy. He also holds a Bachelor of Architecture from
Virginia Tech.
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EDITORS
Bill Cope, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.
Mary Kalantzis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA