AEI 2019: Integrated Building Solutions—The National Agenda

Located at the heart of Salt Lake City’s financial district, at the corner of South Main and East 100 South Street, 111 Main is a 25-story, 501,455 square foot Class A office tower that anchors a larger urban redevelopment project in the area. The construction of the building followed a parallel timeline with an adjacent project designed by another architect, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater. The integration of the office building and theater design, a critical element in the city’s downtown revitalization, contributes to the development of a walkable urban core and help to create a vibrant community. The office tower is LEED Gold and also supports Salt Lake City’s commitment to increased urban density and long-term sustainability. The structural engineering of 111 Main reflects an innovative solution to a complex site challenge. To ensure the project would not compromise any of the theater’s functionality, the entire structure is suspended from a steel hat truss on top of the building that allows the Eccles Theater to slide under the tower’s south side. The 111 Main design vision was achieved by the project team—consisting of the owner, architect, engineer, general contractor, and subcontractors, by embracing common design goals and challenges through collaborative processes from initial design concept through final construction design assist phases. To permit the office tower and theater to proceed with construction independently, an innovative “saddle cable” temporary shoring support for the seven interrupted columns over the theater to the south side above Level 5 was developed integrated with the tower design. At the completion of the penthouse roof steel hat truss construction, loads from all 18 perimeter building columns were successfully transferred to the permanent structural system during a one-day 12-hour period. The lobby is enclosed by 35-foot-tall, ultra-clear, low-iron structural glass. The collaborative design team developed a sophisticated glass hinge system to meet this height requirement and mitigate seismic movement. The feature provides the office building with a high level of transparency, visually connecting its lobby interiors with the city outside. 111 Main’s translucent glass fin facade reflects changing light conditions as the sun traverses the sky. The structural hat truss, situated behind a graduated translucent glass veil, is also visible in the sunlight and, when backlit, appears like a glowing lantern in the night. The result is a building that adds lightness and luminosity to Salt Lake City.

There is value in both innovative techniques as well as tried and true approaches to construction and civil engineering-related applications. A veteran-type engineer may cite “This is the way we always do it.” when questioned by a less experienced engineer why a well-vetted approach is best. While innovation sometimes seem like the “best” path, some level of cost-benefit analysis is always warranted. In this paper, the pros and cons of two construction applications will be analyzed. The first being the introduction of virtual project delivery (VPD) as the next evolution in building information modeling (BIM). VPD expands beyond three-dimensional (3D) modeling to include information from all aspects of the construction project including cost and schedule data, vendor information, construction work packaging, inspections, and operations into one easily referenceable source. With an abundance of information created, the way we consume information changes. We are no longer tied to a drawing/specification based documentation system, allowing real-time information to flow, reducing overall cost and schedule. The second discussion relates to the nuclear industry. Assurance of safety and quality is paramount in the nuclear industry and is solidified by thorough vetting of design and analysis by regulatory agencies (i.e. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy). Hence, defending analysis and design is an integral part of each mission and in application to innovative approaches, can be the most labor-intensive part of the design and construction project. In these cases, the cost-benefit analysis for adopting innovative techniques is quite complicated.

The design relates to a chiller assisted cooling chilled water plant for data centers. In the system and method of the design, a fluid cooler is utilized as the primary means of heat rejection of the chilled water exiting the IT environment in the data center. After passing through the fluid cooler, if the design chilled water is above the set point, the water is passed through the water chiller where it is cooled before being pumped back to the IT environment in the data center. The design of the plant results in a reduction of the typical temperature delta between entering chilled water temperature and leaving air temperature from 10°F to 5°F (5.6°C to 2.8°C) increasing the number of hours of economizer cooling. An increased temperature difference between entering chilled water temperature and leaving chilled water temperature from 12°F to 25°F (6.7°C to 13.9°C) reduces pump energy by 50%. The use of computer room air handling units with an increase in air delta T from 20°F to 28°F (11.1°C to 15.6°C) using hot aisle containment (computer room heat extraction device) results in a reduction of fan energy by 25%. The use of a fluid cooler as the primary means of heat rejection of the chilled water allows for a reduction in the size of the chiller plant and emergency power plant sized by 35% which also provides lower initial cost and fuel consumption during emergency operations. Initial reduced construction costs are also attributable to a reduction in pipe and insulation material, and less copper for emergency power distribution.

Blindside waterproofing is an application method commonly used for subgrade waterproofing installations where site excavation is restricted beyond the exterior face of the foundation walls. With this type of waterproofing installation, the membrane is installed prior to the construction of the structure and then concealed once the structure is in place. While there have been many successful blindside waterproofing applications. However, this method poses some unique challenges as the membrane cannot be observed or repaired after construction. When pneumatically applied concrete (commonly referred to as shotcrete) is used for wall construction, this concern is amplified during the placement of the concrete as the success of the waterproofing membrane installation is highly dependent on proper application of the shotcrete. Note that shotcrete is becoming more prevalent in below-grade construction due to the speed of which the shotcrete can be installed and the lower associated costs when compared to traditional cast-in-place concrete. Waterproofing system selection as well as the use of shotcrete should be determined early in the design process and will involve a multidisciplinary team including the structural engineer, architect, waterproofing consultant, as well as the owner and various contractors among others.

Pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) emitted at construction sites could significantly affect nearby air quality. The main drivers include equipment type and usage, their emission factors, tasks being performed, terrain, and local weather conditions. In this study, a computational framework is proposed to assess pollutant concentration levels and conformation to national ambient air quality standards. In this framework, AERMOD is used to quantify the concentration variation of CO emitted by construction equipment deployed and under varying weather conditions.

The ladder-core system is a novel structural system for super tall towers that was developed by SOM for the Shenzhen Shum-Yip Tower One. The system features eight mega-columns at the perimeter, forming the vertical rails of the ladders on either side of the core. Composite coupling beams, the ladder rungs, connect the mega-columns with the interior core, creating a comprehensive lateral system. Unlike conventional systems, the ladder-core does not rely on belt trusses, outriggers, or perimeter bracing to achieve tower performance requirements. It improves ductility, redundancy, and uniformity of structural stiffness without conceding open architecture or efficient mechanical routing. Long span beams at each level direct perimeter gravity loads into the mega-columns, eliminating tension produced by overturning moments. By removing complex, heavily reinforced transfer, or outrigger levels, the consistency of the structural system translates into construction speed and quality. For each program stack, the structural elements are integrated with planning modules to create deliberate architectural spaces, from 28.5 m (90 ft) column free spans to 8.5 m (28 ft) cantilevered corners. The composite coupling beams and perimeter beams that are utilized throughout the height of the 400 m (1300 ft) tower are coordinated to allow for a continuous mechanical loop on each floor while maintaining 3.0 m (9.8 ft) clear heights. Cladding module width is also synchronized with architecture and structure geometry utilizing 3.0 m (9.8 ft) wide jumbo vision glass, resulting in a complete, unified delivery of Class A office space to the client. With the client’s vision for clear, iconic, world-class office space driving design, the ladder-core system is defined by unobstructed occupant views, simplicity of the floor plate, and inherent structural stability—it exemplifies the seamless integration of building disciplines for an enhanced overall design.

Condensation from air transporting water vapor can be problematic for building enclosures in cold weather climates. This paper reviews measures that can be performed during building design and construction to ensure a quality air barrier and manage cold weather condensation risk, in particular for performance-critical facilities. These measures include design reviews, mock-up testing, and field testing and visual observation during construction. Two case studies will be presented that highlight the strategies taken with the air barrier design and during construction to mitigate potential for condensation at facilities with elevated interior relative humidity conditions, where placement of the air barrier at soffits and unique enclosure geometries was important.

Designing custom glazing systems, such as structural glass walls or unitized curtain walls, can be a complex task that can vary widely from project to project. The level of complexity is typically driven by the architectural goals, constraints, and performance objectives. Similar to what a designer must consider with a standard system, performance criteria such as wind loads, wind-driven rain resistance, and thermal performance for the system must be met. In addition, fabrication limits and installation constraints limit what a designer can develop to meet these requirements. This paper examines a case study and the process of building enclosure design for a custom unitized glazed curtain wall as part of the renovation and expansion of an existing building. The curtain wall system includes two system variations, one of which incorporates integral balconies and the other vertical louvers that span floors. This paper will provide an example for the industry of the versatility of curtain wall and how creative design solutions can be developed in the face of difficult constraints. Additionally, this case study is an example of how an existing building can be upgraded to meet both contemporary energy performance requirements and architectural vision. Further, it will demonstrate the value in taking a multifaceted approach to design to facilitate coordination between the architectural, structural, mechanical, and enclosure teams. The increasingly integrated design required will begin to demand this type of coordination at a minimum to meet developing energy, mechanical, and building codes without compromising the architectural intent.

Full-scale testing was conducted to assess the performance impacts of automated dynamic roller shades and integrated lighting control on daylighting and visual comfort of perimeter office spaces. This work specifically focuses on the east and south orientations, and comparison of performance of the integrated dynamic shading and lighting in these orientations. Two parallel test rooms in each orientation are used, including a baseline room without, and a parallel room with dynamic shading and lighting. A custom control strategy is developed and integrated into the existing building automation system (BAS) with the goal of optimizing daylight utilization, visual comfort, and energy savings. The multistep control algorithm uses feedback from interior illuminance sensors to adjust the height of the shades and electric lighting levels. Variable interval control logic was utilized to control the interior roller shades at arbitrary intermediate heights during the control strategy application. Daylighting performance and visual comfort are assessed using useful daylight illuminance (UDI) and simplified daylight glare probability (DGPs), respectively. Spatiotemporal distribution of daylighting at different distances from the window are also presented. Results from over 7 months of testing across a range of sky conditions and solar angles, with an average of 50% in measured lighting energy savings, indicate that both visual comfort and daylight availability is maintained within the desired range more than 85% of the time, compared to less than 50% without the dynamic shading and lighting.

Structural sandwich panels have been shown to be effective for use as building cladding materials due to their low weight and high relative strength and stiffness. To increase the sustainability of these panels natural and recyclable materials can be used in place of the traditional synthetic materials such as metals, synthetic fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs), and foams. In this study, a total of six large-scale sandwich panels with flax fiber-reinforced polymer (FFRP) faces and cardboard cores were fabricated and tested under quasi-static and impact loads. The FFRP faces were made using two layers of a bidirectional woven flax fabric and a bio-based epoxy with a reported bio-content of 30%. The cores were made of sections of corrugated cardboard. The panels were tested under both quasi-static three-point bending and using a drop weight impact. The drop weight impact was designed such that the energy matched the failure energy observed during the static tests. The specimens were 150 mm wide, 75 mm thick, and 1,200 mm long and were impacted by a 150 mm impact surface at midspan. A string potentiometer was used to measure deflection at the midspan and strain gauges were applied to the top and bottom faces at midspan. The data was acquired at a rate of 10 Hz for the static tests and 25 kHz for the impact test. The aim of this project is to provide data to the growing field of study, present a deeper understanding of impact on FFRP sandwich panels, and to show the viability of natural and recycled materials for use in sustainable sandwich panels as cladding in new infrastructure. Another aim of this research is to show that materials which are often not considered due to limiting factors, such as moisture resistance, can be used with minor modifications and should not be discounted. This is on-going research and results will be available for the submission of the full paper.

Zero energy ready homes are expected to significantly reduce the energy consumption in residential buildings that are responsible for about 20% of total annual energy use in the U.S. Two of the major aspects of a net-zero energy home or zero energy ready home include high- performance building design and renewable power generating systems such as photovoltaic panels. Implementing building science essentials in building envelope design and construction can lead to higher performance in terms of more energy efficient design, better moisture/water control, and higher durability, as some of the main benefits. Because teaching of building science principles and applications to building enclosure have not been part of traditional curricula in college majors dealing with design and construction of buildings, significant effort has been undertaken over the past decade to promote incorporation of such principles in formal education for college students and also continuing education for practicing professionals. Over the past five years, the U.S. Department of Energy has organized a new annual student design competition focused on designing a high-performance building, which will be evaluated based on different criteria including energy performance, building envelope performance, and durability. For example, for buildings under the residential category, the competition teams are required to achieve at least the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home energy performance level. One of the objectives of the outcomes of this competition is for builders to benefit from the results of the competition projects for practical application, which can then help toward the goal of energy saving. The main objective of this paper is to develop an understanding of the level of building science principles employed and incorporated in some of the competition projects, which will give an indication of the level of preparedness of students who worked on those projects with respect to the building science principles entering the competition. In this paper, the building envelope systems designed and specified by a selected number of winning teams are reviewed and categorized as appropriate. Of particular interest is to determine the basis for the selection of high-performance building envelope types and design specifications, which would indicate the team’s understanding of the alternatives and selection process. The study will also show the effectiveness of different designs, systems, and materials used on the energy performance of competition buildings.

Light gage steel framing systems are commonly use “knee-walls” in the construction of railings and parapets. A “knee-wall” is a wall-framing component that consists of one connection point to the main structural system of the building. These connections must resist the axial and shear load seen by the wall, but they also must resist the moment seen at the connection due to its cantilevering nature. An industry standard for designing these moment-resisting connections in light gage steel stud framing is to provide a light gage clip angle at the location of the connection. Clip angles provide additional rotational stiffness to resist the moment by providing a pathway for the load to travel from the stud, through the clip, into the main structural system. The purpose of this research initiative was to qualitatively and quantitatively measure and observe the effects of a laterally loaded light gage knee-wall connection without the use of a light gage clip angle. The results of this research compared how much rotational stiffness the track to stud connection could withstand without the use of a clip angle when different base conditions and gages were used. The experimental program included eighteen full-scale tests. Three stud gages, 18-, 16-, and 14-gage, were tested. For each gage, two base connection configurations were considered. In the first configuration, the base track was connected directly to a hot-rolled structural steel channel. In the second configuration, the base track was connected to light gage metal deck, which was then connected to a hot-rolled structural steel channel. Three tests were performed for each gage and base condition. A uniform lateral load was applied along the top track of the knee-wall. Displacement was measured at the point of the applied load and at a point halfway between the applied load and the base connection. Using the measured load and deflection data obtained from the testing, the moment resistance of the knee-wall connection was calculated and compared to the published values for a connection with a light gage clip.

The National Air and Space Museum, Mall Building (NASM), was constructed in 1976 to exhibit collections relating to the history and ongoing study of manned flight and space exploration. It has served as a landmark of monumental scale for generations of visitors. After more than forty years of service, the building is plagued by performance issues that are typical of the era’s building technologies. The Smithsonian Institution has undertaken a building enclosure and HVAC revitalization to remedy these issues. The design of the envelope replacement required the careful balancing of many project demands to create a wall assembly that will last for future generations of visitors, while meeting contemporary building codes and honoring the historic fabric of the structure. This presentation and paper will focus on the multi-disciplinary approach required to successfully deliver a balanced and integrated design. In particular, the authors will focus on simultaneous development of multiple enclosure systems and the careful coordination among project participants required to integrate exterior wall systems with each other, as well as with the integrated mechanical system. By describing the aesthetic and technical analysis used to choose the exterior wall systems, attendees will learn: how to coordinate a multi-disciplinary project team through the establishment and delivery of common core objectives; aesthetic and technical considerations for high-profile projects that must satisfy a diverse set of stakeholders; aspects of exterior wall design for long-lasting museums with humidified environments; and methods for integrating glazed curtain wall with adjacent opaque wall systems. While rooted in experience on the NASM project, the approaches and technical analysis described will have a wide-ranging application for industry members participating in rehabilitation and revitalization projects.

The presentation of this white paper will be a case study of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Center for Character and Leadership Development (CCLD) project, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP. The topic is geared towards design professionals that are interested in an interdisciplinary delivery method for projects with a high degree of collaboration between engineers, architects, material fabricators, and educators. The CCLD features a dramatic cantilevering 105-foot skylight, a design element that establishes a bold presence on the campus. With its complete integration of architecture with structural and mechanical engineering, dynamic form, and machine-like precision, the skylight is fluid yet disciplined. Its structure consists of diagonal steel plates composed in a triangular grid and precisely calibrated to resist lateral forces due to wind loading. The architecturally exposed structural steel (AESS) is devoid of all embellishment or ornamentation, and its sleek connections are cohesive with the aesthetics of the structure. This unique sculptural element is especially significant because it was designed without specialized manufacturing or complicated forms. Constructability of the structure played a central role in the design and detailing of the structure for the CCLD skylight. As such, the skylight geometry was rationalized during the design process to ensure the building could be constructed easily. Reaching LEED-NC Gold certification, the CCLD sets a new standard for green technology and building practices on the U.S. Air Force Academy campus. To meet this sustainability goal, SOM developed integrated building systems that influence all aspects of the building’s design, construction, and operation. The CCLD features an energy efficient approach to climate control that utilizes high-efficiency air handling units, displacement ventilation, radiant heating and cooling, and a solar chimney effect within the skylight that expels heated air. In addition to the ample natural light provided by the skylight, the building’s classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices are situated around two adjacent courtyards to minimize the use of artificial lighting. The audience of this presentation will learn about the challenges and opportunities for collaboration between the entire design team for this sophisticated landmark building. The talk will encourage individuals to think beyond their own profession’s scope for the greater good of any ambitious integrated design project.

Understanding the basics of environmental control systems including HVAC systems is required in architectural curricula. One of the challenges of learning this subject is the non- familiarity of the students with the components of these systems and how the selection and installation of these components can impact the architecture of the building and its spacial experience. Such difficult interrelationships can be clarified using various techniques. One technique that the author experimented with is the use of a BIM tool. Yet, using the tool to achieve this purpose had been a challenge in itself. The tool needs to be setup and its interface needs to be configured for a particular learning objective within a defined learning environment. This paper discusses the various techniques to achieving the learning of this required subject. It also shares the details of preparing and executing the experiment of using BIM hoping that other instructors make use of it and further build on it. A survey of the students who went through the experiment shows that a large majority believes that they learned the subject better through the BIM tool.

This paper describes an approach to teaching advanced structural analysis that utilizes cloud computing to help students learn computer programming skills, aspects of structural analysis software, and advanced techniques of building analysis. To accomplish this objective, students developed a general-purpose structural analysis program from scratch using the open-source Julia programing language. By the end of the semester, students had developed a structural analysis program capable of analyzing a variety of structures under both linear or nonlinear load conditions.

The author presents a case study on how incorporating artwork into an environmental science course targeted at architectural engineering students was used to facilitate active learning and to raise the level of engagement of students in the course. Students were given the choice of basing an end-of-term research project on either the building which served as their senior capstone design course subject building, or on a building design or construction topic derived from a collection of industrial art housed in the Grohmann Museum, located on the MSOE campus. Correlations between student final exam scores, final course numerical averages, and the choice of project option indicate that students who selected a project based on the industrial art option performed better in the course overall to a statistically significant degree. Anecdotal comments offered by students also suggest that students who chose the Grohmann option were more highly engaged in the subject of sustainability.

A current National Science Foundation project on international research experiences for students that is awarded to the architectural engineering (AE) program in Nebraska aims to take a group of students to Turkey for an immersive research experience for several weeks in three consecutive summers. While there are specific research goals for this project, there are also educational goals in terms of impact on the students’ global awareness, confidence, communication skills, leadership skills, and future success in working in a global market. This paper presents the results of three different surveys: 1) Survey A is designed to collect basic demographic data as well as other relevant information regarding the students’ life experiences prior to this project; 2) Survey B is given after several information sessions and right before departure, testing the readiness of the participants; and 3) Survey C is given after the trip. Modified surveys, where trip related questions are excluded, are also given to a control group who has not participated in this international experience. By comparing the participants’ answers to similar questions pre and post survey, as well as comparing to non-participant student results, it is aimed to measure the impact of the project on the students’ perceptions on global affairs, diversity, and unconscious bias. Finally, the results of this first year study are used to identify the project’s success in improving the AE students’ global awareness as well as identifying ways to improve the impact of the program for the future years.

This is a story about the power of interdisciplinary student engagement in an initiative to bring STEM education to children around the world. Campus in a Box is a non-profit corporation based in Norfolk, Virginia, that views education as a vehicle for global progress. They are committed to the design of a prototypical STEM shipping container classroom that will eventually be linked to other classrooms around the world by state of the art technology. The Hampton University ARC530 elective course “Design Think Tank: Campus in a Box” was designed to address the architecture and engineering problem of how to transform recycled shipping containers from the Norfolk Shipyard into a simple and sustainable STEM school. The course was divided into two parts. The first part utilized the Department of Energy’s Race to Zero (RTZ) student competition as a platform for research-based explorations in building science. Lessons learned through this research were then applied in the second part of the class, to the design of a STEM classroom prototype. Participation in the RTZ competition allowed students to be engaged in rigorous and iterative research on the variations of spatial layout and energy optimization of shipping container construction that was subsequently translated into the final prototype version. Through Hampton University and Old Dominion’s collaborative effort, a durable, low-cost, and sustainable school facility was designed. By investigating opportunities for expansion, the students were able to exploit the modular aspect of shipping container construction. Through design simulation software, the initial prototypes were studied from a building performance perspective, eventually achieving a net-zero status, based on the DOE’s requirements for net-zero school construction. The collaborative union of architectural design and building technology was an ideal learning platform to evaluate options that were utilized for the Campus in a Box prototype. To gauge student learning outcomes and course objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted. The survey results were analyzed and provide guidance on a teaching method for an effective collaborative learning environment for architecture and engineering students.

The median age of a construction professional has been increasing over the past decade, recently approaching 41 years old. Current reports indicate that more workers are retiring than those entering the industry, leading to an imminent and severe labor shortage. One way of countering the effects of those problems is through attracting younger talent into the industry. One key descriptive of the current young generation is being “digital natives”, individuals who have lived their entire life during times of technological advancements. BIM, building information modeling, defined as the development and use of a 3D virtual model containing both physical and functional information, is increasingly adopted for its numerous benefits during design and construction. Researchers have suggested numerous emerging technologies to complement the use of BIM, especially on the construction site. One technology is mixed reality, MR, which enables the viewing of virtual content in the user’s field of view. Prior research theorized that viewing designs through MR may enable design communication to trained professionals. This paper explores whether MR can communicate BIM content in a simple enough manner that individuals, without any prior construction experience, could successfully construct the intended building elements. An industry generated BIM is viewed by middle school students through an MR device, and their behavior and design understanding is presented. Specific aspects of design comprehension and participants perceptions are also studied. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by empirically showing that digital natives can comprehend and build designs using only MR without need for prior training, supplementing the shortage of labor faced in the industry by accelerating their integration into the workforce.

Architectural Engineering education is a major component of the national agenda for the American Society of Civil Engineers. Well-educated graduates of architectural engineering programs are in high demand regionally, nationally, and internationally. The degree programs offered by universities are constantly evolving to remain current with, and ahead of, leading design firms and their design practices. This paper presents a brief look at four different undergraduate architectural engineering programs. The programs from Milwaukee School of Engineering, Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, and The Pennsylvania State University are presented. The programs range from a small, undergraduate focused program to a large, doctoral granting program. Each of these programs have been accredited by ABET for a long period of time, and each program has weathered changes to their undergraduate curriculum in recent years. Three focal points will be included in the comparison. First, the background of departmental faculty will be discussed. The universities considered are diverse, and the attraction, retention, and focus of the faculty differs among the programs evaluated. Next, examples of course offerings and course structure will be compared. The four universities offer very different degree program structures, and each structure presents its own advantages and difficulties. Finally, each program’s senior capstone experience will be discussed and compared. The senior capstone experience is often a major component of an AE degree program, and it is also often a primary source for assessment of student outcomes. The capstone experience is a venue for showcasing students’ educational maturity and professional readiness. Each university approaches the capstone experience in a different way, and both similarities and differences will be discussed.

The Comprehensive Studio semester at Oklahoma State University has long focused on the integration of architectural and engineering throughout the course. Historically the format of the studio has focused on students performing all tasks independently, giving them an understanding of the entire design experience. The course professors concluded that providing a more realistic studio experience could involve pairing architectural and architectural engineering students in teams to produce initial designs for the project, while also adding collaboration with students from other disciplines associated with the design and construction of commercial buildings during the semester. Students from OSU’s Geology, Construction Engineering Technology, and Fire Protection Departments collaborated with architecture and architectural engineering students in team and independent settings during the semester to give their input into the design process. The collaboration was established to give students an educational experience that closely resembles working as part of a design team in professional practice. This paper describes alterations made to the studio format, and the challenges and successes of implementing a collaborative team approach in a comprehensive design studio course. Surveys and comments by the students, faculty, and professionals involved are included to provide qualitative and quantitative assessment of the new format for the comprehensive design studio.

In the last few years, the application of VR has exponentially grown to give visually large field-of-view from planning to execution stages of any types of civil infrastructure systems. Handling the complexity and uncertainty of construction projects, however, requires well-prepared architects and engineers. Architecture and civil engineering students are also expected to go through the proper training to be well-equipped for this challenge. VR has proved a helpful tool for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) education environments with the aim to leave a lasting impact on a student’s learning and experience. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of the most recent VR systems in the design and construction industry and the education environment. The paper also evaluates the use of VR in a two-pronged approach by conducting a comprehensive literature review and interviewing students in the master of project management (MPM) program. This paper could provide a roadmap for future efforts to implement VR into the architectural and construction industry as well as the education environment.

These days, architects must design high-rise buildings for different functions since today’s cities lack enough space for construction. Architectural desire for transparency as well as the need for convenient indoor conditions have made fully glazed facades a common feature of contemporary buildings. Due to the greenhouse effect, full-glazed facades increase the energy load of the buildings. Because of their positive effect on energy consumption, using double-skin facades has been preferred in recent years. In this study, conditions of both layers of double skin facades in Tehran has been investigated during a year. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website was used to provide Tehran’s climatic data. In addition, DesignBuilder software was used for simulation in order to gather information about the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), solar transmittance, and U-Value of three kinds of aluminum glass windows. The results indicate that in Tehran, changing the number of glazing layers of the inner skin is more efficient in reducing energy consumption than changing the characteristics of the outer skin in double-skin facades.

DC Water’s new headquarters will be the new public face of DC Water and a world class exemplar of integrated sustainable design. The facility incorporates innovations with its urban design, massing, skin design, structural solution, as well as its first of its kind mechanical systems. The building massing and skin minimize are designed to maximize daylighting of office space and to minimize solar gain. Computational analysis was used to surgically optimize heat gain relative to daylighting resulting in a uniquely site-specific form and articulation. The continuously curved façade is self-shading, overhangs mitigate summer sun, and a strategically placed second layer of tinted glass minimizes heat gain from low-angle east and west sunlight. While the building massing and skin minimize the heating and cooling loads on the building, its systems optimize the energy used to condition it. Taking advantage of the fact that the headquarters is sited directly above an operating sewage and stormwater pumping station, the project uses a sewage waste energy exchanger (SWEE) to heat and cool the building. This will be the first commercial building in the country to use this innovative design and will allow the building to use the District’s sewer system as a heat sink and heat source. The result is that the new headquarters is projected to save 48% energy cost over the ASHRAE baseline model and earn all 19 points available for the LEED Optimize energy performance credit.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has major impacts in buildings for both the occupants’ health and the environment. People are healthier and less prone to disease and infections in buildings with good IAQ. For many years, sealing the building envelope from the outside environment and using forced air (mechanical heating and cooling systems) have been the main approach for reaching thermal comfort and achieving IAQ. Natural ventilation utilizing wind optimization, however, helps to save energy, lower costs, make occupants comfortable, while still providing IAQ. Access to natural ventilation varies due to structure orientation in the built environment. On a performance basis, optimizing the building’s orientation allows for the design of a passive cooling ventilation system for the building. Wind and ventilation studies have traditionally been determined through intuitive manipulation, because field experiments are difficult and expensive, and computer based ventilation modeling has historically been too complex. Architects can address this difficulty by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the conceptual design process to optimize early complementary wind and internal natural ventilation for their project. Using experimental data from CFD computer simulations, patterns form for building orientation and optimal airflow simply by comparing and cross-referencing airflow resistance in different orientations. Using these newer and simpler CFD platforms, architects find features to uncover ventilation options through openings for summer overheating, energy loss, poor air quality, and inadequate pressure differences between the indoor and outdoor areas. A timely performance-based design tool for designers to use in their design process, the intent of this study, is to alert architects to the benefits of CFD analysis in their work. Using a 3D model of a single story residential building in an isolated environment, we have demonstrated how manageable it is to integrate wind and internal natural ventilation performance based analyses early in the design process. The 3D model was incrementally rotated inside the Autodesk Flow (2015) CFD platform to find the wind flow pattern around the building that optimized the ventilation inside. Conclusive study results confirm computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is useful as an optimization tool within the conceptual design phase for the architect to enhance occupant comfort, increase IAQ, and building performance.

Cost-optimal retrofitting of buildings has become a regulatory requirement in many countries. The process involves the testing of different energy conservation measures (ECMs) that can be applied to an existing building. The aim is to identify the best measure or combination of measures that save the most energy relative to the retrofitting cost needed for achieving that saving. Studying the energy conservation measures requires simulating the energy behavior of the considered building using an energy modeling software. An essential input for this type of software is the meteorological data. This data directly impacts the cooling and heating load of the building. Hence, it affects the results of the building energy simulation and consequently the selection of the appropriate ECMs. The meteorological data file used by a simulation software for a particular location is generated from the raw data collected over several years at a meteorological data station close to the tested building’s location. The generated file is commonly referred to as the typical meteorological year (TMY) for that location. There are standard methods to generate the TMY from the raw data. However, the selection of which years in history to use, and the relative contribution of the different components of this raw data are important inputs that impact the final data presented in the TMY. Hence, several TMYs can be generated for the same location and from the same meteorological data station. This paper examines the impact of using these various TMYs on the results of energy simulation software and consequently, the energy saving potential of using different combinations of ECMs. The aim is to check whether the cost-optimal combination of ECMs will vary with various TMYs. The results show that there can be an impact, particularly if the dominant ECMs are affected by external loads. However, the impact is relatively minor and can be ignored.

The majority of historical masonry structures include arches and vaults, constructed with or without (dry-joint) any mortar. This paper focuses on dry-joint masonry, because it is common all around the world among architectural heritage. Furthermore, even if there was a mortar in the original construction, it typically suffers from deterioration over its lifetime, often causing total loss of mortar in many of the joints. Due to large horizontal thrust that can be produced, depending on their geometry, arches are typically supported by heavy buttresses. These structures tend to be difficult to model due to their nonlinear nature and inherent discontinuity, which makes it challenging to evaluate their stability. In that context, it is necessary to have realistic numerical models to better diagnose their structural behaviour in a seismic event and, ultimately, to perform only necessary and beneficial interventions. The main goal of this paper is to assess the seismic performance of various dry-joint arch forms with different masonry pier types (i.e. monolithic and regularly coursed) subjected to incrementally increasing lateral loads proportional to the mass (pushover). To achieve this goal, a parametric study is performed on arch curvature and pier morphology. Moreover, the influence of steel tie-rod reinforcement is also examined on the proposed masonry models. These complex masonry arch systems can be simulated with discrete element modeling (DEM) approach. In this research, a commercial three-dimensional discrete element code, 3DEC, is used; in which masonry units are modeled as distinct blocks with zero tensile strength at their joints. The results reveal that pointed arches provide better seismic resistance than the circular arch form. Furthermore, implemented steel tie-rods yield significant increase in stability for the arch-pier structures, which is quantified on different arch curvatures.

The use of structural foam sheathing has been recently grown in residential building constructions in the United States. According to the manufacturers, the structural foam sheathing is a structurally strong panel with a high capacity to resist lateral loads. This study investigated the accuracy of the manufacturers’ published ultimate lateral load capacity for several types of structural foam sheathing in shear walls. Eight tests were conducted studying structural foam sheathing of shear walls subjected to monotonic testing following ASTM E564 test method. The structural foam sheathing products included 12.5 mm (½ in.) SI-Strong, 25.0 mm (1 in.) SI-Strong, 12.5 mm (½ in.) R-Max Thermasheath, and 2 mm (0.078 in.) ThermoPly Green. The wood stud wall frame was sheathed per the manufacturers’ specification with the structural foam sheathing in one side and standard 12.5 mm (1/2 in.) gypsum drywall in the opposite side of the stud wall. All of the stud wall specimens were 2.4 m×2.4 m (8 ft×8 ft) with 40.0 cm (16 in.) stud spacing, double terminal studs, double top plates, and a single baseplate. The walls were anchored with (3) 15.6 mm (5/8 in.) anchor bolts nominally spaced at 1.05 m (3.5 ft) and 75 mm×75 mm×6.2 mm (3 in.×3 in.×0.25 in.) plate washers. Likewise, Simpson HDQ8 tie-down anchors were attached to the end studs and anchored to the base with 15.6 mm (5/8 in.) anchor bolts. This study alternates the type, number, and spacing of sheathing and gypsum drywall fasteners. A minimum of two tests was performed with each type of sheathing detail per ASTM test method. Results from these tests show an 11 to 27 percent reduction in capacity when compared to the manufacturers’ published design values.

The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of indoor environmental factors on students’ academic achievement. The thermal, indoor air quality (IAQ), acoustics, and lighting conditions gathered from 220 classrooms in the Midwest region of the United States were studied. The data have been collected under occupied and unoccupied conditions for two days in three seasons from 2015–2017. IAQ and thermal measurements included the indoor concentration of carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, the count of particles with aerosol diameters ranging from 0.3 μm to 2.5 μm and aerosol diameters ranging from 2.5 μm to 10 μm, air temperature, relative humidity, and globe temperature. View, daylighting, and electric lighting data were collected for lighting condition. Assorted background and occupied noise levels and room impulse responses from which reverberation times are extrapolated were collected for acoustics data. In addition, demographics and students’ performance data were included in this study. The field measurements revealed that all classrooms meet IES recommended illuminance level for reading and writing but only 20% of classrooms in this study meet the ASHRAE Std. 62.1 ventilation rate requirements. In comparison to ANSI S12.60, 91% of the classrooms do not meet the recommended maximum background noise level for unoccupied conditions, while 15% do not meet the recommended maximum reverberation time. Statistical analysis is currently in progress. These analyses include: (1) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to define latent variable constructs that describe the indoor environmental quality, and (2) structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the correlation of these indoor environmental factors and student’s academic achievement.

The notion of seismic loading and designing structures to resist earthquake loads has been around in the building codes since the 1930s. The ability to take an extremely unpredictable natural event such as an earthquake or high winds and provide a simple procedure for analyzing the effects on the superstructure of a building has evolved over time. Since the 1930s, research progressed to provide a better understanding on seismic behavior, often due to tragic events. To help aid structural engineers understand loading provisions and their evolution to the current provisions, a historical look into the specific analysis procedures and methodology behind seismic provisions of American building codes and standards from 1930 to 2010 was conducted. As time grows more modern, more analytical/mathematical reasoning is provided such to create a more defendable basis on which to work. However, as we examine past building codes and standards, their respective analysis methods include less mathematical reasoning and more experiential reasoning. This paper discusses exclusively the equivalent lateral force procedure (ELFP) procedural provisions and how they differ over time.

This hybrid research and industry-focused design presentation describes the creation, validation, and implementation of an early-stage pedestrian comfort modeling methodology at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. It is designed for practitioners, students, and applied researchers. The work is motivated by the research question: how can design teams understand the impact of their buildings on pedestrian comfort earlier in the design process? Shifting the costly pedestrian comfort analysis typically conducted in wind tunnels near the end of the design phase to the early stages of design enables designers to work more closely with engineers and planners to more seamlessly deliver higher performing buildings. Building massing critically impacts pedestrian comfort, but is often well established before wind tunnel tests are conducted and can be expensive to change afterwards. The development of this early-stage CFD methodology allows for integrated teams to consider pedestrian comfort along with the myriad factors also driving design. OpenFOAM is used with a k-w SST turbulence model that is used with an atmospheric boundary layer condition to evaluate local accelerations near the site. These accelerations are used with code-mandated historic weather data to conduct statistical analyses on pedestrian comfort thresholds. Wind tunnel tests conducted by a third-party consultant are used to validate the methodology, which is shown to produce results that agree to within 84% of measured values. Strengths and weaknesses of the methodology are presented and include, reduced cost, modeling inaccuracies, more informative results, model complexities, and improved documentation of test results. The methodology allows teams to work more closely together earlier in the design phase, which improves the social impact of projects by creating more pedestrian-friendly developments, the economic performance of projects by reducing costly redesigns associated with much quicker feedback, and the technical design of projects by allowing teams to consider another key design factor.

The remains of millenniums of culture and civilization can be found throughout Iran and the surrounding countries. Over several thousand years, the experience and culture of the Persian Empire carried into the Islamic era. Particularly between 10^th to 17^th centuries, Monuments, temples, mosques, bridges, dams, water tunnels, water mills, and other structures were built. Even though they reside in one of the most active seismic regions in the world, and have experienced major earthquakes for centuries, some of these structures are still stable. These masterpieces have been sources of research and inquiry about the structural stability, architecture, and the incorporation of the art, spirituality, and construction methods. The architects of these structures were expert in mathematics, geometry, and topography crafting in their era. They also had great knowledge about the climate, materials, and structural systems to assist them in creating the structures. The architects integrated structural principles into their design, maintained creative interaction with the environment, and incorporated robust engineering methods. The combination of structural elements, such as arches and domes, covered wide openings and long spans. This reduced the weight of the buildings by decreasing their mass and supported structural stability. The structural shape, materials, and other considerations lead the structures ability to tolerate the applied loads. Their shapes are inspired by nature and their architects’ spiritual and philosophical ideas. The complexity of the geometries, along with the simplification of the concepts and methods, can be investigated by different professional fields. This paper reviews Persian historical buildings and bridges, and particularly some of the ones built in the city of Isfahan during Seljuq and Safavid dynasties between the 10^th and 18^th centuries of the Islamic era. This study basically focuses on architectural and structural philosophy and innovations based on time, location, and environmental considerations of the region.

Transparent wood composites (TWCs) are emerging as a new material of interest to designers of the built environment. With thermal conductivities ≈15% of conventional silica glass, TWCs are a novel glazing material with the potential to reduce the environmental impact of buildings by improving their operational energy efficiency. Presented in this study are results from whole building energy simulations that implement single- and double-paned TWC-based window assemblies in large office and midrise apartment buildings to quantify the potential energy savings compared to windows made with conventional silica glass. Depending on the reference building and climate zone, the results demonstrate that up to 33% of space heating and cooling energy can be saved using TWCs as a glazing material in commercial buildings.

Concrete is the most utilized construction material and the second most consumed material on earth after water. As a consequence, its manufacture and use imparts global durability and environmental consequences. The manufacture of conventional ordinary Portland cement (OPC), the main constituent in concrete, for example, alone accounts for 5–8% of global CO₂ emissions worldwide. In addition, the main durability challenges of OPC are associated with the chemistry of its binder. In recent years, increased demand for sustainable building materials with lower CO₂ emissions and equivalent (or higher) service lifespans have prompted the development of alternative and novel cementitious materials to supplement and/or in some applications replace the use of OPC concrete in a variety of building and infrastructure engineering projects. Many of these alternative and novel cementitious material systems and approaches generally demonstrate lower CO₂ emissions during production (up to 50% CO₂ reductions) and increased durability when subjected to harsh conditions (e.g., lower shrinkage, higher acid resistance) when compared to OPC. This paper synthesizes and presents the general classification, characteristics, and current applications of four promising alternative cementitious material systems, namely (1) high-aluminate, (2) super-sulfated slag, (3) alkali-activated, and (4) carbonate-based cements (e.g., bio-cements). We will highlight the basics of alternative cement chemistries, their environmental impacts, and relevant material properties (i.e., fresh- and hardened-state properties) compared to OPC concrete. The discussions presented herein are supplemented with specific case-study examples of real-world applications and aim to serve as an inspiring platform for researchers, educators, and engineering professionals to conceptualize how next-generation cementitious materials can (and will) shape our built environment.

Maintainability has a major impact on facilities’ life cycle cost. Many design decisions made early in the design process can impact maintainability over the lifecycle of the facility. Researchers have shown that having facility managers present for early design review sessions can enable a more maintainable design. Unfortunately getting facility managers’ involvement in early design review sessions can be challenging for various reasons. This often requires designers to make their best judgments when designing for maintainability without the input of facility managers. Prior work has identified various different attributes of a space that may support maintainability. While these previously identified attributes of a space may be conceptually understood by designers, it is not clear what actions or statements could be observed to indicate that a designer is actively considering them or other maintenance concerns in his or her design. Therefore, this research interviews facility managers about various spaces on a university campus that have been historically problematic for maintenance in order to identify specific attributes of those spaces that could have been designed differently to alleviate the maintenance challenges. The facility managers identified areas that were frequently hard to maintain, and all the areas had problems with accessibility for cleaning and repairs. Upon further analysis, the problems were divided into four subcategories: obstruction, vertical reach, horizontal reach, and other ergonomic restraints. The findings of this work contribute to the body of knowledge by providing a set of considerations that may be leveraged by future researchers to code designers’ behaviors and statements to understand how they approach maintainability in their process. This will also be valuable for researchers who study new visualization technologies or other strategies aimed at improving design for maintainability because it provides a consistent set of behaviors and considerations for comparison of various new research interventions.

Significant developments have been made for incorporating mass-timber into structures for buildings in regions of low or no expected seismicity. Timber with its limited ductility and traditional connections have limited application of these structures, but a series of connections have been developed to create ductility in otherwise non-ductile systems. This system uses friction to dissipate energy in a major earthquake protecting timber elements and allowing the structure and its components to remain essentially elastic. Mass-timber framed buildings are relatively lightweight compared to structural steel and reinforced concrete buildings. The lower mass of timber buildings result in lower seismic mass. The lightweight benefit is offset by the relatively low seismic ductility of timber systems. These systems typically rely on yielding of steel connectors, yielding of fasteners, and crushing of the wood material for ductility. Enhanced ductility of timber frames will allow designers to realize the full benefit of the lightweight material, improving both the sustainability and resiliency of timber buildings. Three friction energy dissipating devices have been developed: the Pin-Fuse Joint, the Pin-Fuse Frame, and the Link-Fuse Joint. These devices rely on clamping forces from pretensioned high strength bolts to dissipate energy through rotation, or axial displacement, or shear displacement of the joint when the frictional forces are overcome. The devices are used in both moment resisting timber frames and cross-laminated timber shear walls systems. The devices are designed to avoid damage in the timber elements from significant seismic events. This system also allows for centering after an earthquake by releasing bolt pretension and allowing the elastic energy in the timber frame to center the building. The system enhances the ductility of the system and improves the resiliency of the building. This paper will review the theory behind the friction energy dissipaters, application of the devices in timber structures, and compare enhanced seismic design to conventional design mass-timber buildings.

This paper retrospectively analyzes 180 buildings from the first solar architecture ‘renaissance’ of the early-to-mid 1970s using the solar architecture taxonomy. The purpose is to identify design strategies employed by architects at a time when solar panels first entered the commercial marketplace and became a new element to consider in the architectural design process.