Building Science 1

Module Introduction

The module is an introduction to the factors that affect the thermal performance of buildings. Its aim is to facilitate us to create acceptable designs which are sustainable(minimizing the use of mechanical cooling systems) and comfortable. The emphasis is on creating acceptable indoor thermal conditions thus minimizing the use of space heating and cooling. We were also introduced to MS1525 which provides guidelines to create a more sustainable design in Malaysia.

Module Objective

1. To create awareness and understanding of designing buildings that respond to local climatic conditions that reduce the energy load of mechanical air-conditioning systems.

2. To introduce thermal mechanisms such as solar radiation, heat conduction, heat resistance and heat convection that determine indoor temperatures, including how building elements respond to thermal mechanisms as well as various design strategies to reduce heat gain of interior spaces through control of variables.

Project 1

For this project, in groups of 6, we had to pick a building that had a building that was certified and recognized as a green marked building. After which, we had to identify two of the passive designs used in the building. Then we were to produced two analysis boards to include all the analysis and research that has been done on our case study.

Since we had a study trip to Singapore, the majority of us chose to study a building there. The building we chose was the National Library of Singapore.

About Singapore's National Library

The National Library in Singapore is located on an

11,304-square metre site between Bugis Junction and the Bras Basah Complex at 100,Victoria Street. The current building, a 16-storey, two-block development situated in the city's Civic District, replaces the old National Library at Stamford Road, which closed on 31 March 2004.

The building designed by T.R. Hamzah & Ken Yeang consists of two 16-storey blocks, with three basements. The blocks are linked by skybridges on every floor. It houses two libraries, the Central Public Library in Basement 1 and the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library from Levels 7 to 13. It also houses the Drama Centre from Levels 2 to 5, which is managed by the National Arts Council. On the 16th floor, there is a closed viewing point called The Pod. It is only used for functions and events, and is not a viewing gallery. From the Pod, it has a panoramic view of the island of Singapore, outlying islands, and also neighbouring countries such asMalaysia and Indonesia. There are also many gardens in the building but only two are opened to the public. They offer a good view of the city, and one is the Courtyard on Level 5 and the Retreat on Level 10. The building has three public panoramic elevators with a city view. The National Library Board headquarters is on the 14th floor of the building.

Presentation Board for our study on the Singapore National Library

Reflection

Through this project, I learnt alot of things. Besides understanding mroe about the passive designs, I have learnt several softwares which aided me during the analysis of this case study. One of the softwares that I learnt was Vasari. Through Vasari, I was able to see the wind movement of the building surrounding predicted by the wind rose diagram. The areas which are naturally ventilated could also be seen clearly.
Besides that I learnt how to use Ecotect which enabled me to generate a wind tunnel diagram. I was able to see the velocity of the wind and the different wind pressure of wind at the gaps in between buildings. Besides that, I learnt how to generate sun path diagrams through the Ecotect Software. Tjese softwares are very useful as it enables me to incorperate passive designs in my design in the future to minimize energy consumption. The direction fo wind and sun can be predicted easily with these softwares which enable us and architects to manipulate it in our designs.

Module Reflection

After going through this module, I now understand the importance of comfort level in a building and the many ways to achieve that without using much energy. I can now identify environmental conditions related to site condition and climates to design a better building. Besides that, this module has thought me to explain the effect of insulation, thermal mass and air movement on termal performance of buildings and infer how different building material (K-value, U-value, R-value) has different effect on heat gain or thermal. I have also learnt to estimate heat gain in a space and to provide passive solutions for it. On top of that, I can also judge the limits of acceptable or desirable conditions (thermal environment) and recommend designs that control the effects of sun on the thermal performance of buildings (shading devices).