[BLDG-SIM] Architect's role in energy simulation
david bryan
dbryan at amerindian.com
Fri Feb 14 08:34:09 PST 2003
To add some more comments to the discussion of the architect's role in the
energy simulation process:
1. It seems to me that the architect must be the initiator
of energy-conscious design. He/she has the contact with the building
owner and is instrumental in determining what the priorities will be in
allocating the money available for the project. Energy conservation must
be set at a very high priority at the start; there is never enough money to
do everything.
2. In commercial buildings, the design is a product of the whole team of
architects, engineers, speciality consultants and contractors. The team of
people with the right skills and experience must be assembled at the start
to meet project design priories. The architect does not need to do the
simulations. Smaller firms would probably not find it practical to have on
staff an energy specialist who can maintain current knowledge of the
field. What is probably more important is good team communications and
early involvement of the energy specialist(s) before many design decisions
are made. What is important is that the team members are all using
compatible software. Decisions effecting the building are continuously
being made; digital information is flying around via shared web-sites or by
e-mail. The interaction between energy-conservative alternatives and
building organization, exterior appearance, spacial quality,
heating/cooling, lighting, acoustics, structure and construction cost are,
as you know, very complex. Each team member must be able to rapidly
respond in his own area of expertise. For better or worse, Autocad is the
de facto standard. To keep costs down, and accuracy, speed and efficiency
up, energy simulation programs will need to import files that are initially
created in Autocad.
3. Although the architecture firm does not need to do in-house energy
consumption simulations, the architectural project leader must be
interested and knowledgeable in energy conservation. He must have the
enthusiasm to sustain a high level of energy-conscious priorities, and must
be able to communicate well with the energy specialists and direct their
efforts toward successful solutions. This issue goes back to education. I
think architects fall into two broad categories: designers and organizers.
Or to put it another way, if architecture is a combination of art and
engineering, some people's skills are more on the art side, some on the
engineering side, (bow ties versus pocket-protectors) Both categories are
needed to create successful buildings. From my experience, architectural
education is currently pretty one-sided: it favors the bow ties at the
expense of the pocket-protectors. This situation is not good for the
architecture profession; students who have worked 6 years to get a masters
only have half the skills they need, have an unrealistic view of what type
of work they will be doing and still require a lot of on-the job
training. This situation is unnecessary. I participated in a
graduate-level program at MIT in the 1970's that focused on energy
conservation, building simulation and materials research. More educational
focus on the technical aspects of making buildings is needed.
I apologize for writing so much. Thanks for letting me get it off my chest.
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