flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Auto-shading windows and point-of-decision design are among the research projects to receive AIA funding grants

Architects

Auto-shading windows and point-of-decision design are among the research projects to receive AIA funding grants

Firms represented by the projects and initiatives receiving grants include HKS, DO|SU Studio Architecture, and McClain + Yu Architecture and Design.


By AIA | March 31, 2016

Photo: Mediterranean Center of Medical Sciences, Flickr Creative Commons

The jury for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative, a joint program of the College of Fellows and the Board Knowledge Committee to support knowledge sharing between practitioners and academicians, has announced the four projects selected to receive grants. The purpose of this grant, now in its ninth year, is to provide base funds for applied research projects that advance professional knowledge and practice. The 18-month long project grant qualifies recipients to have their findings and outcomes published both electronically and in a nationally distributed publication. The total award of $100,000 will be spread across the selected proposals. The four selected projects are listed below.

 

Auto-Shading Windows: Smart Thermobimetal Solar Blinds
Principal Investigator: Doris Sung, AIA (DOSU Studio Architecture)

With pressure from the outdoor environment such as swells in temperature, humidity, precipitation and demands from the interior to achieve variable comfort standards and evolving uses, buildings need to adjust automatically. By incorporating new, smart materials and creative assemblies, buildings now have the potential to modulate changes throughout the day. Smart materials require no added energy or computer controls. Thermobimetal is a smart material that automatically curls when heated and, when utilized strategically, can help liminal building surfaces automatically and optimally respond to temperature changes and direct sunlight. This proposal seeks funding to build a window prototype that will automatically block up to 90 percent of the sunlight entering a building while retaining a high level of visibility and view throughout the day. The net effect of this zero-energy system is energy and cost savings.

 

Building Resilience: A Tool for Planning & Decision-making
Principal Investigator: David Fannon, AIA (Northeastern University) 

Recent events show the urgency of designing resilient new buildings and upgrading existing ones. However, it is not clear which combinations of attributes make buildings more likely to maintain useful function and adapt in the face of disturbances. Furthermore, buildings can be assessed based on the impacts from and contributions they make to the robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity to recover of surrounding urban ecological systems. These are critical questions for architects, communities, and businesses, and yet there is very little information to guide decision-making about resilient building attributes. To meet this need, this project will develop a web-based tool to evaluate and compare multiple dimensions of resilience and sustainability in buildings, including technical and socio-ecological performance, energy use, and lifecycle impacts.

 

Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles
Principal Investigator: Kristina Yu, AIA (University of New Mexico; McCLAIN + YU Architecture & Design) 

This proposal aims to demonstrate the design opportunities of the mobile installation of a new system of photovoltaics also known as solar panels. This investigation will examine the energy capture difference between the separate but related test project of the microelectronic photovoltaic (MEPV) taut mechanical shade system vs. this proposal’s novel design for a mobile simple install of a Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles MEPV system. The Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles MEPV system aims to capture sufficient to abundant energy to supply a home without the cumbersome and panelized PV panels which require extensive installation and space requirements. The MEPV technology affords a higher level of energy capture while providing a new tactility and versatile flexibility uncommon to PV systems today.  The researchers aim to simplify the component pieces of the current MEPV taut shade and to create a functional temporary MEPV system that has the duality of ‘ease of install’ and ‘ease of use.’ Much like placing clothes on a line to dry in limited vertical spaces, the panels, with visual and high efficient variety, can be placed outside to collect the sunpower to harness and store within the interior space.

 

Point-of-Decision Design (PODD) to Support Healthy Behaviors in the College Campuses
Principal Investigators: Upali Nanda, Assoc. AIA, and Michelle Eichinger (Center for Advanced Design Research and Evaluation – CADRE/HKS; Designing4Health) 

This research study aims to address the causes of weight gain, also known as obesogenic, in students on college campuses by answering the question: how can we make the healthy choice an easy choice through the design of critical point of decision prompts? The hypothesis is that well-designed point of decision prompts can promote healthier choices by students that can have a ripple effect on mental and physical health related to obesity. At each point of decision, design can help/hinder the healthier choice. There is a need to collate the vast information in planning and public health domains on a range of successful point of decision prompts and translate it into architectural guidelines that help define the edge condition for critical point of decision prompts. The researchers propose to develop a POD (point of decision) Design Guide and Analysis Tool.

Tags

Related Stories

Windows and Doors | Mar 5, 2023

2022 North American Fenestration Standard released

The 2022 edition of AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440, “North American Fenestration Standard/Specification for windows, doors, and skylights” (NAFS) has been published. The updated 2022 standard replaces the 2017 edition, part of a continued evolution of the standard to improve harmonization across North America, according to a news release.

AEC Innovators | Mar 3, 2023

Meet BD+C's 2023 AEC Innovators

More than ever, AEC firms and their suppliers are wedding innovation with corporate responsibility. How they are addressing climate change usually gets the headlines. But as the following articles in our AEC Innovators package chronicle, companies are attempting to make an impact as well on the integrity of their supply chains, the reduction of construction waste, and answering calls for more affordable housing and homeless shelters. As often as not, these companies are partnering with municipalities and nonprofit interest groups to help guide their production.

Modular Building | Mar 3, 2023

Pallet Shelter is fighting homelessness, one person and modular pod at a time

Everett, Wash.-based Pallet Inc. helped the City of Burlington, Vt., turn a municipal parking lot into an emergency shelter community, complete with 30 modular “sleeping cabins” for the homeless.

Codes | Mar 2, 2023

Biden Administration’s proposed building materials rules increase domestic requirements

The Biden Administration’s proposal on building materials rules used on federal construction and federally funded state and local buildings would significantly boost the made-in-America mandate. In the past, products could qualify as domestically made if at least 55% of the value of their components were from the U.S. 

Industry Research | Mar 2, 2023

Watch: Findings from Gensler's latest workplace survey of 2,000 office workers

Gensler's Janet Pogue McLaurin discusses the findings in the firm's 2022 Workplace Survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 workers in 10 industry sectors. 

AEC Innovators | Mar 2, 2023

Turner Construction extends its ESG commitment to thwarting forced labor in its supply chain

Turner Construction joins a growing AEC industry movement, inspired by the Design for Freedom initiative, to eliminate forced labor and child labor from the production and distribution of building products. 

Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023

Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building

Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.

Airports | Feb 28, 2023

Data visualization: $1 billion earmarked for 2023 airport construction projects

Ninety-nine airports across 47 states and two territories are set to share nearly $1 billion in funding in 2023 from the Federal Aviation Administration. The funding is aimed at help airports of all sizes meet growing air travel demand, with upgrades like larger security checkpoints and more reliable and faster baggage systems.

Seismic Design | Feb 27, 2023

Turkey earthquakes provide lessons for California

Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023

New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis

A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021