Solar Gain

Solar gain (also known as solar heat gain or passive solar gain) refers to the increase in tempetature in a space, object or structure that results from solar radiation. The amount of solar gain increases with the strength of the sun, and with the ability of any intervening material to transmite or resist the radiation.

--Wikipedia



In the research retreat project the huge windows in my design may cause solar heating indoors. As the sun moving all the time I was thinking to use blind to solve this problem, but my tutor Jim said you are an architecture student why not to solve it in an architectural way. This was couple days before th final presentation therefore I only do some research and then inspired by St. Andrews beach house an designed several moving bamboo layers to defuse too much solar gain in the summer.

inspiration

my design

It seems like the problems solved but after the final presentation I am still wandering how does the other architects solve this problem? How could a constant building meet even opposite requirments all the time? It is always in my mind. Luckily we got a Easter breake shortly and I do found something interesting on my tour in Edinburg and Balfast.

By cut of nearby space

 By adding roof

Similar to blind but use an architectural way.

Outdoor blind could also be a part of decoration.

The City called Balfast

Up for an early flight to Balfast I packed my stuff on the 5th of April alone with four of my friends. Three days and two nights in Northern Ireland I only went to half of the must go list on the welcome booklet. I never thought this would happened as it looks not too big on google map, I do believe I will go there again as there is so many interesting places I need to go.

I spend my fist day hanging around city center. Unlike Edingburg, Balfast feels like mostly be built in twenty century and the city planing is full of the shape of square. Also a mojority of the buildings there are using brick as their material rather than stone.

But the most important building Balfast city hall is made out of stone.

My favorate building in Balfast is the shoping center Victoria Square. It got three entrance the plan looks like airscrew shape. In the middle of this building is trangular floor suported by three columes to be the form of triangular pyramidrotate.With lever rise the trangular rotate 60° each level. A doom roof is on the top trangulars which could invite enough light in the building even it is raining outdoors.

The two longer wings are like swing arms of the trangulars

There are always two sides to everything. A separated middle part also brings a huge increase of circulation.

We spend the second day on the sightseeing and the third to visit Queen's University and Northern Ireland's Museum.

The Queen's University

Front

Back

Arch door

Gothic vaults

Inside

Classrooms

The Northern Ireland Museum is just besides Queen's Uni. As you can see from the photo belowe the left part of the building is added later. The old building is made out of stone while the part is concret. The architect first continued the form of the old building then transfered it into a modern looking smoothly.

The circulation of this building is really impresive. Each part of the exhibition area is divided by 2 or 3 steps therefore people do not need to climb stairs sperately. 

Edinburgh Study Trip--SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Two days after finished research retreat presentation, the whole year went to Edinburgh for a study trip on 7th of March.

We have a list of building to visit within one day.The first stop is the Scottish Parliament also called Holyrood. It was one of the talent architect Enric MIralles's design. It is 30,000 m2 in total and the vertical hight is about 4 or 5 levels hight. The main concept of this building is to incarnate scottish culture into one specific building.As he said in 1999 "We don't want to forget that the Scottish Parliament will be in Edinburgh, but will belong to Scotland, to the Scottish land. The Parliament should be able to reflect the land it represents. The building should arise from the sloping base of Arthur's Seat and arrive into the city almost surging out of the rock." He also present the this idea by using different rocks which comes from different part of scotland.

Holyrood located at the foot of Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile in front of the spectacular Holyrood Park and Salisbury Crags.  The roof design is take from the shape of leaves. 

The outside wall is decorated by picture which looks like bamboo. As the architect wanted the parliament to be open he designed a special window fram to achiev his idea of no window is closed to public. And the hanging light insinuated scottish people love fishing.

The spical roof lighting, the stucture of parliament hall and so on. The building is full of ideas people could see architect has considered from details.

lighting

main hall

meeting room

model

sections

shape of scotish flag

stucture

sky light



Research Retreat Brief process

After 6 weeks developing the researchretreat project is finally ended with the final presentation. To think these one and a half mouth now my design process could be divided into four stages.

At first I got the idea of sundial from my intangible therefore I want to use the changes of shadow to show a feeling time changing. Therefore I focus on the two trees which stand in the middle of the site.

Then in the precidence study I was inspired by the Split house displyed above. As you can see the architect of Split house divided the house into public wing and private wing. After analysis the site I combine this idea with the site and with help of  my research of light I designed the house like the picture underneath.

On the one hand the site is roughly divided into three parts by two buiding. Firstly the soluth part is a public area, secondly the circle in the middle is a cout yard which is half public, and thirdly is the north part which is a private zone.On the other hand, the itself has also be defined as gallery  wing for publice the other is private wing. The private wing is hide behind the two trees to get privacy and the felling of retreat. But the studio is not totally private as I want to keep the studio can be visit by the others I make a glass wall in frount.

After the interpresentation tutors sugestted me to invite stright line into the design and open the entrance of cout yard to think nore of the whole site. Therefore after chang it over and over again, I choose the one which function works the best.

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Elevations

Setions

Research Retreat indutroduction

The first project of this semester is research retreat project. It required us to design a gallery to displayed artworks and an accomadation place with studio for 6 artist.

The clients requirment is:

A place designs for international artists. In terms of separating artist group and professional artists this house is specific professional artists. The artists may stay between 1 to 3 mouths.

It was a lovely suunny day when we visit hospitalfield. It took me bout half an hour to get there and luckily I am a little bit earlier than most of my classmate. Therefore I hear the birds singing in the trees which let me feel peaceful. The site is surounded by high trees and short walls and shadow of the trees are so long which can cross the intire site. The shadows changes when I get site several hours later, which reminds me about the sun dial. It leads to my intangable of shadow and time.