15

StructureColumn Clip

16

Section Isometric View

PlanElevation

StructureSpider & Suspension

The spider connects and supports the glass and transfers its load to the structure. When compared to mullion systems, thespiders hold the each glass panel by four single points, which minimizes the overall structure presence and enhances thevolumetric transparency.

17

The weight of the glass is suspended from thebeam and is transferred by the spiders. The trussresists horizontal loads (wind) only.

StructureSpider &Suspension

18

TransitionGlass meets Ground

The volume can meet the groundin a number of ways. Twopossible approaches werestudied: one places the glass wallon top of existing retaining wall(Figure 1); the other does not letthe glass wall touch ground butleaves a gap in between, whichwill create a shadow line in thefacade (Figure 2-1 through 2-4).The second option is preferred fortwo reasons: 1. It emphasizes theidea of suspension of the glass.2. The gap between the glass andconcrete ground plane creates avisual cushion between the twomaterials.

The sketch at left (Figure 2-4)shows the 3-dimensional piece ofaluminum behind the glass.

The sketch at far left (Figure 2-3) shows how the glass wallmeets the plaza and how the gapacts to separate the two materials.

Figure 2-2(Plan)

Figure 2-4

Figure 1

Figure 2-1

Figure 2-3

--- from the transparent volume to the existing surroundings.

19

PlanSection

TransitionGlass meets Ground

20

TransitionGlass meets Roof

With the initial design (Figures 3and 4), the topmost glass panelmeets the roof glass at the axis ofthe beam (Figure 4). This alignmentresults in a large numbers of differ-ent prefabricated glass panels,which is undesirable. An improveddesign moves the joint in the glassskin slightly upward (Figure 6), soit meets the roof glass at the bot-tom edge of concrete parapet. Thisalignment results in fewer types ofprefabricated glass (Figure 5).

Figure5

Figure6

Section

Figure3

Figure4

21

West Elevation

TransitionGlass meets Roof

22

The existing corner condition in Cowgill Hall is a very impor-tant element for the building. The addition preserves this qual-ity, while maintaining the volumetric quality of the proposedaddition. The following alternatives were explored:

1. Wrap the Corner; ex-isting structure is totallyconcealed from theplaza.

2. Leave the corner un-touched; the atriumspace is too small.

3. Leave a gap betweenthe old and new.

The connection of the glass facade and the existing columnalso supports the idea of suspension, similar to the way in whichthe glass meets ground. A shadow line serves as a visual cushionbetween concrete and glass.

Detail Perspective

Glass skin

Plan

Concrete column

Glass skin

Concretecolumn

TransitionGlass meets Existing Corner

23

Plan @ Second Floor

The final solution applies a piece of aluminumbrake metal to fill the gap and to provide a visualcushion between the two materials.

Isometric

TransitionGlass meets Existing Corner

24

Instead of being isolated on every horizontal floor, with concrete walls separating them from otherstudents and outside, the transparent volume provides a vertical space. The purpose of rearranging thefloor plans of the building is to relocate the studio areas to the south side of the building. Thus the atriumbecomes a place where students can share thoughts, get inspiration and perhaps find a sense of belonging.

SpaceFloor Plan Rearrangement

First Floor

Second Floor

Lecture

Design Lab

Design Lab Design Lab

Design Lab

Lobby

Office Office

25

Third Floor

Fourth Floor

Lecture

Other Supportive Space

Design Lab

Lecture Lecture

LectureLecture

Design Lab

Design Lab

Design Lab

Library

Printing Room

LectureOfficeOffice

Office Office

Office Office

SpaceFloor Plan Rearrangement

26

After careful consideration of the structural system andthe transition between the volume and the existingcontext, a maximum of transparency is achieved.Architecturally, the transparency blurred the boundarybetween inside and outside.

The transparent volume becomes the center of studio lifein Cowgill Hall. It is a place for exhibition,communication, meeting, entertainment and other studentactivities. The daylight, an active architectural element,plays an important role in this place.

SpaceInterior

27

The transparent volume defines a new spatial qualityof the plaza.

SpaceOutdoor

28

29

Ecology

Concerned about sustainable issues and energy cost ofthe proposed addition to Cowgill Hall, the second partof this thesis is a deeper endeavor in literature review,technical feature research and design improvement ofdouble glass facade to achieve environmental benefitsin this specific case.

Starting from the definition of Double Glass Facade,the literature review covers four key topics: Design andApplication of previous projects, PhysicalCharacteristics, Material Properties and Cost Efficiencyof double glass facade. Research on thesis topics notonly demonstrates a solid base on design of the doubleglass system for Cowgill Hall Addition; but also providesa theoretical outline on this overall topic, which leads toa further development of design improvement.

The key parameters of performance of the Double GlassFacade are concluded as the result of literature review.The design improvement idea evolves from realizingthe lack of consideration about outlet configuration ofprevious double glass facade design, which will affectthe ventilation rate in the cavity - one of the keyparameters to determine the performance of doubleglass facade.

The idea of adding wind shields in front of typicaldouble glass outlet opening is proposed. By usingcomputational fluid dynamic simulation, the proposeddesign improvement is tested in comparison with atypical configuration.

At the end of this second part of the thesis, the improvedconfiguration is applied to the Cowgill Hall Addition,which answers the question asked at the beginning ofthis book: How can environmental benefits be achievedthrough this all-glass atrium?

Fact: The US Department of Energy estimates that onaverage envelope systems account for 53 percent ofthe energy consumed in building.

30

Figure 8-2*Figure 7*

Definition:Double glass facades are typically constructed withthree panes of glass, one double pane layer and theother single pane, separated by an air cavity. The aircavity depth ranges from a few inches to a few feet. Thesystem typically has a shading element such as a rollershade or venetian blind in the cavity. The cavity indouble glass facades is either naturally (Figure 7) ormechanically (Figure 8) ventilated. The naturallyventilated cavity has inlet and outlet openings to theoutdoor air. Heated air in the cavity is removed by astack effect.The mechanically assisted ventilationsystems usually use an under-floor (Figure 8-2) oroverhead (Figure 8-1) ventilation system to exhaustthe cavity air to ensure good distribution of the freshair. Air is forced into the cavity by mechanical devices.*

EcologyDefinition of double glass facade

Figure 8-1*

*A Protocol to Determine the Performance of South Facing Double Glass FacadeSystem: a Preliminary Study of Active/Passive Double Glass Facade Systems