ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
HYPOTHESIS
METHODOLOGY
DATA
ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS
DESIGN LESSONS
GROUP CONTACT INFO
CLASS HOME PAGE
BOORA Architects incorporated many energy saving strategies into the design of Ash Creek Intermediate School. One of the most significant was the omission of a conventional air-conditioning system. Since the school will be used during the summer months, the rejection of solar heat entering the building will be a primary concern. Because windows are typically the largest conductors of heat through a building’s skin, it makes sense to block direct solar radiation from contacting window surfaces with the use of sun shading devices.

Upon visiting the school, the team observed that the same shade design was used for the east, west, and south elevations. (The north elevations do not have sunshades due to the limited amount of direct sun exposure.) It is a simple horizontal projection, very effective for south facing windows when the sun is high in the sky. There was a mutual feeling that this design would not be effective for east and west facing windows when the angle of the sun is lower, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. This observation lead directly to the focus of this case study - analyzing and comparing the performance of each orientation.