Sandra Mallory, Environmental Works Community Design Center
402 15th
Avenue East
Seattle,
WA 98112
206/329-8300
ext. 18
smallory@eworks.org
Theme Category: Current Research / Case Studies
Goal: To engage in an interactive peer review process of a post-occupancy evaluation which will provide both the participants and the presenter with a greater understanding of both POE methodology and techniques and of the effectiveness of daylighting and natural cooling strategies.
Environmental Works has just
completed construction of a new childcare for The Evergreen State College in
Olympia, WA. The Evergreen State
College Campus Children’s Center is a 7,500 sf facility that serves children of
Evergreen State College students.
The building was designed as three primary forms, joined by a central
circulation spine, that creates distinct zones for infants, toddlers and
preschoolers each with a direct connection to the outdoor play to the
south. As part of the objectives
of both the college and of Environmental Works the design incorporated a number
of sustainable strategies the most significant of which are daylighting,
cooling through natural ventilation and radiant floor heating. Both the daylighting and natural
cooling strategies were analyzed during the design process – daylighting with
physical models and natural cooling with computer simulations.
Now that the building is
operational, we are conducting a post-occupancy evaluation to evaluate how well
these strategies are actually working.
We are currently developing the methodology for the analysis which will
focus assessing actual lighting levels, the effectiveness of the natural
cooling and the appropriateness of the radiant floor system. The study will incorporate a range data
acquisition from determining energy usage from utility bills to measuring light
levels, temperature and air flow.
Additionally, we will be conducting interviews of staff and facilities
personnel to determine if the systems are operating, and being operated, as
intended.
I propose conducting a workshop at
the retreat which will be provide a case study of the design, a report on our
evaluation results to date and an opportunity to receive critical feedback on
the ongoing process. In July we
will be at the midpoint of our evaluation process. We will have 6 months worth of utility data to compare
against modeling projections, we will have conducted a portion of the on-site
monitoring and have conducted the occupant survey. It seems an ideal time to present the work for peer review
to learn from what we have discovered to date and to re-evaluate and fine tune
the evaluation methodology itself.
Agenda:
Project Overview, including daylight
analysis and energy modeling results
(10 min.)
Evaluation Methodology and Mid-Point
Results (10 min.)
Peer Review (50 min.)
Groups of 4-5 will each be given a particular issue to address (i.e. the natural cooling strategy). They will be asked to assess:
1] the design of the strategy itself in light of the reported results (was it appropriate, how could it be improved), and
2] the methodology (was the testing approach appropriate, how could it be improved)
Final Report (20 min.)
Each group will report back on their findings.
Post Retreat Artifacts:
Project Overview
Post-Occupancy Results (at 6 months
and at one year)
Session Results
Equipment preferences:
Laptop and projector
Newprint and markers