PERFORMANCE GRADUATE THESIS PROJECT By: Paul Hauer UI EXPANDING Expand the Performance Expanding the performance of passive systems to its full potential to improve thermal perfor- mance throughout the year. Modularity and Versatility Development of a modular structure that can be easily transported and quickly constructed with minimal site development. Providing Real Solutions Designing a low cost housing solution that requires no off site generated energy, oviding Real Solutions a low cost housing solution that uires no off site generated energy, THE Paul J. Hauer: 1651 S Levick ST. #2 Moscow, ID (208)874-3436 [email protected]
Transcript
PERFORMANCE
GRADUATE THESIS PROJECTBy: Paul HauerUI
EXPANDING
Expand the Performance
Expanding the performance of passive systems to its full potential to improve thermal perfor-
mance throughout the year.
Modularity and Versatility
Development of a modular structure that can be easily transported and quickly constructed
with minimal site development.
Providing Real Solutions
Designing a low cost housing solution that requires no off site generated energy,
oviding Real Solutions
a low cost housing solution thatuires no off site generated energy,
The play between form and function has always fascinated me. This is what originally drew me to architecture. Being the son of a plumber, I grew up in and around mechanical and fabrication shops which gave me a strong hands on experience and an understanding on how things are designed, prefabricated, and assembled. This understanding combined with a aff ection and capacity for art has made architecture the perfect profession for me. In 2004 I decided to continue my education at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the then transferring to the University of Idaho the following year to pursue a professional degree in architecture. My education has been long and sometimes frightening but ultimately a very rewarding experience in which I not only learned the skills of an architect but learned exactly what I am capable of. In addition to learning my capabilities, education has given me time to fi gure out what kind of person I want to be and how I want to use my skills to better the world around me. As an architect I will design buildings that are economically, environmentally, and locally respon-sible, buildings that are site oriented and integrated into the environment. I want to be involved in de-signs that fully implement passive, natural systems that requires no energy input and I will to strive for quality, effi ciency, and the development of solutions that encompass the many issues that aff ect the site, community, region, and world. I strongly believe that architecture is much broader than an enclosure, it infl uences our state of mind and is at the forefront of many of the greatest issues facing humanity today.
Who I am
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Editorial
EDITORIAL
The separation between the masses of America and the people that know better has turned urgent cries of doom into faint, shuddering whispers that demand little more eff ort than a passing thought. For going on more than twenty years I have been aware of global warming and its eff ects on the climate. As an impressionable fourth grader I was part of “The Global Awareness Brigade,” a group of ten or so students responsible for helping with recycling in our school and spreading awareness about issues that aff ected global health. Looking back it seemed superfi cial, like preparing for something that would not ever happen. Needless to say, as a nine year old global warming and our eff ect on the planet was not a concern for me or anyone in my area of infl uence, and really has only become a serious topic in my realm of thought since I started college. I feel that this was primarily due to an opinion of skepticism and a general belief that our actions could not aff ect anything beyond our local environment. Luckily, twenty years later public opinion has changed, a little, but still has not fully realized the situation.
The fact is that over time a simple action such as driving to work and back aff ects the whole world, especially if masses of humanity do it day in and day out. It is hard to see an action as harmful if you are one person in a sea people perpetuating that action. This is ingrained into the psyche of anyone who originates from an affl uent society that unconsciously uses energy without the knowledge of what the actual cost of its extraction, refi nement, distribution and use is. This has materialized in America as the infatuation with the automobile. For as long as I have had memory there has been cars, and for as long as I could drive I have loved the freedom they provide. Until recent times my fi nances allowed me to drive to my heart’s content, and to be completely honest I still would be driving down that freedom road if I could aff ord it. The current market and my non-existent income has greatly limited my driving and localized my travels to the greater Moscow area. The notion that the cost of energy largely determines its
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manner of use, is the greatest determinant for reducing consumption and increasing demand for effi ciency.
The proof is not “REAL.” The eff ect on the everyday life from the increase of a degrees or one more piece of trash in the landfi ll has little or no immediate eff ect on me or any other hardworking stiff out there if we are just trying to make it from day to day. If we have to choose between saving a tree or feeding a family there is no doubt in my mind I will feed my family. We need to make sustainability more than just a luxury that spoiled, affl uent students can aff ord. We need somehow to remove the is-sue of sustainability from the equation of feeding ones family. Our society is based on the acquisition of natural resources. This has been going on for enough time that our society has become reliant on this acquisition to a point where entire cities economies are based on the production of prod-ucts that are one hundred percent dependant on the input of energy for the manufacture and function of these products. When societies develop around the acquisition of exhaustible recourses it puts families, jobs, tradi-tions, and culture at odds with sustainable practices. This what I believe is Americas greatest obstacle when overcoming our reliance on fossil fuel derived energy. To solve these issues we need to provide innovative ways of conservation and remediation of existing jobs, It is not enough to close automotive factories, mills, and towns because the industry is ineffi cient and damages our environment, we need to retool our industries and focus on innovative products that are pushed toward effi ciency.
Editorial
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Why modularity and the container?
Modularity provides versatility when designing with components with a common dimension and construction. This make prefabrication possible by allowing a standardized shell to be built in a factory setting reducing man hours, material waste, and reduces time for construction all equating to a reduction of waste and money for the owner and manufac-ture.
The Container is over produced, cheap, can carry 95ton and be stacked 9 high, and can be transported around the world on ship, train, and truck. They are a plentiful source of structure that are building up in our port cities because it is cheaper to produce one in China then to ship them back. These qualities are ideal when designing a transportable resi-dence.
Systems
Passive systems use the physics that occur in the natural environment without the input of an outside energy source. They use principles like lift, venturi eff ect, solar gain, and diff usion of light to heat, cool and light a space. Active systems include solar panels and wind turbines and are used to off set the plug load of a building. They are very expensive, com-plex, and take a long time to pay off . These systems have the capability to greatly reduce our consumption of fossil fuel used to heat, cool, and light our buildings.
Clientele
This building is intended for a fi rst time home buyers and can accom-modate singles and couples. It is intended for an alternative lifestyle of reduced consumption and greater effi ciency.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
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Abstract:
This paper is a brief overview of the current uses and possibilities of container as architecture. It fi rst introduces the container and provides a brief background of the standardization and the capabilities of IOS container. The paper then discusses three current examples of containers as architecture. The examples range from single container applications such as temporary and emergency housing, to transportable cabins that leave no foot print on the landscape, up to large complexes built from many containers in many confi gu-rations. The third and fi nal portion of the paper is details one possible use of the container as structure. It goes on to detail the use of a container as a truss, in this confi guration the container acts as a truss and roof diaphragm.
Introduction:
There are enough standard freight containers in the world today to wrap around the equator two consecutive times and they are the life blood of a global economy . Freight containers allow businesses throughout the world to sell and ship products to any destination in the world in a timely and secure manner. Freight containers make ideal structures because of their overall di-mensions, strength, and abundance; they are rapidly becoming used as emer-gency relief housing, single family housing, and large housing and commercial complexes. Made with standard dimensions, materials, and construction pro-cess, freight containers are an abundant pre-manufactured source of structure that can be quickly assembled and adapted to meet housing needs through-out the world. Standard Freight Containers:
Freight containers are regulated by the International Organization for Standardization, an international organization that maintains universal stan-dards on containers and many other components and practices. They ensure that containers can be used all over the world universally, and transferred from ship, to rail, to truck without unpacking and repacking the container . Standard freight containers come in three diff erent lengths. They range from twenty, forty, and to forty-fi ve feet in length and are eight feet wide and eight feet six inches high. This s the perfect height and width for the standard per-son to occupy and falls within the US standard building dimensions of four by eight feet or the sixteen inch module. This allows the incorporation of standard building materials such as insulation, drywall and other materials that come in standard four by eight feet sheets . Containers are constructed of three primary steel components. They are a box shaped steel frame including four corner posts and corner fi ttings (or corner castings), which are welded to the top and bottom of the four corner posts. The connectors are engaged directly into the corner fi ttings, providing pick points for lifting and securing the container to other containers, thus, all lifting loads are transferred to the corner posts through the corner fi ttings . The end wall, side walls, fl oor, and roof are made of fourteen gauge corrugated steel panels, which orient vertically on the end and sides walls to provide maxi-mum vertical load capacity. Along the fl oor and roof, the panels are oriented perpendicular to the length of the container, providing resistance to buckling
CONTAINER AS STRUCTURE
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on the roof and fl oor diaphragms . A door opening at the other end of the con-tainer allows access to the interior of the container. The durability required for overseas transport exceeds the required load capac-ity to resist earthquake and wind forces of a conventional building. A forty-fi ve foot container is designed with a carrying capacity of 55,559 lbs and can be stacked six high, which is 333,353 lbs that the container can carry at its base . The standard freight container is built to withstand loads that far outweigh the average live, dead, seismic, and wind loads of a conventional structure, making it an ideal choice of structure for residential and commercial use.Future Shack:
Being that the container is built for shipping and can be carried by ship, rail and truck, means it can be rapidly transported to locations that are in need and has the capacity to act as shelter to people and families displaced by natu-ral disasters and many other causes. Shawn Godsell of “Shawn Godsell Archi-tects” in Melbourne, Australia has been working with “Future Shack: containers as emergency relief and temporary housing”. Since 1999, Shawn has developed a form of housing that can be transported, can be assembled from its contents, with regular tools and minimal knowledge, is completely self-reliant and can be deconstructed and stored until needed again . Future shack is a mass produced relocate-able structure for emergency and relief housing. The unit is totally self-reliant; packed inside are water tanks, solar power cells, an access ramp, a roof ladder, a parasol roof and supporting structure. It also contains a satellite receiver and external light bracket. The inte-rior is packed with the necessary tools for re-habitation, along with additional clothing, food and blankets for the dispossessed. The container itself has had minimal exterior changes except for sev-eral additional slots which the structure attaches to the container. It has a top-hinged front opening for the entrance, and a series of operable panels in the roof for ventilation. But nothing detracts from either its seaworthiness or its ability to be stacked or handled identically to any other standard freight con-tainer. The Future Shack is constructed of several major components, fi rst is a parasol roof which can be assembled and then disassembled and packed in-side of the container. The parasol roof reduces the heat load on the structure by providing ample shading. The container is supported by an exterior struc-ture that wraps entirely around the container. It is attached to the container via several slots and comprises the supports for the roof. The legs telescope out of the base of the structure, enabling it to be sited without excavation and on un-even terrain. The Future Shack can accommodate uneven terrain up to slopes of 45 degrees. In addition all the structural components are simple mechanical components that require basic tools, skills, and little maintenance after initial construction. The building is thereafter totally self-sustainable, capable of gen-erating electricity, communications, and has a thermal insulation value of R4.0, and shading co-effi cient of 0.49, with natural ventilation . Future Shack can be fully erected in a matter of hours and can be adapt-ed and used for a variety of needs including: fl ood, fi re, earthquakes or similar natural disasters, as well as, temporary or third world housing. The universal na-ture of the container means that they can be stockpiled and easily transported throughout the world. Fast, Cheap and Good:
Today there are many architects designing elegant, high quality, prefab-ricated houses ranging from small studios comprised of a single 20ft container, to large complexes comprised of many containers. One such fi rm is Alchemy Architects in St. Paul, Minnesota. Their mission is to make stimulating, engaging, and eff ective design, accessible and aff ord-able for a wide audience. They use the container to fulfi ll their goal of providing
CONTAINER AS STRUCTURE
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a product that is built quickly, constructed with at a very high level of quality, and is aff ordable . The folks at Alchemy designed a line of pre-fabricated houses comprising from one up to four containers with 10 separate confi gurations. Each is prefabri-cated within a shop while the foundation is being poured at the site. This allows a compressed schedule and permits a fi nished house in just fi ve months. Because it the houses are prefabricated in a shop removes the eff ects of weather on the building schedule. Additionally prefabrication allows for a better material use and minimizes waste. Like Lego’s, containers can be stacked in many diff erent arrangements and heights to comprise large complexes that serve many diff erent functions. Container City I and II at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London’s Dock Lands is the birth place of large container complexes. Completed in 5 months in 2001, Container City I was originally 3 stories high providing 12 work studios across 4,800 sq ft for people in creative industries rent to . Because of the clients the builders needed to fi nd the cheapest repeatable solution. Ultimately it came in the form of con-tainers. As the second phase of the original Container City project, Container City II was both an extension and evolution of the fi rst building. Built adjacent to Container City I, with interconnecting bridges, a new lift and full disability access, Container City II was completed in 2002 providing a further 22 studios over fi ve fl oors. Like bricks, containers can be stacked, cantilevered and soldiered to com-prise a structure and can serve as apartments, live/work spaces, and mechanical and vertical circulation spaces. One of the great qualities of Container City is its temporality, requiring minimal foundations the complex can be deconstructed and moved to another location and reassembled with little or no alteration. This provides a quality that is rare in the building trade, so when you purchase a con-tainer building and decide to move, you can bring the building with you. An-other quality of this type of structure is its ability to be altered. When more space is needed, just add another container which makes container architecture even more versatile. The cost associated with the construction of Container City is less than one third the cost of conventional construction and the growing need through-out the world for cheap housing makes container construction fast and econom-ically feasible, at a cost of 40,000 British pounds or under 60,000 U.S. dollars for a two bedroom apartment . Container as Truss:
Containers can provide more than just an enclosure that can stacked. It can be adapted to serve as several structural components, i.e. column, shear wall, and truss. In this section we will explore the structural viability of a container as a truss.The cross section of a container is eight foot wide and eight foot six inches deep with inforced corners made of 4x4 by 3/8th inch thick steel square tube and 14 gauge or 1/4th inch steel. As a simple supported beam, or a beam supported on each end, with a central concentrated load, a container can more than support the live and dead loads required of conventional residential construction. When several contain-ers are placed nexted to each other and joined they create a massive plane over eight feet six inches deep. Unaltered, the plane would have an eight foot six inch deep cross-section, unless carrying a load many times greater than that of stan-dard live and dead loads (determined by the International Building Code) the eight foot deep cross-section is far deeper than that of a beam designed using the specifi ed loads in the building code. So, after fi guring out the required depth to carry the live and dead loads of a given structure one can cut the fl oors out and cut the side walls to the re-quired depth. Welding on a fl ange of the required depth and width to the bot-tom of the of the side walls adds to the tensional capacity of the container turned beam.
CONTAINER AS STRUCTURE
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This structure can be widely used in many application. One such application is to place the trusses ontop of two stem walls that support the structure. This creates a large open space that can be over fourty feet wide and as long as the number of containers one has. This confi guration can be add-ed to and expanded without major alteration to the structureal system. This space is ideal for shops or a manufacturing space because its long axis and open ends, allows for large doors to be added. Allowing large objects and vehicles to pass through the building. Another aspect of the design allows for matural ventilation and daylighting. By keeping the doors intact, one can open them creating an apitchure eight feet high and the length of the building.The doors also act as vertical shading devices allowing diff used light and air into the building. Conclusion:
The container has truly revolutionized the globe. Because of its standard shape, amazing strength and abundance makes it able carry immense loads, be transported to just about any location in the world, and utilized at an aff ord-able price. It is these original qualities that make containers such a viable form of housing. They are versatile and more than able to withstand the loads required of typical housing structures. It is my belief that container architecture is the most viable means of providing fast, good, and cheap housing to the majority of peo-ple living in the third-world conditions. It is also my belief that containers can be a very effi cient, cost eff ective way of providing large multipurpose spaces for uses other than housing. At face value the container is not an appealing solution to the worlds need for aff ordable housing, but at second glance it proves to be a solution that be implemented throughout the world, in little time and at an af-fordable price making it a viable source of structure. Bibliography:
I chose to locate and design the dynamic prefab for the Moscow, Idaho’s dry, temperate climate. Moscow has been my home for the last fi ve years and provides a fairly common climate found throughout the interior western United States. It’s climate is characterized by hot dry summers and cold winters with a large diurnal temperature swing giving the climate a good potential for both passive cooling and heating.
Page 10 CLIMATEThe illumination range graph illustrates the amount of light that falls onto the Pullman-Moscow area mea-sured in foot-candles. The yellow represents direct sun light and the green repre-sents the amount of diff use light within the atmosphere. This helped me determine the time of year in which the Dynamic Prefab can be natu-rally day lighted and when to fully shade the building
This sun chart shows the ho-rizon on December 21 and the angle and time of day when solar radiation can used in a building as a en-ergy or heat gain. This can be for every day of the year to determine when to admit solar gain and when to block it with a shading device.
The psychrometric chart help us determine the best strategies for achieving com-fort in a specifi c climate. The chart illustrates that in the Moscow-Pullman area when designing one should use thermal mass with night fl ush cooling to store the cool and temper the interior temperature as the day heats up. It also suggests to use natural ventilation and solar gain to maintain a comfort-able interior temperature.
Page 11CASE STUDIESCASE STUD
Page 12 Page 12 SLIDING HOUSE
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Dynamic Brilliance:
The Sliding House has an envelope that moves on a track allowing the residence to put a covering and in-sulation exactly where and when it is needed. Sliding back and forth, the mobile exterior off ers the house’s residents fl exibility with the look and behavior of the building. The lighting and mood of the interior spaces can be altered with the simple movement of the exterior. The building’s architectural trick also mean the heating and cooling loads of the house can be manipulated throughout the year.
Phases:
In the fi rst phase the glazed, main living space can be fully exposed to take advantage of full solar gain, and views. This position is ideal for morning and cool days when trying to heat the interior space.
The second phase, the exterior slides forward to cover the living space and provide shelter, insulation and shading. This allows the building to retain heat gained throughout the day, block unwanted heat during the day, provide privacy and greater protection when desired.
The third stage is when the exterior is moved fully forward to create a covered outdoor space. In this phase the exterior covers the pool blocking the sun and proving shelter from the elements when the residents would like to access the pool.
SLIDING HOUSE
Page 14 Page 14 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SOLAR DECATHLON
Page 15U OF C DECATHLON
Page 16 Page 16 FUTURE SHACK
Page 17FUTURE SHACK
Page 18 Page 18 PROGRAMING
Page 19PROJECT INTRODUCTION
maintaining a high standard of quality. The clientele that this is being designed for are singles and couples who are fi rst time home buyers and or low income families. This limits its cost, increases its demand for effi cient space as well as provides fl exible, fuzzy spac-es that blur the lines of inside and outside all while maintaining a low square footage. With this project I aim to demonstrate that through passive strategies one can build a low cost, high qual-ity house that needs no off site energy to maintain a comfortable living space. It will be a building that can be within the budgets of most people and illustrate common sense techniques that reduce the need for energy and in turn save money.
Expanding The Performance
This dynamic prefabricated, container enve-lope changes it’s self to meet seasonal tempera-ture swings by changing it’s envelope to provide shading and add insulation when needed. it is an envelope designed to meet the extremes of sum-mer and winter while maintaining a comfortable temperature within. In typical architecture, passive design can only maintain a comfortable inside temperature dur-ing the mild seasons of the year. This leaves a gap during the coldest and warmest parts of the year. This design will be a prefabricated envelope that dynamically changes to meet the extremes of a given year and bridge those times with a passive system that adapts to the seasons. To do this the project will exhaust passive strategies in light-ing, heating, and electric load reduction prior to implementing any active strategy for energy production. This project also will address the issues of low income and fi rst time home buyers; in that it needs to provide fast manufacture and construc-tion time that will reduce waist and cost while
Page 20 Page 20 PLAN
Page 21PLAN Page 21PLAN
Page 22 Page 22 EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVES
Page 23Page 23EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVES
Page 24 Page 24 INTERIOR PERSPECTIVES
Page 25INTERIOR PERSPECTIVES
Page 26 Page 26 SECTIONS
Page 27ELEVATIONS
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As the temperature varies greater throughout the days and increasingly cools the occupant draws in, using the decks less but still oc-cupying the breezway and using the arctic entry fully as part of the living space
During the winter the occu-pant can fully withdraw into the main living space of the structure shutting all three doors to minimize heat loss. While entering, the occu-pant will pass through three doors and three spaces, each door and connected space creates a buff er, a space for the outside air that entered with the occupant to get caught in and warm up prior to reaching the living space.
THERMAL BARRIER ZONES
Page 29Page 29ROOF DETAILS
Page 30 Page 30Page 30 WALL PANEL DETAILS
Page 31Page 31MECHANICAL
Page 32 Page 32 SOLAR DRYER
Page 33Page 33
According to HEED, The building can maintain an internal temperature between 62.12 degrees in the coldest part of winter and 83.85 degrees during the peak of summer without heating or cooling.
The gaol of this project was to maintain between 74 and 84 degrees and maintain a diff erence of 12 degrees warmer during the winter without increasing the max, summer internal temperature .
To do this one would have to increase the southern glazing from a current 25% to 50% and increased the ventilation during the summer to exhaust the increased solar gain.
DOES IT WORK?
Page 34 Page 34Page 34
The structure will be delivered in three stages. First the “A” Frame will be delivered in erected then two trucks will deliver both containers packed with all the components needed to fi nish building the structure.
