Architecture / Fire

Architecture / Fire#

image Foster+Partners office, London, UK.

Building design requires respectful collaboration between different design and engineering disciplines. Architectural Consultants need to design a building that provides the function required by the client, that is greater than the sum of its parts. To do this Architect’s focus on the design of the [spaces], [facades] and [finishes] and communication of the design.

However, a burning or collapsing building is not a beautiful building. We need to design SAFE buildings.

Therefore, Architectural / Fire consultants need to get their heads into the project quickly and start exploring the potential form (3D shape) and spatial arrangement of the building to support the investigations of the other subjects. If this initial work is done well, it will provide you with a valuable perspective on the building design process. Whilst you may have your ‘own’ ideas for the building, you will find that you will need to be explore many alternative design solutions to synthesise the needs of all the consultants of the team. Check the integration notes below for more information.

Chief Consultant: Tim McGinley (Arch) and Anne Dederichs (Fire)

This document covers the following:

Skills and motivation#

Architectural Consultants have the following skills and motivations:

  • Experience with Architectural design (essential - at least one member)

  • Taken a design studio (Desirable)

  • Experience with computational design (Desirable)

  • Material design / engineering experience (Desirable)

  • Ability to listen and grow from feedback (essential)

  • Willingness to explore different options

  • Enthusiasm to find solutions that work for the whole team.

  • A consultancy that covers interest in resolving both the conceptual and detail challenges

Your chief consultant can support you with#

In the project you will be supported by the chief consutlant with the following:

  • Understanding the role of the architect

  • Space planning and zoning

  • Fire safety and evacuation

  • Facade design

  • Design tutorials and crits

  • Advice on interdisciplinary design

  • Introduction to Universal Design Principles

  • Detail drawings (Part D)

  • Inspiration from some real world examples

You will need to independently learn#

  • Work in BIM / Design software to develop your designs

  • Develop the interfaces between the disciplines in your team.

  • Work out the questions you need to ask in consultancy sessions.

  • Work out how to keep the team moving so that they are not sitting around waiting for you.

Assignments#

This advice needs to be integrated into the overall requirements of each assignment.

Part A#

A1 Physical model#

  • Support the analysis, design and construction of the physical model.

  • Use the model to explore the spatial capacity and requirements of your team’s chosen building

  • Explore different options for facade design

  • Work with Geo consultants (if you have them) to model the site that the building sits on.

A2 Project Plan#

  • Analyse the documentation and previous projects to work out what you need to do when and provide this information to the PM.

A4 Design Management Schema.#

  • Agree your project responsibilites with your PM.

A5 ICT Contract#

  • Agree the design / BIM tools you will use, the standards you will comply with and how you will support integrated digital design process with your PM.

A7 Benchmark Building Model#

  • Support the team to define the required information for the existing and proposed building.

Part B#

Drawings#

You should include the following drawings:

  • (1) Section(s),

  • (2) 3D view(s),

  • (3) Ground floor plan(s),

  • (4) Office plan(s).

These should describe the different elements in the design including those from the other subjects.

Part C#

C Consultant Report#

The Part C subject report for architecture will be organised in the themes / elements of the project, furthermore, it will clearly explain the different available options and discuss the decision process and trade offs. Examples of how the Team KPIs and project beats have been used to inform the deign are also important. This is your main opportunity for written formative (in progress feedback from both your teacher and peers, so make the most of it 😊

Report Structure:

  • Front Page, view of building from eye level looking up.

  • Introduction, The project, Beats and KPIs, work division

  • Site, Connection to the campus, site analysis, Koppen-Gieger class

  • Building Concept, Building concept development, Design process, General vision and idea of the building

  • Floors, Functionality, Distribution ofmain functions, floor plans

  • Spaces

    • Entrance

    • Auditorium

    • Multipurpose

    • Cafe

  • Structure, Core, column placements and design

  • Facade, Design principles and materials

  • Building Flows / MEP, integration

  • Basement / Substructure, bike prking and storage.

  • Evacuation & Safety Specific Evacuation

  • Summary and questions

  • Copy of invoice sent to PM

  • Appendix / Fire evacuation calculations

C BIM#

LOD to be defined by PM in the ICT Agreement. This model should include all the spaces. Facade, entrance, ground floor and reception area with furniture and all the pieces, representative floors fully modelled (everything on those floor levels), copy room, toilets, gym, lockers, auditoriums, sky bar, observatory, cafeteria, restaurant, bike parking, car parking (represented by adding only some elements (car, bikes) not all of them) the elevator shaft on top of the building, stair access to the building roof, façade cleaning system crane.

Part D#

D Consultant Report#

This is a continuation on the Part C report but with more detail on the themes discussed in the course. It will contain the following additional content

  • 6 details (introduced in Part D Architecture lecture)

D BIM#

Check IFCSpaces have exported successfully. Ceilings present and correctly classified.

Facade, entrance, ground floor and reception area with furniture and all the pieces, representative floors fully modelled (everything on those floor plans), copy room, toilets, lockers, auditoriums, roof, cafeteria, restaurant, bike parkingc(not all of them), the elevator shaft on top of the building, stair access to the building roof, façade cleaning system crane.

Requirements#

Advanced Building Design requires the collaborative design, modelling, analysis, communication and iteration of interdisciplinary solutions to each building system at every stage of the design process. specifically this means the responsibilities and dependencies for architecture are:

Client Requirements#

  • Synthesise the client requirements into aesthetic and functional SPACES.

Design Concept#

  • Develop, synthesis and communicate the architectural design concept(s) to the satisfaction of the design team and the client.

BR18#

  • Check BR18 conformance.

Iterate#

  • Model different design options for FACADE, BUILDING ENVELOPE, AUDITORIUM and others,to guide and facilitate analysis and feedback from the team.

Spatial Relationships#

  • Define the relationships between the SPACES required by the client.

Building Mass#

  • Define and iterate the mass (form) of the building envelope.

Circulation and Accessability#

  • Define access to and egress from the BUILDING

Acoustic Analysis of the spaces#

  • Perform acoustic analysis of the SPACES.

Facade Design#

  • Design and iterate the FACADE based on the space requirements and input from MEP from concept through to detail design.

An integrated building design#

  • it should be a welcoming and inclusive building

  • why would people go to the building - how does it seem interesting / inviting?

  • Is it a landmark building and to what extent does it try and blend into the surroundings? How do we know it is a DTU building but also something new? What statement is it making?

  • Consider the different elements of the building and how they are combined to support the subject and project requirements.

More than the sum of its parts#

Consider the different elements of the building and how they are combined to support the subject and project requirements.

Sense of place#

Consider how your building creates a sense of place. How are you ‘treating’ the surrounding area. Have you considered the landscaping around the building? is there a hard separation between the inside and outside? If so, is this required?

Architectural Concept#

Clear concept for the building - what is it the architecture is trying to achieve - does you building effect how people feel? if so how and is this what you intended? One definition is that architecture either supports truth or narrative: if truth it should focus on expressing its real purpose, if narrative it should tell you a story that inspires you to think in a certain way.

Design Process#

get this back from the manual!!!

Strategies and tactics#

As Architects with an engineer’s curiosity to test, you should separate your strategies (your idea) for your tactics (the realisation of the idea), so you know which to change as you iterate. These should be testable against the client and technical requirements where possible (learning Objective 5. Integrate various technical requirements into a functional building design that satisfies the client brief.)

Keep it simple#

Both the architectural ideas and your presentation of them should be expressed simply, always.

Building Envelope#

The architectural mass, sometimes called the form (or more simply the shape) should be considered and explored early in iterations, decisions on this effect all disciplines. You should consider both the architectural and engineering mass of the building.

Circulation#

Design, analyse and communicate how to navigate the building considering:

  • how to enter the building from outside (pedestrian, bicycle and car), from the parking area.

  • Universal Design principles.

  • Circulation through the building, how is this communicated to the users?

  • How do people move around and between floors, how do they know where to go?

  • The design should embrace the principles of Universal Design. It is important to explore how to achieve maximum usability through the design of spaces, use of light and choice of materials.

Spaces#

  • Spatial hierarchy: Consider the hierarchy of the spaces including size of corridors, lobbies,informal and formal meeting and working spaces. Consider the spaces required to support the ‘hero’ spaces of the building.

  • Use of public spaces / consider separation of public and private spaces.

Facade Design#

Design the facade considering:

  • How it signifies the function of the building,

  • The materials, texture and design,

  • Windows on other openings

  • Wall construction with vapour barrier, insulation, secondary construction, wind barrier and cladding

  • the sun shading system

  • the rhythm that that it creates on the elevation

  • the window cleaning system etc.

Structure#

Consider the integration of all the architectural elements with the structure. Columns can organize space - use them.

Open design process#

We are not prescribing the design process, this is up to you as architects to explore a process that supports the needs of your team. If you are not sure what their needs are you should ask. We will use 3D modelling to explore ideas and BIM concepts to support collaboration, but you should also make physical sketch models for instance to explore the potential of your building. These do not need to be ‘production’ level models but can be valuable aids to thinking about the building. Explore the building in plan and section. This shouldn’t be an afterthought but treated as a powerful method to explore spaces.

Try it!#

Embrace both the in and out of control elements of the process. If in doubt - start and try it, and then try it again 😊

Think abstract#

Where possible think in abstractions - its faster 😊 Try and sketch out ideas to explore the implications.

DGNB#

Universal Design#

The original Universal Design Principles can be found here and here

These have then be reframed for buildings in this work

Mosca, E.I., Capolongo, S. (2020). Universal Design-Based Framework to Assess Usability and Inclusion of Buildings. In: Gervasi, O., et al. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2020. ICCSA 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12253. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.proxy.findit.cvt.dk/10.1007/978-3-030-58814-4_22

Physical-Spatial Quality#

The capability of the environment to foster easy, comfortable, functional, and safe use of space and objects. This means being able to physically interact with a system;

Principle 1: Usability:#

To use environments, facilities, and objects to ensure the comfort of different users (e.g. distance, dimension, weight, number of people, etc.). Usability includes accessibility, which is considered a pre-requisite;

Principle 2: Functionality:#

To satisfy the preferences of different users through flexibility and adaptation of space and furniture in terms of use and time (i.e. maintainability);

Principle 3: Safety/Security:#

To guarantee safety and security of different users in both emergency and common situations, by minimizing risks without stigmatized solutions;

Sensorial-Cognitive Quality#

The capability of the environment to foster orientation, comprehension of the service, and comfort of users. This refers to the features that impact peoples’ senses and cognition;

Principle 4: Wayfinding:#

To orientate users with visual, tactile, and verbal information to help them determine their own position in a space;

Principle 5: Understanding:#

To communicate information in an effective and simple way through different methods, regardless of the environmental conditions or the cognitive and sensory abilities of users;

Social Quality#

The ability of the environment to enhance well-being and inclusion. It considers emotional stimuli and social integration among users.

Principle 6: Well-being:#

To transfer positive emotions to different users through healthy behaviours, physical activity and the design of the environment and its soft qualities, pleasantness, and esthetics;

Principle 7: Social Inclusion:#

To foster active participation of different users during the design process, guarantee the same experience for all users, reinforce the cultural values of any design project, and treat all groups with dignity and respect.

Interdisciplinarity#

Architecture -> Structure#

The relationship between structures and architecture is very important and needs to be strong. You can use this to explore ideas about what each subject should model. For instance, one approach for the floors is for the architects to model the finished floor and for the structures group to model the structural slab. This should avoid potential clashes in the federated BIM (model/s).

Architecture -> MEP#

The relationship to building services is really important to architecture, for instance, the location of the plant rooms and the routes of larger ventilation ducting that may be too noisy for space requirements such as meeting rooms.

Architecture -> PM / ICT#

The integration to the ICT/PM group is really important. A symbiotic relationship between the two subjects can help improve the quality, communication and frequency of early design decisions.

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