Pleating

Original

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

So here are five options for pleating the rear facade of my shape. I've experimented with a variety of singular pleats with varying orientation, and multiple pleats at regular intervals. I prefer the third video, or pleat option 2. It is a singular pleat that trends toward the northwest corner of the building. During the summer, this option allows direct sunlight to the 5 upper stories of the Gehry Building. This might not be an ideal situation from a space conditioning standpoint, but this side of the building gets blasted with sun during the summer. So I guess the building in a way improves this condition. Personally, the most appealing part of this option is the light incident to the pleat faces throughout the day. With this form there is an opportunity for reflected light through most of the day. In fact, with the right material for reflection. The light from this surface could actual be more desirable than the light conditions in the Gehry building presently.

Let me know your thoughts.

Sun Studies

Spring/Fall

Summer

So here are videos of my sun study for the site with my shape on it. The filled in floor plate (which is not the actual design, and is just there to help indicate the shadow's movement) changes to yellow at 12 PM. Three studies are present. At 9/21 slash 3/21, 6/21, and 12/21. As you can see, the shape creates a favorable shadow pattern during the midday hours during the summer. I believe this space should be utilized as outdoor space for the library probably centered around the cafe area. I still need to look at exactly where the parvis should be placed over the highway, and where the highway should be left exposed. This investigation is forthcoming.

Winter

‘Annoying’ Noise Potential and Adaptive Shape

 

We have already identified the ‘potential’ for noise at the selected site, given that is basically an open void to a multi-lane interstate roadway.  I do not usually think that noise is a particularly insightful site force, simply because urban environments are noisy by nature (this kind of sight analysis usually leads to diagrams of the obvious).  I hope this vein of analysis can be a bit more instructive (you can let me know if it is not).

Hoping to engage (and/or mitigate) the noise ‘potential’ at the proposed site, I have tried to model the behavior of noise in and around the site: first, with existing site conditions and then with a proposed massing on top of the site.  Some computer modeling demonstrated that the main source of noise at the site comes from the several lanes of traffic below the void that I hope to span with the new library as opposed to the surface traffic along Massachusetts Ave. and Boylston St.  More specifically, it is the persistent echo and reverberation of sound emitted from the sub-surface roadway that shapes the sound environment most dramatically.  

The attached animations model a theoretical sound source, in this case an 85 dB, 1200 Hz multi-directional source representative of ‘heavy traffic’ as defined by the US Department of Energy (which is coincidentally within the range of what the DOE defines as ‘annoying’ sound levels).  A comparison of these analyses tells me two things particularly: 1) The shape of the site, once filled with direct and reflected sound, affects how that sound is attenuated over time and this shape has a tendency to hold sound like a vessel and 2) any proposed building proposed at the site will not only have to deal with dramatic noise characteristics but it also has the potential to shape how this sound is transmitted to the streetscape.  I see my proposed library as a layer of refuge within layers of environmental noise; the goal will be to shape the moments where these environments can interact.

Site Planning + Building Envelope

Hi all, I have been thinking a lot about site design and natural elements in working out the programming of my library. Because my site is waterfront and intrudes upon some of the Emerald Necklace and precious little greenspace in that area, I have been thinking of ways to mitigate its presence (and haven't gotten too far yet!). I am particularly concerned about excessive glazing, as I plan on using a lot of glass to make my building transparent and to capitalize on the views. But this becomes problematic after analyzing various sun studies and realizing that its getting very direct light for most of the day and year. I found an interesting article about how LEED points don't pay enough attention to building siting, focusing more on materials and products: http://archrecord.construction.com/yb/ar/article.aspx?story_id=157273774 This is something I have believed for some time, after working in a building that is Silver Certified but completely isolated, off the grid, and poorly climate-controlled. I personally think LEED is a hollow gesture, better for encouragement than actually making things more sustainable, and I'm trying to reconcile that with my current site design. Also, check out Architectural Record's ongoing library precedent articles!

Hi All,

I researched some precedents that had similar conditions as my building (building up on top of the existing structure). My structural diagrams are very schematic (beam sizes, column thickness, etc...) but they show the idea of how I would be able to build on top of the parking garage.
Facade studies describe different ways of addressing the street and attracting the passers-by into the library.


For Wednesday, I will have a programmatic model, schematic plans and perhaps a diagrammatic section of the building.

-MM