SoL Harris/Day Architecture
Workplace
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
By
In Sustainability
Working with the natural environment is one of the hallmarks of a green building. But Nature is a tricky system to work with in Ohio's climate. It is cold in the winter, with very little sun, and hot in the summer with a lot of sun. We have a challenge in trying to encourage sunlight into the building in the winter while keeping it out in the summer.
Some have gone so far as to design moving screens as part of the outside skin of the building to do this. I toured one such facility in France. Construction had been completed for less than 5 years and already the moving shades had rusted, had seized up and were useless. So much for all the planning, extra materials and extra work to design moving parts. Green design should be much more simple than that.
The new SōL Harris/Day building takes advantage of the sun in a simple manner. The building is oriented with the long side of the building facing south and is equipped with permanent sun shades along the south facing glass. This allows the low angle winter sun to enter the building while blocking out the higher angle summer sun. In each case, natural lighting is not restricted, which also reduces lighting costs. This will result in more even temperatures in the building, increased comfort and lead directly to lower heating and cooling costs. No more offices that are 85 degrees when the sun comes out.
A common, simple device in nature for shade is the average deciduous tree. Maple, Poplar, Birch. Any well placed tree that looses its leaves in the winter time is in essence a sun shade that lets in light during the winter and keeps it out in the heat of the summer. Trees can also be used to shade and cool parking lots, lowering the heat of the area surrounding the building. Part of the SōL Harris/Day green design uses an existing 40' tall sugar maple on the south side of the building to block unwanted heat in the hot summer months. Additional trees will be planted on the south side of the building to aid in shade that will cool in the summer, heat in the winter, enhance the views and lower lighting costs. Another example of killing more than two birds with one stone.
What a great example of a simple natural system that works much better than a man made device. When planning, look for ways to work with nature and remember to keep it simple.
Matt Sutter
SōL Harris/Day Architecture
msutter@harrisday.com
330.493.3722
Anatomy of Our Team
Landscape Architecture (Designer of natural shading)
Floyd Browne Group
330.375.1390 - www.floydbrowne.com
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