Natural Building Ventilation

Syllabus for 6419: Natural Building VentilationTerm: Fall 2009Department: ArchitectureCourse Type: Seminar Workshop (2 credits)Instructor: Jelena Srebric, Ph.D.Time and location: Please note, this course will meet intensively during two periods: from Monday, October 5 through Friday, October 9; and from Wednesday, November 4 through Friday, November 6. On October 7 and 9 and Nov 6 the course will have officially scheduled lectures from 10-11:30 (at the same time as Christoph Reinhart\’s 6332 Daylighting Buildings course, which will not be held during on these days). The instructor will meet during these periods in smaller groups based on the availability of the students. An introductory meeting will be held on Monday, October 5th at a time that will be determined based on student availability. Students will work on individual projects during the month between the two teaching blocks, and will receive email support from the instructor at that time.Prerequisites: access to a newer laptop is strongly recommendedCourse Description:The primary focus of this course will be the fundamentals of natural ventilation design in an architectural context of building site and building layout. The course will stress the integration of architectural features with natural and mechanical ventilation to achieve energy efficient design solutions. During the first week of the class, students will learn a range of different techniques for natural ventilation design, ranging from rules of thumb and simple estimates to state-of-the-art computer simulations. The strengths and weaknesses of different design techniques will be discussed and evaluated to prepare the students for a class project. During the rest of the class, students will work on natural ventilation design or on-site evaluation for a building of their choice with an approval from the instructor. This project will be challenging because there are no standard design or evaluation techniques for natural ventilation and students will be able to create their own methodology based on the techniques presented in the first week of the class. The class project will culminate in presentations during the last week of the class that will be based on two project reports. These individual reports will be compiled in a final class report as a resource for future design decisions on natural ventilation.Learning Objectives:At the end of this course students will be expected to:-understand the physical fundamentals of natural ventilation-be able to apply these fundamentals to practical design problem-recognize design opportunities for natural ventilationMethods of Assessment:Grades will be based on the completed assignments, participation in class discussions and lectures, and demonstration of your understanding of the course material through the course project. The total grade will be based on:-Two homework assignments, 40%-First project report, 20%-Second project report, 20%-Final project presentation, 20%Selected Readings:CIBSE, 2005. \”Natural Ventilation in Non-Domestic Buildings,\” The Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE), United Kingdom.Allard, F. 1998. \”Natural Ventilation in Buildings: A Design Handbook,\” James & James Science Publishers Ltd, London, UK, 356 pages.Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), \”High Performance Commercial Building Facades: Building Case Studies,\” http://gaia.lbl.gov/hpbf/casest_r3.htm