The Last : The Beginning of the Old End.

 

With charette now over in our studios, and all final exams taken, the time for a final post on System Sites and Buildings has come.  The last week of the class culminated in examples of architectural projects that integrated various system strategies into their design, as well as a guest lecture by “PARABOLA: Architecture + Industrial Design.”  In their lecture they spoke about their advocacy for re-thinking the concept of waste, the idea of design based on cradle to cradle principles, and the concept of building in a way that optimizes water, solar, wind, and energy uses.  However the one thing that attracted me the most from their presentation was the design of a time-piece they designed in a small home.  It’s kind of like Prof. Sherman’s natural clock that he installed on a 9 inch window inside one of the stair cases.  However this clock lines up with certain marked areas on the interior surfaces, and some of the interior angles of the structure line up with the angles of the sun during the summer and winter solstices, and the equinoxes.  I have always been an advocate of light and light manipulation (as you may have noticed).  Moments like these are what excite me and  inspire my architectural design.  Therefore it was the most memorable and most grounding part of the presentation for me.

Prof. Sherman’s lecture had many interesting projects that he had worked on and had integrated systems designs into.  Looking at his designs though made me realize how large of an impact such design strategies could have in low economy, poor economy areas.   People would really benefit from natural air systems composed of cross ventilation and stacking, from natural light systems that allowed the sun to come into wanted/needed areas, and from architectural design that took advantage of elements such as water, natural materials, site, and more.  His designs reminded me of a very old architectural model that Michelangelo followed, in which he more or less said that architecture should be directly related to the human body (Disclaimer: I’m paraphrasing).  Two of the projects that struck me the most were the Wroxton Row houses and the Kinzie-Berdel Residence.  The way in which he created the square voids juxtaposed against the masses in the Wroxton project, in order to create areas that would always have light and shadow as well as some controlled breezes, was very captivating and inspiring.  The roof of the Kinzie Berdel Residence that functioned to collect rain water was also very inspiring.  This strategy was especially interesting because it could be a useful strategy in 3rd world countries, where families of low income could have better access to water and live a better life.  Potentionally, this is an idea that would hope I can put into work at some point the very near future, when my Father’s house in the Dominican Republic gets reconstructed.

Overall this semester was very useful and insightful.  I think my design will benefit from the lessons learned in this course, and I hope to carry these lessons forward.  This post marks the end of the semester, but the beginning of my new blog: Life in the Studio…

Thank you Prof. Sherman

Air Heating & Cooling: Breathing Winds by Trial & Error

Upon first glance the title of this post might seem a bit odd, unless the conversation deals with architecture.  This is because one of the most important aspects of a work of architecture, apart from light and thermal comfort, is it’s ability to breathe.  The ability to provide good quality air that adds to  a person’s overall comfort and experience.  As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, in which I spoke about Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower, the way in which we manipulate the air contributes to the thermal comfort and necessary energy use of a building.  The tricky part about air manipulation and air specific design is that it can only be achieved to the fullest extent through much trial and error.  Of course one would think that this would be the same approach to any other building system (e.g. lighting, mechanical, thermal, use, etc.).  However these other systems deal more with established rules [of thumb]  that can more often than not be generalized in every building or work of architecture.  You might not be able to generalize it all of the time, but just to give an example, most designers in New York City know that they need to worry about the very high sun angles in the summer that lead to “live cooking” zones within a building, and the very low sun angles in the winter that lead to “blinding glare” zones.  Design can be generalized for almost every room in a building with regards to light, and it could even be generalized at the scale of a  building, a city block, or a state borough.

However when it comes to air, it has to be tailored to very specific site conditions that are derived from site data collection and analysis.  The design needs to learn how to breathe air through repeated and meticulous “Trial & Error.”  Every room needs to be tailored according to the pre-existing conditions, the architecture itself, and more.  According to Kwok & Grondzik’s book “The Green Studio Handbook” air design, specifically air heating/cooling depends on a thorough understanding of three major systems: Climate, Building Type, and Patterns of Operations.  Cooling/heating strategies must be matched to these three systems that pre-exist on the site.  To use New York city as an example, again, a building in NYC would benefit from natural cooling strategies that focused less on thermal massing and more on ventilation strategies during the summer, since summer days in New York tend to be extremely hot and humid.  However a building in Arizona or Dominican Republic (or other areas high in temperature but low in humidity) would benefit from a design that focused both on thermal massing and on ventilation strategies.  This is a matter of Climate differences. More variables would have to be introduced into the air design strategies (i.e. building type, air speed, airflow rate, wind directions, etc.) in order to make it useful and actually efficient.

That is why I say that Air cooling/heating has to be tailored more than other systems.  Ideally the best designs are the ones that take into account all of the various buildings systems and optimizes the conditions of the site.  However the only way to make air systems work is by trying out ideas that work for one condition, and figuring out the faults or errors that are created on another condition.  Only when all local conditions are addressed can we actually create an air efficient system within a building.  Suppose an architect designed a building with a good cross ventilation strategy in a high temperature climate condition, in which he creates high air speeds at heights of the average person (so as to make the person feel cooled off from the high temperature) by creating small inlets on the building walls from which winds come from, and large outlets on the walls where winds would go (if there was no building).  This would be a great system given the conditions, but assume that this strategy happens to bring air from an industrial plant a couple miles away because of the way the wind patterns work on this site.  The architect may have solved a problem, but ended up creating a new problem that we don’t know if it’s better or worse.  yet supposed the architect never thinks about the ventilation, but instead thinks about the smell only and accounts for just the smell.  This is the case for my mother’s house in the Dominican Republic.  Her house is super hot, because the architect didn’t provide cross ventilation (which would have been useful for my Dad’s constant nagging about the house being so hot) in a conscious (or unconscious) attempt to block the awful odorous winds from a maize plant a couple of miles away.  The plant isn’t there anymore (due to poor economic conditions, etc.) but the warmth in the house still exists.  Not only that but the house has a low, concrete ceiling that only serve to exhaust some of the warmth it captures in the day to the interior of the house at night.  Maybe if the ceiling were painted white it would reflect light and heat instead of absorbing it.  Furthermore, if the windows would have been placed higher on the walls and were located in accordance with local winds, the house would benefit from the Bernoulli effect of air flow.

The point is that air design involves the most trial and error in order to make it work correctly.  Overall this section of the course helped me realize how important airflow design is, and how meticulous it can be to handle the three major principles of air design mentioned in the readings.  It would seem now that in all of my designs I am always looking for an opportunity to create air stack effects, venturi effects, cross ventilation effects through the architecture it self – the sectional and plan design.

Light : Seeing it, Again

 

For a while now I have been meaning to make a post about light.  That’s because out of all the elements of architecture, the one that attracts me the most is the manipulation of light.  Light has the power to affect the poetic gestures of a space as well as the actual function of that space.  When people sit in a well lit space they feel better, they work better, and they notice the little architectural surprises such as a clean slit of light hitting the side of the wall to form an interesting angle.  Yet after Bill’s lectures on light and lighting strategies, I realized that I had always thought about light in a very naive way.  I always thought that the more light a space and the more poetical gestures you can create the better a space would be off.  I only thought about light in the day, and never gave thought to the light of the night.

After Bill’s lecture I gained an even greater appreciation for light and even learned a couple of new things I had never stop to realize or question before.  For example, I never realized how long it takes for our eyes to adjust to light changes.  Furthermore, I never stopped to noticed that it takes longer for our eyes to adjust to the dark when we’re in a completely dark room (dark on dark), than to the light when we suddenly go outside on a bright sunny day (light on light).  Even more interesting is the fact that we become temporarily blinded whenever we move from a very dark space to a very light space, and vice-verse.  These are things that have happened to me before, but never really new that it had to deal with the rods and cones in our eyes that are responsible for capturing light and color.  I was also surprised at the fact that such a small amount of foot-candles is provided in case of emergency, compared to other activities.  Perhaps what surprised me the most about that lecture though is how important contrast is with regards to light.  In a space with high contrast (that might come from the use of very bright materials placed against dull materials) one foot candle would be sufficient enough to properly light that space.  In contrast (see what I did there….) a space with very low contrast would need a large amount foot candles in orderly to properly light that space.  This makes me realize that the key to choosing materials when designing a space is not just about what will provide the best thermal comfort, but also what will provide the best strategies for lighting.  What materials will create the best contrast? Which surfaces will be responsible for bringing in indirect light, and which surfaces will be responsible for diffusing light?  This is what allows me to be more decisive and efficient in my material choice when designing.

Something else that was interesting were all the rules of thumb that Lam provides in his book “Perception and Lighting.”  To me the most interesting rule of thumb, and probably most easily overlooked, was do not Over Do the amount of light (don’t O.D. with it). Having too much light, especially in unnecessary spaces, doesn’t allow us to perceive space correctly.  Too much light brings too many objects onto the foreground, and the eyes get confused about what to actually focus on.  According to Lam’s argument, the way we perceive light is by noticing contrast.  Our eyes are built for it.  When manipulating light, one needs to focus this light on the important spaces, so as to draw attention to them.  One must also keep in mind the use of that space, and accommodate light according to the function of the space.

As Waldman would say: Architecture is a Covenant with the world, Again.  I am “seeing” light, Again.

Assignment 5 – Understanding Systems : The Pod Hotel

For the past couple of weeks, our Systems class has been working on integrating systems knowledge into our current Studio Arch projects.  Specifically we have been trying to integrate ideas and strategies that affect our designs in terms of: daylight, ventilation, and thermal quality.  The following diagrams have been the result of this analysis.

This semester, our computerless Studio has focused on the design of a Pod Hotel on a site adjacent to the High Line Park in New York City.  At the same time we have been creating public spaces that can serve both hotel guests, and city dwellers & tourists.  Specifically, our studio design approach has been to create “an interesting section” that isn’t static but is rather evocative in terms of its design, and the spaces we can create sectionally.  The hotel spans a full nine floors, whereas the public space (through which the section drawing is cut) spans four floors.
The first set of diagrams are longitudinal section cuts of the Public Spaces within the Pod Hotel, as well as administrative space.   The public spaces include the hotel Lobby, a hotel Bar, a public Restaurant, and a large space that serves as a Ballroom during the day, and a Night Club in the sky during the night.  There also exterior spaces available for seating, that vary throughout the time of the year.  The diagrams have been divided by two main seasonal changes, according to when the sun reaches its peak points in the sky – Summer and Winter Solstice.

In this first diagram, “Daylight & Wind Analysis – Summer Solstice”, the focus was on depicting the typical lighting conditions on a sunny day in New York.  Most of the public rooms are mainly lit up through an indirect lighting strategy, with the exception of the rooms located towards the north facade.  These rooms receive their light from artificial lighting sources because of the nature of these rooms.  The intent was to create the typically low light bar during the summer so as to retain the feeling of a cold space, without any added heat from direct sunlight.  The 4th floor Ballroom would get much indirect light from the north and south sides because of its height (17 feet), but also because it has an operable skylight (not depicted by the section cut) that brings in some direct light if desired.  Not only that, but the overall lighting strategy for this building has been to create floor to ceiling windows that allow direct light to come into the different spaces, but more importantly it allows for more indirect light to penetrate into the spaces.  Furthermore, the spatial zone that spans from the hotel lobby up to the glass skylight above the restaurant floors, serves to bring in direct light  into a large interior atrium space.  From thereon light can also be dispersed indirectly to the spaces immediately surrounding the interior atrium.  In addition, there is a nine story light well that serves to bring light into the corridor spaces of the Pod Hotel.  As a final touch, the cantilever formed by the ballroom/night club on the northern end of the building creates a shaded zone underneath it.  This ends up making that frontal zone a “cool seating area” during the summer when New York can get extremely hot.  Conversely the southern end courtyard gets flooded with much direct light, and therefore heat.  However the intent was to have people interact more in the northern end seating area as opposed to the enclosed southern end courtyard.

In terms of thermal quality for these public spaces, they intent is to design it as a fully closed envelope with Low E glass, and high thermal mass materials such as stone and concrete.  In fact, the floor slabs would be constructed with concrete and then topped with stone tiles.  Underneath these tiles there would be a system of radiant heating and cooling pipes that would be monitored closely.  In terms of air flow, a wind shaft has been design along the light well that would allow for warm air to travel upward and be dragged out through the stack effect.  (Detail drawing shows the wind shaft).  This wind shaft is connected to the interior atrium, which is in fact the sectional hearth to the restaurant, lobby, and bar. This wind shaft would only be active during the Summer when warm air would most likely accumulate in that atrium space.  In the winter time it would be closed, and building ventilation and thermal comfort would rely on high thermal mass materials (i.e. concrete), radiant heating and cooling,  a well thermally insulated shell with minimal thermal bridges, and HVAC systems.  Unfortunately the current state of our studio design curriculum did not lend it self to technical drawings of wall composition and thus, the avoidance of thermal bridges isn’t depicted.  However this is the intent.

There aren’t too many differences between the summer and winter time.  The main differences are the sun angles that affect some of the space usage, as well as the already mentioned air shaft that gets closed.  So in this second diagram, “Daylight & Wind Analysis – Winter Solstice”, one of the issues I address is the large floor-to-ceiling windows, which now lend themselves to winter sun glare.  I solve this issue by having mechanical shades come down to a certain distance, which would reduce this glare.  Another issue was the creation of  a “Cold Zone” in the northern exterior seating space of the building (due to the lack of sun light, as well as the now added winds that come from the North-West).  Although the tower does stop some of the western winds, the space would still get very cold.  However, this ends up being a favorable emergent design solution because it would perhaps force people to come into the hotel bar to “warm up” (and hopefully contribute some business).  It would also provoke a greater use of the southern exterior courtyard which would basically get no wind at all and, it would get much indirect sunlight in the form of reflected light from the floor-to-ceiling windows above the space.

Another issue I address is the Light Well not being able to bring in as much light into the hotel corridors or the interior atrium, as it does in the summer and the late spring/early fall.  Yet the winter sun angles would bring in enough light into the atrium through the skylight in the center.  As a solution for the corridors, I decided to make the southern end of the corridor become a full glass facade, so as to all for as much southern light as possible.  This is not visible in the section cut, but if you follow the floor plate lines of the corridor down to the southern end, and then contrast that angle to the sun rays in the diagram, you would see how far direct sunlight would get down that corridor.  The remained of the corridor would have natural indirect light fill it in, as well as some hidden artificial lights towards the northern end.

 

The detail drawings depict the system interactions of the more private spaces of the hotel, the single pod unit.  These units are located on the West side of the public spaces.  In the previous diagrams, one can see the stairs that lead people up into the corridors that correspond to each pod unit.  You can also see the concrete slab on that diagram, where the light well comes down.  The cross section cut of the pod unit occurs down the middle of the light well/air shaft.  In this cross section cut one can see how the warm air would flow up through that shaft that would get smaller as it moves upward per floor (so as to create a Venturi effect).  In the plan, the large “X” represents the void of the shaft.  The arrows are entrances to the pod.

The way in which the lighting works for the pod units varies a lot throughout the year.  In the mornings, no direct sunlight would come in through the Western light well.  Rather indirect light would come in through that light well, which is located on the head rest of the bed (the indirect light label that is on top).  The light well works through the material arrangement, by having the concrete walls be of a light color that could easily reflect light into the room.  This light well also serves as a window where one could see the sunset in the evenings from their bed, as well as have some direct sunlight stream in during the afternoons, which could also be shaded if need be.  But to return to the original point, direct sunlight doesn’t come in through the western light well, but rather it comes into the corridor space on the eastern light well.  No pods get direct morning light at any time during the year, and at first glance this might seem like a troubling issue.  However these pods are meant to be used in the evenings and night time for sleeping only, not necessarily meant for dwelling or watching the sunrise..  If people wish to continue sleeping in the morning they won’t be bothered by the sun.  If they need to wake up, they’ll set an alarm or receive a wake up call.

In the end the systematic design strategies work out to produce intended intentions, and unintended positive surprises.

Cheers

Assignment 4 – Thermal Flows : Hearst Tower Lobby

Out of all the high rise buildings in New York City, there is one that never ceases to amaze me – The Hearst Tower.  In particular the entry level lobby, and the 3rd floor seating & cafe area, are by far the most thrilling spaces the tower has to offer.  It’s one of the few instances in the city where one is able to experience an interior open atrium of approximately 10 floors, filled with natural light from huge clerestory style windows and full skylight windows.

In addition, is one of the few spaces in the city that seems to have perfect thermal comfort all year round due to its complex (and incidental) heating systems.  I have been inside that large atrium space countless times, and cannot remember any instance where I was either too cold or too warm.  It always seems to be just about right.  Therefore I decided to study the flow of heat and air within the building, specifically focusing on the 3rd floor large atrium, hoping that my new found knowledge of systems will help me decipher what is at work in that space.

As it turns out, there are many different heating and cooling techniques within this space that function together as one large system in order to maintain thermal comfort.   In a nutshell, the system is composed of various parts that control the interior air quality and temperature through convection and radiation methods, while keeping unwanted exterior air under control by controlling conduction routes.  As an example of passive design, one of the things this building executes well is proper building insulation.  The glass material that encloses most of the building is composed of a “special “‘low-E’ coating that allows for internal spaces to be flooded with natural light while keeping out the invisible solar radiation that causes heat.”  The base of the tower is mainly composed of a cast stone material, which naturally has thermal mass that helps keep the interior temperatures constant, regardless of what happens to the outside temperatures throughout the day.

The so called “diagrid frame” that holds up the tower is assembled in a way that stops thermal bridges from occurring. The recycled steel columns are sprayed with an insulating material, and then surrounded by heavy duty stainless steel sheets.   In addition, according to the detail images below, wherever floor plates or steel beams meet, insulation is laid down to prevent these points from becoming thermal bridges as well.  Along with the glass coating, the envelope of the buildings becomes very thermally efficient.

Furthermore, and unknown to most workers at the Hearst Tower, the floors of the 3rd floor atrium spaces also contribute to the flow of heat within the large atrium space.  That’s because these floors have been constructed in order to provide radiant heating or cooling, depending on the seasons/temperature.  This system works by running many small pipes underneath custom made, stone floor tiles.  The pipes are filled with either hot or chilled water and thereby radiate the water temperature onto the tiles.  These in turn radiate the hot or cold air into the room.  Of course, one might say that this temperature radiation might not be enough in order to create this “seemingly” perfect temperature in such a vast space.  However, due to the fact that warm air rises, the radiating heat is always flowing upwards, and even though the space is big, the only space that actually needs warm air is the distance from the ground to four feet above our heads.  The temperature of the air beyond that is not too important, which means that even if the heat waves slow down and cool off as they move upward, they won’t cool off that quickly.  Also, the radiating heat from our bodies also helps to contribute to the overall heat flow and thermal comfort of the space.

We have seen how the heat flow system of the Hearst Tower atrium is composed of various heating and cooling radiation elements, as well as of elements that minimize unwanted thermal bridging and solar radiation.  However, perhaps the most important element to this system is the sculptural piece called “Ice Falls.”  It’s a three story waterfall that runs from the third floor level to the lobby on the entry level.  Originally intended as a sculptural piece, this waterfall affects the flow of heat and air in the system by either humidifying or cooling the air.  This occurs by altering the temperature of the water which in turn affects whether the off steam will want to capture warm air, or release it through water’s convection properties.  Then the warmer or cooler air (again depending on the season) mixes with the fresh air that is forced into the space from the outside by HVAC systems, which are located about 10 feet above floor level (depicted in the sectional diagram below by the blue arrows).

Thus, perhaps one of the best possible heat flow system in a rather vast space is achieved.

Sources:

“Top 25 NY Buildings.” Nyc-architecture.com. New York Architecture. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. <http://nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID124.htm&gt;.

Foster, Norman, and Joseph Giovannini. Hearst Tower. Munich: Prestel, 2010. Print

Hearst Tower Tours.

 

Images:

Sectional Drawing:

http://www.earchitect.co.uk/new_york/hearst_tower_new_york.htm

Structural Detail:

Foster, Norman, and Joseph Giovannini. Hearst Tower. Munich: Prestel, 2010. Print

Thermal Flows : Conduction, Convection, Radiation

A couple of weeks ago one of my roomates (whom we will refer to as Agent J) and I began to talk about heat exchanges, and how it would work to our advantage in our apartment.  He brought up an interesting point when he said that we were on the best floor in terms of thermal flows and heat exchanges.  According to him, seeing as we live on the second floor we do not need to always keep our heating unit blasting heat at high degrees for two reasons: 1. The people living below us radiate heat (along with their their heating unit) that eventually rises into our apartment. 2. The people living above us also radiate heat (along with their heating unit) that can keep our heat insulated, thus keeping the temperature of our apartment constant and at the same time eliminating the need for our heating system to be set at high temperatures (i.e. 78 degrees F).  Yet for some reason I couldn’t fully follow his argument.  Certain things just didn’t fully make sense.  For example, if hot air rises above cold air, does that mean that the first floor apartment is always loosing heat?  Where does that heat go, up or down?  Wouldn’t this also mean that the hot air in our apartment would move up into the apartment above us?  What if our apartment has thermal bridges that we are unaware of? etc…

As it turns out, after analyzing what causes thermal flows and heat exchanges, I realized that all of these questions could be answered with both a yes and no.  The key factor – Temperature Difference.  Temperature difference is what actually allows thermal flows to occur through the conduction, convection, or radiation properties of the different materials.  Both Agent J and I were correct and incorrect about our arguments because, our arguments were dependent on the varying temperature situations that are possible within our entire apartment complex.

Therefore, Agent J was correct to a certain extent in saying that we live in the best floor in terms of thermal flows.   Our downstairs neighbors radiating heat would eventually rise to the top of their apartment.  However, whether that heat rises into our apartment (or keeps us insulated) is dependent on the temperature difference between our apartment, as well as possible thermal bridges on the floor slab between our apartment and thiers.  If our apartment is cooler than the downstairs apartment, that would create a temperature difference in which heat from the downstairs apartment would want to move towards our apartment with cooler air.  However, if there are no thermal bridges in the floor slab, that heat would not be able to flow regardless of the temperature difference.  That’s because heat would naturally seek the path of least resistance.  If it finds a material, such as the steel frames around the walls, that would  have a greater conduction potential then the heat would be move through that material instead of rising.  This also brings about an interesting point, which is that even though we are kept somewhat insulated, our apartment might loose heat through the surrounding walls.

This analysis came to prove it self last week, when all four men living in the apartment noticed how it was freezing all the time, much like certain zones of the Architecture School it self during summer and early fall months.  We decided to increase the average temperature on our heating unit from 72 degrees Fahrenheit, to 76 degrees.  No one has been cold since.

Assignment 3 – ReVisiting NYC : Energy Systems

The energy system above represents a four hour block during a typical summer day in New York City for me.  The four hour block stands from the late afternoon into the nighttime on a typical weekday.  My late afternoons would typically involve me getting work done at my job, getting out around 6:00 pm and taking the train home, eating and then going to the gym, coming back home to shower and relax for the rest of the evening.

There are numerous ways in which I could end up affecting this system in a way that changes my consumption of energy.  During the summer time, our apartment will usually have our two small air conditioner units on full blast in attempt to keep the apartment comfortable.  This would lead to a large consumption of energy because there is no central a/c unit (which is typical of New York), and so certain spaces of the apartment that are far away from the small a/c units take a long time to cool down.  More time means more energy being used to cool down the space.  These buildings also have low insulation, due to their age, and so heat more easily enters the apartment.  One way in which I could affect this large energy consumption is simply by turning off the air conditioners during the day, while blocking the sunlight from entering through any windows.  At the same time, instead of spending time inside the apartment, spend more time outside until the sun is down.  This would lead to less use of energy by the a/c units, because during the nighttime the earth is already supposed to be cooler, and thus requiring less time for the a/c units to cool certain spaces (since less heat is leaking into the apartments).  Not only that, but during the nighttime I would be going to sleep, requiring the a/c units to only cool down the bedrooms (where they are located) as opposed to the rooms that are further away from them.  Furthermore, the addition of blinds that keep the sun out would help to keep heat radiation out of the apartment.  All of this leads to less energy consumption by Air Conditioning individually, by the space, and as a result on the overall energy grid.

Another way I could affect energy consumption is by reducing my use of appliances at the gym.  Instead of going to the gym and using the treadmill to run, I could just run around the neighborhood parks.  This would basically reduce my use of energy at the gym to only lighting and cooling from when I go to lift weights.  In terms of my diagram it would take away a further division of the diagram that has some energy consumption and energy waste.  In terms of the space, I would be one less person at the gym which would equal to less radiated heat in that space.  Logically then, it would require less energy to maintain that space cool, which means I would reduce the energy use of the gym’s a/c central unit.  However that change would probably not have a great effect.  Perhaps by suggesting to the gym that they should check  their window systems could be a better approach, since that gym has large windows that typically doesn’t keep the sun’s heat out very well.

One final way in which I could affect this system would be to ride a bike home, as opposed to take the train, for the same reasons I would not use a treadmill and instead run outside.

 

 

Resources: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cures/Guy%20Sliker.pdf

Microclimates : NYC

During our studio trip to New York this weekend, I decided to go by one of my favorite spots in the city – Columbus Circle.  For some reason I have always been attracted to the views of the different high rise buildings and skyscrapers; the monumental column at the intersection of 59th street and 8th avenue, and the sounds of the crushing water from the fountain that surrounds it; the view into the park, and down the streets into the horizon.  They just always made me appreciate a different part of the city.  However going back on this trip I was able to interpret this corner in a new way.  As I was walking uptown along 8th avenue, I noticed the temperature and climate were absolutely amazing.  The temperature may have been between 77 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, making for perhaps one of the most comfortable nights in New York city during the fall season.  When I hit 59th street I decided to walk across the street and into the exterior space where the Column monument to Columbus stands, right in the middle of an Italian like Roundabout intersection.  As soon as I entered that space, I immediately fell the temperature change from the high 70s into what I think was the high 60s.  In fact, it was this immediate chill that made me realize how comfortable the city was in the first place.  I decided to keep on heading north, cross the street, and head on into the park.  Again I felt the changing temperatures.  As I crossed the street I felt warm breezes of that comfortable air I was in a few minutes ago.  Yet as soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk, I started to feel that chill again from the middle of the roundabout.  Interestingly enough, the further I walked into the park the colder it got, until the temperature hit a constant that I assumed was around the low 60s.

The most interesting part about this experience is the fact that I had never actually paid attention to these changes.  Not even after using the subway station on the same block for four years of high school, or walking in the neighborhood almost every day for work during the past three summers.  It took me an introduction of micro-climates to make me sensible about such changes, and to make me question what other areas in New York have these similar effects.  The rest of the night I just kept on noticing the micro-climatic changes around me, in as much detail as the probable five degree difference between the kitchen in my apartment, and my parents bedroom.  It definitely made for a new perspective and a new experience the city.  One that made me more aware of the conditions that had existed around me for most of my life.

After noticing these changes, my mind went into a rapid-fire mental rampage as to why these changes happened.  Was it because of heat island effects? Because the pavement was so heated up in the day that it was radiating heat during the night?  Because the water in the roundabout, or the trees of Central Park, cooled the air? Because of the cars that were still roaming the streets?  Or was it all of these elements creating one huge system of sensory effects?  I just couldn’t make my mind up and decided to just intake the experience, and move on into the train station.

‘Experience to Blog another day!

Assignment 2 – Bay Game : Bay Regulator

1.  In my previous post, I had talked about my role as a Bay Policy Maker and how I affected the health stock of the bay.  In this assignment, I tried to expand on that and further explore the balancing loops of this system.  I had failed to realize in my previous diagram that the fish population was part of more than one balancing loop.  I had pointed out that the fish population affects the decisions of the policy maker, which in turn affects the watermen’s decision of how much to fish, which in turn had an effect on the fish population.  This was a reinforcing loop because a constant fish population reinforced constant fishing amount and good fishing methods.  However, I also realized that the fish population affects the bay health and its micro ecosystems, which in turn affects the fish population (i.e. an unhealthy bay would most likely lead to a low fish population).  Thus, a balancing loop that I hadn’t seen before emerged.  Even more so, an unhealthy bay would lead to less edible fish, which affects the fishermen’s economic standing.

I also realized that there was an economic balancing loop that in a way affected the bay’s health.  I knew that human fish demand affected how much fish the fishermen wanted to catch.  I had failed to notice before, however, that the sales prices the watermen placed on fish also affected the human population demand for fish.  The sales price would be affected by the demand from the human population.  The human demand for fish would, in turn, have an effect on the amount of fish the fishermen need to catch, and on the revenue they would make from fish.  According to how much fish they need catch, the bay health gets affected.

2.  Throughout the entire gameplay I was constantly learning something new about my role as a Bay Policy Maker or Regulator.  Initially I had thought that it was my job to make sure that the fishermen were making as much money as possible.  I didn’t place a cap on the amount of fish a fisherman could catch, or the number of days they could fish.  Soon I realized that my job was to regulate the Bay’s health, rather than provide for the fishermen.  That’s because the fishermen’s economic standing was not so much in my control, as it was in the control of the population and its demand for fish.  I realized that as a policy maker, the game wasn’t about how much fish I allowed the watermen to catch, or how long they were allowed to fish.  Rather it was about how much the watermen wanted to fish and for how long.  According to their decisions (their choice of fishing methods, how many fish to catch, etc.) affected the phosphorus and nitrogen levels of the bay, I responded with policies that would maintain the bay health at a decent level.  This realization came into the game play when I decided to not put a cap on fish or fishing days.  Somehow, the fish population managed to rise during that 4 year time period of the gameplay.  This made me react because I realized that a rising fish population could be as depleating for the ecosystems within the bay, just as much as a falling fish population.

3.  In this part of the system, just like any other system, an opportunity exists to create oscillations within the fish population of the bay.  This opportunity rises when the fish population is high, while the demand for fish is low.  This is a problematic situation because what happens is that the fish population will continue to rise in a way that will affect the micro ecosystems of the bay.  Eventually there would be enough fish to deplete their own food source, which in turn would deplete the fish population itself.  Now, imagine that at the time in which the fish population is declining, the demand for fish rises.  As a bay regulator, one would try to slow down the declining population of fish by putting a cap on the amount of fish a fisherman can catch, or decreasing the amount of days a fisherman can be out at sea.  This would (hopefully) lead to an increase in fish population, but at the same time would lead to an even greater demand for fish.  When there are enough fish, the bay regulator would, logically, be compelled to open up the fishing days and increase the fishing cap in order to attend to the demand situation.  This would lead to even more fish being caught, a depletion of fish at a faster rate, and thus the beginning of an oscillation trend.  The fish population would deplete, a cap would be put on, when the population rises, the cap would come off and the cycle keeps going.

Interestingly enough though, what keeps this cycle alive is the human population demand for fish.  The only thing the bay regulator can do is manage the fish population, as well as the bay health, and react to this human population demand.  But perhaps the bay regulator can in fact affect the demand in an indirect way, by imposing a seemingly illogical strategy.  If he tried to maintain the cap on fishing and fishing days, then demand would most likely continue to rise, which would make watermen increase their sale prices in order to get the most from their demand.  This decision would, however, eventually lead to a drop in demand because fish prices would simply become too high.  A drop in demand would allow for the system to return back to a manageable equilibrium.  

The Bay Game : Bay Regulator

Last week was our class’ first attempt at playing the UVA Bay Game.   Figuring out how the interconnections of the system affect different parts of the system was the mystery throughout the game.  Making the right moves within this system leads to a good output in terms of economic growth and bay health,very similar to what would happen in a “real world” scenario.

In the diagram I drew up above, I decided to focus on the effects of the Bay Regulator (which is the role I played in the game).  Throughout the game, I realized that my job was to keep the health of the bay at a high level because I had such a huge impact on it.  Depending on how I maintained fish population and toxin levels, the bay health went up or down, and so that was the input to my (bay regulator) stock.  According to the numbers I got from the bay, i.e. fish population was low and toxin levels were high, I granted fishing access to the bay water-men.  They in turn fished according to the policies I provided.  Either they increased/decreased how often they used methods of fishing that released toxins into the water, which had a direct effect on the bay’s health.  Or they increased/decreased the amount of fish they would catch, which affected the fish population.  In exchange, the fish population affected the biological ecosystem of the bay, which affected the health of the bay overall.  Not only that, but essentially their fishing methods affected the policies I would create as a bay regulator.  This was the regulating loop within the system, in terms of maintaining the bay’s health.  As an exterior element in the system is the human population around the bay area.  More specifically, their effect on the supply and demand of fish provided by the water-men.  What I mean is that according to how much fish people are demanding, the water-men choose how much fish to catch.  Not only that, but perhaps according to how much money people have, water-men choose how much fish to catch.

This economic perspective presents new possibilities for the system above, possibilities that could have  a positive or negative effect on the bay health.  In one scenario, say you have a population that has a slow acting economy, and not many people can afford to buy fish all the time.  That would mean that either: water-men decrease the price on fish which doesn’t give the water-men much profit, or water-men maintain the same price of fish which would lead to them having an overload of fish (since people can’t afford to buy as much).  With a decrease on price the effect is immediate on the water-men — they don’t make as much money — but at least they maintain the bay’s fish population constant. Without a decrease and a fish overload, water-men can’t fish as much.  This leads to an increased population of fish in the bay, which can be just as bad for the ecological system of the bay as a low population.  In a different scenario, now say that you have a population with a well acting economy, and people just love to buy fish all the time.  That means that the water-men: maintain the price constant, which could lead to a drop in the fish population (unless they begin to reproduce at a higher rate), or the raise the price which would keep the fish population constant while giving the water-men more profit.  It would seem that the second option is the best for everyone.  However the decision also faces a problem, but one that is much more concerned with time.

If we think back to Meadow’s reading on “Thinking in Systems”, she mentions talks about delays and oscillations.  Basically, she says that because of certain delays of information, sometimes elements/people/actors in the system make an extreme decision, which leads to oscillations in the system stock.  If we apply this thinking to the seemingly awesome decision of raising the price of fish in time of good economic standing, when the economy sinks (and it inevitably will) an opportunity for oscillations to begin is presented.  This oscillation will be on the stock of the fish population in the bay.  i.e. Higher prices + economy sinks –>less fish bought = higher fish population –> more fishing days = more fishes get caught –> lower fish population ——->lower prices = more fish bought –> more fish get caught ——->even lower fish population  —> Higher prices….. Vouala! Oscillations