Check out this article on Smith Carter's office. As we learned about the under-floor HVAC system at E.H. Price, I remembered that Smith Carter's SC3 building uses such a system. The article describes this, as well as other sustainable systems incorporated in the building. It just makes so much sense, and I find it funny that good design is often so obvious(although I realize hindsight is 20/20).
http://www.building.ca/outsidethebox/project7.asp
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"I.S. Vox", that was a really great article! The part that stood out the most to me was the comment, “In the old office, like most offices, people seemed to run out of steam around three p.m. Some even had weekly migraines. That just doesn’t happen with the better air quality,” Linley says. This relates to our class where we discussed how building systems can actually make people sick. As a person that suffers from migraines I think it's really interesting that the air quality within a building can actually have an affect on how often I get them. Melissa and Carla, members of the "What the HVAC?" team suspect that JAR is a sick building with poor air quality. What techniques implimented by Smith Carter could be used in JAR to make it a healthier building?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteHealthy buildings seem to be all about the air quality. Unfortunately, most of the techniques used by Smith Carter would be difficult to implement in JAR without massive spending.
Smith Carter situated its fresh air intakes along the tree belt on its site... trees produce the cleanest air so this makes perfect sense. The lack of trees around JAR make this hard to do.
I think that the underfloor HVAC in Smith Carter also greatly improves the air quality, compared to JAR. JAR HVAC is old (I'm guessing), and overhead systems mix ALL the air in the space: used air, dusty air, everything. Underfloor systems maintain fresh air in the lower 6 feet of the space.
I think you may just have to deal with the air in JAR. At least we have operable windows... just imagine if the building was completely contained!