Architectural Design

The Architectural Design segment of the 2008 ASHRAE Design Competition is a complete redesign of the community recreation center in your own climate.  The design objectives for the project are to move in the direction of a “zero-energy” building and should employ the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ Rating System v2.2 as a measure of its sustainability (Students from Canada may use the CAGBC's LEED 1.0 Rating System).  However, the design should incorporate strategies that are relevant for the climate where the building is located.  The student design team should not get caught up in a “point chasing” exercise.  The program components for the 60,000 sf recreation center include:

• A gymnasium with two full size basketball courts and a running track
• A wellness center complete with both a fitness equipment room and an aerobics room
• A natatorium with a six lane swimming pool
• Indoor racquetball courts
• Men's and women's locker rooms
• Administrative office space

The fundamental goal of the design competition is to encourage students to learn about, and become involved in the integrated design process.  The historical design process consisted of the architect developing the building in a relative vacuum in the conceptual, schematic and design development phases and then truly involving the consultants (mechanical and electrical engineers) late in the design development and in the construction document phases of the project.  In order to achieve zero-energy buildings, the entire project team (including the builders and commissioning agent) must be involved at the pre-design phase.

To reduce the building design industry’s impact on the environment, key leaders in that sector are collaborating to establish carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Architecture 2030, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), supported by representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), finalized an agreement of understanding in May 2007, establishing a common starting point and a goal of net zero energy buildings.  The ASHRAE student design competition is part of this effort.  Students today can start working on net-zero buildings, so they are ready for the challenges that await them upon graduation.  You can visit the Architecture 2030 website for more information.

The design team is encouraged to reach out to their school or university’s ASHRAE Student Branch, and/or the local ASHRAE Chapter’s Student Activities Chair (contact Tarra Holman for assistance) to integrate mechanical and electrical design strategies for the project.  Please note that you are not expected to design these systems.

Design Criteria
The design criteria are as follows:

• The building envelope must meet or exceed the mandatory and prescriptive requirements of Chapter 5 of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
  As of  June 26, 2007, all new LEED projects must demonstrate an overall energy cost savings of 14% over the Standard, or 2 points.
• The space plan must incorporate adequate mechanical and electrical spaces.  Consideration should be given to allow for future replacement of equipment (access though the building), and proximity to the spaces being served by the systems.
• The design must demonstrate an understanding of the role that building shape, orientation, and glazing plays in the building’s overall energy use.
• The design should be connected to the site, of appropriate scale, and minimize its impact on its surroundings.  The team should adequately describe the selected site, provide a site plan that incorporates photographs of the surrounding “neighborhood” to assist the judges in understanding how the building will be integrated with its surroundings.
• The design should incorporate natural light where appropriate with proper glare and illumination controls.
• Incorporate all spaces listed in the program.  The design team has the flexibility to determine the space requirements as they interpret the need, but in no case can the overall building area exceed 60,000 sf.

Budget
The overall project budget is $12 million (US).  The submission should demonstrate that the design has been achieved within budget.

LEED™ Evaluation and Sustainability
The design team should use the LEED™ Rating System and the LEED Sample Online Credit Templates  (to understand the documentation requirements) to document the points for a minimum of six (6) credits total from the Sustainable Sites, Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality categories.  Additionally, the team should describe how they would meet the Prerequisites for all of the categories.

Bonus
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 is the standard for energy conservation which most model building codes use for the energy efficiency requirements.  Appendix G of the Standard describes the Performance Rating Method for determining energy performance exceeding the minimum requirements of the Standard.  Ambitious teams are encouraged to obtain a copy of Energy 10 Software, available from the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) to determine their design’s energy cost savings based on the Performance Rating Method in the Standard..  The software is available to students/faculty at a non-member price of $75.00 at SBIC - ENERGY-10 Version 1.8.  Teams are encouraged to work with an ASHRAE Mentor or faculty advisor to use the software.

Project Deliverables
As with all design competitions, the quality of the presentation of the design is part of the judging criteria.  The deliverable should include:

1. Space program summary
2. Description of the program components
3. Functional space relationship diagrams
4. Site Plan with renderings
5. Conceptual plans
6. Sustainability (LEED) analysis
7. Exhibits 

Exhibits
Exhibit 1
Refer to Exhibit 1 for judging criteria for  the Student Architectural Design Competition.
Exhibit 2
 Architectural Drawings in AutoCAD Format (ZIP)

Exhibit 3
 Architectural Drawings in PDF Format (ZIP)

Exhibit 4 
Refer to Exhibit 4 for Design Information and assumptions.  (To be used with the Performance Rating Method)