Assignment S3: Your Building – Passive Design Homework
Due Date: Class 13, May 13th 2021
Objective: Understand the passive design features in your building and how they
responded to the local climate and conditions to make the building comfortable for the
occupants while consuming little or energy.
This assignment is based on Your Building selection from the AIA COTE Top Ten website
2020 winners https://www.aia.org/resources/6280238-2020-cote-top-ten-awards –
2019 winners https://www.aia.org/resources/6126355-2019-cote-top-ten-awards –
2018 winners https://www.aia.org/resources/186291-2018- cote-top-ten –
2017 winners https://www.aia.org/resources/73026-2017- cote-top-ten – http://www.aiatopten.org/
Prior year winners http://www.aiatopten.org/
STEP 1: Research the Passive Design features of Your Building
a) Review Your Building’s design and look for ways that it has been designed passively to:
Use the Earth’s free resources like the sun, wind/air, precipitation (rain, snow), earth/soil, etc
Respond to the local climate conditions
Create comfortable conditions for occupants inside the building without using any (or very little)
energy
b) Identify at least two passive, low tech design features in Your Building and note their orientation (what
direction are they facing):
Describe the passive design feature
Look up the climate zone for Your Building’s location from Assignment S1 (Hot-Humid, Cold, etc).
Think about how Your Building’s passive design features relate to and address the specific local
climate. For example, if the climate if very hot and humid, what passive design features does Your
Building have that respond to those particular climate conditions?
Look at the building shape and orientation
Note the orientation of the window glass. In other words, on what side(s) of the building is most of the
window glass located? (e.g., south-facing, east-facing, etc)
Note the orientation of the passive design features (e.g., south-facing)
c) You should be able to find enough information on the AIA COTE website, but if necessary check out
other internet sources like the architect’s website or articles about the building.
d) Do not include active design features in this assignment (addressed in future homework assignment).
STEP 2: Create a brief summary in a Word document and include the following:
a) Your Building name, location, and general photo.
b) Climate zone for Your Building.
c) Brief written description of at least two passive design features from STEP 1.
d) Include images that illustrate the passive design features.
e) Final steps
Post to Blackboard under the applicable ASSIGNMENTS folder.
Bring a copy to class for your own reference during class discussion.
ARCH 3551: Sustainability History & Practice
Prof. Shiva Ghomi
05.06.21
p. 2 of 2
Additional Background for Reference
a) Examples of Passive, climate-responsive strategies.
Building orientation, form, and massing (e.g., directionality, roof shape, building compactness, color)
Floor plan arrangement to take advantage of natural forces such as sun, wind (e.g., which spaces are
located on the south side for access to sun?).
Window design approach to take advantage of natural daylighting, passive solar heating, etc (e.g., on
which facades are the majority of windows located and what direction are they oriented?)
Shading strategies (e.g., building overhangs, exterior shading devices like louvers or fins, etc)
Landscape and site design strategies (e.g., earth sheltering and berming, shading with trees, using
trees to block wind, use of deciduous vs. evergreen vegetation, bike parking racks, etc)
Passive cooling strategies (e.g., natural ventilation, evaporative cooling, stack effect, etc)
Low-tech water cycle strategies (e.g., rainwater collection & reuse, using vegetation to treat
stormwater or wastewater, etc)
Sustainable building materials (e.g., local materials; recycled or salvaged materials, sustainably
harvested wood, materials that have thermal mass properties to store heat, etc)
Healthy building strategies (e.g., designing for physical activity, indoor air quality, healthy materials)
b) See “Brief History of Climate Responsive Design” slides in Class 5 slides.
