General concept of the ensemble
1. Land use.
The first basic principle that guided us in the planning of this residential complex was the use of the land which, in our opinion, represents an ideal site for the rational application of the principle of energy conservation. Indeed, we took advantage of the natural slope of the land, which is located on the southern slope, to orient all the dwellings, without exception, directly to the south. Furthermore, our formula proposes two-storey buildings (A-1, A-2, A-3) at the bottom of the slope of the land, separated from the neighbouring lots by a private street in an "east-west" direction so as not to obstruct the solar radiation, while the four-storey buildings (B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4) are sufficiently far from the two-storey buildings to allow the sun to reach all the dwellings. Finally, the five-storey building (C-1, C-2) also follows this same principle. So, in summary, the lowest buildings are located to the south and the highest to the north to allow the sun to reach all dwellings.
2. Landscaping and outdoor space planning.
The basic landscaping design is to create a main community area that includes play spaces for children and adults and becomes the hub for the main traffic flow from the public road, the private street and the local shopping center. From this community area, pedestrian circulation leads to the parking lots and the entrances of the dwellings. The access to the dwellings to this space is done while not crossing any automobile traffic lanes. To counteract the prevailing winds we have created two windbreaks by reinforcing the existing planting which consists of adding conifers in the freest possible way. These two areas are located at the western end of the site, the other in the center of the project between buildings A-2, B-3 and B-2, C-1. These screens, needless to say, are north-south in direction. In addition, Ton could use the excavated soil to create a mound along the western line that would serve two important functions such as amplifying the windbreak and providing a sound and visual barrier between the shopping center and the project. We anticipate that all circulation will be provided with ramps where necessary to facilitate disabled access. One of the most important criteria is that all parking be located on the periphery of the site, leaving ample green space within the site and eliminating any danger to children.
Another aspect that we feel is perhaps one of the most important is the design of the outdoor living areas. They are designed to maintain as much privacy as possible by utilizing the natural slope of the land; furthermore, they can be located either to the north or to the south depending on the position on the site and the desire of the occupant. However, a strict control seems to us necessary in order to integrate a harmonious variation in the shape of the screens, materials etc. Finally, we mention that an exterior storage area has been provided as described below as well as a space for a vegetable garden, terrace etc. as shown in drawing no. 7. We have provided two garbage collection points strategically located on the site and a visitor parking lot with 18 spaces in addition to the occupant parking lot. Finally, the materials used for the design of the playground equipment, screens, terraces, etc. will be the same as for the exterior envelopes of the building, i.e., brick and pressure treated cedar, with the exception of the circulations, which may be asphalt or, better yet, concrete.
3. Architectural design of the different housing units.
All ground level units are three and four bedroom units and are on two levels in order to obtain a maximum number of units with direct access to a private outdoor living area. These units alone represent 51.8% of the total number of units in the entire project and are designed for families with three to five children. The design of the three-bedroom units at ground level was dictated by the natural slope of the land, which also allows for easier access to the upper units. The remaining three-bedroom units are both superimposed on the three-bedroom units described above and each group of two units has an individual staircase with a distance from the ground to the lower level of the unit of only about 3.9 meters. As for the one and two bedroom units, they are all located in the C-1 and C-2 apartment building. We designed the four-bedroom units as individual row house units to allow larger families to enjoy greater visual and acoustic privacy. In the apartment building, access to the upper units, the one and two bedroom units, from the main entrance is only two stories for the C-1 section and three stories for the C-2 section. In this same building, Ton has provided a vertical offset at the level of the one-bedroom units in order to eliminate the excessive shading provided by the balconies of the upper units and to minimize the effect of the height of the building as seen from the central exterior plaza. We wanted to ensure that the three bedroom units in the apartment building would retain their own autonomy such as outdoor living area, storage, main entrance with appropriate landscaping, as well as the parking space being nearby. Finally, there are no windows in the apartment building on this side except for small windows in the upper floor corridor. We believe that the arrangement of the housing modules creates a variety of forms while maintaining a desirable architectural harmony. The vertical offset of the buildings simply adapts to the natural levels of the land. In addition, the shape of the roofs is based on criteria such as aesthetics for the ground and for the residents located on the upper levels, and we have tried to avoid any obstacle that could block the sun's rays for the dwellings located on the north side. Finally, we believe that the angle of the roofs can reflect a significant amount of solar radiation towards the windows and the passive system of the dwellings located on the north side.
4. Interior space planning.
As described above, the "A" and "B" buildings contain the four-bedroom units and 52 of the 67 three-bedroom units. Each of these units contains its own independent services such as storage and laundry. In addition, the ground level units have exterior storage for gardening accessories, shovels, lawnmowers, etc. The apartment building contains all the essential services, starting from the main entrance, which is centrally located in front of the elevator. There is a maintenance room, a community room, a storage room for outside services, a garbage room with a waste chute. All of these services occupy the space of a 3-bedroom apartment on two levels. A common laundry room has been provided for the one-bedroom units. In addition, this building is equipped with an elevator, which allows access for the handicapped and communication between the basement parking and the units. We have taken into consideration the privacy needed by each occupant. For this purpose, we have provided a balcony taking into account this statement.
5. General considerations.
In order to provide access to a greater number of units for the disabled, it is possible to build two-bedroom units on one level, as each floor has a common corridor with access to two separate staircases. In addition, it would also be possible to provide some three-bedroom units based on the same considerations. We also took into consideration the fact that the Canadian family will be changing in the coming years and it would be relatively easy to modify the units in the apartment building to accommodate smaller families and the elderly, as the dividing walls are not load bearing. We believe that this project represents a practical and relatively economical design for construction and operation, and is well suited to prefabrication and sale on a condominium or rental basis.
Principles of energy conservation
1. Basic principles.
The first principle we took into consideration was orientation, and in fact we designed all the dwellings with the maximum number of habitable rooms with windows facing directly south, and this in a proportion of 84.3% in relation to the whole project. To achieve this goal, the four-bedroom units were overlapped to obtain the maximum length of exterior walls on the south side, i.e. three bedrooms on the first floor and two day rooms on the first floor, resulting in five out of six living rooms with windows facing directly south. The other living rooms have their windows to the north but are of minimal size to allow natural ventilation during the summer months. These windows are located at different levels on opposite walls within the same dwelling, which increases the efficiency of this ventilation. All the dwellings have this principle of ventilation, except the dwellings of one bedroom which represents thus a proportion of 90%. The second principle consists in the superposition of the dwellings, except for the dwellings of four bedrooms for reasons stated previously. We believe that this arrangement provides the advantage of an insulated single family home while reducing energy requirements to a minimum. It goes without saying that the townhouse principle also contributes to significant savings. The third principle is the rational use of solar radiation. Where there are no balconies to protect the windows from the summer sun, an overhang is provided which acts as a reflector for the passive solar heating system described below but allows the sun to penetrate the interior during the winter months.
2. Passive solar heating.
In light of our research to date, we believe that the system we are proposing is undeniably effective. As shown in detail in drawing #3, the space between the upper part of the floor windows is used as a solar collector. A treated copper foil acts as a solar collector, heating the air in this space and forcing the warm air through the precast concrete slab voids. This natural air circulation is fed by an air intake at the bottom floor level and by small openings in the slabs near the north walls, forcing the warm air out. A low power fan of about 100w could amplify the air circulation in the system and promote air mixing inside the dwelling by breaking the cold air stratification. However, we believe that only convection air movement due to heating can perform the same function. The second advantage of this system is that it stores heat in the floor during the day and continues to heat the home at night. This heat storage is increased as a result of direct radiation through the windows accumulating energy in the already existing thermal mass. Finally, a third advantage is to transform this system into a natural air-conditioning system by simply letting the hot air escape to the outside in the summer, creating a suction effect by letting the cool air penetrate the floor on the opposite north wall.
3. General considerations.
We have provided for all primary and secondary entrance doors to be located away from prevailing winds either by screening or natural offsets from the buildings. In the same spirit, existing and new tree screens and other measures form a shelter as described above. In the architectural design we have highlighted the criteria that guided us in the development of the roof form. In addition to these stated considerations, there are other criteria that we believe have a potential energy impact, such as the installation of potential solar collectors and the reflection of solar rays to the north facing dwellings using appropriate materials. As described below, the structural system advocated contains a thermal inertia in the building that results in reduced instantaneous loads. We further propose that the B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 staircases be non-heated and the architectural treatment could be of a glass enclosure type as an alternative to what is shown on the drawings. In addition, we recommend maximum insulation given the geographical location, possibly with triple glass, as well as the installation of thermal curtains at the windows for the night. Finally, the proposed structural system eliminates air leakage through the voids, which significantly reduces the volume of renewed air.
Structural system
The proposed structural system is very simple in our opinion, we use 200mm thick precast concrete slabs resting on a load bearing concrete block wall or a precast concrete beam for the north wall and a precast concrete beam for the south wall. The foundation walls are poured concrete as well as the concrete floor at the lower level. The roof could be made of prefabricated wood trusses except for building C-1 and C-2 where it would be made of prefabricated concrete slabs with a wood false roof. However, in order to increase fire resistance and reduce fire insurance premiums, this system could be used throughout. The separating walls could be made of concrete blocks because of their juxtaposition while increasing the thermal mass and facilitating the bracing. The exterior envelope could be made of materials such as brick, pressure treated cedar and asphalt shingles.
(Unofficial automated translation)
This submission was recognized by the jury primarily for its sensible site and unit planning. The site plan organized the housing groups into blocks, some at higher, and some at lower densities, thereby, treeing some of the ground plane for collective landscaped open space. A vehicular access route, more extensive than that of Submission 5, shortened walking distances to the farthest units. As for the unit planning, it was simple and straightforward, emphasizing a consistent southern orientation and cross-ventilation. The jury had reservations about the elaborate roof systems which upon examination, turned out not to have any significant role in energy conservation, but which seemed very costly. Then too, the complicated access to some of the units in the higher buildings provoked concerns.
(From jury comments)
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