Today we were able to visit the San Joaquin Campus and had the chance to explore two projects there: the Torres Siamesas and the Innovation Center. While I do not have the specs on the energy consumption of these two buildings, it was quite evident which building had more success in its design in conserving more energy and creating a more comfortable environment in my opinion. The first building that we toured was the Torres Siamesas. My thoughts were kind of split down the middle when it came to this building’s overall design and its attempt to mitigate the effects of solar gain due to the radiation of the sun. Firstly, when it came to its aesthetic design, I had mixed feelings. I found some details like the shape of the building and details in the interior like the lights and staircase to be quite interesting. On the contrast, I was not fond of the choice in material for the lower exterior. Although I appreciated the contrast in materials and a weathered wood would have still looked nice, the durability of the material was terrible and some areas were so deteriorated that it was unsafe to the public. When it comes to sustainability with this building, I believe the intentions were good, but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could have been…and I’m not sure if this was due to the budget, or general failure in the design. The building seemed to be quite hot on the upper levels and the double walled system did not seem to be working properly because heat was being trapped. This is quite problamatic because in order to cool the building it will require a lot of energy. Possibly too much solar gain was occurring for this building and maybe a better type of glazing would have helped, but these are only speculations. Overall, I’d say the design was not a complete flop, but definitely has flaws.
The Innovation Center was a different story than the Torres Siamesas, and I found this project to be very successful and was one of my favorite buildings I’ve seen so far on this trip. The choice in materials was ingenious and beautiful and I loved everything that this building had to offer. The exposed elevator system was not an eyesore and was rather quite fun and inviting, the cantilever pieces on the building acted not only as sun shaders, but were aesthetically interesting as well, the functionality of each floor was intriguing, and the atrium tied everything together. On a sustainable level, I thought this building was extremely successful. Concrete is a more sustainable material due to its properties with thermal bridging, and the atrium in the center helped heat from the building to rise and escape at the top. This building was much more comfortable than the Torres Siamesas, and I think that this project was wonderfully executed.
Innovation Center Sketch