andre potvin | Université Laval (original) (raw)
Papers by andre potvin
Indoor and Built Environment, Mar 26, 2020
Canadian Acoustics, Jun 1, 2012
Journal of Building Engineering
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 1, 2016
Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA)
Buildings, 2021
This paper presents a computational method for spatial visualization and probability evaluations ... more This paper presents a computational method for spatial visualization and probability evaluations of window view access in architecture based on human eyes’ vision fields and biophilic recommendations. Window view access establishes occupants’ visual connections to outdoors. Window view access has not, yet, been discussed in terms of the typical vision fields and related visual experiences. Occupants’ views of outdoors could change from almost blocked and poor to good, wide, and immersive visions in relation to the binocular focus to monocular (far-) peripheral sights of human eyes. The proposed methodological framework includes spatial visualizations and cumulative distribution functions of window view access based on visual experiences of occupants. The framework is integrated with biophilic recommendations and existing rating systems for view evaluations. As a pilot study, the method is used to evaluate occupants’ view access in a space designed with 15 different configurations of...
Canadian Acoustics, 2019
Following a recent advisory on a policy to control environmental noise, the government of Quebec ... more Following a recent advisory on a policy to control environmental noise, the government of Quebec launched five research projects since 2018. With founding from the healthcare and from the environment ministries, academic researchers were asked to explore various aspects of noise assessment to stimulate governmental reflections in the province. Different topics include sound mapping as an evaluation tool, sound insulation of the building envelope and exposure values that would be considered in the interpretation of annoyance disturbing people. The Department of Geomatics Sciences and the School of Architecture from Laval University are involved in those projects. As part of the consultation process and aiming to collect various inputs from the professional community, the whole team is looking for significant comments before being able to make suggestions on how to improve noise management with appropriate justification.
Dynamic representations of ambiences are unique means of expressing complexity and the experience... more Dynamic representations of ambiences are unique means of expressing complexity and the experience of environmental diversity in an urban environment. Longitudinal surveys have the potential to disclose some of the complex parameters that link the human apprehension of the city with comfort parameters. A strategically designed ‘promenade architecturale’ should constitute an essential basis to observe, measure, and analyse ambiences in a multisensorial manner to meaningfully speculate on the possible extent of new ambiences. The graphical synthesis of dynamic qualitative and quantitative in situ measurements enable conclusions that are connected to the reality of the tangible built environments.
The built environment offers an impressive corpus of spatial typologies on which architects and u... more The built environment offers an impressive corpus of spatial typologies on which architects and users may build their knowledge based of ambiences. This corpus primarily consists of existing buildings originating from a wide spectre of historical backgrounds, but it could also include past ambiences. A physical ambiences laboratory has recently been developed, built, and inhabited to compare existing and past ambiences, but foremostly speculate on future ambiences. It consists of a full-scale, adaptable structure that allows for the experience of architectural typologies, and enables spatial transformations through time. Building the adaptable structure in an outdoors environment aims to connect the theory of ambiences with the actual complexity of experiencing on a site, which cannot be adequately approached with digital simulation. The definition of an ambience therefore involves complexity because of the changing nature of the environmental conditions that generates it, such as l...
The research looks into a diary of luminous ambiances to record and “revisit” spatial experiences... more The research looks into a diary of luminous ambiances to record and “revisit” spatial experiences using analytical and interpretive activities that can be performed after returning from a journey. This diary allows an initiation to synthetic thinking about light by developing a selection of specially devised restitution tools. The diary includes grids of evaluation to record lighting ambiances and moods, but also investigates graphical comparisons of ambiances by exploiting digitally analyzed images. This approach could potentially promote an experiential knowledge gained from the past to project it into the imagination and creation of new spaces of tomorrow.
The design-build of a Wooden Adaptive Architectural System is part of a larger research-creation ... more The design-build of a Wooden Adaptive Architectural System is part of a larger research-creation project on Adaptive Architecture (AA) [1] exploring the entire design process leading to a fully adaptable three story high 1:3/4 wooden structure. This system allows the easy manoeuvrability by the occupants of walls and floors in x, y and z directions in order to adapt the space to their environmental and functional needs. The omnidirectional mobility criteria challenged conventional building techniques and led to an innovative all-wood rigid node. Extensive prototyping using digital fabrication allowed the team to optimize the node assemblage and precision through parametric experimentation before proper production. The Wooden Adaptive Architectural System, made of 2000 prefabricated sticks measuring as little as 1 3⁄4” x 1 3⁄4” x 24” provides fully adaptive space configurations and be easily deconstructed, transported, and reassembled in totally new building shapes.
Intelligent Buildings International, 2021
Architects are increasingly integrating principles of biophilic design to foster experiences of n... more Architects are increasingly integrating principles of biophilic design to foster experiences of nature in regularly occupied buildings such as schools. Although researchers often objectively measur...
Architectural Science Review, 2020
Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2019
Modern architectural design has seen a shift towards iconic doubly-curved envelopes enclosing lar... more Modern architectural design has seen a shift towards iconic doubly-curved envelopes enclosing large column-free spaces. Gridshells have long been considered an efficient solution to such designs, but their actual use in practice has not spread worldwide. For elastic gridshells, their advantages in terms of substantial material savings can often be overshadowed by the significant challenges associated with their construction. Similarly, for rigid gridshells, the manufacture of a large number of different members and nodal connections is often a barrier to their implementation. This paper proposes an effective way of designing, fabricating and erecting gridshells. The "Patchwork Gridshell" consists of a number of efficient elastic gridshell patches assembled using rigid gridshell frames. It can easily generate a number of different configurations, use a wide range of materials, and allows more architectural expression of practical long-span forms. The benefits of combining t...
Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association, 2011
La conception d’un bâtiment requiert l’expertise de nombreux intervenants dans diverses disciplin... more La conception d’un bâtiment requiert l’expertise de nombreux intervenants dans diverses disciplines. L’approche courante de conception par divisions disciplinaires s’avère peut-être inefficace à l’atteinte de hautes performances environnementale et sociétale. Pour résoudre ces enjeux complexes et multidimensionnels, la dynamique des relations interdisciplinaires se doit d’être revue, voir transformée en une nouvelle articulation innovatrice et plus flexible qui permettra un dialogue concerté entre les professionnels de la science du bâtiment et la société. Seul le développement d’outils flexibles, simples et rapides pouvant être utilisés aux étapes préliminaires de conception permettra de faire converger les différents intervenants.
Indoor and Built Environment, Mar 26, 2020
Canadian Acoustics, Jun 1, 2012
Journal of Building Engineering
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 1, 2016
Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA)
Buildings, 2021
This paper presents a computational method for spatial visualization and probability evaluations ... more This paper presents a computational method for spatial visualization and probability evaluations of window view access in architecture based on human eyes’ vision fields and biophilic recommendations. Window view access establishes occupants’ visual connections to outdoors. Window view access has not, yet, been discussed in terms of the typical vision fields and related visual experiences. Occupants’ views of outdoors could change from almost blocked and poor to good, wide, and immersive visions in relation to the binocular focus to monocular (far-) peripheral sights of human eyes. The proposed methodological framework includes spatial visualizations and cumulative distribution functions of window view access based on visual experiences of occupants. The framework is integrated with biophilic recommendations and existing rating systems for view evaluations. As a pilot study, the method is used to evaluate occupants’ view access in a space designed with 15 different configurations of...
Canadian Acoustics, 2019
Following a recent advisory on a policy to control environmental noise, the government of Quebec ... more Following a recent advisory on a policy to control environmental noise, the government of Quebec launched five research projects since 2018. With founding from the healthcare and from the environment ministries, academic researchers were asked to explore various aspects of noise assessment to stimulate governmental reflections in the province. Different topics include sound mapping as an evaluation tool, sound insulation of the building envelope and exposure values that would be considered in the interpretation of annoyance disturbing people. The Department of Geomatics Sciences and the School of Architecture from Laval University are involved in those projects. As part of the consultation process and aiming to collect various inputs from the professional community, the whole team is looking for significant comments before being able to make suggestions on how to improve noise management with appropriate justification.
Dynamic representations of ambiences are unique means of expressing complexity and the experience... more Dynamic representations of ambiences are unique means of expressing complexity and the experience of environmental diversity in an urban environment. Longitudinal surveys have the potential to disclose some of the complex parameters that link the human apprehension of the city with comfort parameters. A strategically designed ‘promenade architecturale’ should constitute an essential basis to observe, measure, and analyse ambiences in a multisensorial manner to meaningfully speculate on the possible extent of new ambiences. The graphical synthesis of dynamic qualitative and quantitative in situ measurements enable conclusions that are connected to the reality of the tangible built environments.
The built environment offers an impressive corpus of spatial typologies on which architects and u... more The built environment offers an impressive corpus of spatial typologies on which architects and users may build their knowledge based of ambiences. This corpus primarily consists of existing buildings originating from a wide spectre of historical backgrounds, but it could also include past ambiences. A physical ambiences laboratory has recently been developed, built, and inhabited to compare existing and past ambiences, but foremostly speculate on future ambiences. It consists of a full-scale, adaptable structure that allows for the experience of architectural typologies, and enables spatial transformations through time. Building the adaptable structure in an outdoors environment aims to connect the theory of ambiences with the actual complexity of experiencing on a site, which cannot be adequately approached with digital simulation. The definition of an ambience therefore involves complexity because of the changing nature of the environmental conditions that generates it, such as l...
The research looks into a diary of luminous ambiances to record and “revisit” spatial experiences... more The research looks into a diary of luminous ambiances to record and “revisit” spatial experiences using analytical and interpretive activities that can be performed after returning from a journey. This diary allows an initiation to synthetic thinking about light by developing a selection of specially devised restitution tools. The diary includes grids of evaluation to record lighting ambiances and moods, but also investigates graphical comparisons of ambiances by exploiting digitally analyzed images. This approach could potentially promote an experiential knowledge gained from the past to project it into the imagination and creation of new spaces of tomorrow.
The design-build of a Wooden Adaptive Architectural System is part of a larger research-creation ... more The design-build of a Wooden Adaptive Architectural System is part of a larger research-creation project on Adaptive Architecture (AA) [1] exploring the entire design process leading to a fully adaptable three story high 1:3/4 wooden structure. This system allows the easy manoeuvrability by the occupants of walls and floors in x, y and z directions in order to adapt the space to their environmental and functional needs. The omnidirectional mobility criteria challenged conventional building techniques and led to an innovative all-wood rigid node. Extensive prototyping using digital fabrication allowed the team to optimize the node assemblage and precision through parametric experimentation before proper production. The Wooden Adaptive Architectural System, made of 2000 prefabricated sticks measuring as little as 1 3⁄4” x 1 3⁄4” x 24” provides fully adaptive space configurations and be easily deconstructed, transported, and reassembled in totally new building shapes.
Intelligent Buildings International, 2021
Architects are increasingly integrating principles of biophilic design to foster experiences of n... more Architects are increasingly integrating principles of biophilic design to foster experiences of nature in regularly occupied buildings such as schools. Although researchers often objectively measur...
Architectural Science Review, 2020
Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2019
Modern architectural design has seen a shift towards iconic doubly-curved envelopes enclosing lar... more Modern architectural design has seen a shift towards iconic doubly-curved envelopes enclosing large column-free spaces. Gridshells have long been considered an efficient solution to such designs, but their actual use in practice has not spread worldwide. For elastic gridshells, their advantages in terms of substantial material savings can often be overshadowed by the significant challenges associated with their construction. Similarly, for rigid gridshells, the manufacture of a large number of different members and nodal connections is often a barrier to their implementation. This paper proposes an effective way of designing, fabricating and erecting gridshells. The "Patchwork Gridshell" consists of a number of efficient elastic gridshell patches assembled using rigid gridshell frames. It can easily generate a number of different configurations, use a wide range of materials, and allows more architectural expression of practical long-span forms. The benefits of combining t...
Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association, 2011
La conception d’un bâtiment requiert l’expertise de nombreux intervenants dans diverses disciplin... more La conception d’un bâtiment requiert l’expertise de nombreux intervenants dans diverses disciplines. L’approche courante de conception par divisions disciplinaires s’avère peut-être inefficace à l’atteinte de hautes performances environnementale et sociétale. Pour résoudre ces enjeux complexes et multidimensionnels, la dynamique des relations interdisciplinaires se doit d’être revue, voir transformée en une nouvelle articulation innovatrice et plus flexible qui permettra un dialogue concerté entre les professionnels de la science du bâtiment et la société. Seul le développement d’outils flexibles, simples et rapides pouvant être utilisés aux étapes préliminaires de conception permettra de faire converger les différents intervenants.