Michael Donn | Victoria University of Wellington (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Donn

Thinking through digital simulation tasks in architectural education

CAADRIA proceedings

ABSTRACT This study reports the activities of 80 second year architecture students at Victoria Un... more ABSTRACT This study reports the activities of 80 second year architecture students at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand for the duration of a single trimester. A central theme in this studio is the framing of day-lighting problems into a quantifiable investigation and then addressing these through the use of digital modelling and simulation tools. This study offers an insight to undergraduate architecture students’ negotiation of digital design spaces and asks the question of how the knowledge of skill-based specialist tasks are extensible to core design studio.The mass education within a University environment of such specialist skill based techniques allows for an insight to the negotiation of quantitative and qualitative design criteria. The issue of learning skill based tasks at university level is a pertinent topic of study as the critique of such techniques is implicit to the holistic education of Architects but the level of this critique can vary greatly. This question also highlights the challenges faced to improving the design education approaches to computational thinking and applications.

National Concerns — Institutional Roles and Energy Standards

Energy Performance of Buildings, 2018

This study considers the practical methodology for measuring the level of complexity of geometric... more This study considers the practical methodology for measuring the level of complexity of geometric patterns in architecture. Criteria for forming the metric complexity of the models include geometric, combinatorial and spatial categories. The study also used methodology 'Grammar Form' (Shape Grammar), based on figures arithmetic and logical analysis of the forming mechanisms. This article explains the theory and methodology measurement of geometric complexity of models and illustrates the practical application of this analysis on the fifty-parametrically generated 3D models. The study has been developed as a part of wider research, which focuses on parametric modelling and ways to support the use of parametric design: by decreasing the number of programming difficulties, and increasing the explored solution space, programming efficiency, the degree of the algorithms' sophistication and the speed of algorithmic modelling (level of model complexity). Research has included a...

This study uses high performance heavily glazed façades (developed by architects and engineers) f... more This study uses high performance heavily glazed façades (developed by architects and engineers) for a real commercial building to examine the relationship between COMFEN’s early design lessons (single-zone simulations) and the detailed design lessons (multi-zone simulations) derived from use of Energy Plus. The hypothesis tested is that the COMFEN-based decisions which are derived from computer simulation of single-zone performance ‘sketches’ of the proposed building are consistent with the multi-zone simulations in the full version of Energy Plus. The result of using COMFEN and Energy Plus often, but not always produces predictions of energy performance that are consistent across different scenarios. This analysis suggests that early design tools like COMFEN need to be used with care to ensure a design message that is consistent with the predictions of a detailed design model. At present they could potentially mislead architects during the early design stage. Conference theme: Urban

Addressing human thermal adaptation in outdoor comfort research

"One of the most basic and fundamental questions in urban master planning and building regulation... more "One of the most basic and fundamental questions in urban master planning and building regulations is 'how to secure common access to sun, light and fresh air?" (Stromann-Andersen & Sattrup, 2011). Daylighting and natural ventilation can have significant benefits in office buildings. Both of these 'passive' strategies have been found to reduce artificial lighting and airconditioning energy consumption by as much as 80% (Ministry for the Environment, 2008); (Brager, et al., 2007). Access to daylight and fresh air can also be credited with improved occupant comfort and health, which can lead to a reduction of employee absenteeism and an increase of productivity (Sustainability Victoria, 2008). In the rebuild of Christchurch central city, following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, Cantabrians have expressed a desire for a low-rise, sustainable city, with open spaces and high performance buildings (Christchurch City Council, 2011). With over 80% of the central city being demolished, a unique opportunity to readdress urban form and create a city that provides all buildings with access to daylight and fresh air exists. But a major barrier to widespread adoption of passive buildings in New Zealand is their dependence on void space to deliver daylight and fresh air-void space which could otherwise be valuable built floor space. Currently, urban planning regulations in Christchurch prioritize density, allowing and even encouraging low performance compact buildings. Considering this issue of density, this thesis aimed to determine which urban form and building design changes would have the greatest effect on building performance in Central City Christchurch.

Architectural Aerodynamics: Safety Comfort And Building Form

Energy research and building design

A 3D, interactive, multilayered, web-enabled model as a tool for multiple sets of end user groups: A case study and end user analysis

ABSTRACT

NEW1 New Technology Impacts

ABSTRACT

A 3D, interactive, web-enabled, multilayered Wellington City

Development of a Minimum Requirements Energy Code

Since 1978, the 14,000 residential buildings built each year in New Zealand have had to meet mini... more Since 1978, the 14,000 residential buildings built each year in New Zealand have had to meet minimum thermal resistance levels, but there have been no comparable energy performance requirements for the 1,300 non-residential buildings. The 1993 implementation of a performance-based building code, and government moves to respond to international climate change agreements, provided an opportunity to update the requirements for both residential and non-residential buildings. This revision covers only a minimum standard of energy efficiency, and does not to extend to “good design”. A review of data on all buildings constructed since 1970, suggested a separation of building code provisions according to building size (under and over 300 square metres) and height (under and over 3 storeys). Modelling in SUNCODE-PC and DOE 2.1E, with life cycle cost analysis, produced a range of recommendations for a revised Clause H1 : Energy Efficiency of the “New Zealand Building Code”. The recommendation...

Making Central Wellington Less Windy

Wellington's current District Plan has been written to achieve two main goals. The first is t... more Wellington's current District Plan has been written to achieve two main goals. The first is to limit maximum wind speed to an acceptable safety level. This has been set at a gust of 18 metres per second (18 m/s or 64.8 km/hr) for a period of no more than one hour a year. Wind gusts stronger than this are considered unsafe. The second is to prevent 'wind creep'. This is the process by which each new building in a street makes the wind problem slightly worse, though not unsafe, until eventually the safety level is breached. At present Wellington has two creep criteria. The first is for areas where maximum gust levels are currently under 10 m/s, and the second for areas where maximum gust levels are under 15 m/s. In each case, new buildings must be designed to make sure that the existing levels of either 10 m/s or 15 m/s are not breached. effect of buildings on wind at street level in the CBD. Unlike Wellington, Auckland does not have a height requirement; rather the decisi...

BRANZ Bulletin: Optimising energy-efficient design of houses

Description: Many houses, including some newly constructed ones, could be warmer and more comfort... more Description: Many houses, including some newly constructed ones, could be warmer and more comfortable. The best solution is not just to search for energy-efficient heating appliances but to improve building thermal performance. The key principles are thermal insulation well beyond New Zealand Building Code minimums, energy-efficient and solar-assisted water heating, plus orientation for the sun and appropriate use of thermal mass. This bulletin explains how simple design improvements can result in warm houses in winter, cool houses in summer and greatly reduced levels of energy use.

BIM and the Predesign Process: Modeling the Unknown

BIM in Current and Future Practice, 2015

ABSTRACT Many architects and engineers regard BIM as a disruptive force, changing the way buildin... more ABSTRACT Many architects and engineers regard BIM as a disruptive force, changing the way building professionals design, build, and ultimately manage a built structure. With its emphasis on continuing advances in BIM a research, teaching, and practice, Building Information Modeling: BIM in Current and Future Practice encourages readers to transform disruption to opportunity and challenges them to reconsider their preconceptions about BIM. Thought leaders from universities and professional practice composed essays exploring BIM's potential to improve the products and processes of architectural design including the structure and content of the tools themselves. These authors provide insights for assessing the current practice and research directions of BIM and speculate about its future. The twenty-six chapters are thematically grouped in six sections that present complementary and sometimes incompatible positions.

BEEP: Building Energy End-use Project - energy end-uses in non-residential buildings

Special thanks to the JBPS peer reviewers

Journal of Building …, Dec 1, 2009

Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from pub... more Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from publication date (but no earlier than 25 Jun 2011, launch date of this website) to 21 Feb 2013. Article views are only counted from this site. Although these data are updated every 24 hours, there may be a 48-hour delay before the most recent numbers are available.

User Concerns — Energy Management and Analysis

Energy Performance of Buildings, 2018

This work aims to investigate the application and replicability of parametric solar design to bot... more This work aims to investigate the application and replicability of parametric solar design to both existing and future development urban areas in two extreme climate conditions: Ovre Rotvoll in Norway (subarctic climate) and Ravine Blanche in Reunion Island (tropical humid climate). The interplay between urban morphology and its potential for passive and active solar energy strategies has been investigated. The methodology combines the parametric modelling software Rhinoceros-Grasshopper, with two Radiance-based solar simulation tools to optimise the solar potential of a district. The application of a new workflow is studied over the computation of various design scenarios in an existing urban environment at both the district and the building scale. The results show differences and similarities between climate-specific interventions that can be used as supportive instruments for the ongoing local planning processes. The study demonstrates how parametric optimisation allows maximisin...

Thinking through digital simulation tasks in architectural education

CAADRIA proceedings

National Concerns — Institutional Roles and Energy Standards

Energy Performance of Buildings, 2018

Addressing human thermal adaptation in outdoor comfort research

Architectural Aerodynamics: Safety Comfort And Building Form

Energy research and building design

A 3D, interactive, multilayered, web-enabled model as a tool for multiple sets of end user groups: A case study and end user analysis

ABSTRACT

NEW1 New Technology Impacts

ABSTRACT

A 3D, interactive, web-enabled, multilayered Wellington City

Development of a Minimum Requirements Energy Code

Making Central Wellington Less Windy

BRANZ Bulletin: Optimising energy-efficient design of houses

BIM and the Predesign Process: Modeling the Unknown

BIM in Current and Future Practice, 2015

BEEP: Building Energy End-use Project - energy end-uses in non-residential buildings

Special thanks to the JBPS peer reviewers

Journal of Building …, Dec 1, 2009

User Concerns — Energy Management and Analysis

Energy Performance of Buildings, 2018

NZBC Clause H1 - Short Term Opportunities. BRANZ Ltd

Report to Lower Hutt City Council: Assessment of Wind Environment in Lower Hutt: Wind Laboratory Research Report

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BEES Final Report - BRANZ BEES Report number SR297/1

The BEES research has provided some key data resources for use in understanding energy and water ... more The BEES research has provided some key data resources for use in understanding energy and water use in non-residential buildings. As part of that work, it has for the first time provided data on the size and distribution of these buildings, identified construction and site placement. A common thread to the BEES results are the issues that have been found in dealing with complex building types and uses. Unlike the houses explored in the HEEP research (Isaacs, et al., 2010a), non-residential buildings have more complex range of building types, sizes and use patterns. The lack of a comprehensive database of buildings (dwellings and other residential buildings are surveyed by the quinquennial census) meant it was necessary to create an ad hoc sampling frame based on valuation records. As valuation records principally serve for legal and financial uses, converting them to building records added a further level of complexity. What is clear from the BEES research is that non-residential b...

Computers today can simulate the appearance of buildings under different light conditions in a ve... more Computers today can simulate the appearance
of buildings under different light conditions in
a very believable way. This offers both an opportunity
and a risk.
The opportunity is that daylight in buildings
can be far more accurately designed than before.
On the flip side, the tools are extremely easy
to use and can produce convincingly realistic
pictures even when the input data is inaccurate.
The key areas to get right are sky definition and
accurate material and physical dimensions.

Test Cases to Assess the Accuracy of Lighting Computer Programs

Courtenay Place Wind Environment: Wind Laboratory Research Report

A Guide to Carrying Out Wellington City Council Pre-design Wind Tunnel Tests at the Victoria University School of Architecture

Architectural Aerodynamics: Wind Tunnels in Schools of Architecture

CIE 171:2006 Test Cases to Assess the Accuracy of Lighting Computer Programs

ABSTRACT

Solution Sets and Net Zero Energy Buildings: A review of 30 Net ZEBs case studies worldwide

ABSTRACT This technical report gives a review of 30 fully documented net ZEBs case studies that h... more ABSTRACT This technical report gives a review of 30 fully documented net ZEBs case studies that have been identified by the Sub Task C participants. It reports a compilation of all technical and non-technical information of the 30 case studies that formed the foundation on which the analysis of Volume 3 of the Source Book was based.

DESIGN GUIDE FOR WIND - Wellington City Council District Plan

ABSTRACT

BEEP: building energy end-use study, preliminary study report

Review of use of NZS4243:1996 Artificial Lighting Energy Efficiency Provisions

THE DRAFT CENTRAL CITY PLAN produced by the Christchurch City Council in response to the earthqua... more THE DRAFT CENTRAL CITY PLAN produced by the Christchurch City Council in response to the earthquakes includes an outline of urban form features such as building height limits, façade step-backs, lanes and courtyards. These were envisaged to increase daylight into the city and create porosity for movement and pockets of community.
Beyond these benefits, these urban forms offer potential for improved environmental and energy performance in buildings.
An investigation of the energy performance and design options for the Christchurch central city has been carried out as part of the BRANZ Building Energy End-use Study (BEES).

Comparison of New Zealand's Energy Efficiency Regulation and Verification Assumptions to Real Buildings' Loads and Operation

It is often a challenge to design buildings to be more energy efficient and environmentally frien... more It is often a challenge to design buildings to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The impact of building features that meet this challenge on fire safety can be positive, neutral or negative. A list of common features of such buildings has been developed and their implications for fire safety investigated with the aid of an expert group. The most positive feature is distributed heating and cooling, which unlike central systems does not require the movement of large volumes of air and hence potentially smoke around a building in the event of a fire. Use of natural ventilation, commonly with atria and double skin facades allows for relatively unimpeded smoke transport in the event of a fire. Fire engineering design and fire safety mitigation measures such as natural draught and mechanical extract systems, for atria is well developed and understood. This is not the case for double skin facades. Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling of prototype buildings with a dou...

LEUKOS Volume 8, Number 3, January 2012: LIGHTING CONTROLS IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

This study provides a meta-analysis of energy savings identified in the literature—240 savings es... more This study provides a meta-analysis of energy savings identified in the literature—240 savings estimates from 88 papers and case studies, categorized into daylighting strategies, occupancy strategies, personal tuning, and institutional tuning. Beginning with an overall average of savings estimates by control strategy, successive analytical filters are added to identify potential biases introduced to the estimates by different analytical approaches.

Building and Environment, 2007

This paper presents the development of a comfort index that measures adaptivity in outdoor spaces... more This paper presents the development of a comfort index that measures adaptivity in outdoor spaces. Over a 9-month period 649 people were surveyed in three locations, in temperatures between 10 and 28 1C. An exploratory factor analysis develops a 15-item scale of comfort that includes measures of adaptivity: clothing, exposure time and seating location. The scale is regressed on physical measures: average instantaneous wind speed; maximum wind speed; mean-exposed radiant temperature; mean-shaded radiant temperature and ambient temperature. The results model the relative contributions of the microclimatic factors for the comfort in the outdoor space. Analyses suggest gustiness and wind speed are most important in determining user satisfaction. There is strong support for the theory that people actively adapt to microclimatic conditions. r

Seasonality in New Zealand Mortality: The Influence of Buildings

Proceedings of IBPSA, Jan 1, 2009

This paper proposes an approach to the creation of design tools that address the real information... more This paper proposes an approach to the creation of design tools that address the real information needs of designers in the early stages of design of nonresidential buildings. Traditional simplified design tools are typically too limited to be of much use, even in conceptual design. The proposal is to provide access to the power of detailed simulation tools, at a stage in design when little is known about the final building, but at a stage also when the freedom to explore options is greatest.

Australian Journal of Public Health, Jan 1, 1993

The common belief that New Zealand's climate is mild appears to be supported by the statistics of... more The common belief that New Zealand's climate is mild appears to be supported by the statistics of deaths directly attributable to cold. However an initial analysis of seasonality of mortality using the modified Edwards method suggests New Zealand has a greater seasonality of mortality than the more extreme climates of the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Japan or Sweden. Examination of New Zealand monthly mortality from 1976 to 1986 suggests this is driven by the seasonality of mortality of those aged 65 and over. Three surveys of temperatures within New Zealand homes have suggested that few are fully maintained in the 18°C to 24°C comfort range. Mean temperatures close to or below 16°C were found in two of these surveys. Further research is suggested to examine the links between health and housing thermal performance. This research should combine both health and building science knowledge and techniques. (Aust J

Lighting Research & Technology, 2010

This paper aims to determine the characteristics of an ideal lighting control system. The notion ... more This paper aims to determine the characteristics of an ideal lighting control system. The notion of designing quality lighting environments that provide rich sensory experiences is used as a fundamental basis. A theoretical premise derived from the realm of interaction design for providing rich sensory experiences is put forward: It focusses on enabling tangible interaction through properties of lighting control systems. Human psycho-physiological processes are examined in order to direct the human interface with lighting controls towards tangible interaction.

LEUKOS, Oct 1, 2011

This paper aims to describe a framework that formally evaluates end-user interactions with light... more This paper aims to describe a framework that formally
evaluates end-user interactions with lighting control interfaces, the antecedent factors that help form it, and its applications. The framework uses the concept of tangible interaction to distinguish between notions of usability and end-user experience, and argues that both have an impact on the overall effectiveness of lighting control interfaces. Usability is concerned with easier understanding of control functions. End-user experience is concerned with explicating the quality of end-users’ experience such as fun and pleasure of use. Survey research and experimental mock-ups were used to design experiments that enabled end-users to evaluate their own interactions with conventional lighting control interfaces. End-user responses obtained from these experiments challenge manufacturers’ claims about the effectiveness of conventional lighting control interfaces, and reveal a different way of thinking about future interface designs. Such a change in thinking could lead to lighting control interfaces that are easier to understand and more pleasurable to use. A set of measures for future empirical testing is provided that is general enough to allow researchers to create measures for other aspects related to end-user interactions beyond those targeted in this paper.

A 3D, interactive, web-enabled, multilayered Wellington City

Real-world analysis of motion sickness sensitivity questionnaires for cases of tall building movement

The authors have collaborated in the running of tertiary level classes in time-based representati... more The authors have collaborated in the running of tertiary level classes in time-based representation of architecture and sonic arts where for one piece students collaborate in the production of a single "animation + soundtrack". The paper reflects on the interactions between students that have taken the better work beyond the mere representational to the interpretive.

Architectural Aerodynamics: Safety Comfort And Building Form

Energy research and building design

Light distribution and spatial brightness: relative importance of the walls, ceiling and floor

Urban codes: abstraction and case-based approaches to algorithmic design and implications for the design of contemporary cities

Solar potential in extreme climate conditions: comparative analysis of two district case studies in Norway and Reunion Island

Addressing human thermal adaptation in outdoor comfort research

Urban Form and Passive Design for High Performance Buildings in the Christchurch Rebuild

HDR luminance measurement: Comparing real and simulated data

BIM and the Predesign Process: Modeling the Unknown

Measuring Productivity in the Office Workplace

Locational Drivers, Functional Clustering and Shared Amenities

Christchurch urban form and energy: Building Energy End-use Study (BEES) Year 5:

Modelling Detail Analysis: Building Energy End-Use Study - Year 5

Building Design Optimisation: Building Energy End-Use Study - Year 5

Making Central Wellington less Windy

Designing Tangible Lighting Control Interfaces

Design tool integration: model flexibility for the building profession

Thermal and visual comfort assessment of natural ventilated office buildings in Europe and North America

Metrics for measuring complexity of geometric models

Abstraction versus Case Based: A Comparative Study of Two Approaches to Support Parametric Design

Digital To Physical: Comparative Evaluation Of Three Main CNC Fabrication Technologies Adopted For Physical Modelling In Architecture

Integrating design tools: model flexibility for the building profession

… Computer Integration of the Building Industry, Jan 1, 1992

Technology Transfer: application and documentation of Building Simulation in an Architectural Practice

This paper reports on the calibration of a commercial computational fluid dynamics program, CFD-A... more This paper reports on the calibration of a commercial computational fluid dynamics program, CFD-ACE, using real measurements. The main purpose of the calibration was to develop an understanding of the modelling capabilities of CFD-ACE and its applicability to complex situations. A real building, the Texas Tech Experimental Building, was used as a case study. The calibration involved eight different scenarios, comprising combinations of two and three-dimensional modeling, standard k-ε and RNG k-ε turbulence models, and uniform or atmospheric boundary layer flows. The results compare pressure coefficient (C p ) data from the fullscale building, wind tunnel experimental results and computational fluid dynamics simulations. A general evaluation of the results found that there was no single ideal combination that can perfectly simulate the real phenomenon; the CFD-ACE program producing different results for each case. However, the combination of 3D modeling with a standard k-ε turbulence model and an atmospheric boundary layer appeared to give the best results. Comparison with the field data showed that the CFD-ACE program could reproduce the real conditions quite well. The deviation from the field data was much smaller than the reference CFD experiment and wind tunnel experimental results. The CFD-ACE program performed well as a tool for studying the wind flow around the Texas Tech Experimental Building.

Simulating Imagined Realities

Designing Comfortable Homes

Cement and Concrete Association of

The feasibility of energy use indices

Building Services Group Proceedings, 1979

After a general examination of the types of indices formulated to date, the paper looks at real b... more After a general examination of the types of indices formulated to date, the paper looks at real building data and its relationship to the physical properties of buildings. Both United States Federal Energy Agency efforts and New Zealand survey results are discussed. The feasibility discussion centres on the applicability of an index formula to New Zealand conditions. The reliability desired in such a formula is considered in the final portion of the paper.

Far Infra-red Absorptivity of Copper: A Thesis Submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of …

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Passive Solar Design of Houses

Embodied Energy and CO2 Analysis

BEEP: Building Energy End-use Project - energy end-uses in non-residential buildings

A 3D, interactive, multilayered, web-enabled model as a tool for multiple sets of end user groups: A case study and end user analysis

This study uses high performance heavily glazed façades (developed by architects and engineers) f... more This study uses high performance heavily glazed façades (developed by architects and engineers) for a real commercial building to examine the relationship between COMFEN's early design lessons (single-zone simulations) and the detailed design lessons (multi-zone simulations) derived from use of Energy Plus. The hypothesis tested is that the COMFEN-based decisions which are derived from computer simulation of single-zone performance 'sketches' of the proposed building are consistent with the multi-zone simulations in the full version of Energy Plus. The result of using COMFEN and Energy Plus often, but not always produces predictions of energy performance that are consistent across different scenarios. This analysis suggests that early design tools like COMFEN need to be used with care to ensure a design message that is consistent with the predictions of a detailed design model. At present they could potentially mislead architects during the early design stage.

Thinking through digital simulation tasks in architectural education

Adapting to intensified urban living in Wellington

Simulation of Imagined Realities: Environmental Design Decision Support Tools in Architecture: a Thesis Submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture

NEW1 New Technology Impacts.

The Design and Construction of Low Energy Housing: Housing for the Elderly

White Backed Foil: Comparative Performance in Up and Down Lighting Situations