BEACH HOUSE

DESIGN CONCEPT
A design process aimed to unite the efforts of creative
design and engineering application from the very
birth of an architectural dream.
North Elevation
East Elevation
South Elevation
West Elevation
ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN 2

Sitting room + Kitchen
Master bedroom
Attached bathroom
2nd bedroom
Bathroom
Sunroom
Car Park
Open swimming pool

45m
2

16m
2

4m
2

14m
2

6m
2

12m
2

18m
2


LORNE
VICTORIA,
AUSTRALIA
A SYNCRETIC APPROACH
Syncretic design
A vicious cycle of architectural design and
engineering analysis.
Apply knowledge of solar geometry, solar radiation and heat
transfer to estimate heating and cooling loads for design
optimisation.
Project aim
Apply knowledge of solar geometry, solar radiation and heat
transfer to estimate heating and cooling loads for design.
2009
was the 3D modelling software used by the team to develop
the design concept digitally. This enabled quick re-design
and faster design modifications based on MATLAB results.
Rhino

MATLAB

was the computing software used to estimate the cooling and

heating loads on the house design. Computations were
carried out for each design modification to analyse its effects.
The algorithm used for this assignment was written by
Prof. Graham Thorpe.
N
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Naturally ventilated
In
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S
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3RD YEAR ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING
Ground floor plan
Roof plan
First floor plan
Subject lecturers
Left to right:
Kailas Prasannan
Sama Al-Bzo
Raghad Ibrahim
Rodolfo Lalunio
3D modelling software Rendering program
BEACH HOUSE
DESIGN FEATURES & ANALYSIS
Computing software
White roof
Painted white to absorb less radiation.
Constructed with concrete slabs (with fly ash
aggregate) and added insulation.
Window glass
Double-glazed windows with high reflectivity
and grey tint increase performance of glass
by reflecting more heat and transmitting less
heat.
Window frames
Inspired by the Birds nest in Beijing and the
Federation Square in Melbourne. Randomly
angled metal frames rendered in a shade of blue
add colour and architectural detail to the whole
structure.
Fresh air intake
Openable grilles at the bottom of windows
facing North, N-E and East allow summer
wind to naturally ventilate the space and exit
through top of stairwell.
Earth block construction
Load beari ng Earth blocks wi th i nsulati ng
properties increase thermal mass of walls. Walls
have an external stone facade for aesthetic
quality.
External louvers
Wind catching fins added outside the grilles
that allow fresh air intake through natural
ventilation. Angled and positioned according to
the site wind data.
Angled walls and windows
Originally designed to be an architectural feature, but later
used to engineering advantage. A sloping surface (at a
certain zenith angle) would transmit less solar radiation
than a surface at right angle to incoming radiation. All
North, N-E and East facades (with the exception of the
Master bedrooms NE facade) slope outwards.
Overhangs
0.5m long overhangs provide shading
from the summer sun. Design verified
through a daylight study in Rhino

.
Skylights
Long angled penetrations in the roof slab above the
living room allow natural light into the space. These
are designed to block direct solar radiation. Can be
designed to have adjustable louvers.
Prof. Graham Thorpe
Architect Sam Kashuk
TEAM 4
Assumptions and limitations in MATLAB

computations:

1. Annual loads calculated for a floor area of 115m
2
.
2. Does not include earth wall construction with stone faade,
3. Tmax and Tmin are highest and lowest values for every month
Table 1(from the Bureau of Meteorology),
4. Day of the year (n) changed to middle of every month for each
period (i.e, 15,46,74, 105, 141, etc),
5. Ventilation: Vdot (m
3
/ s) changes according to season natural
ventilation during summer (open louvers) and closed louvers during
winter;therefore, Vdot during winter = 0.03 (assumption), during
summer = 0 .1 (assumption), during spring/ autumn = 0 .7
(assumption).
As seen in the graph on the right, after design
modifications (Run-9) compared to before
design modifications (Run-1), both heating and
cooling loads have dropped considerably.
However, the actual values for cooling and
heating loads are unrealistically high. Therefore,
as stated before, the team focussed on
analysing trends of the heating and cooling
loads during the course of the year. The trends
are as expected considering the amount of
variables in the input for every month (9am &
3pm each). Summers have produced the
highest cooling loads and winters have the
highest heating loads.
The trends seen in the above figure are
similar to the ones discussed for the
graph shown above.

These results confirm that the MATLAB

program produces consistent results
relative to the variables as input. The only
final comment would be that the input data
wo u l d h a ve t o b e ve r i f i e d o r
re-calculated to produce more accurate
and realistic results.
Run
Day
of
year
Tmax Tmin _*tau
U-
value
Vdot
Floor
type
R-value
Wall con-
struction
Roof con-
struction
Cooling
load
Heating
load
NatHERS
5-star
max.
daily
C C factor
W/
m
2
K
m
3
/ s
Km
2
/
W
Daily kJ / m
2
kJ / m
2

1 180 15 5 1 6 0.03 -0.78 3.9 2 4 1010.7 2188
408.2
2 180 30 5 1 6 0.03 -0.78 3.9 2 4 2438.4 1194.8
3 180 30 5 0.45 6 0.03 -0.78 3.9 2 4 1361.4 1373.2
4 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.03 -0.78 3.9 2 4 1609.5 541.8
5 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.1 -0.78 3.9 2 4 1617.7 995.3
6 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.1 -0.95 3.9 2 4 1107.8 455.3
7 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.1 -0.95 10 2 4 1108 456
8 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.1 -0.95 10 2 - Corrected 4 - Corrected 1128.9 446.9
9 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.1 -0.95 10 6 8 1082.6 404.4
10 180 30 5 0.45 2.5 0.03 -0.95 10 6 8 1164.5 41
11 180 15 5 0.45 2.5 0.03 -0.95 10 6 8 353.72 368.5
12 15 30 10 0.45 2.5 0.03 -0.95 10 6 8 4896 0
MATLAB

Results:

Decreased cooling load due to:
Lower outside temperatures,
Decreasing transmitivity of glass,
Heavier floor type,
Better insulated wall and roof construction.

Increased cooling load due to:
Higher outside temperatures
Increased ventilation
Lower U-value; but decreases heating load considerably.

No effect on cooling load:
R-value (due to other assumptions)
Adding a 5
th
value for b or n.

The day of the year (n), would totally change the scenario. As expected,
in summer, when there is more solar radiation, the cooling load increases,
and in winter, due to lower solar radiation, the cooling load drops.
Conclusion and final design:

The team did not manage to successfully rate the beach house by
comparing with published NatHERS values for annual energy
consumption.

The estimated cooling and heating loads for the beach house were
extremely high, possibly due to error(s) in the input data. However, the
team decided to use the MATLAB

algorithm to analyse trends and the

various effects of changes in design, on the cooling and heating loads.
By varying the maximum and minimum outside temperatures, day of the
year and ventilation, the algorithm was tested for consistency. The
algorithm produced results which showed realistic trends such as
increased cooling load during summer. Actual cooling and heating load
values were ignored. To correct the errors, it would be required by the
team to verify input data (areas of surfaces, planar angles and azimuth),
check for other errors and re-calculate the loads.

The final beach house concept is designed to make use of earth blocks
for construction with a stone faade. In addition to that, the floor is a
203mm concrete slab and this has proved to result in lower cooling
loads. The windows are double-glazed and tinted. Other design changes
include natural ventilation, roof being painted white to absorb less heat
and addition of external shading.
Exit-Louvre
Openable grille acts as exit point for summer
wind entering space through grilles at bottom of
windows.
Green wall
A vertical garden comprising of smaller plant
species add a touch of nature to the structure.
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, MELBOURNE
MATLAB

results for various trail runs:

Sum
m
er w
ind
View of Bay
Birds Nest
Beijing National Stadium, Beijing
Federation Square, Melbourne