Browsing by Author "Metzger, A. Susanne"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Assurance of Indoor Environmental Quality through Building Diagnostics at Schematic Design
    Metzger, A. Susanne (Virginia Tech, 1998-11-13)
    With increasing knowledge about the indoor climate in recent years, preventive methods to avoid health problems caused by deficient building performance may become preferable to reactive methods. Benefits from preventive actions have been suggested for late building design phases, construction, and building operations, however, few data are available that demonstrate the benefits of preventive actions in early planning phases. In a case study, expected building performance in respect to indoor air quality and thermal conditions in a large judicial facility in North America was evaluated retrospectively at the end of the schematic design and substantial completion phases. A process for evaluation of building performance at schematic design is developed from existing procedures for building diagnostics in operating buildings. Criteria for evaluation of expected building environmental quality at schematic design as available from standards and guidelines are presented. The results of the study show that building diagnostics at schematic design can be an effective mean of prevention of occupant health problems. Further findings indicate that the assurance of indoor environmental quality can be improved, if the criteria for expected building performance are defined and complied with from early on. It is concluded that implementation of building diagnostics in early project phases can reduce the likelihood of adverse health effects in operating buildings.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The temporary and the permanent
    Metzger, A. Susanne (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993)
    When the design of a building is understood as a creation of ideas, and construction as putting these ideas into reality, then a building is only created once, and every change or growth will be just another construction phase. Under these circumstances, the act of creating the basis for flexibility requires the knowledge about quality and location of changes at a time when the building, Its use and Its user configuration do not exist. Since form and function are closely tied together, designing for flexibility will influence form. In the past, what was thought to be the most flexible building tended to have the most unspecific form. It must be the contributIon of architecture to achieve both, the adaptability for change, and the ability to express and interpret time, place and meaning. Since the introduction of mass production, building flexibility has been a leading economic factor in the planning of industrial and commercial facilities. Technological progress not only affects production conditions, but also constantly redefines requirements for spatial quality and the building conception. For the benefit of architectural meaning, and a work environment that can meet human requirements under changing conditions, planning methods and architectural concepts must distinguish between spaces with different flexibility demands. The sum of functions in a building can be divided in work-related and people·related activities. Work-related activities are production-oriented involving a relatively high degree of technology. People-reIated activities are oriented toward the basic human needs involving a relatively low degree of flexibility. Whereas work related functions have a high frequency of change affecting the building in many degrees, people-related spaces hardly ever change experiencing rearrangements rather than construction work. In architectural design, the relationship between these two different types of space finds expression. As examples in the past show, there is a variety of architectural interpretation of flexibility. The ability to replace elements in a building’s metabolic transformation is influenced by architectural order. In the design of a Research and Development Center an order is created serving work and people functions and distinguishing between temporary and permanent areas.