Browsing by Author "West, Aaron William"
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- An Exploration of the Natural Ventilation Strategies At the World Trade Center, AmsterdamWest, Aaron William (Virginia Tech, 2000-10-24)The push to design environmentally conscious and sustainable buildings has surged over the past twenty year, thus leading to the development of new methods for harnessing the natural elements of the earth. In recent years the international firm of Kohn, Pederson and Fox has been a champion of the sustainability movement. In fact many of the newer passive ventilation strategies under development can be seen in Kohn, Pedersen Fox International (KPFI) current commission for the World Trade Center (WTC) currently under construction in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This multi-million square foot complex has been designed to service the growing needs of Europe's free market economy and the fledgling European Union (EU). The complex is a series of five towers with connecting multi-storied atriums in the interstitial spaces. While the towers are actively heated and cooled using modern energy efficient systems the atrium areas are ventilated using an innovative passive system. This passive system relies on turbulence and negative pressure along the roof system to draw air through the space and positive pressure (due to wind driven forces) at the inlets located above the ground level doors to bring air into the atrium. The primary concept behind this strategy is that the difference between the positive and negative pressure zones will induce a convective current within the atrium space and there by create a continuous air-change system. The intent of this thesis is to analyze and report on the findings of the wind tunnel tests done on scale models of the complex and, propose alternative ideas to strengthen the current design.
- The Perry Street Edge: Developing A New Pedestrian Portal To Virginia TechWest, Aaron William (Virginia Tech, 2009-05-28)At the crossing of a strong architectural edge and an axis line, it is necessary to articulate the intersection and acknowledge the moment. But what if, at the point of this intersection, other contextual factors work against the articulation? What if there is an opportunity to not only mark the intersection, but in doing so strengthen the edge condition, elevate the importance of the axis line and provide a celebrated threshold experience? This project looks at this very condition as it exists within the context of the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. At the intersection of the axis of symmetry for the campus and the building edge along Perry Street, there is no acknowledgment of this crossing. In fact, in its present condition, the intersection is beset by a breakdown in the edge condition and only a trace of the powerful axis line. In addressing the challenges that plague this existing condition, this project will seek to achieve four things with respect to the Virginia Tech campus, at large: 1. Articulate the termination point of the axis of symmetry for the campus by strengthening the pedestrian path that runs along the axis providing a clearly defined route to the Drill Field. 2. A redefinition of the edge along Perry Street, repairing the breech in the building wall and connecting the components that make up the edge. 3. Strengthen intersection of the edge and the axis/path line by developing a new pedestrian portal into the heart of campus thereby providing a formal entry point along an edge that currently does not articulate the entry points into campus. 4. Develop the architectural context within the site, bridging the divide between the architectural traditions of the campus core with the modernist vernacular of the Perry Street Edge.