Trial / Demo
Congratulations to Stephanie and Belina, who were chosen as Academic Winners for VE User of the Year in North America.
The overall task for Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) was a new building design for Griffith Steam Magnet Middle School located in East LA, California. Biophilic design was the leading concept, an innovative approach to design buildings and urban spaces that strives to connect people more closely with nature. IESVE was used to carry out in-depth daylighting and energy simulations.
Wind Rose Design Considerations
The garden spaces allow for many native species to grow and help people connect with nature. The wind rose of the site heavily influenced the building design. The overall massing of the building was created to maximize and capture the wind and allow for as much natural ventilation as possible. CPP incorporated two courtyards, one being an courtyard primarily used by students, while the other is more for students and the public, created as an extension from the existing community garden on site that can be used by the public when the students are not there.
The Courtyards
The project consists of three bars, one of which was north-south oriented, incorporating a maker space, lab rooms and art classroom. The east-west oriented bar is closer to the public courtyard consisting of service program, teacher's workroom and collaboration spaces. The other east-west bar towards the inner courtyard is made up of more classrooms. These bars are essentially islands connected by a colorful PV trellis, which is made up of amorphous silicon PV panels, allowing for transparency and color.
Reducing Energy Use Intensity (EUI)
The approach to building design took a ‘less is more’ approach, ensuring the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) was as low as possible before adding PV to achieve net zero. A key design strategy was adding mixed mode ventilation, allowing natural ventilation to occur under the right temperatures, which significantly reduced the EUI of the building before PV.
Decarbonisation Approach
CPP experimented with three different kinds of PV. Monocrystalline as opposed to polycrystalline silicon was used for the sawtooth roofs as it blended in better with the roof. Polycrystalline silicon was used on the flat roof portion of the building, seen as one the primary sources of energy production due to the lower cost implications. Amorphous silicon was used to create the colorful PV trellis; although it is not as efficient as the other PV sources, CPP believed it was a necessary element to teach the students about a design for discovery approach.
CPP sized the PV system to sufficiently meet the energy demand of the building. They also used daylight sensors to reduce the lighting loads of the building and consequently reduce the overall EUI of the building. During the building design, CPP identified that lighting and cooling loads were the biggest contributors to the EUI so they tried to reduce those loads as much as possible.
Overall, the first floor classrooms received less daylight than the upper floor classrooms, and the goal was to get to between 35-50 FC.
First floor classrooms modelled geometry – solar radiation daylight analysis
Classroom Render
Significant Energy-Saving Results
CPP started with a very high EUI, but they identified key areas to focus their efforts: cooling and light loads. They were able to significantly reduce those loads with IESVE simulation, leading to an EUI of 18 kBtu/ft2/yr before PV and -4kBtu/ft2/yr after PV, with excess stored in a battery.
In Summary
The new school building successfully integrated biophilic design principles with IESVE to maintain a strong connection with nature, through courtyard spaces and seating areas for students to rest in between passing, fulfilling the need for seating diversity in the existing school. Strategically oriented to maximize natural ventilation via two airflow-capturing courtyards, the building design prioritizes energy efficiency with mixed-mode ventilation and daylight sensors. Three types of different sized PV systems position the project to achieve its net zero energy target.
"IESVE simulation helped CPP develop a new school design that seamlessly integrates biophilic elements with energy-saving strategies, creating vibrant, nature-connected spaces for students. Net zero energy targets are on track through optimized ventilation, daylighting and innovative PV systems."
Stephanie Perez-Ocaranza, Student, Cal Poly Pomona
