PHASE THREE

DESIGN TO ZERO COMPETITION

This is the final upload for the Design to Zero Competition by Jesse Williamson and Julia Song.

The whole project relates the to hexagon and how we believe it is the most modular shape that would obtain greater solar radiation, and develop into an expanded complex.

Our building is situated in the city of Toronto, located in Ontario, Canada. The site is urban, yet suburban with the location set in downtown Toronto, but surrounded by several Victorian houses, and the site is green with a park adjacent to the complex.

We propose that tenants would be encouraged to undergo an information program to educate them on how to properly operate the sustainable features within the complex for optimal performance.

We have merged the given site by the competition and the Toronto site together for our entry to make our project more realistic. The building complex is built into the natural contours of the site, and is dug in on the ground where different levels of the complex reach different heights.

The site plan of our complex. So instead we have downsized the hexagon by approximately 0.5m on each side to make room for a small storage building, a shared exterior deck area (not attached to the complex), along with 2 parking spaces and bicycle parking naturally shaded by trees (if additional vehicle parking is needed, tenants are able to obtain permits to park on the street). This way it is encouraged for the tenants to use green modes of transportation such as biking and public transit. There is an emphasis on the relationship between the building space and the green space on the site.

PLANS FOR LIVING

Ground Level Floor Plan. The two-person unit and the six-person units are attached on the ground level. Each are given their own separate entrances from the inner courtyard and their own private deck space. It is suggested that the six-person unit is multi-generational, and therefore has been left on the ground floor.

Second Level Floor Plan. The four-person unit is on top of the two-person unit and partially on top the six-person unit. The four-person unit’s entrance is accessed from the west street and led up stairs. If barrier free access to the four-person unit was required, an automatic lift chair could be added to the entrance stairs. Their deck space acts as a buffer from the adjacent shared roof top terrace and green roof. The entrance to the shared roof deck is accessed by a staircase from the inner courtyard.

Roof Level Plan. This is the roof top of the four-person unit. It acts solely as a green roof and is accessible by maintenance staff from the ladder found on the ground level. Also on the roof, there are urban scale wind turbines which will be explained later on.

DESIGN FOUNDATIONS

The hexagon provides optimal solar absorption, a reinforced structure that is able to equally distribute loads, and the shape is a natural module.

The wall studies and differences between our south and north walls since they each take in different amounts of wind and sun.

Detailed structure description of the hexagon module with its materials and support.

All of the prefabricated exterior walls have been designed with modularity, expandability, customization, and simplified construction in mind. The tenants are able to choose from the series of panels (shown above) to create a layout. They would be able to piece together the panels to essentially create any desired room. The panels are intended to be non-structural and easily mounted on the structural frame. In order to work with the hexagon shape there would need to be four (4) corner connection options for each panel type, this has been shown in the image. Our design has incorporated many, but not all, of these panel types.

The conceptual sun study comparing Toronto summer and winter.

EXTERIOR

South Elevation

North Elevation

East Elevation

West Elevation

MATERIALS

INTERIOR

Section through all three units.

SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES

Our site has a wide range of strategies to obtain a near net-zero complex. For more detailed descriptions please enlarge the images.

The image above displays the following sustainable strategies: green roofs that act as natural insulation and storm water retention, rain water collection and grey water recycling, natural shading by various types of trees, natural insulation by the earth at grade, easily recyclable building materials, insulated floors, etc.

The image above displays the following sustainable strategies: ceiling fans, customized winter and summer photovoltaic solar panels, overhangs that act as sun shades, operable windows for natural air circulation, double and triple glazed windows, urban wind turbines etc.

Urban wind turbines generate electricity from lower wind velocities. Compared to larger scale turbines, these wind turbines create less noise but are equally efficient. Along with the photovoltaic solar panels, the residents will be able to generate their own electricity without resorting to any natural gases. If the complex generates more energy than needed, tenants are able to sell the remaining energy back into the neighbourhood for other buildings to use.

Ground Level Air Circulation. The windows are operable from the top and bottom corners to allow natural air circulation within each unit. This creates a natural air vent system reducing the need for artificial cooling.

Second Level Air Circulation. Similar to the Ground Level Air Circulation.

CLIMATE

Toronto receives a wide range of temperatures throughout the year. From extreme cold to extreme heat alerts. There is also a wide range of active weather such as rain, snow, wind, etc. In our project, we made sure to accommodate the different types of weather Toronto experiences.

EXPANSION PROPOSAL

Our complex has the ability to expand and build up for future developments. This is an example of a potential extension for a single shape where the curved overhang and deck are able to be removed and reused. Tenants are not limited to expand with just the hexagon, they are also able to use a parallelogram, triangle or square. Throughout the years, the building has the potential to expand throughout the site to create more space for additional residents, or simply to extend one’s own unit.