#Campus buildings and architecture

[jcmarchi]

New solar projects will grow renewable energy generation for four major campus buildings

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/new-solar-projects-will-grow-renewable-energy-generation-for-four-major-campus-buildings/

New solar projects will grow renewable energy generation for four major campus buildings

In the latest step to implement commitments made in MIT’s Fast Forward climate action plan, staff from the Department of Facilities; Office of Sustainability; and Environment, Health and Safety Office are advancing new solar panel installations this fall and winter on four major campus buildings: The Stratton Student Center (W20), the Dewey Library building (E53), and two newer buildings, New Vassar (W46) and the Theater Arts building (W97).

These four new installations, in addition to existing rooftop solar installations on campus, are “just one part of our broader strategy to reduce MIT’s carbon footprint and transition to clean energy,” says Joe Higgins, vice president for campus services and stewardship.

The installations will not only meet but exceed the target set for total solar energy production on campus in the Fast Forward climate action plan that was issued in 2021. With an initial target of 500 kilowatts of installed solar capacity on campus, the new installations, along with those already in place, will bring the total output to roughly 650 kW, exceeding the goal. The solar installations are an important facet of MIT’s approach to eliminating all direct campus emissions by 2050.

The process of advancing to the stage of placing solar panels on campus rooftops is much more complex than just getting them installed on an ordinary house. The process began with a detailed assessment of the potential for reducing the campus greenhouse gas footprint. A first cut eliminated rooftops that were too shaded by trees or other buildings. Then, the schedule for regular replacement of roofs had to be taken into account — it’s better to put new solar panels on top of a roof that will not need replacement in a few years. Other roofs, especially lab buildings, simply had too much existing equipment on them to allow a large area of space for solar panels.

Randa Ghattas, senior sustainability project manager, and Taya Dixon, assistant director for capital budgets and contracts within the Department of Facilities, spearheaded the project. Their initial assessment showed that there were many buildings identified with significant solar potential, and it took the impetus of the Fast Forward plan to kick things into action. 

Even after winnowing down the list of campus buildings based on shading and the life cycle of roof replacements, there were still many other factors to consider. Some buildings that had ample roof space were of older construction that couldn’t bear the loads of a full solar installation without significant reconstruction. “That actually has proved trickier than we thought,” Ghattas says. For example, one building that seemed a good candidate, and already had some solar panels on it, proved unable to sustain the greater weight and wind loads of a full solar installation. Structural capacity, she says, turned out to be “probably the most important” factor in this case.

The roofs on the Student Center and on the Dewey Library building were replaced in the last few years with the intention of the later addition of solar panels. And the two newer buildings were designed from the beginning with solar in mind, even though the solar panels were not part of the initial construction. “The designs were built into them to accommodate solar,” Dixon says, “so those were easy options for us because we knew the buildings were solar-ready and could support solar being integrated into their systems, both the electrical system and the structural system of the roof.”

But there were also other considerations. The Student Center is considered a historically significant building, so the installation had to be designed so that it was invisible from street level, even including a safety railing that had to be built around the solar array. But that was not a problem. “It was fine for this building,” Ghattas says, because it turned out that the geometry of the building and the roofs hid the safety railing from view below.

Each installation will connect directly to the building’s electrical system, and thus into the campus grid. The power they produce will be used in the buildings they are on, though none will be sufficient to fully power its building. Overall, the new installations, in addition to the existing ones on the MIT Sloan School of Management building (E62) and the Alumni Pool (57) and the planned array on the new Graduate Junction dorm (W87-W88), will be enough to power 5 to 10 percent of the buildings’ electric needs, and offset about 190 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, Ghattas says. This is equivalent to the electricity use of 35 homes annually.

Each building installation is expected to take just a couple of weeks. “We’re hopeful that we’re going to have everything installed and operational by the end of this calendar year,” she says.

Other buildings could be added in coming years, as their roof replacement cycles come around. With the lessons learned along the way in getting to this point, Ghattas says, “now that we have a system in place, hopefully it’s going to be much easier in the future.”

Higgins adds that “in parallel with the solar projects, we’re working on expanding electric vehicle charging stations and the electric vehicle fleet and reducing energy consumption in campus buildings.”

Besides the on-campus improvements, he says, “MIT is focused on both the local and the global.” In addition to solar installations on campus buildings, which can only mitigate a small portion of campus emissions, “large-scale aggregation partnerships are key to moving the actual market landscape for adding cleaner energy generation to power grids,” which must ultimately lead to zero emissions, he says. “We are spurring the development of new utility-grade renewable energy facilities in regions with high carbon-intensive electrical grids. These projects have an immediate and significant impact in the urgently needed decarbonization of regional power grids.”

Higgins says that other technologies, strategies, and practices are being evaluated for heating, cooling, and power for the campus, “with zero carbon emissions by 2050, utilizing cleaner energy sources.” He adds that these campus initiatives “are part of MIT’s larger Climate Project, aiming to drive progress both on campus and beyond, advancing broader partnerships, new market models, and informing approaches to climate policy.” 

[emberwritesinsight]

So, while I was combing through Nanami footage to make the Circus AMV, I noticed a couple things in the Nanami Wearing Her Cowbell montage. One, she modeled for at least one art class, which means scattered in bedrooms and desks across Ohtori are drawings of the dumbest fashion decision she's ever made (also there's probably something to be said abt paintings/drawings vs pictures and all that thematic baggage but I don't have it in me to unpack that right now). Two:

I straight up forgot about this. I'm 85% sure this is the only time anyone wears a kimono in the whole series. Nanami looks great in this shade of blue and the pattern is vaguely reminiscent of v/ stylized cattle with the horns- though, to be honest, my first thought was "are those fucking bananas". Also, she's arranging what appear to be lilies- bigger Kanaeheads than me please feel free to go wild with that

[tj-crochets]

Hey y’all! Weird question time! Or more specifically, time for a weird question I’ve asked before Was the high school you went to all one building, several buildings you had to walk between with no covered walkways, or several buildings but with covered walkways between them? And where was the school (not specifically)/what weather? I grew up in southern California (where it is usually hot and rarely rains) and it never occurred to me a school could be all in one building until I saw my cousin’s high school in Oregon (where it is frequently cold and rains a lot)

[deconstructthesoup]

Blue gets it

[iknowwhereyousleepatnight]

The secret to good school is good funding. One day, I dream of a world where all schools have options for their children. Personally, I think it's pretty important for that sort of thing to start out early. See if you're actually into that think BEFORE you're 100k in debt and hating your life.

My area has some awesome architecture. One time, I wanted to do a project on it, and my teacher said it was too complicated. I cried, like genuinely left that class, found a place to sit down, and just cried. The buildings were pretty, and I wanted to talk about them. I really do love the amount of thought put into those buildings. The people who made them are dead, but their art is still there. A bunch of dudes 100 years ago sat down and designed this theater. Then more came in and built it. And here I am, sitting there.

Architecture is so awesome in the way that it's interactive. It can survive longer than any human.

definitely!! being able to explore interests before you gotta choose one for your career is soso important i rlly wish i got to try out some more shit before i had to settle on smth

also sameee my city has a lot of old architecture (especially my school. some of the buildings are falling apart but they're very old and very pretty) and im like just in awe of it like architecture is an art but it's more than an art because unlike a lot of art it's not just something to look at it's somewhere someone lives or works or goes with friends and makes memories like a lot of art doesnt have a practical function but architecture does and it serves as a setting for so much of people's lives and that's really impactful and so awesome because there's architecture everywhere and it's all so beautiful *dreamy sigh*

also sucks that ur teacher sucked i hate when teachers/profs won't let you do projects on what ur passionate abt like passion is the basis of learning why aren't u supporting that....

[bhrarchinerd]

International Affairs Building, Columbia University by Mike McLaughlin Via Flickr: New York City www.MikeMcLaughlinPhoto.com

[jahtheexplorer]

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

[allisonperryart]

Speaking of Scripps here's a #ThrowbackThursday to one of my favourite paintings of the Sallie Tiernan Field House. 🥰 Spent a lot of evenings working out here back in college - I miss having free access to a gym! 😭🏋️‍♀️ Thanks for looking, and you can catch the process video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCxuDrP8ZvM

[skrubu]

Elements and Interrelations by Pekka Nikrus Via Flickr: In album Designed Constructions

[memorabilia-memoria]

Tout est dans les petits gestes.

Saint Denis, janvier 2024

[rickchung]

University of British Columbia x Vancouver.

AMS Student Nest building.

[jcmarchi]

A bright and airy hub for climate at MIT

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/a-bright-and-airy-hub-for-climate-at-mit/

A bright and airy hub for climate at MIT

Seen from a distance, MIT’s Cecil and Ida Green Building (Building 54) — designed by renowned architect and MIT alumnus I.M. Pei ’40 — is one of the most iconic buildings on the Cambridge, Massachusetts, skyline. Home to the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), the 21-story concrete structure soars over campus, topped with its distinctive spherical radar dome. Close up, however, it was a different story.

A sunless, two-story, open-air plaza beneath the tower previously served as a nondescript gateway to the department’s offices, labs, and classrooms above. “It was cold and windy — probably the windiest place on campus,” EAPS department head Robert van der Hilst, the Schlumberger Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, told a packed auditorium inside the building in March. “You would pass through the elevators and disappear into the corridors, never to be seen again until the end of the day.”

Van der Hilst was speaking at a dedication event to celebrate the opening of the renovated and expanded space, 60 years after the Green Building’s original dedication in 1964. In a dramatic transformation, the perpetually-shaded expanse beneath the tower has been filled with an airy, glassed-in structure that is as inviting as the previous space was forbidding.

Designed to meet LEED-platinum certification, the newly-constructed Tina and Hamid Moghadam Building (Building 55) seems to float next to the Brutalist tower, its glass façade both opening up the interior and reflecting the sunlight and green space outside. The 300-seat auditorium within the original tower has been similarly transformed, bringing light and space to the newly dubbed Dixie Lee Bryant (1891) Lecture Hall, named after the first person to earn a geology degree at MIT.

Catalyzing collaboration

The project is about more than updating an overlooked space. “The building we’re here to celebrate today does something else,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said at the dedication.

“In its lightness, in its transparency, it calls attention not to itself, but to the people gathered inside it. In its warmth, its openness, it makes room for culture and community. And it welcomes in those who don’t yet belong … as we take on the immense challenges of climate together,” she continued, referencing the recent launch of The Climate Project at MIT — a whole-of-MIT initiative to innovate bold solutions to climate change. In MIT’s famously decentralized structure, the Moghadam Building provides a new physical hub for students, scientists, and engineers interested in climate and the environment to congregate and share ideas.

From the start, fostering this kind of multidisciplinary collaboration was part of Van der Hilst’s vision. In addition to serving as the flagship location for EAPS, Building 54 has long been the administrative home of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering — a graduate program in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. With the addition of Building 55, EAPS has now been joined by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) — a campus-wide program fostering education, outreach, and innovation in earth system science, urban infrastructure, and sustainability — and will welcome closer collaboration with Terrascope — a first-year learning community which invites its students to take on real-world environmental challenges.

A shared vision comes to life

The building project dovetailed with the long-overdue refurbishment of the Green Building. After a multi-year fundraising campaign where Van der Hilst spearheaded the department’s efforts, the project received a major boost from lead donors Tina and Hamid Moghadam ’77, SM ’78, allowing the department to break ground in November 2021.

In Moghadam, chair and CEO of Prologis, which owns 1.2 billion square feet of warehouses and other logistics infrastructure worldwide, EAPS found a fellow champion for climate and environmental innovation. By putting solar panels on the roofs of Prologis buildings, the company is now the second largest on-site producer of solar energy in the United States. “I don’t think there needs to be a trade-off between good sound economics and return on investment and solving climate change problems,” Moghadam said at the dedication. “The solutions that really work are the ones that actually make sense in a market economy.”

Architectural firm AW-ARCH designed the Moghadam Building with a light touch, emphasizing spaciousness in contrast to the heavy concrete buildings that surround it. “The kind of delicacy and fragility of the thing is in some ways a depiction of what happens here,” said architect and co-founding partner Alex Anmahian at the dedication reception, giving a nod to the study of the delicate balance of the earth system itself. The sense is further illustrated by the responsiveness of the façade to the surrounding environment, which, depending on the time of day and quality of light, makes the glass alternately reflective and transparent.

Inside, the 11,900-square foot pavilion is highly flexible and serves as a showcase for the science that happens in the labs and offices above. Central to the space is a 16-foot by 9-foot video wall featuring vivid footage of field work, lab research, data visualizations, and natural phenomena — visible even to passers-by outside. The video wall is counterposed to an unpretentious set of stair-step bleachers leading to the second floor that could play host to anything from a scientific lecture to a community pizza-and-movie night.

Van der Hilst has referred to his vision for the atrium as a “campus living room,” and the furniture throughout is intentionally chosen to allow for impromptu rearrangements, providing a valuable public space on campus for students to work and socialize.

The second level is similarly adaptable, featuring three classrooms with state-of-the-art teaching technologies that can be transformed from a single large space for a hackathon to intimate rooms for discussion.

“The space is really meant for a yet unforeseen experience,” Anmahian says. “The reason it is so open is to allow for any possibility.”

The inviting, dynamic design of the pavilion has also become an instant point of pride for the building’s inhabitants. At the dedication, School of Science dean Nergis Mavalvala quipped that anyone walking into the space “gains two inches in height.”

Van der Hilst quoted a colleague with a similar observation: “Now, when I come into this space, I feel respected by it.”

The perfect complement

Another significant feature of the project is the List Visual Arts Center Percent-for-Art Program installation by conceptual artist Julian Charrière, entitled “Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More.”

Consisting of three interrelated works, the commission includes: “Not All Who Wander Are Lost,” three glacial erratic boulders which sit atop their own core samples in the surrounding green space; “We Are All Astronauts,” a trio of glass pillars containing vintage globes with distinctions between nations, land, and sea removed; and “Pure Waste,” a synthetic diamond embedded in the foundation, created from carbon captured from the air and the breath of researchers who work in the building.

Known for themes that explore the transformation of the natural world over time and humanity’s complex relationship with our environment, Charrière was a perfect fit to complement the new Building 55 — offering a thought-provoking perspective on our current environmental challenges while underscoring the value of the research that happens within its walls.

[cgclarkphoto]

Futuristic in the now Tulsa -  cg photography

[effelier]

[best-architects-in-india]

Creating Healing Spaces: The Importance of Hospital Design and IMK Architects’ Role in Revolutionizing Healthcare Facilities

The design of healthcare facilities plays a critical role in patient recovery and well-being. IMK Architects has been a key player in revolutionizing hospital design in India, focusing on creating healing environments that prioritize patient comfort and operational efficiency.

The Significance of Thoughtful Design

In healthcare architecture, the importance of thoughtful design cannot be overstated. Research has shown that well-designed spaces can significantly enhance patient outcomes, reduce stress, and improve staff efficiency. IMK Architects recognizes this and approaches hospital design with a focus on creating environments that promote healing.

IMK Architects’ Contributions

One of the firm’s standout projects is the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, which showcases their commitment to patient-centric design. The hospital integrates natural light, greenery, and open spaces to create a calming environment. By incorporating elements of nature, IMK Architects helps to reduce anxiety and foster a sense of tranquility among patients.

Moreover, IMK’s designs prioritize operational efficiency. They create layouts that enhance the workflow for medical staff, ensuring that the movement of patients and resources is seamless. This attention to both patient experience and staff needs exemplifies the firm’s holistic approach to healthcare design.

Revolutionizing Healthcare Spaces

IMK Architects’ influence extends beyond individual projects. Their advocacy for sustainable healthcare design has inspired other firms to prioritize eco-friendly practices in their projects. By utilizing energy-efficient systems, water conservation methods, and sustainable materials, IMK Architects is setting a new standard for healthcare facilities in India.

Conclusion

IMK Architects is at the forefront of revolutionizing hospital design in India. Their commitment to creating healing spaces that prioritize patient comfort and operational efficiency reflects a deep understanding of the healthcare environment. As the firm continues to innovate, they play a crucial role in shaping the future of healthcare architecture, ultimately enhancing the quality of care for patients across the country.

[blueberrykuelee]

aesthetic

its great when the campus that looks like CGI on sunny days rains like its supposed to...

it really is

but choosing that time, it could be a little more thoughtful... not when i have a student government meeting and it decides to downpour

i do love this campus though

mahalo no ka heluhelu 'ana , see ya latah cuz