Media & Modeling
Course Instructor: James Park
Team Members: Kiran Golla, Jayati Chhabra, Varun Sethi
Contemporary architecture precedents are used in this course to establish parametric design principles with the focus on technological aspects of production, such as digital modeling, visualization, diagramming, analysis (solar and structure), and optimization through data sets through Rhino, Illustrator, and Grasshopper.
CCTV Headquarters (Parametric Modeling & Environmental Analysis)
Sequential Order of massing strategy:
A base square (160m x 160m) is extruded to a height of 234m.
The top face of the cuboid is scaled down to make the vertical faces taper at 6 degrees.
Two scaled frustum voids are created diagonally to make a tube loop with one tower sized at 60m x 40m and the other at 60m x 52m.
To make the massing structurally stable a slopped void is carved out from the top part at an angle of 6 degrees on two consecutive sides.
Environmental Analysis
Climate type: Continental (classified under the Köppen climatic classification as Dwa)
Influenced by the monsoon winds, Beijing experiences hot, humid summers and cold, dry, and windy winters. The sun shines all year round, and in spring, particularly, it gets warm and dry, and it is sunny with minimal precipitation in autumn.
Temperatures get very low in winter, sometimes coming to as low as -18°C (-0.4°F), especially at night. Although it remains sunny through winter, sometimes it snows, and there is an occurrence of the prevailing cold winds from the Mongolian desert. It is the most extended season.
Solar Radiation analysis
To analyse the radiation on the building envelope, two months with the most seasonal variation were chosen, i.e., June and December. The following is the diagrammatic representation of the average radiation the building is exposed to during both the months.
As observed with the current design the building receives more exposure of the sun due to the 6 degree angle of inclination on the facades of two towers during summer.
Radiation analysis on Variations
Variation 01
Inclination Angle: 0°
To reduce the solar exposure, our analysis suggests that a zero degree angle of inclination would be the more optimized solution in terms of radiation during summers.
Variation 02
Inclination Angle: 3°
Tower 1: 50 m x 50 m
Tower 2: 52 m x 70 m
The building however is structurally stable due to the angle of inclination.
The podium of the base structure is seen to be more exposed to solar radiation.
To combat this, it is observed that a median angle of inclination of 3 degrees along with the increase of the tower 2 size helps in optimizing the exposure of sun on the base structure.
Variation 03
Inclination Angle: 3°
Tower 1: 50 m x 50 m
Tower 2: 52 m x 70 m
Bldg Rotation: 45° CCW
To further improve the way the building behaves in terms of solar radiation during both summers and winters, it is rotated at an angle of 45 degrees. This helps to expose the majority of the facade to the sun during winter but blocks direct radiation during peak summer months.
