Page 10 November 1977 RAIN Design a state office building that is humane, ecologically sound, and 100 percent passively heated, cooled and lit. A big order from the crazy new State Architect- can't be done. Well, it's out for bid now. It's not 100 percent passive, but close enough to show it is possible. Good job. - TB "SITE ONE" Energy conserving building design has almost become synonymous with solar design in many ·people's minds. Although solar design often can offer significant energy savings, in many cases there are more appropriate natural energy sources to be tapped. A detailed study of the local climate and building type can reveal alternatives which are unique and often multifaceted. An important quality of environmental design is that it is case-specific for user-oriented, climate-responsive systems, and shuns general panaceas, be they solar-, fossil- or nucleardriven. That is not to say that solar designs do not often share •these qualities, but that solar energy should be just one of many natural energy options to be qmsidered while integrating the needs of the future occupants and the specific opportunities and drawbacks of the site and micro-climate. The basic objective of the energy design of a new fourstory city-block-size California State Office Building, (Site 1) is to reduce dependence on non-renewable fuel resources while enhancing the users' comfort. In Sacramento's sunny and mild climate, the primary energy design problem for large office buildings such as Site 1 is ,___ ----,,.~ - -~ ~ ,' :-~ ...._ __ _ --... o........,, ·' cooling. Given this condition, three general design strategies were employed to achieve the energy conserving goals. The first strategy employecf the natural coolness of Sacramento's .summer nights coupled with the thermal mass of the building's concrete structure. Much like a passive solar system working in reverse, this inate "thermal mass" is used to absorb some of the heat given off by lights and people during the day and store it until nightfall. As the outside temperature drops below that of the warm thermal mass, the building's ventilation system begins to flush out the building with cool night air, a process that may continue until dawn. Human comfort is 40 percent depen9ent on the temperature and humidity of air, 40 perc;ent dependent on the temperature of the surrounding materials (called the mean radiant temperature) and 20 percent dependent on air speed. At the same time that the concrete structure of Site 1 is holding air temperature down by absorbing excess heat, its cool surface is also reducing the mean radiant temperature, thereby significantly increasing human comfort. •
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