ARTICLES
Below are a series of articles relating to various aspects of building performance analysis and simulation. Articles are typically longer and more in-depth than blog posts, and focus on the definition or explanation of specific concepts. I also use them to explain issues or misconceptions that may have arisen, to clarify terms that may have caused confusion, or to step through lengthy processes not covered in any of the technical documentation. Some of the earlier articles in the list began their life as part of the Natural Frequency Journal, but now live on here.
Office Acoustics
Open plan offices can be a difficult acoustic environment to design for. The ceiling is often the only surface you can use for any form of acoustic control. However, with the increasing use of exposed thermal mass, thermodeck or chilled beams, even this surface is becoming off-limits. This article looks at some of the acoustic issues in open plan offices and considers how ceilings can accommodate these varies requirements.
ECOTECT as a Teaching Tool
With its highly visual approach to building analysis and simulation, ECOTECT has enormous scope to be used as a teaching resource at any level in both architecture and engineering courses. This article aims to provide some guidance on how to introduce ECOTECT to students. It discusses some of the main problems sometimes encountered and offers a series of suggestions for avoiding them. Whilst it concentrates on coursework integration, you should also check out some of the examples of its demonstration potential.