Energy as a Major Architectural Design Issue

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the architectural approaches to reduce energy usage. The David Maddison Clinical Sciences Building for the faculty of medicine in Newcastle, NSW, is located on a long-thin site with major facades facing east and west. The goals of flexibility in design and use, as well as the need for a high degree of repetition appropriate to fast construction, resulted in a structure where load-bearing columns are located outside the external wall. This has produced not only a powerful articulated facade but also has provided a support structure for external sun-shading. The need for rapid enclosure of the building dictated the use of a lightweight walling system. The architects' studies showed that the conflicting requirements of view, solar control, and day lighting were best satisfied by a horizontal louvre solar control system on the east and west facades. A series of manual technical studies were carried out and finally, the CSIRO temper program was used to simulate the thermal performance of the building.