Initially glimpse, the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Community (NTPLLN) at the University of California, San Diego, does not look like a job with much to offer residential designers and contractors. The 1.8-million-sq.-ft., six-building advancement– developed by HKS in partnership with Clark Building and construction and Safdie Rabines Architects– replaced a 10-acre parking area with a dense academic and residential neighborhood.Look past the scale and you find something directly appropriate to GBA readers: a severe effort to utilize climate-specific passive techniques to significantly reduce functional energy.The task reports more than an 80 %decrease in measured energy use compared to baseline structures. More than 70%of the real estate area is naturally ventilated. Over one-third of the overall structure location is unconditioned. And every student bedroom has an operable window.For Jeff Larsen, primary and regional practice director at HKS, the technique was clear from the beginning:”To lessen energy use, we optimized the passive design advantages of our unique Pacific Coast place through a natural ventilation strategy and its accompanying positive structure and human outcomes.”While the majority of GBA readers aren’t creating 20-story trainee towers, some are developing in temperate environments where natural ventilation could play a bigger role. NTPLLN shows what occurs when designers push passive techniques even more than common practice– and support those decisions with detailed modeling.Climate as first concept La Jolla sits in California Environment Zone 3C: a marine environment with moderate winter seasons, moderate summers, and constant west-northwest breezes.
Instead of defaulting to complete mechanical conditioning, the team treated environment as the main energy resource.”Through rapid model shoebox modeling,”Larsen describes,”the building enclosure design was enhanced with multivariable design specifications, inclusive of orientation and structure massing, such as thermal insulation and fenestration performance for daylighting, views, solar gain, glare, natural ventilation, and adaptive thermal … Weekly Newsletter Get building science and energy efficiency recommendations, plus special offers, in your inbox.
Sign up for a totally free trial and get instant access to this post in addition to GBA’s total library
of premium articles and building and construction details. Start Free Trial Currently a member? Visit