Startup Office Building Proposal & Climate Analysis Study











This cylindrical startup office was guided by three design principles: interesting views, ample daylighting, and optimization for solar heat gain. This building is proposed to be located at an oversized parking lot on 45 Binford St, Boston, MA, providing easy access to highways, Boston’s Seaport commercial district, and a lovely view of the Charles River. To improve the building’s energy use from previous iterations, we simulated the effects of a 75% window-to-wall ratio, incorporated 120 photovoltaic panels, took advantage of the surrounding buildings’ ample shade to reduce glare, and increased the building’s spatial daylight autonomy rate to 100%. The final iteration flaunts a building with a lighting power density of 2.56W per square meter and a 40% reduction in energy use intensity to 174kWh per square meter.
Fall 2021
4.401 - Environmental Technologies in Buildings
Professor: Christoph Reinhart
Team: Michael Tan, Nicole Jacobsen
TAs: Alpha Arsano, Ramon Weber
Created with Rhinoceros & Grasshopper
Simulated with ClimateStudio