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The Vital Signs
Curriculum Materials Project addresses a
secret life of buildings, one related to physical performance. Think of a building that
has been a source of architectural inspiration for you. How much do you know about the
physical environment it creates? Its amenities as viewed from an occupant's perspective?
The energy it consumes? These
questions are addressed by the Vital Signs Project, a curriculum materials development
effort funded by the Energy Foundation, Pacific Gas & Electric, and the National
Science Foundation. The Project is coordinated through the Center for Environmental Design
Research at the University of California, Berkeley, with great support from members of the
Society of Building Science Educators. The project encourages architecture students to
examine architectural, lighting, and mechanical systems in existing buildings with
attention to energy use, occupant well-being, and architectural spacemaking. We've been
developing a set of measurement techniques, often involving novel approaches, to reveal
operating patterns in the complex environment of contemporary buildings.These techniques are included in the Vital Signs curriculum materials which are organized as modular Resource Packages addressing physical building performance issues. The Vital Signs materials encourage students to apply these investigation techniques in Building Case Studies or "Work Ups" that involve the field evaluation of existing buildings. In this process, existing buildings serve as settings for student investigation and offer interesting lessons on the success and failure of various design methods. The approach has a number of benefits. The personal experience students gain in performing the evaluations contributes to their experiential knowledge base at a formative time. Analysis of data collected in the field and the comparison of these data to values given by simulation tools also provide a foundation for understanding the more abstract tools and standards used by designers in practice. Finally, students can share these experiences with other students and schools in the form of written case studies. The pages at this web site describe the project in further detail and provide a path to the materials we've developed. Come take a look.
The Vital Signs Web Site
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to: All contents copyright (C) 1998. Vital Signs Project. All rights reserved. Created: 06/30/97 |
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