Thermal Lab
The Thermal Lab (headed by Professor Werner Lang) will be located on the south side of the West Mall Office Building (WMB), which is between Goldsmith Hall, Sutton Hall and Battle Hall, forming the School of Architecture. Due to this central location, this research facility will have the necessary access to the related facilities of the school, such as the design workshop, the workshop for digital fabrication, materials lab, computer lab and the Center for Sustainable Development.
Architecture is about scale, proportion, material, texture and color as much as it is about structural support, comfort and design. For this reason, experimental research has to be done in real scale.
On a scientific level, the thermal behavior also depends on using real scale facilities, as the relation between the building volume and its surface area are decisive elements with regard to thermal gains and losses.
For these reasons a real-scale testing facility will be set up, which simulates a full scale single room with a south-facing facade, allowing for thermal experiments as well as for experiments in the field of light-control, ventilation and the direct and indirect use of solar energy.
The Thermal Lab will consist of a real scale building of the size of a single office space, with dimensions of approx. 12' x 15' x 9' (width/length/height).
This small building will be placed upon a light and transparent steel platform on top of the existing annex of the West Mall Building. The design of the steel structure is driven by respecting its immediate surroundings and the aim for a minimization of the structural impact on the existing building.
The size of the platform has been chosen to allow for sufficient space for the mounting of the various tests with facade/roof elements and the placement of a weather station for the monitoring of the ambient conditions. In addition to that, auxiliary space is needed for future testing in the field of solar cooling and related technologies.