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Thesis Proposal

 

Analysis 1- Lifetime Building Energy Costs
This analysis focuses on improving the energy efficiency of the common/shared spaces in the Duffy School. The area of investigation would be to see if solar panels can be placed on the building to help pay for the energy consumed in the common areas. This analysis will investigate the different solar panels available and their ease of installation.

Analysis 2- On Site Historical Material Storage Container
This analysis focuses on the schedule improvement with the use of having a storage container on site to store all the historical components of the school. The Duffy School Addition and Renovation needed to follow numerous historical guidelines according to the Duffy Urban Renewal Program and by Florence Township. These guidelines rewquired many pieces of the existing school to be careful removed and stored to be reused in the new apartment building.


Analysis 3- Prefabricated Exterior Wall Panels
This analysis focuses on schedule improvement with the use of prefabricating the exterior brick veneer. The Duffy School’s new addition enclosure consists primarily of brick veneer façade and a small curtain wall. Covering large percentages of the building enclosure, the opportunity of using prefabricated panels or modular façade systems would potentially accelerate the schedule and reduce labor costs. By eliminating the use of traditional methods to enclose the building, the construction site would be less congested, offer higher quality and performance products, and help move quickly on the schedule.


Analysis 4- BIM Utilization
This analysis focuses on the use of BIM to improve the project. BIM was not used at all on this project but could have been used to improve the project in several ways. BIM could have been used from the start to turn the original school building drawings into electronic files. Having an electronic model of the building will have been able to show the problems with the as-built. Having an electronic model will also allow for the use of a clash detection software. Both reasons explained above should help to greatly reduce the total amount of RFI’s and ASI’s.

 

Breadth Topics

Electrical
This breadth will incorporate Analysis 1. In this analysis the lifetime energy costs of the common areas of the building will be investigated (community room, fitness center, library, craft room, and entertainment room). This breadth will delve into the use of solar panels to power these areas. The different types of solar panels will be researched (single silicon, multi-silicon, and building integrated photovoltaics) as well as the amount of panels needed to properly power the different areas in the building. The different types of panels will be compared to see how much sun light in necessary, how much electricity the panels produce, and how many of each panels will be needed. The daily sunlight in Florence Township, NJ will need to be calculated and compared to the amount of sunlight necessary to see if there is enough sunlight to power the panels. The electricity consumed in the common spaces will be calculated to see which solar panels should be used and how many are needed. The goal would be for the solar panels to power the mechanical system and lighting in the shared spaces.

Deliverables

  • Solar Panel locations.
  • Expected payback period for the solar panels based on solar and shading analysis.
  • Cost analysis to determine the energy savings versus costs of solar panels.
  • Recommendation if the panels are worthwhile based on the cost of the system, performance, and schedule impacts.


Architectural
This breadth will incorporate Analysis 1. In this analyses the use of solar panels is researched. This breadth will delve into the visual impact of the solar panels. The different types of solar panels will be investigated as well as ways to conceal the solar panels to make sure the desired historical architectural appearance is maintained. Different types of concealment methods will also be researched to see how much of the panels will be visible from different locations around the site (across street, at front door, behind building, etc.) This breadth will also incorporate breadth 1 and will compare the panel’s efficiency to their appearance/concealment.

Deliverables

  • Building elevations with solar panels in place.
  • Historical requirements for building aesthetics.
  • Different concealment methods..
  • Recommendation if the panels are worthwhile based on their appearance and if they fit with the historical requirements.


Final Proposal.pdf

Final Propsal Update.pdf