and foam reminded me of some questions that I had regarding the use of
mass in buildings.
Generally all discussions of the use of mass are related to a buildings
interior. The mass is insulated from the exterior and put in some
positive relationship to a radiant heating source - generally the sun.
If we use mass on a buildings exterior it is generally for aesthetic or
maintenance concerns. I've been using a wall system that uses concrete,
rock or other masonry material on both the inside and outside of the
building with a polystyrene core. Initially the exterior usage was to
create a bug and weather resistant exterior finish but I noticed that
depending on the orientation the exterior perimeter environment had of
course effectively changed - since then I have been working on the
design of the exterior as well as the interior environment. The purpose
is simply to modify the climatic conditions around the building in an
attempt to lessen the interior building requirements.
Questions that I have concern the potential to effectively model a
buildings exterior climatic zone and its effect on a buildings interior
environment -specifically what existing research and tools are out there
and how they can be integrated with existing tools for modelling the
interior environment?
John
TERRAIN E.D.S.
terrain@seaside.net
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