Environmental Control Systems I

During the winter term the WorkSmart team took an architecture course: Architecture 491, Environmental Control Systems I. Entering into the world of University of Oregon Architecture was both an adventure and a pleasure. The idea behind taking this class was to learn the classroom version of the real world objectives which we are striving for. Heavy emphasis in this course was placed on passive cooling and heating. We looked at natural ways to capture the sun's energy and also, when appropriate, ways to reduce a building from gathering this energy. The greatest challenge is designing one building that does both.

To visit the class website click here

Projects and Case Study

Part of this class included a large case study project on a topic and place of our choice. We chose to do a study on Deady Hall, which is the oldest building on campus, built in 1876. Originally all we knew about Deady Hall was that it was really hot with huge temperature differences around the building. As we explored further we learned that Deady is an amazingly unique and intriguing building. It is also referred to as a "maintenance monster" in a letter from the architect, written in 1907.

In this study we looked at the temperature fluctuations in Deady Hall to see if they were properly matched with class time. We did this by collecting 24-hour temperature data. We were interested in testing student comfort and energy conservation. We will carry this type of study over to next term, when we examine schools around Eugene to see if we can save them money on their energy bill and reduce wasted energy.

To visit our case study website click here