House as Thesis

House as Thesis _ James J. Lee

My thesis interest is related with optimizing thermal comfort in architecture. Before the mechanical HVAC system was introduced, facilitating thermal comfort in a building would be one of the most important aspects in building design. However, almost every inhabitable built environment today heavily relies on mechanical HVAC system as its technology is constantly advancing. This may result in for many current architects not seriously concerning about proposing how to control thermal comfort level in their spatial design. What is role of architects in creating desirable thermal condition in a space? Or is it merely engineers’ role? I strongly believe that architecture should continue to be engaged more closely with this matter.

A house has been perceived or seen more as a permanent static object in order to provide better sense of privacy and security. This static nature and desire make the structure more difficult to be changed and adapted to non-static circumstances such as climate. My “house as thesis” project was studied to open the possibility of flexibility and adaptation in housing. By maximizing controllability of building skin embodied within the structure, residents may able to create desirable thermal condition based on their need. This allows not only thermal controllability but also formalistic changes on the building massing and complete natural ventilation.

In additions, the determination of one’s thermal comfort level is often very vague because it is also associated with individual preference as well as one’s psychological aspect. Is it even possible to create a system or architecture to embrace these kinds of variables? How should these variables be measured? I would like to pursueand investigate a way in which architecture would deal with this challenging issue.