Presenter: Petro El Hage
Co-Presenters: Lenore Wan, Caitlin Vanhauer
Mentor: Alison Kwok
Poster: 13
Major: Architecture
We studied how the air handling system functions in Lewis Integrative Science Building (LISB) atrium and whether or not the relief air vents are utilised effectively. The complex, which opened in October of 2012, is located between 13th avenue and Franklin Boulevard on the University of Oregon campus, and consists of offices and science laboratories that are joined by an unconditioned atrium. After a visit to the building, we were curious about the vents we saw on the wall and how they were utilised to heat the atrium. We wondered if the existing relief air vents are effective. We hypothesised that the air handling system in the LISB atrium releases air that travels upward toward the skylight rather than being distributed throughout the overall space. If our hypothesis were proven correct, this would prove that the relief air vents are not utilised effectively. In order to decipher if the exhaust heat is dispersing the air throughout the atrium, we decided to study where the air is moving through the space and what the difference in air temperature is throughout the atrium. This study was intended to determine where the heat from the air vents is flowing and whether or not they are the main heat source. Our methodology consisted of visually testing the air path and quantifying temperature differences in the atrium. Overall, we determined that the relief vents in the Lewis atrium were not utilised effectively because the general air flow in the atrium, detected by the bubbles, is pushing the air toward the eastern end of the atrium. We have concluded that the relief air vents are not the main heat source for the atrium. Since the atrium is surrounded by labs on the north and south side and borders Streisinger on the west end—the atrium is well “sandwiched” between insulating layers—the building’s heat loss is significantly low. Also, an efficient thermal envelope is achieved by having triple pane LEED certified windows on the ceiling and the glass curtain walls. Overall, our analysis shows that the main heat source of the atrium is the solar heat gained from the skylight and the south-facing window.