I began my internship at Payette in January working with the design team on Hengqin Hospital. As an ambitious architecture student, I wholeheartedly welcomed the challenge of working on the scale of 1.5 million SF and hoped to further the development of the design before my internship ended and I return to academia. During my stint on the team, some of the challenges I faced were working in metric system, limited software experience and minimal experience using a laser cutter or 3D printers. However, to my advantage, the people at Payette were more than willing to help. After several weeks working on models for Hengqin Hospital, I successfully created two study models which gave the team insight into the scale, materiality and construction of facade details, and other aspects of the design.
Mid-way through my experience here, I shifted gears and joined the Yale New Haven Health (YNHH) Master Planning team. While on the YNHH team, I prepared materials needed for client meetings in New London, CT, which I had the opportunity to attend.. For the meetings, I developed master plan presentations, worked on 3D modeling, rendering, diagraming, as well as model-making. My contributions to the master plan left me feeling like an integral part of the team rather than an intern. It was surreal to be in a conference room sitting across the table from healthcare professionals discussing work I produced with the architects on our team. I was able to gain a lot of exposure to how architecture impacts healthcare and hope to implement what I’ve learned into my own designs as I return to Wentworth Institute of Technology next year.
As I leave Payette this spring, I am walking away with a new set of skills and connections that I will utilize to aim higher in my own academic and professional development as well as continue to foster my passion for architecture. The opportunities presented to me and the ones I advocated for while being at Payette will help me achieve my goals as I continue my education and into my own professional practice in the future.
Cape Cod Community College’s Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center is a net-positive energy building designed to transform the heart of campus.
The project approaches sustainability through a holistic and global approach, implementing a range of moves including passive solar shading overhangs, air-source heat pumps, high performance materials with low embodied carbon and the expansion of the range of thermal comfort and lighting power density. Combined with on-site photovoltaics, the project achieves net-positive energy use.
The project’s thermally modified wood rainscreen façade is a study of the modern expression of vernacular Cape Cod architecture while reducing embodied carbon. Early lifecycle assessments identified the immense carbon savings of wood over fiber cement. The design team did not stop there, furthering reductions by peeling back unnecessary finishes like carpet and ceilings. Together, these decisions enabled a 19% reduction in embodied carbon.
#earthweek #designalways #buildingscience #performalism #netpositive #capecodmodernism #capecod #newengland