UO Hamilton-Walton Transformation featured in Architectural Record

In “Continuing Education: Designing for Extreme Heat,” Katharine Logan outlines various ways that designers are responding to increased heat waves caused by climate change. One example she delves into is the passive-cooling retrofits being studied in the new student housing at the University of Oregon this fall. We have thoroughly enjoyed assisting in this study, led by Alexandra Rempel, an associate professor in the University of Oregon School of Architecture & Environment, and Mithun, as part of our partnership on the Hamilton-Walton Transformation project.

Using an adjoining unit with the exact same conditions but no retrofits as a control, the study examines the

effects of the following modification of a four-bedroom unit: the insertion of a 4-foot-deep sun space between south-facing operable windows and the rest of the unit. Through ceramic tile, which increases the thermal mass of the floor, and a sliding glass door, this sun space acts as an operable buffer zone enabling residents to capture or release heat as needed. To reduce window-heated air in the apartment, the design also includes cellular shades on tracks, as well as a ceiling fan to circulate air at night. Through variations in the use of these operable features compared to the unit next door, Professor Rempel and the team will be able to conduct numerous student-engaged experiments in the near future.

As we continue to have record heat waves, these studies have the potential to directly influence best practices for not only student housing but also affordable housing in general. Logan writes, “Because student residences are a useful proxy for affordable-housing units—and with research from the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control identifying poverty as the single greatest risk factor in the 2021 heat-dome deaths—the results of the UO studies have the potential to make a difference in how buildings can help the most vulnerable people cope with extreme heat.”

For more real-world examples of how design can combat extreme heat, read the full article in Architecural Record: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16395-continuing-education-designing-for-extreme-heat

Photos by Kevin Scott - @k7scott - https://www.kevinscott.us/