You have been given a drawing of a design of a religious institution. It includes parking, two buildings, a patio for outdoor religious events, a back area for children’s play, overflow parking area, and drop-off zone.

Your task is to re-design the site plan, retaining the vision of the designer, but maximizing the ability of the plaza to minimize urban heat island effect.

You have been given a handout with symbols which can be used in your drawing to communicate your design. The size of the trees in the original design drawing can be used for any additional trees you add to the design.

Draw your design on trace by hand or on the computer. Color is optional, but may help communicate your key ideas. Submit your design via a pdf using the link on this page.

As a reminder, here are the design guidelines you are implementing in your changes to the design:

1/Maximize use of trees

a/Number of trees
b/Square feet of land covered by trees
c/Shade cast by trees

2/Plant strategically

a/Maximize benefits of shade and passive cooling/heating
b/Plant deciduous trees on south, east and west to block summer sun
c/Evergreen trees on southwest side
d/Deciduous trees in backyard
e/Turf in backyard
f/Use trellis or greenery to cover back patio
g/Locate plants to address need to moderate wind or encourage ventilation
h/Shade air conditioning units
i/Protect plants from reflectance

3/Reduce hardscape

a/Reduce roof sizes
b/Reduce impervious surfaces
c/Replace solid pavement with open pavements
d/Reduce road widths
e/Eliminate extra lanes of travel and parking lanes
f/Design with minimum square foot of pavement (lollipops instead of gridiron)
g/Reduce the number of vehicles on the road to reduce the amount of pavement for movement and parking
h/Eliminate impervious walls which block air and hold heat

4/Disconnect hardscape (impervious surfaces)

a/ Separate heat-producing elements such as roads from land uses using a vegetation buffer
b/Separate commercial land uses from roads

5/Reduce radiation on hardscape

a/Use smooth, high SRI (solar reflectance index) or albedo materials (minimum 29 [new grey concrete]) (black=0; white=100)
b/Shade/cover hard surfaces including roofs

Vegetation, trees
Green roof
Solar panels
Shade structure
Light-colored paint
c/Place parking, roads, sidewalks (etc.) under cover

6/Encourage air flow

a/See Air Quality lecture
b/Remove air sinks
c/Create air flow movement corridors
d/Orient building masses to encourage air flow
e/Avoid large blank walls
f/Channel air between trees (avoid “vegetated walls”and “green tunnels’)
g/Incorporate large open spaces in urban areas
h/Eliminate impervious walls which block air and hold heat

7/Reduce vehicular exhaust

a/See air quality lecture
b/Reduce number of vehicles on the road
c/Reduce the amount of pollution produced per vehicle
d/Reduce non-vehicular exhaust from 2-stroke engines
e/Provide alternatives to vehicular transportation
f/Reduce the heat from exhaust fumes and the motor heat from traffic

8/Insulate buildings

a/Reduce warming/cooling from poorly insulated buildings which require additional air conditioning or heating

9/Reduce/modify HVAC equipment

a/Reduce warming/cooling from poorly insulated buildings which require additional air conditioning or heating
b/Use passive heating and cooling strategies, including orientation, planting (shade), air flow, shade, materials such as low emissivity materials, light colored paint, and architectural devices such as wide soffits.
c/Moderate need for HVAC by increasing energy efficiency
d/Use alternative chemicals such as water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, etc. (avoid CFC); reduce ODP (ozone depletion potential) and GWP (global warming potential) [often inversely related]
e/Increase temperature range tolerance levels in the population

10/Create shade

Provide:
a/Covered spaces beneath buildings
b/Arcades
c/Loggias
d/Canopies and louvres
e/Flexible awnings
f/Planted pergolas
g/Espalier treed at a distance from a wall
h/Green facades
i/Planted screens
j/Built elements demarcating plots
k/Green demarcation elements
l/Park trees and shrubs
m/Perennial plants with large leaves
n/Colonnades and pavilions
o/Green pavilions and arbors

p/Shadow roofs
q/Trees on squares
r/Built shadow elements in streets
s/Street trees
t/Carports
u/Trees in parking lots
v/Planted shadow elements
w/Green car parks
x/Extend soffits to shade buildings

11/Reflect heat

Use:
a/Roofs with high albedo
b/Facades with high albedo
c/Surfacing with high albedo
d/Outdoor furniture with high or low albedo

12/Use low conductivity and emissivity materials

Use:
a/Cool walls
b/Low density surfacing
c/Low conductivity outdoor furniture

13/Encourage evaporation

a/Maximize surface area
b/Move water or spray it for cooling
c/Use:

-Water bodies, soil, and plants
-Intensive and irrigated green roofs
-Water roofs and walls
-Low plants
-Waterfalls
-Graduation works
-Green ponds
-Fountains
-Water mist installations
-Greening masts
-De-paving areas
-Sprinkling streets

14/Maintain surfaces, finishes, and vegetation

a/Keep high reflectance surfaces clean
b/Prune plants to maintain light access and/or air flow/ventilation