Creating Dynamic Spaces with Dynamic Glass

Dynamic Glass

Daylighting provides many benefits to students in an educational environment. That is why KSQ made natural light a priority when working on the Residential and Dining Commons at SMU.

When KSQ Design completed the Residential & Dining Commons at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas in 2014 the firm had taken on one of the largest student housing projects in North America and the largest installation of electrochromic glass in the Southwest to date. For nearly two decades the National Institute of Building Sciences has been providing data and supporting evidence on the benefits of daylighting in educational environments, and this project shows how a design team found a way to make daylighting comfortable even in the hot Texas sun.

The 29,658-square-foot Anita and Truman Arnold Dining Commons is a LEED Gold building offering 500 seats and the design pays tribute to Thomas Jefferson’s design of The Rotunda at the University of Virginia. KSQ wanted to add a 3,300-squarefoot glass curtain wall to the two-story rotunda and create a modern take on a classical design.

The two-story dome tops a high-performance wall of dynamic glass that is clear or tinted as needed due to its monitoring of actual conditions and prediction of the sun. It directs solar heat and visible light and has a solid-state coating with nano-layers of metal oxides helping it seamlessly transition through four stages. On the operations side, the system is iPad-controlled and reduces electricity consumption by 20 percent on average.

Thomas Jefferson’s design of The Rotunda was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and, he said, represented the power of reason and authority of nature. Incorporating daylighting into the dining commons design was a decision made based on reasons important to the client, end user and environment. A 3,300-squarefoot glass wall automatically tracking the sun and adjusting for comfort, energy efficiency and optimal daylighting is surely progress the American founding father and architect would approve of.

www.ksq.design

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Uvalde Schools Receive AI Security Technology through Grant Program

    AI-powered gun detection and emergency response technology solutions provider Omnilert recently launched the Save Haven Grant program, according to a news release. The first recipient of the grant, aimed specifically at schools that have faced gun violence, will be the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (Uvalde CISD) in Uvalde, Texas.

  • Georgia High School Debuts 500-Seat Esports Arena

    Cass High School in Bartow County, Ga., recently announced the opening of a new, 7,000-square-foot Esports Arena, according to a news release. The Bartow County School System partnered with Extron AV Technology on the project.

  • New eBook Shares Guidelines on Building CTE Centers

    Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum and resources provider iCEV recently announced the publication of a new eBook sharing guidance and insights on building new CTE facilities, according to a news release.

  • Dallas ISD Debuts New Peabody Elementary School

    The Dallas Independent School District in Dallas, Texas, recently announced the completion of the new facility for George Peabody Elementary School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects and REEDER Construction on the 70,807-square-foot replacement campus, which has the capacity for 550 students.

Digital Edition