GROUPGSA Case Study: Residential Competition Design

Sumele Aruofor
(https://plus.google.com/118322222708835639688/)
Jun 23, 2016

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TAGS

daylighting
(http://sefaira.com/tag/daylighting/)
Performance based
design
(http://sefaira.com/tag/performancebased-design/) Press
Release
(http://sefaira.com/tag/press-

GroupGSA (http://www.groupgsa.com/en) used Sefaira as a design tool to test,

Product
iterate on and develop their concept for a competition entry. The brief required
Updates
the redevelopment of an existing ten-storey residential building and the design of
(http://sefaira.com/tag/producttwo additional six-storey blocks in Sydney, Australia. The proposal needed to
updates/) revit
comply with ambitious code requirements, particularly the State Environmental
release/)

(http://sefaira.com/tag/revit/)

Sefaira
(http://sefaira.com/tag/sefaira/)
Sefaira for revit
(http://sefaira.com/tag/sefairafor-revit/)

Sefaira for

SketchUp

Planning Policy 65 (SEPP65 (http://sefaira.com/resources/product-update-sepp-65daylight-compliance/)). Within the three week timeline, GroupGSA wanted to
submit a successful proposal and also illustrate that the building would achieve
the daylight performance required by SEPP65.
Project Details

(http://sefaira.com/tag/sefairafor-sketchup/) Sefaira

Project type: Three-week competition program

Systems

Location: Sydney, Australia

(http://sefaira.com/tag/sefaira-

Building type / program: Residential retrot & development

systems/) sketchup

(http://sefaira.com/tag/sketchup/)

Floor area / stories / occupancy: GFA 23476m2/3 buildings/10 stories existing

building and 2 X 6 story new buildings
Performance Baseline: Australias SEPP 65 requirements for the design of new
apartments
Performance Goal: To achieve a 70% + solar compliance rating between all three
buildings

Performance criteria

The code in question sets out guidelines for developing apartment buildings in a
contextual, energy ecient and human conscious way. It requires, among other
things, that 70% of all living spaces in new or retrot developments receive a
minimum of two hours of direct sunlight, specically between 9am and 3pm in
winter months. In application, it means that residents can receive light and
warmth, avoid relying on articial lighting and heating, and thereby improve
energy eciency and quality of life.

How they did it

After creating the initial design concept, the competition team set out to test its
daylight performance against the SEPP65 requirements. Using Sefairas Daylight
Visualisation tool in Revit, they were able to identify areas in the oor plan that did
not meet the criteria. They discovered that only 30% of all living spaces in the
scheme received the stipulated two hours of direct sunlight.

Sefaira Daylight Visualisation showing that only 30% percentage of the oor plan
receives daylight for up to 2 hours on June 21st.

To improve the daylight levels in the aected spaces, they iterated on their facade
design and reworked the layout of the living room spaces. This iteration increased
the percentage of direct sunlit time to 40% but more still needed to be done to
achieve the 70% goal.

Sefaira Daylight Visualisation showing that only 40% percentage of the oor plan
receives daylight for up to 2 hours on June 21st.
Next, they tested a window design that angles away from the facade plane,
exploring the daylight benets and how it would impact the facade aesthetics.

Proposed angled window

Rendering showing the aesthetics created by the angled window.

Result

It turned out that the angled window created the right aesthetic for the proposal. It
created a varied and interesting facade, gave the required amount of light and
captured key views of the neighbourhood but how much of an impact did it have
on the performance goal? GroupGSA discovered that the newly designed facade
gave them their 70% goal for all living rooms.

FAQ
Sefaira Daylight Visualisation showing that 70% percent of the oor plan receives
daylight for up to 2 hours on June 21st.
Condent in their design and armed with proof of its SEPP65 compliance, the
design team were able to submit their concept well within the deadline. National
BIM Manager at GroupGSA Anthony Habashy said, Using Sefaira on this project
helped us resolve some key design issues and meet the Apartment Design Guide
requirements. The Group GSA team collaborated closely with Sefaira to shape the
SEPP65 functionality and bring it to market. Habashy said, It is was great to
collaborate with Sefaira to craft the SEPP65 functionality but even more satisfying to be
able to use it successfully on a live project.

About GroupGSA

GroupGSA (http://www.groupgsa.com/en) is an award winning multi-disciplinary

design practice that delivers architecture, landscape, urban and interior design
projects from eight oces across Australia and Southeast Asia. They approach
each project in a holistic and integrated manner with the aim of delivering
exceptional design solutions in a way that is benecial for both the end users and
the client

FURTHER READING
Hewitt Case Study: Making Informed Design Decisions with Sefaira
(http://sefaira.com/resources/hewitt-case-study-making-informed-design-decisionswith-sefaira/)
September Product Update (http://sefaira.com/resources/september-productupdate-2016/)
August Product Update (http://sefaira.com/resources/august-product-update2016/)

Back to Library Overview (http://sefaira.com/our-resources/)

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