Urban solarium : thermal performance in Boston

This thesis addresses the issue of energy efficiency through the lens of thermal performance in the context of urban housing in the city of Boston. Located in the historic brick row house neighborhood of the South End, the project utilizes brick for its inherent property of high heat capacity - a material's ability to store radiant energy and release it later due to the temperature difference between day and night - as a thermal battery for heating and cooling domestic spaces. In Boston where the temperature frequently goes below freezing in winter time, this thesis challenges existing housing typologies by incorporating thermal mass as a passive solar strategy at the scale of an entire structure. The urban solarium produces an interstitial zone in housing that promotes a new lifestyle by bringing together thermal performance and urban farming.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Hsu, Juliet Chia-Wen

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Joel Lamere.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70375

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/70375