Environmental Design Commons^™

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending January 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• To advance educational and research goals at the ranch UNLV will fund the purchase and installation of a weather station at the ranch, and preliminary research using this equipment. PI Dr. Suresh Sardineni, Mechanical Engineering, will assess the renewable energy resources at the ranch and find methods to integrate them into existing and proposed new buildings at the site. The planned facilities will monitor beam and global solar radiation, wind speed and direction, temperature, and realative humidity. UNLV will provide funding to support two graduate students and partial salary for Dr. Sardineni.
• Bill Wood, UNLV Real Estate Management, is working …

Building America Research Benchmark Definition: Updated December 2009, R. Hendron, C. Engebrecht

Publications (SD)

To track progress toward aggressive multi-year, whole-house energy savings goals of 40%–70% and on-site power production of up to 30%, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Residential Buildings Program and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the Building America (BA) Research Benchmark in consultation with the Building America industry teams. The Benchmark is generally consistent with mid-1990s standard practice, as reflected in the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Technical Guidelines (RESNET 2002), with additional definitions that allow the analyst to evaluate all residential end uses, an extension of the traditional HERS rating approach that focuses on space conditioning and …

Economic Investigation Of Community-Scale Versus Building Scale Net-Zero Energy, N. Fernandez, S. Katipamula, M. R. Brambley, T. A. Reddy

Publications (E)

The study presented in this report examines issues concerning whether achieving net-zero energy performance at the community scale provides economic and potentially overall efficiency advantages over strategies focused on individual buildings.

New American Home 2010: Las Vegas, Nevada, Building Technologies Program, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Publications (SD)

This brochure details the New American Home 2010, which demonstrates the use of innovative building materials, cutting-edge design, and the latest construction techniques.

Solar Ready Buildings Planning Guide, L. Lisell, T. Tetreault, A. Watson

Publications (E)

This document identifies the important aspects of building design and construction to enable installation of solar photovoltaic and heating systems at some time after the building is constructed. This document addresses photovoltaic (PV), solar hot water (ST), and solar ventilation preheat (SVP) systems.

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending October 10, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV has finalized a scope of work with Dornbusch and Associates to conduct a “Visitor Services Feasibility, Compatibility, Market Study, and Business Plan” and is now working with purchasing to sole source this contract.
• UNLV is continuing to work with BLM and Viceroy Mining to obtain rhyolite from the Viceroy Castle Mountain deposit to use for building stone in the new construction.
• UNLV submitted an EPSCoR proposal requesting ~$2.67M over three years to conduct sustainable energy research at WBR, which would include design and installation of green energy technologies.
• UNLV is working with Condit to finalize the WBR brand.
• UNLV …

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV participated in the 100% Design Concept Plan meeting, June 10-12, 2009 at the BLM Las Vegas Field Office and Walking Box Ranch (WBR), and provided comments toward proposed concepts for the museum and field, research, and training center at Walking Box Ranch.
• A request for funding for road construction and repair at WBR was submitted to NDOT (6/24/09).
• UNLV participated in the following meetings related to the search for renewable energy funding for the ranch: ARRA Implementation Workshop sponsored by Senator Reid (4/16); UNLV Stimulus Funding Workshop (4/17), Renewable energy meeting with UNLV engineering faculty (4/21), Harry Reid Center …

Inside Unlv, Shane Bevell, Diane Russell, Michelle Mouton, Gian Galassi

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending April 10, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV faculty and PLI scientists and interpreters participated in the 50% Design Concept Plan meeting, March 25-27 at UNLV-PLI and Walking Box Ranch (WBR), and provided comments toward proposed concepts for the museum and field, research, and training center at Walking Box Ranch.
• UNLV is continuing to work with the Architectural Resources Group (ARG) under our SAT grant, to complete Master and Preservation Plans that will guide the SNPLMA-funded museum and field station projects now underway.
• The National Historic Register nomination process, initiated under the SAT grant, was approved and WBR was placed on the NPS National Register of Historic …

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending January 10, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• Eight UNLV faculty and PLI interpreters participated in various components of the December 1- 4, 2008 kickoff Meeting that initiated UNLV’s involvement in the SNPLMA funded project to construct a museum and a field, research, and training center at Walking Box Ranch.
• UNLV is continuing to work with the Architectural Resources Group (ARG) under our SAT grant, to complete Master and Preservation Plans that will guide the SNPLMA-funded project that has just begun. The National Historic Register Nomination process is continuing under the SAT.
• Jean Cline met with members of UNLV’s upper administration to apprise them of the project and …

Rebuilding After Disaster: Going Green From The Ground Up, U.S. Department Of Energy

Publications (E)

If you’re a leader in a community that has met with disaster and must be rebuilt, this guide is for you. It’s intended to show how communities—big or small—can incorporate green principles and technologies like energy efficiency and renewable energy into their rebuilding plans. The information in this guide is based on the real-life experiences of two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) teams. One team worked with city leaders in New Orleans, Louisiana, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and the other assisted community leaders in Greensburg, Kansas, after a devastating tornado in 2007. Although the two communities are …

City Of Las Vegas Green Building Program, City Of Las Vegas, Nevada

Publications (SD)

No abstract provided.

Empirically Derived Formulas To Predict Indoor Maximum, Average, And Minimum Temperatures In Roofpond Buildings Using Minimum Climatic Information, Ibrahim Kivarkis Kako

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis introduces an empirically developed formula to predict the comfort conditions and thermal performance of a Skytherm(TM) Southwest Roofpond placed over a light-weight un-insulated structure built at the School of Architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The predictive formula introduced in this study may be used in different parts of the world (particularly developing nations where insulation and air-conditioning are rarely used) to predict the performance of a Skytherm(TM) Southwest Roofpond using minimal climate data.

The data collected in the experimental setup at the Natural Energies Advanced Technologies Laboratory included outside and inside temperatures of various surfaces …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Michelle Mouton, Mamie Peers, Shane Bevell

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Supply Curves For Rooftop Solar Pv-Generated Electricity For The United States, Paul Denholm, Robert Margolis

Publications (E)

In this report, we examine several possible methods for generating PV supply curves based exclusively on rooftop deployment. We begin by introducing a framework methodology for a basic supply curve based on estimated distribution of population and buildings, rooftop availability and orientation, and geographical variation in resource. We then discuss limitations to this basic methodology and introduce alternative supply curves that consider additional factors – changes in PV efficiency and configuration, rooftop availability, and grid limitations – while emphasizing the data and methodological limitations to each approach. The resulting curves potentially could be used as inputs to other models or …

Tips For Going Green, City Of Las Vegas, Nevada

Publications (SD)

No abstract provided.

Inside Unlv, Shane Bevell, David Ashley, Tony Allen, Mamie Peers, Allison Miller

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Symbolic Interaction Theory And Architecture, Ronald W. Smith, Valerie Bugni

Sociology Faculty Research

Architectural sociology is receiving renewed attention but still remains a neglected area of investigation. As a major theoretical perspective within sociology, symbolic interaction helps us understand how the designed physical environment and the self are intertwined, with one potentially influencing and finding expression in the other; how architecture contains and communicates our shared symbols; and how we assign agency to some of our designed physical environment, which then invites in a different kind of self-reflection. This article discusses numerous instances of symbolic interaction theory–architecture connections, with applied examples showing how symbolic interactionists and architects can collaborate on projects to the …

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Nancy Syzdek, Erin O'Donnell, Carol C. Harter, Diane Russell, Cate Weeks

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Designed Physical Environments As Related To Selves, Symbols, And Social Reality: A Proposal For A Humanistic Paradigm Shift For Architecture, Ronald Smith, Valerie Bugni

Sociology Faculty Research

In this paper we will begin by briefly describing the concept of self, proceed by discussing the symbolic significance of physical environment, then describe as well as propose a humanist paradigm which we believe should be employed in architectural theory and practice, and finally discuss how the shift to a humanistic paradigm might be accomplished.

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Cate Weeks, Betty Biodgett

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Connections, Ronald Smith, Valerie Bugni

Sociology Faculty Research

We will begin the series by providing a definition of sociology. Next, we will discuss the ways in which sociologists and architects have collaborated in the past and finally we will propose ways in which the sociologist might assist the architect in today’s complex world.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: An Analysis Of The Boulevard Mall, Kenneth Mac Leod

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many case studies have been published that report a decrease in crime as a result of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Although methodologies and results of some studies have been questioned, there is agreement that the designed environment can influence human behavior.

Data in this study were accumulated by the investigation of a local mall. Mall management and head of security reported a decrease in all types of crime after improving and adding security measures for customers and store employees. My hypothesis was the mall provided a high number of CPTED features which would result in a low number …