10/01/2023
We are excited to share the design process behind one of our residential projects in Harare, for a client based in Sandton. The Skyview project is located on a high value site, with an imposing presence due to the elevation of the site, reaching an 18 metre difference between the lowest and highest points of the terrain. Given such a prominent site, the design concept will attempt to augment the fusion of nature, user comfort/experience and art, a unique blend of the controlled and uncontrollable, of the physical, phenomenological and aesthetic.
The initial step was to do a massing study to analyse solar radiation exposure on different massing configurations. A solar radiation analysis enables designers to identify which areas of the building are most exposed to radiation, and is an indicator of potential solar gain in the interior spaces. In the Harare climate, excessive solar gain means higher energy costs as the end user attempts to cool the spaces to gain thermal comfort.
A total of 1500 different iterations/design options were simulated to establish their solar radiation performance, in order to identify trends in geometries which perform better when considering solar radiation. The video shows a fraction of the different iterations that were explored. The next step is to do another study to check how fenestration (windows/openings) affect the quality of views one can see from all points inside the building. The Quality View analysis is based on the renowned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating tool. Make sure to follow our page for more updates on this project.
