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This website features work from the completion of Phase 1 of the SCALES Project.

We are currently seeking partnerships for Phase 2.

Sustainable Design

  • Labs

    A list of labs and their associated directions for the course Exploring Sea, Space & Earth: Fundamentals of Engineering Design

    Read more: Labs

  • Technical Reports

    Both of these reports should be well-structured, with introductions, body and conclusions. 

    1. Technical report 1 (PDF): This TR will detail the data obtained from testing the motors. Highlight the pros/cons of the motor/prop combination and present your data for thrust, etc.
    2. Technical report 2: This TR will detail your data collected in the Charles River Basin and Boston Harbor areas.
    Read more: Technical Reports

  • Oral Presentation

    Your team will make a presentation to the class on your design ideas and how you plan to construct your vehicle. This presentation should be made in Powerpoint (MAC/Windows) or Keynote (MAC OS) and a PDF should be printed and posted to the course Web site. Each team member should present some aspect of the design.

    Read more: Oral Presentation

  • CI Reports

    Both of these reports should be well-structured, with introductions, body and conclusions. 

    • Review of a current (major) engineering challenge and why it’s important to society today. Stories taken from current news and events, and popular magazines (Popular Science, Science, Nature, Scientific American, New Scientist, Time, US News and World Reports, etc) related to major engineering challenges facing society today. 
    • Ethics position paper (PDF). This position paper will convey your personal opinion relating to the ethical dilemma presented in an assigned reading. You will not be graded on your opinion, but how you convince the reader that your opinion is valid and should be considered. This should be approximately 2 pages
    Read more: CI Reports

  • Assignment 12

    The final lap around the track in BT Lab is a daylighting simulation for your house.

    Read more: Assignment 12

  • Assignment 11

    Please design roof opening(s) for your Gujarati house and test it with a second round of daylighting measurements.

    Read more: Assignment 11

  • Assignment 10

    Please read Chapter 3 (sections 1-6 and 10 only), Chapter 5 (sections 1-12 only, unless you are ambitious), and Chapter 7 of our textbook, Joseph Murdoch's Illuminating Engineering. 

    Please take a set of base-case measurements in your Gujarati house.

    Read more: Assignment 10

  • Assignment 9

    Please read Chapters 1 and 2 of our textbook, Joseph Murdoch's Illuminating Engineering. How to do this

    Please take on the following tasks:

    1. Illuminance measurements. Use an illuminance meter to record light levels in residential spaces, including those used for food preparation, reading, and such detailed manual labor as sewing or electronics repair (i.e., a home shop or work room).
    2. Review IES illuminance criteria (from Murdoch or, better, the IES Handbooks which are in the lab and in the Rotch reference collection) for activities you think appropriate for a Gujarati house.
    3. Define desired lighting levels and any issues about light quality for a Gujarati house, on the basis of Tasks 1 and 2.
    4. Use the illuminance meter to estimate reflectances for typical walls and floors, including those in your test rooms.
    5. Review IES data on surface reflectances.
    6. Define desired wall, floor and ceiling reflectances for upcoming daylighting models of Gujarati houses.
    7. Select a Gujarati house, select modeling materials, and construct a model. Please pay attention to:
    8. Accurate dimensions, with careful notes about choices when available information is inadequate.
    Read more: Assignment 9

  • Assignment 8

    The fourth week of our airflow lab is in two phases: 

    1. Please prepare an occupants’ manual for your Chinese apartment. Passively conditioned buildings require occupant involvement, much more than buildings with mechanical systems that ensure thermostat set points are maintained. Your apartment occupants can inhabit any of the rooms and can adjust the balcony openings and apartment windows and doors in a number of ways, for different wind and outdoor temperature conditions. 
    2. Please consider the effect of airflow on the rate at which a miniature structure (even smaller than our elf houses) cools off. This is intended to combine thermal and airflow analysis.
    Read more: Assignment 8

  • Assignment 7

    The third week of our airflow lab focuses on simulation:

    1. Prepare to use the CONTAMW airflow simulation program, installed on two working computers in lab and available free to all with Windows computers. 
    2. Become proficient in CONTAMW by completing the provided worksheet.
    3. Use CONTAMW for the following investigation of your apartment-balcony, working at full (and not model) scale:
    Read more: Assignment 7

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