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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

  • Assignment 6

    The second week of our airflow lab focuses on airflow measurements and analysis.

    Read more: Assignment 6

  • Assignment 5

    The goal of this assignment, the first phase of the lab project that focuses on airflows and building ventilation, is to design, construct in model form, and test an enclosure (partial or full) for a typical balcony for a Chinese apartment. The motivation for this work is to propose feasible designs for Chinese residential buildings that are thermally comfortable and use a minimal amount of energy.

    Read more: Assignment 5

  • Assignment 4

    The fourth and last phase of our first lab consists of the following: 

    1. Download data from your second test period, which should be a week long and a minimum of six days. 
    2. Compare your measured data with an after-the-fact prediction made with measured outdoor temperature and solar radiation. 
    3. Adapt the provided Matlab .m file to accurately simulate your elf house. 
    4. Prepare a 10-minute presentation for lab next week to describe your work, which should include all data and as much analysis as you have been able to perform. No need to cover Mr. Potato Head. No late presentations, please!
    5. Prepare a written lab report using the provided checklist and submit the report in lab in two weeks. 
    Read more: Assignment 4

  • Assignment 3

    The third phase of our first lab consists of six parts: 

    1. Submit your estimate of your elf-house temperatures for the first test period.
    2. Download data.
    3. Modify your elf house as needed to keep the indoor temperature closer to the target value of 20°C. 
    4. Re-install the Hobo loggers and again deploy your house on the roof.
    5. Estimate the impact of solar energy absorbed on walls and the roof.  
    6. Use Solar Calculator 2 to design a full-size dwelling (single room is fine), subject to the same goal of a constant 20°C indoor temperature under February weather. 
    Read more: Assignment 3

  • Assignment 2

    The second phase of our first lab consists of three parts: 

    1.  Please calculate the thermal time constant, in minutes, from your experimental data, using the three methods to be given in lab this week.
    2. Construction of solar building. Please complete the construction of your solar building, using the design specifications given in lab last week.
    3. Estimation of air temperature inside your house.
    Read more: Assignment 2

  • Assignment 1

    While you are free to construct your house entirely on the basis of your design and modeling skills and your physical intuition, please consider making use of provided software to guide you in choices about windows and insulation. We will use several versions of this software throughout the lab to compare prediction with performance. The elf house should be ready next week to be placed on the roof for an initial, one-week test period. Please come to lab next week prepared to finish the construction during the first half of our session. We’ll then activate and insert the temperature loggers and place the houses on the roof . We’ll also work with the data from the potatoes and continue to work with the software. 

    Read more: Assignment 1

  • Practical Photovoltaics Design

    You are in charge of designing a solar panel installation for a rural health post. The requirements for the given location are as follows:

    • There is a 220W freezer that needs to run 24/7
    • The health post is open until 9pm, and, on average, they have to turn the lights on from 6pm until they close. Given their needs, it seems that the most adequate installation would be 2 fluorescent lights of 15W each.
    • They have an amateur radio to communicate with the clinic in the city, that consumes 40W, and it is usually on for two hours every day.
    • The health post is staffed every day of the year.
    Read more: Practical Photovoltaics Design

  • Urban Plans (Assignment 2)

    The purpose of this exercise is to explore the nature of plans and their impact on the form and function of cities. We are interested in the motivations for creating plans, the processes by which they are prepared, the languages of urban design which underlay them, and the long-term effects of plans — or lack thereof — on the city. Having considered these issues, you are asked to answer the question: What makes a good plan?

    Read more: Urban Plans (Assignment 2)

  • Urban Change (Assignment 1)

    This assignment addresses the underlying urban dynamics that are causing a city to change. It also seeks to develop or sharpen your skills of observation, encouraging you to make inferences from the evidence of the physical environment and to test these through interviews and research.

    Read more: Urban Change (Assignment 1)

  • Course Project

    As announced in the course syllabus, the final course deliverable is the presentation of an environmental design concept for the 3500m2 innovation/startup space that you have been working on since assignment 5. The final presentation should last for 12 minutes plus 3 minutes for Q&A and draw from the material that you have generated during previous assignments. You may want to add some additional work to create a coherent project narrative.

    Read more: Course Project

Notice something that doesn’t seem right? Want to make a suggestion or provide feedback about how something is classified? 
Please reach out to esi [at] mit.edu and include SCALES Website in the subject of your email.
Feedback and any actions taken with regards to the feedback, will be shared as they are addressed.