Now that you have a well daylit, visually comfortable building with an electric lighting design in place, we are turning our attention towards evaluating and improving the energy performance of your design. In this assignment you will first create a baseline energy model of your building and then explore various energy updates.

In this assignment you will start working in groups on your final course project which is the development of an environmental design concept for an about 3500m² innovation/startup space located in either Chicago, Houston or Seattle, depending on which city you previously signed up for. Your building should accommodate work spaces for around 250 workers, a reception area, lavatory, two seminar rooms and a cafe (optional). It is up to you to define the final program. You may pick any available site within your city and should also consider external factors such as a site’s walkscore etc. Remember to include neighboring buildings in your shading and daylighting analysis. The goal of this first assignment is to develop and evaluate a series of massing options and façade designs that you will then further refine in future assignments.

The objectives of this assignment are for you to develop a feeling for indoor environmental variables that have an impact on thermal comfort and to compare your personal sensation to comfort predictions based on thermal and lighting standards. The assignment is split into two components:  

• Task A: Using a data logger, measure “your life” on a psychrometric chart over a couple of days.  
• Task B: Measure indoor environmental conditions in two spaces that you find comfortable and uncomfortable and compare your assessments to that of current thermal comfort standards. 

After assessing the level of growth projected from the various developments in the Lower Mystic area, the impacts and capacity constraints of major transportation infrastructure in the area, and projected and estimated mode shares, now it's your turn to propose as individuals how to achieve a transportation plan that can maintain and improve access to jobs and opportunities while supporting the plans and goals of the surrounding cities.

The Cambridge Director of Transportation has asked you, his trusted advisor, to help him plan his strategy with respect to current issues regarding Massachusetts Avenue between Central Square and the Harvard Bridge.

For this assignment, you will have access to the counting reports of the teams at three intersections and locations along Mass. Ave. You should walk and observe, and use the first several steps of the 19 step process as part of your background work in preparing to write the assignment. Pay explicit attention to the first step: "who are you?" and how this impacts the advice you give.