THE NEW UNLV STUDENT UNION: DESIGN LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE STUDENTS, BY THE STUDENTS, FOR THE STUDENTS

摘要

The New Student Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus was designed by Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects to encourage interaction and to build a community of students, faculty, and administrators. Because of its prominence on the UNLV campus, and due to the fact that this building was partially funded by student fees, UNLV School of Architecture students enrolled in the AAE 330 - Design with Climate class decided to conduct a case study investigation of this project. Student projects focused primarily on environmental quality and occupant well-being issues, looking more specifically to lighting, heating, and cooling strategies adopted both inside and on the outdoor spaces designed for student events/activities.One of the lessons learned in this study was that using daylighting strategies without appropriate electric lighting controls negates potential energy savings. For example, one case study discovered that the hallway between the second floor ballroom and North balcony had over 200 footcandles with daylighting alone, and yet it used continuously electric lighting for supplemental illumination. Among the positive discoveries, one case study demonstrated that the fabric currently used for shading in the outdoor plaza effectively reduces solar radiation gains while maintaining high illuminance levels, thus permitting an effective use of the space without the need for supplemental electric lighting.Overall, the case study approach used to investigate the performance of the UNLV Student Union proved successful and was a great vehicle to instill in students a fundamental awareness about the numerous ways in which their design decisions affect a design's physical performance -from energy use, to environmental quality, to occupant well-being. Several recommendations from this study looking at improving the energy uses in the building are being considered for implementation by the Student Union staff.