Subject: Vital Signs (Case Studies)

From: [email-masked] (Robert A. Marcial)
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 06:13:39 GMT

The Vital Signs Curriculum Materials Project examines the physical
performance of buildings, their patterns of energy use, and their
impact upon occupant well being. The project's goal is to encourage
the design, construction and operation of environmentally responsible,
energy efficient buildings.  With architecture students and faculty as
its primary audience, the project promotes an approach to teaching
that include opportunities for students to learn through direct
experience.

With the participation of architectural educators from a number of
schools, Vital Signs has produced a series of Resource Packages
covering different building performance topics. Each package contains
background material providing an introduction to basic principles, a
discussion of how the topic affects design decision making, and
procedures and guidelines to support student investigation using
existing buildings as study sites.  The Resource Packages are not
intended to make up a 'model course', but to be adapted to the
preferences and needs of individual instructors. The packages can be
used to support 'precedent studies' in design studios, to create class
exercises, background readings and bibliographies in lecture classes,
or to support in-depth studies in small seminars or independent study
projects. The premise of the Vital Signs Project is that existing
buildings hold fascinating lessons on a variety of topics. Student
investigators, by testing clearly formed hypotheses about how a
building performs and is experienced by its occupants, will reveal the
stories a building has to tell.

Their investigations will vary in size and scope and need not be
exhaustive. Modest, clearly defined, well-executed studies can tell us
much about a building. Interesting, high-quality student studies will
be published with accompanying graphics on the Vital Signs Internet
site.  Through dissemination of information about well-known
buildings, gathered in the course of these student investigations,
Vital Signs hopes to influence a larger audience throughout the
building professions. Our long term goal is to develop a continually
growing number of 'Building Case Studies' available for review at the
Vital Signs Internet site. 

A limited number of sets of the Vital Signs Resource Packages were
printed in the spring of 1996 and distributed to selected
architectural educators at all ACSA member schools. To learn who
received a set at each schools, contact Bill Burke at
<<[email-masked]>>. 

In the near future,additional copies of The Vital Signs Resource
Packages will be available electronically via the Vital Signs Internet
site. For more information see the Vital Signs Home Page at
<<http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedr/vs/index.html>>. 

Vital Signs is supported by the Energy Foundation, the National
Science Foundation and Pacific Gas & Electric.