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The Department of Architecture partnered this semester with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations through the Diplomacy Lab, which enables collaboration between universities and the State Department, and exploration of real-world challenges. Led by Associate Professor Ajla Aksamija, students enrolled in Graduate Design IV studio worked on the design of a net-zero energy U.S. Consulate Building, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The building program and site were based on the actual location and program, which included 270,000 GSF (25,000 GSM) of programmed spaces for the consulate building and auxiliary program elements.

The primary objective of this collaboration was to explore design methods for high-performance consulate buildings, as well as methods for meeting net-zero energy goals. These following questions were addressed throughout the semester:

• What are the appropriate design strategies for high-performance embassy and consulate buildings located within urban settings?
• What types of design strategies can be incorporated to meet net-zero energy goals?
• What are the effects of design decisions on energy consumption, and how can building performance analysis support design decision-making?

See a slide show of student designs here.

The project started by precedent analysis, which allowed students to understand intricacies of architectural design for this specific building type, spatial organization, typical site design strategies, and ways to reduce energy consumption. In the early weeks of the semester, students conducted site analysis to understand the building location, climate and environmental factors (including impacts of climate change), transportation and infrastructure, surrounding context, history, culture, typical construction techniques, etc. Then, students proceeded with program and building code analysis, as well as conceptual design, taking into account all programmatic elements, integration with the site, circulation, and passive sustainable design strategies. Mid-term review was scheduled to review the results of the schematic design, which turned out to be the last "traditional", in-person design review before we moved to online classes.

After the mid-term review, students explored energy efficiency measures and net-zero energy design strategies. By integrating building performance analysis procedures and energy modeling software programs into the design process, students investigated energy consumption of their designs, impacts of design decisions on energy reductions, and methods for reaching net-zero energy goals by integrating renewable energy systems. During the last part of the semester, students proceeded with the design development, which entailed detailed spatial organizations, structural design, integration with the site, building envelope treatment, and facade design. The final review was conducted online, and representatives from the U.S. Department of State participated, as well as other guest reviewers. The end results of the studio provided a range of interesting design concepts, as well as methods for reaching net-zero energy goals in a cooling-dominated climate. This collaboration will continue next semester as well, since students will be working on the development of technical documentation as part of the Integration Studio.

Other UMass Departments and faculty members who are interested in collaborating with the U.S. Department of State can contact Prof. Aksamija, who serves as the Diplomacy Lab's coordinator for UMass Amherst.

See a slide show of student designs here.