Christine Vohringer
Username
Christine Vohringer
Proposer First Name
Christine
Proposer Email
c.vohringer@perkinseastman.com
Proposer Last Name
Vohringer
Proposer Company/Organization
Perkins Eastman Architects DPC
Proposer Phone
(631) 479-8770
Boston 2022 Areas of Focus
Proposer Job Title
Architectural Designer
Proposer Additional Info
Bachelor of Architecture from the Diego Portales University with DAAD Germany Scholarship at TU Dresden in Germany. Worked in Germany, Chile, and the USA. She have ong research experience in wood topics like "Competitiveness Assessment of Comfort and Sustainability in Low-Cost Housing", "Wood Affordable Housing for Chile", "Wood High Rise State of the Art" during her time working at the Wood Innovation Center in the Catholic University in Chile. In 2018 she graduated Master's in Design in Energy and Environments from the Harvard GSD, with collaborations at the Harvard University Center for the Environment and a thesis in collaboration with the researcher Esteban Estrella from University Monterrey that explores the possibilities and challenges that Mexican and Chilean Social Housing represent today regarding sustainability and comfort issues in a multi-level evaluation frame. Today she works as an architect In Perkins Eastman Architects Boston and maintains her research path through collaborations with universities in Chile, Mexico, and the USA (UTEM Chile, UDEM Mexico, and Harvard GSD in the USA). Other details and publications in her Linkedin profile.
Proposed Session Description
Throughout our experience in the K12 Practice Area, we have seen and measured how daylight can positively affect students’ concentration and general wellbeing (1). We know the importance of daylight, but how can we account for good daylight levels since the early stages of the design process? With the pressure of a tight schedule, how can we make informed smart design decisions, through an iterative approach? Can you achieve high quality daylight levels without having an excessive amount of glass on your building envelope? The purpose of this presentation is to explain how a school with the constraints of a Net Zero Energy project can still achieve high levels of daylight quality while pursuing aggressive energy performance targets.
In a fast paced project like Tobin Montessori Vassal Lane School, it is critical to have access to live performance data and constant feedback on how the design is affecting the performance of the project.
This is a story of how you can make smart design decisions informed by data to generate a high quality learning environment and at the same time achieve high energy performing building. Through computational analysis and an iterative design approach, we were able to maximize the amount of daylight for all core learning spaces without having to sacrifice the performance of the project.
(1)Jauregui et all. “Investing in our future. How School Modernization Impacts Indoor Environmental Quality and Occupants”. Perkins Eastman with J+J Flooring Group, 2018
Diversity and Inclusiveness
Our conference panel is conformed of emergent designers from Latin America that have deep experience in affordable housing and social initiatives for development in their countries. On them, we see reflected how this topic is a real possibility to be tackled for all kids’ learning environments, no matter where in the world
Learning Objectives
Attendees will be able to understand the importance of daylight in an educational environment and see how good daylight levels are correlated with high test scores, high attendance, and high enrollment rates.
Attendees will be able to understand how an iterative and collaborative approach can lead to smart design decisions in a fast paced project.
Attendees will learn how a building with aggressive energy performance objectives, such as low window to wall ratio targets, can still achieve extremely high levels of daylight quality.
Attendees will understand how performance analysis and data analytics can be used to inform the design process
Has this session been presented before?
No
Session Format
Presentation followed by facilitated discussion or breakout groups
Other (please describe below)
Session Format Details
One 60-minute presentation followed by Q&A
Recommended Length
60-minute session
Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2022
Comments about your speaker roster
Juan Guarin, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, CPHC, works for Perkins Eastman as a Sustainability Specialist on its Firmwide Sustainability Team. With a bachelor's degree in Architecture from Los Andes University in Colombia and a master's degree in Environmental Building Design from the University of Pennsylvania, Juan has combined his passion for sustainability and architecture in both his education and his career. Inclusive design and community engagement are priorities in the work Juan does on a daily basis, by generating the highest impact in the most vulnerable communities where he works. Juan is passionate about passive design, building science, and indoor environmental quality and has a high level of expertise around building performance computational tools and pre/post-occupancy evaluations.
Dan has been involved in many groundbreaking sustainable projects including many recognized with LEED Platinum and Gold certification, two national AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten awards, and projects that have succeeded in meeting lowest project-type energy use intensity, Net Zero Emissions, Net Zero Energy, and Energy Positive results. He designed and detailed the first exterior insulated building in New England, has innovated the use of thermal plastic to eliminate thermal bridging, and customarily specifies high performance windows and doors in commercial buildings. He understands the value of proper solar orientation, window wall ratios and solar glazing to minimize energy use intensity. Building on a master’s degree in Building Technology, he has designed many buildings that have deeply integrated heat exchange, dedicated outdoor air systems, and all-electric heating and cooling systems. Moreover, he is currently involved in master plans and studies for universities that involve the overlapping priorities of decarbonization, advancing academic programs, and conserving historic campus structures.
Reviewer 1
Rosenbaum, Marc
Reviewer 2
Tilton, Clay
Curator
Lo, Richard
Proposal #
175
Session #
315
Committee Decision
Accepted
Presenters
Full Description
The purpose of this session is to highlight the importance of daylight within a classroom and explain how it can be addressed throughout the design process by using performance analysis tools. Our research shows that across all age ranges, daylight is more noticed, evokes more positive feelings, and is more closely correlated to satisfaction than any other Indoor Environmental Quality parameter. Historically the concept of “daylight” tended to be interpreted as an energy efficiency measure which lead to a variety of performance decisions that negatively impacted the comfort of the user in a building. These days, the role of daylight goes beyond the idea of “illuminating” only; now we are aware of its relevance for occupant’s well-being (3)
How to design for maximum performance without sacrificing the user experience? In a context where today’s projects tend to develop on a fast track process with complex demands, the relevance of this session lies in breaking preconceived notions around daylight in high performing buildings and highlighting the tools that provide for these to be handled between multidisciplinary teams in a clear path for user comfort.