Mazria Edward has designed many buildings that applied techniques in solar passive energy.   For that reason he was assigned to the design of the Mount Airy Public Library.   He holds a Bachelor from Pratt Institute and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of New Mexico.   He has tough Architecture design, passive solar energy, planing and programming methodology at the University of Oregon, University of Colorado, and University of California at Los Angeles and at the University of New Mexico.   Mazria has conducted extensive research on day lighting and solar energy, culminating in the Solar Passive Energy book, Published by Rodale Press, Inc.

The idea of integration for Mazria was to construct a building within the climate conditions, low maintenance and low impact in the heating cost. Passive solar heating systems had the advantages in that case; it uses solar energy to generate heat, and distributes thermal energy.

In order to use passive solar energy the building needs to be oriented on an east-west horizontal axis with the main windows and skylights on the southern side of the building for maximum exposure for sun in the winter, where major zones act as collectors for heat in cold weather.  Thermal radiation passes directly into the building trough the glass at night as temperatures drop.

He used …

NATURE

1-     Like the use of Oak trees along the northern edge of the property for shading during the mid. afternoon.

MAN MADE   (for passive cooling)

2-artificial man made design, operable windows to allow natural ventilation, and for illumination he intended to use open skylight painted light colored in the interior to reduce the effect of solar radiation.

Mazria’s intention of his passive studies made the building successful that natural light use 12% of the gross floor area.

Concerned at the Mount Airy Library.  

Inherent:

The building had to be designed as an inviting place to all kinds of people.  It also had to serve as a center for learning more about solar passive energy within the building.   The building must meet all the issues that the architect intended with the natural and man made design.

Contextural:

Part of the intention of being a passive building that blends with its surroundings, cost in energy must be considered because it had to be low maintenance and low cost.

Temperature must be controlled and kept in a normal range during the summer to prevent humidity and destruction of books. 

The roof had to monitors direct gain of south facing glass in the summer, also to prevent overheating and protection of books from ultraviolet light.

In the interior of the building concerns for occupancy, public and staff, had to be controlled and study carefully to meet the codes of the library’s requirements. 

Details in the construction type had to be designed carefully to prevent accidents of any kind.   To prevent vandalism in areas not visually controlled by the staff had to be considered areas of high risk.

In organization of spaces each one had to be accommodate according to it area and group.   In ADA requirements, the building must had to meet all the requirements in all aspects that include minimum detail such as doors wine enough for a wheel chair, door handles, ramps, etc.

In the exterior areas such as parking lots, the building must be closed by for adequate access to pedestrians

Intentional

Covering the programmatic demand of being a place of low energy-use building and esthetically pleasant the Architect was challenged to pursue what he intended to do for the people of Mount Airy, efficient, low maintenance, and passively heat interior space controlled within an acceptable comfort range.

Library in a town for more than 7,000 people meet different specification to a smaller town.   It provides better services and some of the areas are focus in the children’s section for story telling and related activities, expanded references, and separate periodicals areas.   A small meeting room maybe be a useful addition to the program.

Basic requirements for a library in a town of 5,000-9,999 population

Staff: Three persons: a professional librarian, an assistant, and a part time clerical and page help equivalent to one full time person.

Space requirements

-Books

-Readers

-Staff

-Group meeting

-Mechanical operations and all others (stairways, elevators and toilets, etc.)

Spaces vary according to the library service program and to the community needs.

SPACE FOR BOOKS

To calculate the amount of books required in a library depends on its size and if it belongs to member of a library system.

The amount of shelving should be presented of category, location, and linear feet.

Categories found in a public library includes adult fiction and nonfiction; children books; books for young adults; reference books; bound and unbound; and microfilmed periodicals, microfilmed newspapers; local history books; book stacks; and special subject collections.  

EXPERIENCE FORMULA FOR LIBRARY SIZE AND COST

POPULATION SIZE UNDER 10,00

Time savers

Minimum Uniformly distributed live loads

Concentrated loads

Dead loads-weight of building material construction

Lighting load calculation at Mount Airy library

A-      Multipurpose Room and Lobby

B-Lighting load

Mail library

A- Occupancy

Passive Solar Heating Calculation

Illumination levels

The specifications meet the critical issues in the Mount Airy Public library.  In the case of the total floor area for all kind of people, the specification book demonstrates that the library specify the mandates required with the codes.

For the Passive Solar Heating Calculation, reflectors located on the front of the clerestory-glazing stack achieve with well performance both solar gains in winter and the interior levels making the building efficient according to the specification’s book. “Time-savers Standards for Building Types, 3^rd Edition”

Physical Integration

The Central Intention was to make the Library integrated as architectural element to control the building’s interior environment and cost energy use.

Components:

Passive Solar Heating

-Glass 1” air space .50 “U” Glass Oriented and Type: Oriented South “winter solar gain” Approximately 10% floor area is in south glass.  

-Insulation: Roof, walls and its surroundings

-Infiltration: Controlled by an airlock main entrance, and glass doors that divides the staff and public areas and library and multi area lobby.

-Thermal Mass: Masonry roof structure, deck, floor area, and wall to low or reduce temperature.

-Sunlight Distribution: Direct sunlight distributed through a large masonry area for evenly distribution.

Summer Cooling

Strategies: 1-To reduce Solar impact, 2- natural ventilation.

            -1-

            -Light Colored Gravel Roof: 1” Gravel surface to reduce solar impact.

            -Building Envelope Shading: Shade by Oak Trees to provide shading and cooling solar impact form the north, west and east glass.

            -South Glass Shading: Shaded by overhangs to prevent direct solar gain.

Natural Ventilation:

Humidity levels trough the year 50-60% during the day allowing natural cooling to flow between the planted trees crossing the interior spaces.

VISUAL INTEGRATION AND PERFORMANCE

The Mount Airy Public Library site and surrounding structures spread out in several wings, which make the library easier to light naturally.   Must of the daylight enter from the south facing glass that also works as a passive solar heating during the winter season and also from the clerestory roof with a series of louvers to diffuse light and glare.

The use of nature performs a great advantage in the preliminary design.  It allows visually a character or identity of freshness in the site and in the building.   Trees like Oak, which grow tall and shady, are integrated as part of the buildings passive use during the mid afternoon.

The building’s envelope visually transforms the library’s integration to the site; its massiveness, masonry walls and light colored wall reduce, store and reflect thermal use.

In General the whole performance of the building is what the architect wanted to be in the integration components  such as: passive solar heating, natural cooling and day lighting.