About

Project Description
The goal of this project is to design a sustainable building with a small ecological footprint. In our design, we must consider energy efficiency, thermal systems, lighting systems, water systems, and air quality. We must deliver two-dimensional architectural drawings and wall sections of our building as well as calculations demonstrating its sustainability.

Project Overview
We plan to design a sustainable replacement for the Upper Darby Township and Sellers Memorial Free Public Library Municipal Branch (501 Bywood Ave, Upper Darby, PA 19082) adhering to Passivhaus standards. We hope such a library could inspire and train the surrounding community both to learn by reading and to steward environmental resources wisely. Through designing this building we will learn about energy analysis, water systems, lighting systems, and HVAC systems as methods to increase sustainability in buildings.
Our major tasks for designing the library will include designing the layout of the building; designing our major water, lighting, and HVAC systems; and calculating our load analysis. In order to design a sustainable library adhering to Passivhaus standards, we will have to research water systems, grey water usage, green roofs, net-zero energy systems, efficient ventilation systems, and Passivhaus system guidelines.
We will also take into account quantitative factors such as person load, number of book stacks, plot size, and necessary facilities that our library should support. By the end of this project, we intend to produce extensive design drawings for our sustainable library including all of the elements mentioned above, as well as a 3D model and various calculations demonstrating that the library adheres to Passivhaus standards and is therefore sustainable and environmentally friendly.