exceeding CLIENTS’ AND PROJECTS’ NEEDS IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY
Building Sciences is SGA’s in-house approach to predicting a planned building’s eventual thermal and energy performance, incorporating physics, chemistry, engineering, and architecture.
Typically, modeling and analysis are pre-design steps, but at SGA, the Building Sciences process continues into the design phase. As changes are made to a building’s design, SGA can easily and quickly update models to determine the impact on the building’s energy performance and related carbon emissions.
Services
envelope + energy design
At the earliest stages of a building’s planning, SGA designs the envelope and performs preliminary energy analysis and environmental studies, including thermal and hygrometric audits, dynamic energy simulations and mass iterations. We’ll also help to establish targets for metrics such as EUI (energy use intensity) to predict user behavior and main energy loads, as well as establish pivotal occupancy-driven energy factors.
healthy + sustainable certification
SGA has developed extensive expertise in performing whole-building energy modeling, and assists with documentation and submission for LEED, Passive House Institute US, Net-Zero certification, and various local requirements and codes. By taking these types of requirements into consideration at the early stages of design, we mitigate the risk of incurring schedule delays or unnecessary costs during later phases.
environmental modeling
Daylight and glare analysis, shadow studies, and climate-based daylight modeling are just a few of the services that SGA offers to ensure that every planned building will be as sustainable as possible, with reduced operating expenses. Our experience makes it possible for us to suggest solutions to common issues at the building level.
carbon + waste Planning
In an effort to create buildings that approach carbon neutrality, SGA will quantify the embodied energy and carbon impacts at each project milestone. We’re proficient at designing buildings that employ renewable energy and waste reduction strategies to further our clients’ goals.