andré Potvin

• M.Arch., Ph.D. Cambridge
• Professor (Full) at Université Laval

This research has designed a 360-degree imagery-multisensor system aiming to capture and visualize environmental parameters in architecture and urban spaces. Unlike existing tools, this system enables simultaneous recording of both imagery and non-imagery environmental data, including lighting, thermal, air quality, sound, and physical space parame...

Connecting occupants to the outdoor environment and incorporating biophilic design principles are challenging in extreme Arctic climatic conditions. Existing Arctic housing models do not provide efficient thermal and daylight transitions which are essential for the well-being and cultural needs of their occupants. To address these challenges, this...

Daylight can enhance the quality and inhabitability of architecture through a better relationship with the exterior environment, especially by its intensity, chromaticity and ability to synchronize the human circadian clock. Daylight integration in architecture remains a challenge in Nunavik (Quebec, Canada) due to its subarctic climate, photoperio...

This chapter presents the transdisciplinary research and action program by the Schola consortium of researchers and partners to guide the modernization of public schools in the province of Quebec, Canada. This group of university professors-designers was mandated by the Quebec Ministry of Education to produce decision support tools based on reliabl...

This research focuses on developing intermediate spaces, i.e., medium connecting the interior to the exterior, for Canadian Arctic typical housing. Intermediate spaces can promote the performance of Arctic housings in terms of energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and occupants' connection to the natural world outside, i.e., identi...

This research focuses on developing intermediate spaces, i.e., medium connecting the interior to the exterior, for Canadian Arctic typical housing. Intermediate spaces can promote the performance of Arctic housings in terms of energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and occupants' connection to the natural world outside, i.e., identi...

This paper develops a biophilic wellbeing framework for positive indoor-outdoor connections in Arctic buildings to respond to occupants’ wellbeing and energy-efficiency requirements. Extreme cold weather and drastic photoperiods of Arctic climates could have adverse impacts on wellbeing and reduce connections with nature, i.e., identified as biophi...

This research develops a high-performance intermediate space fostering energy-efficient biophilic housing for extreme arctic climatic conditions. Arctic buildings have often been designed with mechanically air-conditioned indoor environments with a vestibule for entrance. Such vestibules are a rudimentary model of intermediate spaces connecting ind...

This research develops a high-performance intermediate space fostering energy-efficient biophilic housing for extreme arctic climatic conditions. Arctic buildings have often been designed with mechanically air-conditioned indoor environments with a vestibule for entrance. Such vestibules are a rudimentary model of intermediate spaces connecting ind...

This research aims at developing a methodology for integrated visualization of diurnal/nocturnal urban heat and light exposed to pedestrians. Heat and light are major environmental qualities affecting the visual and non-visual experiences of pedestrians in urban spaces. The configuration of urban layouts, including built-up area, density, and surfa...

This paper presents a computational method for spatial visualization and probability evaluations of window view access in architecture based on human eyes' vision fields and biophilic recommendations. Window view access establishes occupants' visual connections to outdoors. Window view access has not, yet, been discussed in terms of the typical vis...

This research aims at developing optimized biophilic intermediate spaces enabling indoor farming for Arctic residential buildings in order to improve energy efficiency and respond to occupants’ wellbeing requirements. A building survey and focus group discussion (FGD) with indigenous and non-indigenous people have been performed in Cambridge Bay, N...

This research aims at developing optimized biophilic intermediate spaces enabling indoor farming for Arctic residential buildings in order to improve energy efficiency and respond to occupants’ wellbeing requirements. A building survey and focus group discussion (FGD) with indigenous and non-indigenous people have been performed in Cambridge Bay, N...

An Ambiance Partition suggests a representation medium that provides an insight of simultaneous experiences occurring during an urban experiential walk. The Partition has emerged from an interdisciplinary research seminar on the reading, measurement and notation of in situ experiences, which also refers to well-known activities in music. This explo...

A multisensory representation of physical ambiances is proposed to translate experimented sequences of an urban walk through interior and exterior public spaces over time. Beyond the exploration of the series of environmental transitions that inevitably occur through such a walk, the paper addresses the importance of data representation to expand t...

Renovating school buildings offers the potential to increase the visual, thermal and auditory well-being of students and school staff through biophilic design. Biophilic design guidelines generally describe the natural features in buildings and the intended experiences for occupants. As limited guidelines specify measurable architectural characteri...

This research explores a design approach for biophilic experiences applied to children's learning environments in cold climates. The primary research gaps addressed are the confusion among principles, experiences and architectural characteristics in biophilic design literature; the lack of common terminology for referencing spatial patterns that in...

Architects are increasingly integrating principles of biophilic design to foster experiences of nature in regularly occupied buildings such as schools. Although researchers often objectively measure building variables to document the presence of nature, few tools currently help architects assess subjective biophilic experiences during building walk...

Northern building envelopes must provide efficient indoor-outdoor connections based on photobiological-psychological needs of occupants for positive relationships with the sub-Arctic nature, particularly daylighting and day/night cycles. Envelope configurations of Northern Canada’s buildings have not yet considered such requirements. Potentials of...

First life cycle of 73% of primary school buildings in Quebec province is coming to an end and they need to be renovated. While these buildings are not equipped with cooling and ventilation systems, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality (IAQ) seem to be compromised. Shortness of comfort in terms of thermal sensation and IAQ affect students’ educa...

Les architectes ont pratiqué le confort et le bien-être des occupants dans des conditions climatiques variées. Sous les hautes latitudes, la satisfaction du confort des occupants est une tâche complexe pour les concepteurs en raison des conditions climatiques extrêmes. Cette recherche porte sur l'évaluation du confort et du bien-être afin de souten...

This research discusses biophilic developments of high-performance intermediate spaces as a promising architectural solution to promote Arctic occupants’ wellbeing and improve building performance through efficient positive indoor-outdoor connections. Occupants’ relationships with natural patterns outside buildings, such as airflow and daylighting,...

Daylight availability and solar radiation play an important role in the well-being of building occupants. In the Arctic regions of northern Canada, multiple factors such as extreme cold climate, specific photoperiod, and solar geometry constitute challenges when dealing with design problems. This research addresses decision-making problems in the d...

This research focuses on developing adaptive high-performance envelopes to enable biophilic healthy buildings in Arctic climates responding to occupants’ wellbeing needs for relationships with the outdoor nature and to energy efficiency requirements. Building envelopes are the main element connecting indoors to the extreme cold weather and drastic...

This research aims at studying the potentials of single-skin and multi-skin envelopes with different window sizes to promote biophilic, healthy lighting and thermal performance of buildings in extreme sub-Arctic climatic conditions. Single-skin envelopes with low window-to-wall ratios (WWR) are most often recommended for sub-Arctic climates to redu...

The aim of this research is to develop climate-based lighting adaptation scenarios for proper photobiological responses in high-performance biophilic buildings throughout the year. Photobiological responses refer to image forming (IF) and non-image forming (NIF) effects of light after reaching human eyes. IF effects enable vision. NIF effects regul...

Modes of representation are key elements in communicating the properties of natural and built environments. This research proposes a capture and representation method for daylighting dynamics in interior and exterior spaces for the photopic (daytime vision) and melanopic (biological clock) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The proposed repr...

This presentation explains the role of intermediate spaces in the Arctic climatic condition to create a thermal buffer between indoors and the outdoor cold climate. the research focuses on biophilic indicators to promote thermal, lighting, biophilic, and energy performance of such spaces in Northern buildings.

This study investigates shading panels' (SPs) impacts on daylighting features in a lab scale model in terms of parameters representing potential human eyes' biological responses identified as image forming (IF) and non-image forming (NIF). IF responses enable vision and NIF responses regulate internal body clocks known as circadian clocks. Human-ce...

Designing school settings that provide a satisfying experience of nature and enhance well-being could be advantageous for children and teachers, though in cold climates prolonged periods of precipitation, restricted sunshine and low temperatures represent non-ideal conditions for fostering a connection with nature. This paper reviews research into...

This paper develops an integrated design framework of adaptive building façades (ABFs) to respond to photobiological and thermal needs of occupants, biophilic factors, energy requirements and climatic features in Northern Canada, i.e. near and above 50°N. The paper discusses the importance of biophilic and photobiological factors and ABFs to improv...

Since 2016, Institut EDS is developing a new integrated approach to facilitate collaborations between different disciplines and to reinforce the development of practical skills and key competencies needed to solve concrete sustainable development problems: the EDS-IA. It aims to contribute to the acceleration of the transition to a closed and cycli...

This research develops climate-responsive adaptation scenarios through which the indoor lighting ambiance could be adjusted to photobiological needs of occupants for different activities. Photobiological needs refer to image-forming (IF) and non-image forming (NIF) requirements of individuals to perform a particular activity. Recent photobiological...

This research explores health and well-being responses of occupants to the daylighting design of northern latitude buildings. Photobiological and biophilic studies have shown the significant impacts of daylighting and natural cycles on occupants’ health and well-being. Northern people have forced to spend most of their time in buildings due to stro...

A smart portable device is proposed to monitor and analyze photobiological parameters of light, i.e. image forming and non-image forming, in the space and control artificial lighting and building façades systems with respect to occupants’ behavior and local photoperiods. The proposed device could operate in a real-time spatial basis to monitor inte...

Modern architectural design has seen a shift towards iconic doubly-curved envelopes enclosing large column-free spaces. Gridshells have long been considered an efficient solution to such designs, but their actual use in practice has not spread worldwide. For elastic gridshells, their advantages in terms of substantial material savings can often be...

This study discusses the potential of climate-responsive building envelopes (CRBEs) to address biophilic and human-centric lighting factors inside buildings and satisfy occupants’ needs. Biophilic and human-centric lighting guidelines emphasize on image forming (IF) and non-image-forming (NIF) responses of building occupants to light and natural cy...

This research aims at developing shading panels of building envelopes to fulfill occupants’ health and well-being in terms of image forming (IF) and non-image forming (NIF) responses to light and natural cycles. In the last few years, photobiological studies have brought attention to the health and well-being of occupants in terms of IF and NIF res...

This research aims at developing biophilic adaptive façades as a promising solution to promote occupants’ health and building energy efficiency in the extreme-cold climate of Quebec's northern territories. Adaptive façades point to the (self-) adjustment of façade components (such as shading panels, windows and blinds) to occupants’ needs and envir...

This research aims at developing biophilic adaptive façades as a promising solution to promote occupants’ health and building energy efficiency in the extreme-cold climate of Quebec's northern territories. Adaptive façades point to the (self-) adjustment of façade components (such as shading panels, windows and blinds) to occupants’ needs and envir...

Le concours Ma thèse en 180 secondes est l'occasion pour les doctorants de présenter leur sujet de recherche en termes simples à un auditoire diversifié.

This paper proposes the biophilic design approach as a plausible hypothesis for the challenging conditions related to living and working in extreme cold climates. Biophilic design has recently been developed to overcome the adverse effects of the built environment and to improve human well-being by redefining the human-nature relationship. Yet, bio...

This paper explores the impact of daylit wooden environments on human perception and well-being. Several studies have shown that the use of wood in furniture, interior surfaces, and decoration helps create warm, bright, and pleasant ambiences, enhancing psychological well-being and comfort when compared to other materials. The main objective of thi...

New possibilities offered by recent modelling software allow the design of organic shapes that are appealing to architects and engineers but may encompass serious issues such as an overconsumption of materials. In this context, there is a renewed interest in systems allowing the materialization of curved surfaces such as timber gridshells, which ca...

This research aims to develop a design process through experimenting cold climatic fluxes with a combined tactile and digital approach to create new architectural forms. Through successive design stages, this experimentation intends to validate the habitability of these new typologies of forms shaped by climate, which could offer multiple architect...

This paper proposes a morphological generation method based on the integration of wind forces which leads to organic geometries fostering new spatial experiences and environmental adaptation. It suggests that analogical simulations can generate creative design solutions responding to complex environmental fluxes and can accelerate the design proces...

The biophilic design approach has recently been developed to confront adverse effects of the built environment development and improve human well-being by redefining the human-nature relationship. However, suggested biophilic design recommendations are rarely discussed in extreme climatic conditions such as very cold climates in which harsh nature,...

The biophilic design approach has recently been developed to confront adverse effects of the built environment development and improve human well-being by redefining the human-nature relationship. However, suggested biophilic design recommendations are rarely discussed in extreme climatic conditions such as very cold climates in which harsh nature,...

An atmosphere is the synthesis for an individual at a given moment of the multiple thermal, visual, acoustical and olfactory perceptions suggested by a physical environment. An urban atmosphere therefore depends on the physical qualities of the built environment and the movement of urbanites. Urban atmospheres can be represented in time and space t...

Emerging research on the impact of interior finishes, more specifically wood, is beginning to shed light on informed design opportunities. As a natural building material with unique features, wood creates warm and pleasant atmospheres and has the potential of enhancing the well-being of occupants. This research attempted to better understand how oc...

This design research explores the physical and poetic relation between architecture and climate by introducing a combined tactile and numerical approach to creation. Through a graduate design studio experience based on a conceptual framework, it is structured in several steps and exploration methods to address the following questions: How does the...

The growing interest in natural or hybrid ventilation systems brings a challenge for good integration of openings in building façades. In a noisy environment, there is a major limitation for the use of direct openings in common building envelopes. As a part of a research project dedicated to this problem, it is possible to evaluate the impact of a...

This perspective documents current thinking around climate actions in Canada by synthesizing scholarly proposals made by Sustainable Canada Dialogues (SCD), an informal network of scholars from all 10 provinces, and by reviewing responses from civil society representatives to the scholars’ proposals. Motivated by Canada’s recent history of repeated...

This study explored the potential of natural light to enhance wooden interior environments. Under Nordic light, natural materials such as wood finishes present an opportunity to create warm, bright, and pleasant atmospheres, enhancing psychological well-being and comfort. The objectives of this project were twofold: first, to study the diversity of...

Many environmental advantages of wood in buildings have been thoroughly documented; however, this material’s effects on occupants are not well known or fully comprehended. This research aims to study comfort parameters in a multifunctional room characterised by extensive wood surfaces in comparison with a similar room with more conventional surface...

Many environmental advantages of wood in buildings have been thoroughly documented; however, this material’s effects on occupants are not well known or fully comprehended. This research aims to study comfort parameters in a multifunctional room characterised by extensive wood surfaces in comparison with a similar room with more conventional surface...

FULL TEXT: http://ambiances.revues.org/756 The built environment offers an impressive corpus of spatial typologies on which architects and users may build their knowledge based of ambiences. This corpus primarily consists of existing buildings originating from a wide spectre of historical backgrounds, but it could also include past ambiences. A ph...

This research is about the design process, development and fabrication of a free-form structure in crosslaminated timber (CLT) panels. Since sustainability, ecology and structural design are now relevant in any building project, the purpose of this research is to demonstrate that CLT panels can be used as an ecoresponsive strategy based on a buildi...

This paper explores the processes, challenges and opportunities of inhabitants' participation in the performance of indoor environmental quality in schools. Participation refers to a process of sharing decisions where both pupils and teachers have the opportunity to collaborate, individually and collectively, in the every day management of indoor e...

This paper explores the physical and poetic relation between architecture and climate by introducing a combined tactile and numerical approach to creation. It addresses the following questions: How the structure of space organizes light, heat and sound to increase the hedonistic experience of place? How material changes in response to environmental...

This research proposes the generation of innovative architectural façade design solutions that respond to flexibility and daylighting performance. Based on the definition of Responsive Architecture (Beesley & al., 2006; Bullivant, 2006), the research has developed an operational methodology addressing the morphological and structural transformation...

For mid-latitude cities, higher summer temperatures due to climate change are a cause for concern because they aggravate the urban heat island phenomenon and reduce thermal comfort inside buildings. By acquiring the appropriate knowledge and skills, architects and urban designers can become key actors in adaptation to climate change. Two workshops...

The development of a Wooden Adaptive Architecture System (WAAS) is part of a larger research-creation project on Adaptive Architecture (AA) [1] exploring the entire design process leading to a fully adaptable three story high 1:3/4 wooden structure. This paper links the notion of imagining and speculating on an innovative adaptive system within the...

This research focuses on the performance of movable insulation panels as shading devices and as an energy conservation strategy for an adaptive façade of an office space. Transparency of the envelope achieved through an extensive use of windows is considered as a 21st century essential from a sustainable architecture standpoint for its energy benef...

Adaptive Architecture has been devised as a multi-sensory ambience laboratory specially built to experiment architectural typologies at the scale of an observer to enable their assessment, representation and design speculation. The architectural culture is far more familiar with the qualitative expression of daylighting atmospheres and ambiences th...

This research focuses on the performance of movable insulation panels for Nordic climates as manual shading devices and as an energy conservation strategy for an office space. Simulation results demonstrate the device's potential in reducing energy consumption as well as diversifying the visual environment. Three main forms of panels were simulated...

This paper explores the effect of typological variations of school buildings on their visual, thermal, indoor air quality, and energy performance. Building shape has a direct impact on energy consumption and environmental performance. Studies on school buildings have shown the recurrence of several models or typologies. Those studies have however n...

This paper shows the potential of using photographic and thermographic cameras in conjunction with three-dimensional models for the representation and assessment of the quality of light and heat in existing buildings. Explorations have been performed on a free-running building, the school of architecture at Laval University, which is highly exposed...

LUMcalcul is a daylighting calculation tool used early in the design process to discuss preliminary architectural strategies for a new horticultural pavilion. The integration of plants in this educational building has lead to a reflection on the integration of daylighting prediction tools within the design process. A clear advantage of LUMcalcul is...

The research proposes an insight between the object and light through the elaboration of a design method that promotes spatial analysis to assist architects and designers in their creative explorations. Minimalist interventions using scale models and photographic images simultaneously represent the richness of spatial relations as well as informati...

This research focuses on the performance of movable insulation panels as manual shading devices and as an energy conservation strategy. Simulation results demonstrate their potential in reducing energy consumption as well as diversifying visual ambiances. Three forms of panels were simulated using IES VE and Radiance. Optimal manipulations are dete...

This paper presents the development of a representational tool that expresses the diversity of physical ambiances generated by an adaptive space. The research argues that adaptive spaces should provide comfort for wider varieties of interactions with the environment, thus generating a higher level of complexity in the promulgation of ambiances with...

This paper shows the potential of using photographic and thermographic cameras in conjunction with three-dimensional models for the representation and assessment of the quality of light and heat in existing buildings. Explorations have been performed on a free-running building, the school of architecture at Laval University, which is highly exposed...

In the context of climate change, cities will have to handle several growing risks, including increasing temperatures. To limit those climate risks, architects and planners could play a crucial role since urban form has a strong influence on urban microclimates and may potentially exacerbate or limit the urban heat island effect (UHIE). However, th...

The practice of architecture can be defined as the design of spaces while keeping in mind occupants' needs, which include several aspects. Among all desired performances, acoustic criteria should be taken into account. These directly affect the comfort of people and the way they can communicate together. Although architectural acoustics is omnipres...

The growing interest in natural or hybrid ventilation systems brings a challenge for good integration of openings in building façades. With a noisy environment, there is an important limitation for the use of direct openings in common building envelopes. As a part of a research project dedicated to this problem, it is possible to evaluate the impac...

La conception d’un bâtiment requiert l’expertise de nombreux intervenants dans diverses disciplines. L’approche courante de conception par divisions disciplinaires s’avère peut-être inefficace à l’atteinte de hautes performances environnementale et sociétale. Pour résoudre ces enjeux complexes et multidimensionnels, la dynamique des relations inter...

Natural light characterizes architecture in a complex manner, especially when considering its fluctuations and variations whenever we experience a transition or passage from a space to another. It also influences the comfort and the well-being of its occupants. This visual adaptation appears in a process that is translated into a spatio-temporal dy...

This research demonstrates that daylighting constitutes a good alternative to create comfortable spaces since it produces a diversity of luminous ambiences and address some basic human needs. It uses research methods such as: behaviour mapping, written surveys, photography and digital image analysis. These methods allow the study of the luminous co...

The 26th international conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA 2009) explores our quest for passive and low energy architecture through the occupants’ perspective at the urban and building scales. In the current context of major technological shifts in the fields of alternative materials and energy, the aim of the conference is to p...

This paper presents the assessment of stratified air distribution systems based on measurements of thermal comfort and ventilation effectiveness, during the winter, spring and summer of 2008. The Displacement Ventilation (DV) system, installed in an auditorium, uses low velocity sidewall diffusers. The Underfloor Air Distribution (UFAD) system, ins...

[Article de vulgarisation] La biophilie montre que la portée d’un projet d’architecture durable peut être beaucoup plus significative que l’on croit et ne se limite pas à la simple adéquation des aspects physiques du bâtiment. Ce concept, qui explique les besoins biologiques des humains, permettrait par exemple d’affirmer que les employés travaill...

This research proposes to support the reading of physical ambiences, by the development of a representation technique compiling in a numerical interface two types of data: sensory and filmic. These data are recorded through the use of a portable array equipped with sensors (Potvin 1997, 2002, 2004) as well as the acquisition of Video information of...

This research demonstrates that the diversity of a luminous environment, created by the daylighting of a building, generates visually comfortable spaces for its occupants. The research uses research methods such as: behavior mapping, written surveys, photography, digital image analysis and parts of the methodology developed for the SSHRC 2003-2007...