Karen Kensek

University of Southern California | USC · School of Architecture

Una herramienta prototipo-de-visualización-BIM Adafruit-IO-Reader-(AIOR), fue desarrollada para intervenir al instante, transfiriendo información crítica al programa de Revit diseñado por Autodesk. Una vez transferida la información es retribuida por medio de la computadora de Adafruit-IO y traducida como base de datos o gráficas lineales. AIOR es...

The current BIM-based PV system design process largely depends on transferring a model to special PV simulation software. Critical geometric information is often lost during this process. An automatic PV system design and management tool was developed, which fully integrates the existing and future information of PV systems in a building informatio...

Scientific visualization has been an essential process in the engineering field, enabling the tracking of large-scale simulation data and providing intuitive and comprehendible graphs and models that display useful data. For computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data, the need for scientific visualization is even more important given the complicated s...

Programming and scripting can be used to activate a 3D parametric model to create a more intelligent and flexible building information model. There has been a trend in the building industry towards the use of visual scripting that allow users to create customized, flexible, and powerful programs without having to first learn how to write traditiona...

Highly reflective and specular building envelopes have become widely adopted not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to increase building energy savings and improve occupant comfort. However, they can also make significant and sometimes unintended impact outside the building envelope. Reflected sunlight from highly specular building envelopes can...

As daylighting becomes an increasingly important component of design for energy savings and views to the outside, it is necessary to take into disadvantages that windows pose including the possibility of glare. It is crucial to understand how current metrics of glare perform this task. Validation studies were performed on five glare indices includi...

Resilience has become the umbrella term for the ability of the built environment to resist and respond to a broad range of natural and man-made disasters. Typically, these address a spectrum of issues in the built environment at the scale of urban habitat. Exploring the significance of resilience with respect to building systems and especially the...

Extensive human subject research was performed to develop a daylight glare analysis methodology that correlates the Absolute Glare Factor (AGF) and the Relative Glare Factor (RGF). Literature reviews compared existing luminance thresholds developed by different research groups. More than 450 subjective data and visual scenes have been collected and...

Daylighting has been widely adopted in buildings to reduce building energy consumptions and to promote occupant productivity and comfort. Many daylighting and discomfort glare metrics and tools have been developed to provide the desired amount of natural light while avoiding excessive visual discomfort. Considerable research has been done to examin...

Highly reflective and specular building envelopes have been widely adopted to help maximize energy performance of buildings and to achieve occupant thermal and visual comfort. This strategy has ensured these benefits inside the building envelope while making a significant and sometimes unintended impact outside the building envelope. Reflected sunl...

Green buildings should respect nature and endeavor to mitigate harmful effects to the environment and occupants. This is often interpreted as creating sustainable sites, consuming less energy and water, reusing materials, and providing excellent indoor environmental quality. Environmentally friendly buildings should also consider literally the impa...

To achieve low and zero net energy performance objectives in buildings, designers must make optimal use of passive environmental design strategies. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the application of a novel Passive Performance Optimization Framework (PPOF) to improve the performance of daylighting, solar control, and natural ventil...

Much of the existing tall building stock is burdened with aging and under-performing facades, resulting in opportunities to substantially improve building performance through facade retrofit. Deep-energy whole-building retrofits, with the facade as an integral component, are an effective means to transform the overall performance of the commercial...

Although visual programming is being broadly implemented in other disciplines, it has only relatively recently become an important supplement to three-dimensional modeling programs in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Currently, Grasshopper in conjunction with Rhino is a leading example of a visual programming environment th...

Energy efficient buildings rely on simulation to predict energy performance. However, problems associated with simulation tools can lead to surprises when discrepancies are found between actual and predicted building energy performance; this frustrates building owners, investors, and designers. A probabilistic method of risk assessment for the calc...

Dynamic and adaptive façade components have significant potential for energy efficiency goals. However, it is not yet common to see double skin facade (DSF) buildings integrating dynamic component systems to improve their energy savings. Previous studies have repeatedly found DSF buildings to increase their energy consumption during cooling seasons...

A building information model (BIM) contains data that can be accessed and exported for other uses during the lifetime of the building especially for facilities management (FM) and operations. Working under the guidance of well-designed BIM guidelines to insure completeness and compatibility with FM software, architects and contractors can deliver a...

Building information modeling (BIM) and simulation tools are converging into "analytical BIM," the ability to use the model for analysis and predictions about the future performance of the building. Analytical BIM starts with the premise that the building information model can and should be used for building simulation. A 3D model is a ?proto-BIM,?...

While air-side economizers have the potential to significantly reduce cooling-related energy loads in buildings, they require proper maintenance and operation to achieve these energy savings and will experience diminished performance efficiency if improperly operated. By comparison, air conditioners require more electricity to provide cooling but a...

Building information modelling (BIM) has been heralded as a process that incorporates data about a project from conception to demolition and allows clients, architects, contractors, facility managers and other stakeholders to access and use appropriate information as needed. However, in practice, the one inclusive model has been supplanted by numer...

This paper investigates the feasibility of connecting environmental sensors such as light, humidity, or CO2 receptors to a building information model (BIM). A base case was created in Rhino; using Grasshopper and Firefly, a simple digital model responded to lighting-levels detected by a photoresistor on an Arduino board. The case study was duplicat...

Many architects and engineers regard BIM as a disruptive force, changing the way building professionals design, build, and ultimately manage a built structure. With its emphasis on continuing advances in BIM a research, teaching, and practice, Building Information Modeling: BIM in Current and Future Practice encourages readers to transform disrupti...

This is a design guide for architects, engineers, and contractors concerning the principles and specific applications of building information modeling (BIM). BIM has the potential to revolutionize the building industry, and yet not all architects and construction professionals fully understand what the benefits of BIM are or even the fundamental co...

Building Information Modeling: BIM in Current and Future Practice stretches the boundaries of BIM. The chapters cover a range from theoretical research that can inform future BIM -- performance based design to commentary on current issues in BIM such as “single BIM” versus “multiple BIMs” including my chapter on Analytical BIM: BIM Fragments, Domai...

Optimization techniques and methods for selecting better solutions (as defined by the metric chosen) are becoming more common in simulation software. Several methods are available for energy consumption optimization: parametric analysis, genetic algorithms, and examination of alternatives via the Pareto front. Optimization algorithms and design alt...

Many glare analysis methods have been developed and utilized for predicting and quantifying discomfort glare issues inside a building. However, the existing methods have not been able to accurately evaluate glare issues when extremely bright glare sources are involved. As luminance values of glare sources get extremely high, the impact of the absol...

Retrofitting a building can improve energy efficiency. To predict a building's future performance, it is important to calibrate the energy model to the existing energy consumption as the basis for design changes. This type of calibration often requires detailed hourly energy models that result from extensive data collection and audits. Yet, even wi...

Contemporary high-rise buildings can have complex façade configurations, but existing building simulation programs may not have either the capability or user-friendliness to help architects make better decisions early in the design process that could reduce energy use for these forms. This is especially true with faceted and curvilinear building fa...

An existing institutional building of 95,287 square feet was calibrated for energy usage using Design Builder and eQuest. The whole building simulation models were made based on precise building geometry, occupancy, and equipment power and lighting densities. Building schedules were input to more closely relate the digital model to the actual build...

Climate change, water scarcity, and environmental degradation are issues that should be addressed by architects. For this to be possible, architects must have the knowledge and skill to create innovate designs, predict their performance, use constructive feedback to make adjustments, and construct buildings properly. Although far from perfect, ther...

Natural ventilation is contingent on many factors including wind velocity, size and location of openings, room size and how the room is split by demising walls. The specific subdivision of a room into two spaces of unequal size has an effect on the airflow through the space. In a room such as a bedroom with opposing windows, positive airflow can be...

In the early stages of the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM), the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) professionals were often the leaders, and some university faculty were caught unprepared. More recently, many universities have responded to the adoption of BIM technologies in the profession. No single approach to BIM curri...

Daylighting software is an important component towards creating accurate simulations for sustainable design. Ecotect has been widely used by designers and consultants for its quick and simple analysis in the early design phases. It has many advantages, but only provides two sky conditions: CIE overcast and uniform skies. Using the overcast sky cond...

The primary purpose of the building envelope is to protect the inhabitants from the outside environment. Although usually static systems, facades are designed to respond to many scenarios and perform functions that can be contradictory to each other: daylighting versus energy efficiency, ventilation versus views and energy generation. By actuating...

Currently, the architecture, engineering, and construction industry is facing enormous technological and institutional changes and challenges including the proliferation of information technology and appropriate application of sustainable practices. The 21st century engineer and architect must be able to deal with a rapid pace of technological chan...

This study further develops research undertaken about the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Originally admired for its beautiful, shiny, curved façade, the concert hall was also noteworthy as a source of visual glare and heat. These concerns led to the County of Los Angeles’ hiring of a consultant to quantify the problems and suggest resolutions. The solut...

This paper considers the presence of ambiguity, evidence, and alternatives in virtual reconstructions of ancient, historic, and other no-longer-existing environments. Because the foundation of these reconstructions is data coupled to interpretations, virtual intellectual products can be grounded through critique and citations. The real-world basis...

Reliable, conclusive data about building control systems can be obtained through computer (Web) based data acquisition methods, where influencing variables can be tested, monitored, controlled, and implemented. A mechanism is included that controls the building devices through software (customizable to different building plans) running on a remote...

Virtual reality (VR) can be used as a powerful, three dimensional method to interface with computers. By wearing a head mounted audio-visual display, position and orientation sensors, and tactile interface devices, one can actively inhabit an inclusive computer generated environment. Another area of computing that has seen substantial progress is m...

The development of Web based tools is becoming a mainstay in schools of architecture. These tools, ranging from very simple to extremely complex, are often developed as an auxiliary to traditional modes of teaching and can be used to augment classroom learning, both for students and professionals. They use the graphic, interactive, hyperlinked adva...

The USC Master of Building Science program hosts a website which acts as a library and toolshed providing information, tutorials and links to other Building Science related sites. This paper describes the benefits and difficulties of building and maintaining such a site and the general organization, cross platform software and single platform softw...

This paper discusses a method for determining the plank lines of ribbed timber shell structures. The information is necessary for the construction of the roof, but the information is usually not depicted accurately in three-dimensional modeling programs.

Websites have become the equivalent of libraries, in which information and references are stored. But websites are also hardware stores and car garages which can supply tools and equipment and even repairs and updates for existing tools. One such example is the Master of Building Science website at USC which disseminates information, but also softw...

This case study presents the World Wide Web as an appropriate medium for architectural teaching. The prototypical tool VRSolar uses simple programming and existing Web resources to help in the teaching of topics related to the movement of the sun and its effects on the built environment. Using JavaScript, this tool is capable of generating real tim...

This paper offers a description of the development and potential uses of a tool that generates solar envelopes for architecture and planning. Work on the concept of the solar envelope was begun almost 30 years ago by Ralph Knowles. While the ideas proposed by Knowles have been widely published, practical application of the theories has been slow, p...

Sun shading devices provide an opportunity for the designer to control natural lighting, ventilation, and solar gain, all of which provide a benefit to the overall building performance. Through sun path diagrams and shading masks, some of the effects of these solar controls can be demonstrated graphically. This paper describes , a computer program...

Many schools of architecture have been attempting to integrate computer applications into their curriculum. This paper will briefly discuss computer-aided design courses that are offered at USC, courses that are similar to those being offered at many universities, and then describe three exceptional cases where the student initiated the use of the...

In this research the concept of Solar Envelope has been used to develop a 3D Spatial Design Tool tool, SolCAD, for generating an envelope over a given site based on various design parameters. The solar envelope can be imagined as a container, whose boundaries are derived from the sun?s relative motion. Buildings within this container will not overs...

Throughout time, scholars have been resurrecting the architecture of past ages, Sir Arthur Evans with the Palace of Knossos in Crete, Heinrich Schliemann with the ruins of Troy, and Thor Hyerdahl with the Kontiki and Ra ship reconstructions. Digital reconstruction provides a powerful means to portray architecture and environments that no longer exi...

The papers represent a wide variety of exploration into the uses of computers in architecture. We have tried to impose order onto the collection by organizing them into six sessions: Metaphor, Mission, Method, Modeling for Visualization, Modeling, and Generative Systems. As with any ordering system for such a diverse selection, some session papers...

With the research help of Wolfgang Wagener, the students in our computer graphics class are using form?Z, 3D Studio, and Premiere to document and interpret the work of Raphael Soriano. These images are from a class currently underway in fall semester, 1998, at USC. The students are responsible for modeling, rendering, and animating (with the help o...

To animate is to give life or motion to an object. In this study, the method for exploring in four dimensions was the use of animation in a three dimensional model; the objects were well known paintings or drawings. Although architectural studies were encouraged, a range of paintings was chosen and different intentions about the role of animation w...

Digital representations have progressed tremendously from the earliest wireframe images to realistic ray-traced renderings that are often indistinguishable from real-life. Yet, in many cases, in the fooling of the eyes, one should not also fool the brain. Especially in the reconstruction of the past, it may be useful for the visualization to also c...

White Paper - Reflecting on 25 years of ACADIA

Stereoscopic imagery is finding new uses with the growth of computer applications in design and entertainment endeavors. This can be demonstrated in part by the substantial interest in immersive virtual reality systems. Since visual communication is an important tool for describing projects and stereoscopic imagery is receiving considerable attenti...

Preservationists have an impressive array of digital tools to aid them in documentation and analysis of historic structures. The tools range from near photo-realistic renderings to demonstrate what a ?restored? building might have looked like at one specifi c time in history to complex chemical analysis of paint chips and pigments to geographic inf...

Sun shading devices, either as parts of a building or separately placed from a building facade, affect natural lighting and ventilation, solar gain, and overall building performance. The role of sun shading devices or solar radiation control systems is taught at every school of architecture. Yet, only a few architecture students, architects, and de...