Laboratory Design took an in-depth look at how thermal analysis aids energy efficient building design. We use programs like THERM to develop 2-D heat flow simulations looking at specific scenarios as we design buildings. Lindsay Hock spoke with three of our architects who have worked with the program extensively and contributed to our research work on thermal bridging (funded by the AIA Upjohn Grant). Jeff Abramson, AIA (Associate); Chris Blomquist, AIA (Associate) and Miep Keller, AIA (Architect) weighed in.
THERMal analysis aids in energy efficiency
Window Head Condition
Detail and THERM simulation of a recessed window condition. The masonry relieving angle above the window is a significant thermal bridge.
“It’s a well-known fact that labs consume four times more energy per square foot than a typical office building. And while ventilation and plug loads account for much of this energy use, proper design and detailing of building envelopes can have a significant impact on the energy demands of lab buildings.
Even relatively modest changes to typical facade detailing can significantly improve lab building structures so they perform as anticipated.”
The 2025 OpenLAB Boston studio work will be exhibited at Virginia Tech Monday, March 2nd through Wednesday, March 4th.
Please join us for the following events on Monday, March 2nd:
11:00am - Lecture with Parke MacDowell
1:00pm Lobby talk with Kevin Sullivan
This year’s studio identifies seven sites along the frayed edges of Boston’s Greenway. The Greenway is a one-mile-long linear park running through the heart of the city, reconnecting downtown Boston with its waterfront. Many of the parcels along its edges remain undeveloped and present mute, blank facades to the public realm. Addressing and repairing these edges through acts of infilling, layering, grafting, framing, and placemaking is the core focus of the studio—SUTURE.