How to Design a Net Zero Auxiliary Dwelling Unit (Conceptual Design Project)

Hi everyone, my name is Connor and this project was a 10-week snapshot apart of a larger design series at my university.

In particular, this project aimed to create an auxiliary dwelling unit for our campus. It would be used for visiting professors and other temporary guests on campus. Four of the primary drivers for the design were: accessibility, sustainability, passive strategies, and design integration. In addition, it would be used as the university's' way to get their foot in the door with sustainability and set goals for future projects. By creating a net zero building, the university could prove their equitable future.

For this project, I used:

1. Pencil and Paper for sketching
2. Autodesk Revit 2024 for modeling and drafting
3. Cove.Tool for energy modeling
4. Adobe Illustrator for Diagramming
5. Chaos Enscape for base renders
6. Adobe Photoshop for renderings

At the start of any project I usually go through a rigorous period of sketching. This is the way that I like to work out ideas and start to define a conceopt. In total I had roughly 100 little doodles (not all pictured here) for this project. With these I start to work through site access, form, materiality, details, and lots of iterations. My primary goal with these it to create a solid enough foundation to move forward with in the design process.

Once I have a rough idea in mind on paper with the sketches, I start to narrow down design decisions. Here, I start to think about how each of the building systems (structure, HVAC, PV, etc.) work together at a high level. This step is usually a proof of concept (ie. does this concept iteration have potential to move forward or do I go back to sketching?).

After my preliminary design is in a good place, I start to narrow down the details. Here, in particular, since I was focusing on achieving Net Zero, I started to iterate on different building systems, wall and roof R-values, and materials that would benefit better energy efficiency. The main driver with this developed design was to create an overhang over the southern facing windows for passive shading during the summer, while still allowing for heat gain in the winter.

For the last step I created visuals that tied together the narrative of having a auxiliary dwelling for a visitor. I wanted the right balance of privacy while still allowing for a familiar warm feeling for a new person staying.

To create these I started by using Chaos Enscape through Revit 2024 to apply materials and create a base scenes that I could photoshop. In photoshop I made local adjustments to textures, lighting, adding in people for scale, and and adding an overall cohesiveness.