Fiocchi, L. Carl

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Job Title
Faculty: Senior Lecturer
Last Name
Fiocchi
First Name
L. Carl
Discipline
Architecture
Computer-Aided Engineering and Design
Energy Systems
Environmental Design
Historic Preservation and Conservation
Mechanical Engineering
Expertise
Hi Performance Buildings, Building Performance Energy Retrofits, Building Systems
Introduction
Professor Fiocchi’s interest and research are concerned with high performance energy efficient buildings with special emphasis on the building envelope and mechanical systems of both residential and commercial structures. He has led the initiative to establish the UMass DesignBuild program which produces a low carbon net positive Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) each year which is donated to the city of Holyoke where it contributes to addressing the affordable housing crisis in an underserved community. His experience in construction, coupled with the imminent threat of climate change, provided the impetus for these efforts. Modernist architecture and its subset Brutalism, as it relates to the above, has been a continued focus of his work.
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2010 - 20162
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    PublicationOpen Access
    A Period Examination Through Contemporary Energy Analysis of Kevin Roche’s Fine Arts Center at University of Massachusetts-Amherst
    (2016-09) Fiocchi, L Carl; Fiocchi, L. Carl
    Studies of buildings belonging to a subset of Modernist architecture, Brutalism, have included discussions pertaining to social and architectural history, critical reception, tectonic form and geometry inspirations, material property selections, period technology limitations, and migration of public perceptions. Evaluations of Brutalist buildings’ energy related performances have been restricted to anecdotal observations with particular focus on the building type’s poor thermal performance, a result of the preferred construction method, i.e. monolithic reinforced concrete used as structure, interior finish and exterior finish. A valid criticism, but one that served to dismiss discussion that the possibility of other positive design strategies limiting energy consumption, while simultaneously maintaining occupant comfort, existed in these buildings. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst Fine Arts Center (FAC) designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Kevin Roche, was the Brutalist building used to develop an evaluation protocol that will serve as a template for energy and/or occupant comfort dissections and evaluations of other Brutalist buildings. A calibrated (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140) and validated energy model (DesignBuilder) was programed with all requisites, i.e. geo-position, ordinal orientation, building geometry, envelope materiality, construction details, local weather and climate, program activities, mechanical systems, occupancy schedules, etc. All inputted data was synchronized and consistent with the first year of the building’s occupancy, 1976. Analyses using the DesignBuilder model and an Autodesk Ecotect Analysis model were performed with results relating to thermal performance of the envelope, daylight harvesting, glare control, siting advantage, solar defense via self-shading, material solar absorptance impacts, thermal mass, and wind related strategies documented. Results demonstrated and quantified the inadequacy of the thermal envelope and the positive presence of daylight harvesting, glare control, and solar defense via self-shading. Results also suggest the possibility of material solar absorptance strategies, thermal mass strategies, and wind harvesting strategies. The FAC’s EUI, as determined from the models above and a potential EUI determined from a FAC model inputted with a single energy efficiency measure (improvement of thermal envelope) was compared with EUI data from “CBECS, 2012 Table C5”. This perspective and insight into the building’s reality, within the context of energy performance and occupant comfort, cleared the haze of anecdotal evidence.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    A Sustainable Design for the American Commercial Strip Mall
    (2010-05) Fiocchi, Jr., L. Carl
    The purpose of this project is to present an alternative in form, materials, and energy performance to the existing building type that has been the staple used in construction of American Commercial Strip Malls since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The project progresses through two phases. The initial phase is the designing of an energy efficient structure that is the basic unit in a system of modularity. This structure permits joining itself together with similar units to form an assortment of assemblies with different possible geometries that are in turn able to respond to various site geometries and retail area programs. The second phase is the development of a site design for a Commercial Strip Mall using an existing site and inserting a combination of the modular design assemblies into that site, maximizing buildable square footage, while attending to all pertinent regulations and codes yet still incorporating desirable design criteria. The research begins with an initial historical examination of the building type coupled with precedent studies of 1960 American and contemporary European examples. Research includes identification of all applicable zoning regulations and building codes and within those boundaries determining and incorporating existing available sustainable and energy saving technologies and materials into the design. The economic feasibility of a project of this type is examined through costing software in order to discuss the projects fiscal viability. In conclusion, the project realizes a design form that aesthetically joins the selected precedents. It is a form that allows construction in a controlled factory setting, mitigating costs, and improving quality. The modularity aspect of the project provides the versatility needed for the design to be employed on different sites; the materials and systems address sustainability and energy performance. Finally, the economic examination supports the idea that building this design or one similar becomes more and more a possibility as peak oil approaches and global warming remedies become mandates.