SARC 223 Human Environmental Science Assignment 3: Daylighting, and Acoustics Analysis 2026 | Victoria

SARC223 Assignment 3 Brief

Assignment Type : Proposed Solutions

Mark:  40% of overall grade

Course Learning Objectives: CLO 2, CLO 3

1.0 Introduction

This assignment builds on your previous work to develop and test proposed performance solutions. These solutions should demonstrate how your project can achieve human comfort and satisfaction by meeting defined performance goals, including those you established in Assignment 2, in relation to the development of three (3) houses on your site.

The deliverable is a concise, professionally presented, written and illustrated report.

2.0 Brief 

2.1 The site

You will continue to work with your selected site from the previous assignment.

2.2 The houses

You will use the proposed footprint from your previous assignment to develop the three dimensional massing of the three (3) houses. This should represent the thermal envelope  including the location and extent of glazed openings such as windows and doors.

If the footprint from the previous assignment did not meet the brief, you need to revise it before proceeding. Ensure the size and scale of each house, or block, aligns with the expectations set out in Assignment Two. (Full sizes houses, around 150m2 each)

2.3 The task

2.3.1 Modelling & simulation

Using modelling and simulation, you will develop and test performance solutions against two different performance levels.

House typologies & performance goals (see table 1)

• If your houses are all detached, pick two of them to use for this assignment.
  • In this scenario, you are to develop performance solutions so that one house can meet column 2 goals and alternative performance solutions so that one house can meet column 3 goals.
• If your houses are attached, use the whole block of three houses.
  • In this scenario, you are to develop performance solutions so that the whole block can meet column 2 goals and alternative performance solutions so that the whole block can also meet column 3 goals.

Performance goal levels

• Use the goals you set in assignment 2 in place of the goals in either the minimum performance or high performance columns in table 1, depending on whether you set minimum or high performance goals.
• If you did not set clear measurable goals in assignment 2, use the minimum and high performance goals in table 1.

Table 1. Performance Levels

2.3.2 Performance solutions

Using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP), develop performance solutions for:

1. Opaque thermal envelope elements (Roof/ceiling, external walls, ground floor/slab), with reference to assemblies in the High-performance Construction Details Handbook
2. Transparent thermal envelope elements (Windows, doors, skylights)
3. Ventilation
   Using Rhino/Grasshopper, develop window size and placement performance solutions for:
4. Daylighting

2.3.2 Reflection

Critically reflect on the performance solutions you have proposed to meet the performance goals and the different solutions needed for the two performance levels. For example,

• Do your proposed performance solutions allow the houses to meet all the performance goals? Or are some of the goals compromised? Why?
• Are there architectural or other implications of your proposed solutions?
• How do the solutions relate to the opportunities and constraints you identified in assignment 2?
• What are your other critical observations?

2.3.3 Report

Discuss and justify your proposals in a concise, compelling, professional report. Your proposals should include

• 3d massing for the proposed houses on the site, including locations of windows and doors
• Illustrated and annotated proposed performance solutions for the opaque thermal envelope, transparent thermal envelope, ventilation and daylighting for the two performance levels
• Tabulated performance goals and results from the proposed solutions
• Critical reflections

Report formatting:

• A3 Landscape
• 10 pages (sides) maximum
• References and annotations in Chicago A footnotes system
• All diagrams, drawings, illustrations are to be your own work and consistent with the aesthetic of your report
• You must include a Generative AI statement following the course AI policy.

3.0 Deliverables

All hand-ins must be uploaded to Nuku.

• A written and illustrated report up to 10 pages (sides) in total, including the cover, as a single PDF.
• Your PHPP files for the two performance levels (minimum and high-performance)

The files must be named as following:

• pdf
• xlsx
• xlsx

4.0 Assessment Criteria

Your work will be marked against the Assignment 3 Rubric in Nuku, in the following categories:

• Proposed performance solutions
• Performance goal results (see table 1)
• Simulation
• Critical reflections
• Communication