Dr. Arta Yazdanseta is not one, but many things. Born in Tehran, Iran, she grew up in an urban environment with limited access to greenery. When she moved to Brooklyn, she noticed a similar lack of urban vegetation. She completed her Doctor of Design (DDes) and Master of Design (MDes) in Energy and Environments from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a professional architecture degree from Pratt Institute.
She served as a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Harvard Centre for Green Buildings and Cities. Through this, she developed architectural environmental design strategies and was appointed the principal leader for the centre’s ‘House Zero’ project. She was also an assistant professor and coordinator of the sustainable system at Parsons School of Design and soon became the Director of the Master of Architecture Program. Currently, she is an assistant professor of environmental design and technology at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Arta Yazdanseta, a Doctor of Design focused on energy and environments. Her research mainly explored the connection and joining between the concepts of design, building science, and plant biophysical ecology. It emphasised the integration of building energy performance with vertical vegetative surfaces through various design strategies.
As an architect and a designer, she has experience with large-scale master plans and small-scale residential projects. She was the founder of the architectural design studio, LINX Architecture, launched in 2008, while serving as a visiting instructor at the Pratt Institute. She gained experience working with well-known design firms such as SHoP Architects and hMa.
In 2012, Dr. Yazdanseta’s team won the first prize at the IBPSA Competition Award in Chambery, France, and her Master’s thesis, Radiative Cooling Roof Systems, won the Harvard Sustainability Grant. She received the Circle Award Fellowship and was an AIA Women’s Architectural Auxiliary Eleanor Allwork Scholar. Her work has been displayed at the New York Chapter of the AIA and has been published in Metropolis magazine.
Estimating the Untapped Cooling Power of Green Walls as Evaporative Coolers for Buildings
Her conference paper on the topic – ‘Estimating the Untapped Cooling Power of Green Walls as Evaporative Coolers for Buildings’ with Leslie K Norford investigates how well green walls can cool buildings through evaporation (transpiration) by combining existing models. There’s limited research on this specific benefit of green walls, so this study offers a new way to design and size green walls for maximum cooling effect. They found that plant characteristics and the way the green wall is built are key factors in how much cooling it can provide. This research could help create more energy-efficient buildings.
It looks into theoretical considerations of the Penman-Monteith Model which is the most prevalent method to estimate the transpiration rate of a vegetative canopy. This model was modified by Davis and Hirmer to experimental conditions where the model treats a canopy as a large and continuous horizontal leaf with 0 water limitations. The result defined the potential and limits of green wall designs as evaporative coolers.
CitiesAlive: 16th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference
Her ‘CitiesAlive: 16th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference’ was written by Ali Malkawi. The purpose of this study is to develop a better way to design indirect vining green walls for different climates. These green walls are seen as a low-maintenance and cost-effective way to cool buildings by reducing solar heat gain and increasing transpiration. The key factor they examine is the extinction coefficient (k), which tells you how much shade the leaves cast. Most studies assume a generic k value, but this research shows that k depends on location (latitude) and the specific design of the vine canopy. They propose using different k values for different latitudes to improve the design of these green walls.
It is about how green walls are a component of the urban green infrastructure and are divided into three categories – living walls, direct walls, and indirect walls. It is further explained using methods like the Statistical Method Defining Extinction Coefficient (k), the Empirical Method Defining Extinction Coefficient (k), and comparative analysis. It also talks about the Canopy Transmittance for Recommended k Values.
Density vs. the Ethics of the Solar Envelope
Her paper on Density vs. the Ethics of the Solar Envelope; a Case Study is a comparative study of the C2 proposal and solar envelope design that indicates the paradox between conserving the interest of the public and private, right to light vs. increasing building density, but can public solar access be negotiated in favour of density. The study of the impact of the orientation and size on the buildable volume. The term “solar envelope” refers to the space around a building that allows sunlight to reach it throughout the year. High-density development can cast shadows and block sunlight from reaching neighbouring buildings.
In conclusion, Dr. Arta Yazdanseta is a multifaceted architect, designer, and researcher who focuses on creating sustainable and energy-efficient innovative buildings. Her thoughtful design strategies pave the way for high-density communities that prioritise their importance and positive impact on the public and environment.
REFERENCES:
- IMAGE & WEB REFERENCES
- SCE. Arta Yazdanseta new assistant professor in SCE. 20/11/2017. https://sce.parsons.edu/blog/arta-yazdanseta-new-assistant-professor-in-sce/
- CitiesAlive. https://citiesalive.org/
- (PDF) cooling load reduction by Green Walls: Results from an experimental campaign. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273131709_Cooling_load_reduction_by_green_walls_results_from_an_experimental_campaign
- Fakharany,N. Archdaily. Exploring the interconnectedness of human and environmental health: In conversation with dr. Arta Yazdanseta. 22/06/2024. https://www.archdaily.com/1017771/dr-arta-yazdanseta-explores-the-interconnectedness-of-human-and-environmental-health
- Growery Collective. https://www.growerycollective.org/projects
- CitiesAlive: 16 th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333675789_CitiesAlive_16_th_Annual_Green_Roof_and_Wall_Conference
