UNDERGRADUATE
Lina Lopez-Castillo— Christian Martinelli Memorial Award

About the Awards 

For a student who demonstrates a passion for Building Science within Architecture and is a leader and consensus builder



Daylighting is the deliberate and controlled use of natural light in buildings to allow a suitable amount of light to infiltrate through various building openings, including windows and skylights. There are many benefits to including daylighting in our buildings. Numerous studies have shown that the health and productivity of people can increase with the quality of lighting in our buildings. There are also obvious energy-saving benefits from reduced need for artificial electric lighting. All of this makes for a compelling case to maximize daylighting strategies in schools where students and staff can benefit from reduced absenteeism, improved mood and productivity. This student competition is a case study of a school that recently underwent roof and skylight replacement. The client (school board) wanted to improve the thermal performance of the building without compromising the daylighting features of the building.

Competition Tasks: Your task will be to analyze a roof and skylight retrofit proposal for an existing school building, focusing on daylighting and energy efficiency from the perspective of young Building Science Consultants. 

The building is mass masonry construction, consisting of a 4” block wall with 4” exterior brick, gypsum board interior finishes and no insulation. The existing roof deck is made out of wood. Existing windows are aluminum framed, double-glazed, air-filled, and have no coating. The building also has existing single-glazed domed skylights. Assume that the building has no cooling and ventilation system, and the heating is provided by a boiler powered by natural gas. Assume that the same boiler system provides domestic hot water.





Toronto Metropolitan Department of  Architectural Science Toronto, CA.