Banca de DEFESA: JÚLIO CÉSAR DE ARAÚJO BEZERRA

Volumetric modular construction in architectural design: proposal for a vertical hostel

Architectural design; three-dimensional modular; hostel; logistical constraints; thermal comfort.

This professional master's final paper consists of an architectural preliminary project for a vertical hostel with an emphasis on the construction system. The document consists of two volumes, one comprising the technical report and the other with the architectural project. The aim was to develop the architectural project, at the basic design level, for a hosting service in Natal/RN that used the three-dimensional modular construction system, taking into account the fact that this method of construction is not widespread in Brazil and that there are few publications that address how the specificities of this system are affect the design process. The main methodological procedures of the first chapters of the report were the bibliographic review and indirect reference studies using an adaptation of Baker's (1984) analytical method. Before starting the project, the architectural programming was defined and the physical, legal and logistical constraints of the intervention area were analyzed. After defining a concept, the architectural design was developed, above all, with the manipulation of physical models and computer simulations focused on thermal comfort. The design exercise resulted in a proposal for an eleven-story hostel with 156 beds distributed over a built area of 2.630,81 m². The three-dimensional modules were designed to provide a dynamic volume to the Building, with appropriate sizes to optimize the number of trips from the factory to the construction site. Furthermore, there was a concern to mitigate the carbon footprint caused by long-distance travel throught incorporating other sustainability itens into the project, such as generating electrical energy, reusing rainwater, reducing thermal load gain and promoting thermal, acoustic and lighting comfort in the bedrooms. The preliminar conclusions showed that, in the design stage, the main influences occurred when the volume studies were compared with the dimensional needs of the environments on the floor plan, showing that designing with large volumetric modules is more restrictive than developing a proposal with conventional modulation.