AIA Colorado Member Reflects On The 2023 COTE Top Ten

I was ecstatic when the AIA announced the 2023 COTE Top Ten Award Recipients to see that UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood had been honored with an award.

From 2018-2021, I had the privilege of working on this project during my time with the great team at HKS. We were fortunate to have a client in UC San Diego who was committed to data driven design and the Framework for Design Excellence was ingrained in the design process from start to finish.

I was personally involved in the building performance analysis for the six buildings on the campus. I worked with the design team to integrate key massing analysis that focused on solar access and exterior thermal comfort, identified through annual daylight analysis strategies to maximize daylight levels while keeping glare discomfort within imperceptible thresholds, and had the opportunity to use dynamic energy simulations throughout the design process to track our predicted energy performance to target both a LEED platinum performance and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

The energy efficiency measures were a dream for a building performance analyst to bring to fruition:

Natural ventilation controls that balanced energy efficiency, thermal comfort, CO2 levels, and confirmed no overheating occurred throughout the year.
A central plant providing chilled water and hot water to the campus at high efficiency levels.
On site renewable energy in the form of solar panels and a micro-anaerobic digester.
Lightwells in the subterranean parking garage that reduced lighting power energy.

With my current position as a Sr. Building Performance Analyst at Interface Engineering, I am thrilled to be working at a company who has collaborated on multiple COTE Top Ten Award Projects and am hopeful to have the opportunity to work with other AIA Colorado firms on their projects to further optimize and push the boundaries of building performance.

— Kyleen Rockwell PE, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Senior Building Performance Analyst
Interface Engineering, Inc.