This competition focused on the development of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems. This year, the committee issued a case study on the design of a mall that conforms to the characteristics of a green building.There were five students involved in this renowned competition, namely:

1. Timothy Pierson - Mechanical Engineering - 13120094
2. Mochamad Faiq Al-Harits - Mechanical Engineering - 13120143
3. Arkaan Rasyad Usman - Mechanical Engineering - 13120005
4. Naufal Zaki Labib Zuhair - Mechanical Engineering - 13120116
5. Gani Muhammad Zohari - Architecture - 15220003

Upon the selection and nomination of the team’s members, they were soon projected to take on competitions on a national level.

This achievement was attributed to the continued guidance of Dr.Eng. Ir. Firman Bagja Juangsa, S.T., M.Eng., lecturer of the Energy Conversion Research Group from the Faculty of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering (FMAE).

The team’s creation stemmed from a major problem in designing a massive building: massive energy consumption. This was even more pronounced in terms of sufficient heating and cooling systems for visitor comfort.

After interpreting the given case, the team dissected it into smaller parts that were then distributed among team members to work on. They started by focusing on two aspects: architectural and technical. For the latter, they evaluated the cooling workload requirements and system selection.

In the designing process, the team chose a passive approach by considering the selection of energy-efficient materials and open-air design. This was done so that the energy efficiency of the building could be maximized to the fullest extent.

The architectural design was created by choosing the most environmentally friendly solution. This solution was developed from adequate room conditioning featuring the use of biophilic facades. After completing the selection and calculation of the HVAC system, the team came up with the most suitable design: a four-story, green-building mall. Emphasizing aesthetic values, the design incorporates five divisional scheduling periods with a cooling system reduction efficiency of 25%.

One of the memorable experiences was competing with very ambitious teams. One team even came from refrigeration engineering. On paper, they clearly knew more about refrigeration than our team, who only learned about general mechanical engineering and the basics of refrigeration," said Timothy in an interview on 09/10/23.

Thankfully, we still managed to win the competition. It was all because of God's blessings and the dedication of every team member to give their absolute best regardless of the shortcomings we encountered along the way," he continued.

Timothy and his team revealed the immense challenge of creating an idea that was not only innovative but also realistic. In formulating their design, they had to cope with relentless problem-solving down to the core through literature studies.

The process of identifying the given problem provided them with an understanding of the operation of energy-efficient systems.

This innovation has every potential to be developed further, considering the gravity of the ongoing energy crisis. The concept of green building will be integral to ensuring the sustainability of human life on the planet.

Reporter: Lukman Ali (Mechanical Engineering ‘20)

Translator: Ariq Ramadhan Teruna (Chemical Engineering ‘21)

Editor: Vera Citra Utami