ArticlePDF Available

Passive performance and building form: An optimization framework for early-stage design support

February 2016
Solar Energy 125(1):161-179

DOI:10.1016/j.solener.2015.12.020

Authors:

Kyle Konis

University of Southern California

Karen Kensek

University of Southern California

To achieve low and zero net energy performance objectives in buildings, designers must make optimal use of passive environmental design strategies. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the application of a novel Passive Performance Optimization Framework (PPOF) to improve the performance of daylighting, solar control, and natural ventilation strategies in the early design stages of architectural projects. The PPOF is executed through a novel, simulation-based parametric modeling workflow capable of optimizing building geometry, building orientation, fenestration configurations, and other building parameters in response to program requirements, site-specific building adjacencies, and climate-based daylighting and whole-building energy use performance metrics. The applicability of the workflow is quantified by comparing results from the workflow to an ASHRAE 90.1 compliant reference model for four different climate zones, incorporating real sites and urban overshadowing conditions. Results show that the PPOF can deliver between a 4% and 17% reduction in Energy Use Intensity (EUI) while simultaneously improving daylighting performance by between 27% and 65% depending on the local site and climatic conditions. The PPOF and simulation-based workflow help to make generative modeling, informed by powerful energy and lighting simulation engines, more accessible to designers working on regular projects and schedules to create high-performance buildings.

Workflow diagram showing sequential steps to initialize Passive Performance Optimization.

…

Example use of CADtoEarth to identify surrounding urban context of project site and import 3D building geometry into the simulation environment.

…

Adjustment of building floor plate using the form-finding component.

…

Parametric development of building massing from simple rectilinear footprint (left) to more complex forms with additional corners and the addition of an interior courtyard void (right).

…

+14

DOE baseline model (left) where all facades have the same WWR (33%) and the same model massing (right) with variable WWRs applied at the facade level.

…

Figures - uploaded by Kyle Konis

Content may be subject to copyright.

Content uploaded by Kyle Konis

Content may be subject to copyright.

Content uploaded by Kyle Konis

Content may be subject to copyright.

A preview of the PDF is not available

Assessment of Thermal Comfort and Indoor Environmental Quality in University Buildings NIJEST JOURNAL 2024 145-154 24 Vol.-8-No.-2 NIJEST 2

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2024

An assessment was conducted to examine the indoor environment of an existing university building in Nigeria, aiming to provide information that could enhance the reduction in the cooling load and ensure thermal comfort for occupants in university buildings. This paper explained the instrumentation, experimental field study, and building assessment process through a sequence of accomplished approaches. The study was carried out within the hottest summer week of the year which ranges from April 8th to 14th with data collected over the 24 daily hours. The methodology involved selecting a functional lecture theatre, and measuring and recording indoor environmental variables (air temperature, humidity, air quality, CO2, and noise levels) using a Netatmo smart weather device. The results showed that during the hottest week in April, the indoor air temperature rose by an average of 1.3°C per day, and the humidity dropped by 12%. Additionally, the CO2 level exceeded the acceptable threshold of 1500 ppm during this time. However, the noise level remained within an acceptable range, with the highest daily average being 53 dB. The findings indicate that all the measured indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters met acceptable standards, except for the CO2 level. This study will enhance the understanding of acceptable indoor temperature and CO2 levels, guide indoor thermal comfort and promote a sustainable approach to evaluating building types in Nigeria's hot/dry climate.

Enhancing Facade Design to Improve Energy Efficiency of Office Towers in the Hot and Humid Climate Region (Case Study: Bandung, Indonesia)

Chapter

Full-text available

Nov 2024

Performance Based Design (PBD) makes the design process easier to achieve optimal energy efficiency in office towers. Building performance is impacted by various factors, including decisions related to the shape of the building, its orientation, the building envelope, and the building façade. This study aims to determine the building energy consumption by applying the office building's secondary skin during the hottest season in the hot and climate region. A design solution was obtained by utilizing Sefaira with ASHRAE 90.1 – 2013-based parameters for the building performance analysis application. Building in the hot and humid climate region requires energy for cooling due to the long solar durations. The building facade then is the main architectural element that needs to design properly. Facade design, including the building height, orientation, shadowing, and wall window ratio, define the use of electric devices per square meter. The results showed the building's energy use before the special treatment was 126 kWh/m2/yr from the supposed 79 kWh/m2/yr. The design process that responds to the climate will then influence the building form and massing. It is the initial step for building envelope before requiring mechanical assistance to achieve thermal comfort. The design experiment later takes a 3-m-long balcony for all facades, reduce envelope area with compact form have proven to reduce the building energy use. Those experiments later found able to reduce energy use to 57 kWh/m2/yr or 69 kWh/m2/yr obtained.

Doctoral thesis Biomimicry: Innovative methodology for solar design

Thesis

Full-text available

Oct 2024

Building envelope shape plays a crucial role in determining the building energy performance, by regulating its solar exposure and the incident solar radiation. However, there are limited solar morphing tools that allow the generation of static building envelope. Besides solar potential, building shape performance indicators need to be considered, such as space efficiency and shape coefficient. Therefore, the present study proposes the ‘geo-solar segmentation’ morphing method that can help architects and engineers generate a range of optimal building shapes based on received solar radiation, shape coefficient and space efficiency in the early design stage, under different climate conditions. Accordingly, based on the top–down biomimetic approach, the solar-induced rock cracking mechanism is adopted as a source of inspiration to generate an architectural design concept. It is then, transcribed into a solar design generation and optimisation algorithms using visual programming in Grasshopperְ within the Rhinoceros software. Octopus, an evolutionary solver is used to perform the multi-objective genetic algorithm optimisation. A comparative study is conducted between optimal solar segmented building envelopes and a reference rectangular-based shape. The results demonstrate that under hot climate, optimally segmented building envelopes are 44.90% more effective in terms of solar protection than rectangular-based ones, and allow a trade-off between solar protection and collection under temperate climates. Moreover, the method helps reduce the shape coefficient by at least 10.30% for any climatic location, while ensuring a minimum space efficiency of 95%. The suggested method can be used as an early design-stage tool to enhance static envelope energy performance.

Optimization and prediction of office building shading devices for energy, daylight, and view consideration using genetic and BO-LGBM algorithms

Article

Dec 2024
ENERG BUILDINGS

El gemelo digital en arquitectura: integración de los aspectos ambientales al proceso de proyecto

Conference Paper

Nov 2024

Cristian Gonzalez Torrado

The document examines the use of Digital Twins in architecture as a key tool for integrating environmental aspects into the design process. Defined as a real-time digital representation of a physical system, the Digital Twin allows for the simulation and prediction of architectural outcomes, facilitating decision-making based on complex data. This technology is particularly useful in architectural education, enabling students to experiment with and adjust designs in a virtual environment, fostering more practical and critical learning. The text highlights that the implementation of Digital Twins not only improves resource efficiency and reduces environmental impact but also transforms architectural education, promoting a more active and collaborative role for both students and educators. El documento examina el uso de los Gemelos Digitales en arquitectura como una herramienta clave para integrar aspectos ambientales en el proceso de diseño. Definido como una representación digital en tiempo real de un sistema físico, el Gemelo Digital permite simular y prever resultados arquitectónicos, facilitando la toma de decisiones basada en datos complejos. Esta tecnología es especialmente útil en la educación de arquitectos, permitiendo a los estudiantes experimentar y ajustar diseños en un entorno virtual, fomentando un aprendizaje más práctico y crítico. El texto subraya que la implementación de Gemelos Digitales no solo mejora la eficiencia en el uso de recursos y reduce el impacto ambiental, sino que también transforma la educación arquitectónica, promoviendo un rol más activo y colaborativo de los estudiantes y docentes.

Optimising Thermal-Daylight Performance in Tropical Open-plan Offices: A Coupled OTTV and Daylight Prediction Approach

Article

Nov 2024

In tropical climates, the thermal performance of air-conditioned commercial building envelopes, particularly offices, is commonly assessed using the Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV). Designing office buildings in these regions requires meticulous attention to achieve the optimum thermal-daylight balance, which often has conflicting characteristics. This study aims to enhance the thermal-daylight performance optimization process for open-plan office building envelopes in tropical climates, with Kuala Lumpur as a specific case study. The methodology involves para metric thermal and daylight simulations, incorporating an extensive global sensitivity analysis (GSA) based on the Monte Carlo method. Next, the most critical design parameters affecting daylight provision are identified and used to develop a prediction formula for daylight provision assessment. Finally, the exploration further examines the impact of dominant parameters on energy consumption across diverse urban densities. The results pinpointed the Shading Coefficient (SC 1) and Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) as pivotal factors affecting heat gain. At the same time, obstruction angle (Theta), WWR, and Visible Transmittance (Tvis) significantly influence daylight provision. Furthermore, the developed daylight prediction formula consists of a fast method that can be coupled with OTTV to evaluate and optimise the thermal-daylight performance in the early design stage of office buildings. Moreover, the study reveals potential energy savings of up to 8 %, 4.83 %, and 4 % in very low, medium, and very high urban densities, respectively. These insights and the daylight prediction formula provide valuable tools for optimising building envelope thermal-daylight performance during the early stages of architectural design, offering practical guidance for both practitioners and researchers.

Assessing visual comfort for active building enclosures: a novel simulation workflow for environmentally active top lighting cells

Article

Nov 2024

Multi-objective optimization framework based on review of form-finding of architectural parametric forms

Article

Nov 2024

Parametric architecture has played a vital role in architectural design in recent times. Research on early form-finding of architectural forms represents a notable area of study. Despite the significance of energy performance, digital fabrication, and aesthetics as design objectives, there is a lack of a comprehensive framework that integrates them in the form-finding process. To address this gap, this research conducts a systematic review of previous studies on form-finding and optimization of architectural forms, focusing on the three aforementioned objectives. Then, based on the analysis of the selected studies, the research proposes a multi-objective optimization framework for form-finding of architectural parametric forms, considering energy performance, digital fabrication, and aesthetics. The framework comprises five phases: form generation, multi-objective optimization, aesthetic evaluation, geometry rationalization, and digital fabrication of a prototype. This framework is usable by any architect, regardless of their programming knowledge, and is applicable to any new architectural design.

The impact of Nanomaterials on energy-centric form-finding of educational buildings in semi-Arid climate

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2024

In the modern world, the use of novel technologies in architecture has become highly significant and transformative for human-environment interactions. One of the most critical concerns in architecture is achieving optimal forms and selecting suitable materials for effective design across diverse climatic zones. Also, adopting innovative climate design methods in public spaces, such as educational buildings, is essential due to their strategic urban locations and diverse user populations. Therefore, the research conducted in this study focuses on two main aspects: optimizing building form based on energy consumption and solar radiation received by vertical surfaces, and, selecting appropriate nanomaterials for building surface to reduce energy usage and maintenance costs. This study begins with theoretical foundations, defining the key terms through a comprehensive review of relevant literature. Then, four identical classroom modules with consistent height and floor levels are proposed, and Energy Plus software is used to evaluate the energy consumption based on a module simulation in initial forms of square and rectangle with varying proportions. The best module and orientation is determined using specified climatic data of the coldest and the hottest days of the year. Further, investigations involve combining these modules in various layouts, emphasizing those that align with the functional requirements of educational spaces. Finally, two parameters of energy consumption and solar radiation on vertical surfaces are measured during specified time interval between sunrise and sunset. The results indicate that among the four proposed modules, the 18 × 18 module with a north-south orientation is the most optimal in the semi-arid climate of Tehran, and therefore, Type 3 layout demonstrates the best performance for energy consumption. This is while by incorporating selected nanotechnology (self-cleaning nanomaterial paint), energy usage decreases in all layouts, regardless of the season.

Reducing Uncertainty of Building Shape Information in Urban Building Energy Modeling using Bayesian Calibration

Article

Oct 2024

This study proposes urban building energy modeling that extends beyond single-building-level models to the urban level. However, most urban building energy models use representative buildings that may not accurately reflect the diversity of building shapes, systems, and envelope performance when conducting building energy evaluations at the urban scale. To address this issue, previous studies have utilized representative buildings and Bayesian calibration to estimate uncertain building information parameters without considering building shape information. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to estimate building shape information using artificial neural networks and Bayesian calibration based on building energy consumption data to identify the shape information uncertainty of representative buildings. The results indicate that some shape information can be estimated by comparing the overall distribution of the building stock using the two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Furthermore, we found that the proposed energy modeling methodology yields energy consumption patterns similar to those of the target building stock. This preliminary investigation addresses the uncertainty of representative buildings in urban-scale modeling, elucidates the relationship between building form and energy consumption, and introduces a method for inferring shape information from energy consumption data.

TILTED GLAZING IN BUILDING SIMULATIONS AND ITS EFFECT ON FORM-REFINEMENT OF COMPLEX FACADES

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Aug 2012

Contemporary high-rise buildings can have complex façade configurations, but existing building simulation programs may not have either the capability or user-friendliness to help architects make better decisions early in the design process that could reduce energy use for these forms. This is especially true with faceted and curvilinear building facades where the glazing is not necessarily vertical. Building codes and software often cannot handle these more unusual curtain wall constructions and dynamic geometries. Consideration of these aspects will become increasingly important as parametric forms become more common. Advances in technology have been improving the building design process. One of the important competencies of building professionals is controlling the tremendous amount of data and information that is now associated with buildings. Intelligent software programs allow architects to study design parameters in the design phase, and some of the programs can even suggest design solutions. The ability to use the appropriate software programs and integrate them with design intuition has become one of the most important criteria for a technology-savvy architect in the burgeoning filed of computational design. This paper focuses on tilted glazing and the effect of its angular dependence on direct solar heat gain (DSHG). Spreadsheet calculations were conducted, and the results were linked to an algorithm developed in Grasshopper to demonstrate form refinement of faceted building facades with an emphasis on the angle-dependent DSHG of glazing. This tool can be used at the outset of design or later as one of the components of an energy simulation program where architects can fine tune their initial ideas for the massing of a building. It can help them determine a better tilt angle of glazing for the building and its overall geometry in a specific climate.

Measured daylighting potential of a static optical louver system under real sun and sky conditions

Article

Full-text available

May 2015
BUILD ENVIRON

By utilizing highly specular surfaces and engineered profile geometry, optical sunlight redirecting systems integrated into the overhead “clerestory” zone of the building facade present the potential to enlarge the daylighting zone by redirecting the luminous flux incident on the window deeper into the space than conventional shading systems. In addition, by developing system geometry to redirect daylight to specific zones within the space, optical light redirecting systems have the potential to avoid the glare conditions commonly produced by conventional facade shading systems that direct significant amounts of daylight below head height into the occupant's field of view. In this case study, side-by-side comparisons were made over solstice-to-solstice changes in sun and sky conditions between an optical louver system (OLS) and a conventional Venetian blind set at a horizontal slat angle and located inboard of a south-facing, small-area, clerestory window in a full-scale office testbed. Daylight autonomy (DA), window luminance, and ceiling luminance uniformity were used to assess performance. The performance of both systems was found to have significant seasonal variation, where performance under clear sky conditions improved as maximum solar altitude angles transitioned from solstice to equinox. Although the OLS produced fewer hours per day of DA on average than the Venetian blind, the OLS never exceeded the designated 2000 cd/m2 threshold for window glare. In contrast, the Venetian blind was found to exceed the visual discomfort threshold over a large fraction of the day during equinox conditions (from 40 to 64% of the test day between August 22 and October 12). Notably, these peak periods of visual discomfort occurred during the best periods of daylighting performance. Luminance uniformity was analyzed using calibrated high dynamic range luminance images. Under clear sky conditions, the OLS was found to increase the luminance of the ceiling as well as produce a more uniform distribution of luminance over the ceiling. Compared to conventional venetian blinds, the static optical sunlight redirecting system studied has the potential to significantly reduce the annual electrical lighting energy demand of a daylit space and improve the quality from the perspective of building occupants by consistently transmitting useful daylight while eliminating window glare.

Visual programming for building information modeling: Energy and shading analysis case studies

Article

Nov 2015

Karen Kensek

Although visual programming is being broadly implemented in other disciplines, it has only relatively recently become an important supplement to three-dimensional modeling programs in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Currently, Grasshopper in conjunction with Rhino is a leading example of a visual programming environment that is strongly supported by a user community that is developing additional functionality, but Grasshopper does not yet work directly with building information modeling (BIM) software. Dynamo is relatively new, but shows considerable promise in becoming a constructive tool to complement BIM, 3D modeling, and analysis programs because it includes parametric geometries and works with Revit, a leading BIM software program. Three case studies are described: extensibility of Dynamo through the use of a building energy simulation package, controlling a virtual model’s response through light level sensors, and interactively updating shading components for a building facade based on solar angles. They demonstrate that one can work directly within building information models (BIM) using a visual programming language through updating component parameters. These case studies demonstrate the feasibility of a workflow for sustainable design simulations that is different than that more commonly used -- having a separation between design and analysis models and using a neutral file format exchange such as IFC or gbXML to transfer data. As visual programming languages are still a bit uncommon in the building industry, a short background is provided to place them within the tool set of other customizable tools that designers have been developing.

Designing to Reduce Construction Costs

Article

Dec 1976

Boyd C. Paulson Jr

This paper describes interrelationships between engineering design, construction, and operation costs for a facility, and shows how the ″level of influence″ over those costs decreases precipitously as the project evolves. The level of influence is by far the greatest during engineering and design, while actual expenditures at that stage are relatively small. The level of influence concept can be helpful in forming contractual arrangements that minimize the suboptimization of costs for one party at the expense of overall project costs and benefits. Contractual arrangements should be drawn so as to assure that current construction and operations knowledge will be injected in the design process. ″Construction Management″ and ″design-construct″ , if appropriately tailored to the needs of a particular situation, can be helpful for this purpose. A second important conclusion is that efforts to suboptimize design costs by requiring competitive bidding for professional services are likely to produce much higher project costs in the long run.

The early design stage of a building envelope: Multi-objective search through heating, cooling and lighting energy performance analysis

Article

Sep 2015
APPL ENERG

The majority of decisions in the building design process are taken in the early design stage. This delicate phase presents the greatest opportunity to obtain high performance buildings, but pertinent performance information is needed for designers to be able to deal with multidisciplinary and contrasting objectives. In the present work, an integrative approach for the early stages of building design is proposed to obtain detailed information on energy efficient envelope configurations. By means of genetic algorithms, a multi-objective search was performed with the aim of minimising the energy need for heating, cooling and lighting of a case study. The investigation was carried out for an open space office building by varying number, position, shape and type of windows and the thickness of the masonry walls. The search was performed through an implementation of the NSGA-II algorithm, which was made capable of exchanging information with the EnergyPlus building energy simulation tool. The analyses were conducted both in absence and in presence of an urban context in the climates of Palermo, Torino, Frankfurt and Oslo. In addition, a preliminary analysis on the Pareto front solutions was performed to investigate the statistical variation of the values assumed by the input variables in all the non-dominated solutions. For the analysed case study, results highlighted a small overall Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) of the building in all locations. Pareto front solutions were characterised by low WWR values especially in east, west and north exposed façades. The area of the south facing windows was higher compared to the other orientations and characterised by a higher variability.

Energy assessment of office buildings in China using China building energy codes and LEED 2.2

Article

Jan 2015
ENERG BUILDINGS

Building performance simulation in the early design stage: An introduction to integrated dynamic models

Article

Jun 2015
AUTOMAT CONSTR

Kristoffer Negendahl

Fener: A Radiance-based modelling approach to assess the thermal and daylighting performance of complex fenestration systems in office spaces

Article

Feb 2015
ENERG BUILDINGS

A new Radiance-based modelling approach called Fener is presented. The motivation is to be able to perform detailed analyses of complex fenestration systems (CFS) from the energetic and daylighting points of view in a computationally efficient manner, so the benefits of innovative products can be easily quantified. The model couples daylighting and thermal simulations in a time-step basis, so that shading control strategies that depend on thermal variables, such as indoor air temperature and energy load, can be simulated without iterating between full-year simulations of a thermal model and a daylighting model. Fener is a single-zone energy model that uses the three-phase method and bi-directional scattering distribution functions (BSDF) to predict the transmitted solar irradiance and indoor illuminance of office spaces with CFS. An evaluation of the model is presented. Fener is tested against EnergyPlus and classic Radiance for different fenestration systems and sky conditions. Cooling and heating energy demand, transmitted solar irradiance and indoor illuminance are compared. As an exemplary application, Fener is used to assess the performance of an innovative perforated lamella system together with a control strategy that depends on indoor air temperature.

Building Information Modeling

Book

Apr 2014

Karen Kensek

This is a design guide for architects, engineers, and contractors concerning the principles and specific applications of building information modeling (BIM). BIM has the potential to revolutionize the building industry, and yet not all architects and construction professionals fully understand what the benefits of BIM are or even the fundamental concepts behind it. As part of the PocketArchitecture Series it includes two parts: fundamentals and applications, which provide a comprehensive overview of all the necessary and essential issues. It also includes case studies from a range of project sizes that illustrate the key concepts clearly and use a wide range of visual aids. Building Information Modeling addresses the key role that BIM is playing in shaping the software tools and office processes in the architecture, engineering, and construction professions. Primarily aimed at professionals, it is also useful for faculty who wish to incorporate this information into their courses on digital design, BIM, and professional practice. As a compact summary of key ideas it is ideal for anyone implementing BIM.

U.S. energy savings potential from dynamic daylighting control glazings

Article

Nov 2013
ENERG BUILDINGS

Daylighting controls have the potential to reduce the substantial amount of electricity consumed for lighting in commercial buildings. Material science research is now pursuing the development of a dynamic prismatic optical element (dPOE) window coating that can continuously readjust incoming light to maximize the performance and energy savings available from daylighting controls. This study estimates the technical potential for energy savings available from vertical daylighting strategies and explores additional savings that may be available if current dPOE research culminates in a successful market-ready product. Radiance daylight simulations are conducted with a multi-shape prismatic window coating. Simulated lighting energy savings are then applied to perimeter floorspace estimates generated from U.S. commercial building stock data. Results indicate that fully functional dPOE coatings, when paired with conventional vertical daylight strategies, have the potential to reduce energy use associated with U.S. commercial electric lighting demand by as much as 930TBtu. This reduction in electric lighting demand represents an approximately 85% increase in the energy savings estimated from implementing conventional vertical daylight strategies alone. Results presented in this study provide insight into energy and cost performance targets for dPOE coatings, which can help accelerate the development process and establish a successful new daylighting technology. Published by Elsevier B.V.