Patrick Janssen’s scientific contributions

This paper presents an experimental course focusing on computational design optimization for performance-based building design exploration. The course uses a design system combining a parametric design tool with a cloud-based design evaluation server. The system allows students with no previous parametric modelling skills to conduct a series of complex performance-based design optimizations and subsequently extract knowledge regarding the interrelation between design performance and building form. The paper presents three examples from students’ assignments and their reflections after the use of the system in a design task. The examples demonstrate this course can help early-year students better understand the value and the utility of performance-based design optimization in architectural design.

This study presents a design ranking method for evolutionary optimization that is aimed to address design optimization problems with many performance-related evaluation metrics. The application of the method consists of three strategies. First, all evaluation scores are expressed as percentages that indicate the proportion of the design achieving acceptable performance. Second, related evaluation scores are grouped, and for each group, a combined score is calculated using a weighted product approach. Third, design populations are evolved using the Pareto optimization of the combined evaluation scores. The combination of the three steps helps designers to define and organize the design evaluation metrics and can also produce optimization results revealing meaningful information. A case study is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed design ranking method. The relevance of the proposed method to performance-based evolutionary optimization research is also discussed.KeywordsPerformance-based DesignDesign EvaluationMany-Objective Evolutionary OptimizationArchitectural Design Optimization