scholarly journals The feasibility of 'Building Performance Sketching' within the building design process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elzine Braasch

<p>This study investigated the question of whether or not the distributed model method (DMM) could be perceived by the New Zealand building industry’s architects and engineers as overcoming barriers which prevent them from implementing building performance sketching within their design processes.  Current literature on the barriers to building performance simulation (BPS) have suggested a number of recommendations for tool developers to address, with little documented success to their impact on overcoming these perceived barriers. The recommendations suggested mainly improving tool interoperability for effective design team collaboration, and means to demonstrate model quality assurance. The DMM presented itself within literature as a new means to overcome the difficulties of interoperability faced by the central modelling method, commonly used in building information modelling (BIM), to meet requirements for design team collaboration. With the ability to provide high interoperability and parametric capabilities with detailed simulation programs, the DMM was hypothesised to address all recommendations from literature to overcome the barriers to implementing BPS within the design process. Furthermore, the study proposed the use of building performance sketching as an approach to assess the architectural sketch as a means to ensure quality assurance.  The study concluded that DMM cannot currently address all wants and wishes of users established in literature, but has potential. Future research efforts are required to focus upon: creating industry specific templates for building types; developing these templates to be adaptable for the different modelling operators of the proposed workflow demonstrated to the participants within this study; and developing quality assurance standards for modelling and guidelines for model validation. Finally, the study concluded with future work required beyond tool development: improving education of architects; and introducing legislation.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elzine Braasch

<p>This study investigated the question of whether or not the distributed model method (DMM) could be perceived by the New Zealand building industry’s architects and engineers as overcoming barriers which prevent them from implementing building performance sketching within their design processes.  Current literature on the barriers to building performance simulation (BPS) have suggested a number of recommendations for tool developers to address, with little documented success to their impact on overcoming these perceived barriers. The recommendations suggested mainly improving tool interoperability for effective design team collaboration, and means to demonstrate model quality assurance. The DMM presented itself within literature as a new means to overcome the difficulties of interoperability faced by the central modelling method, commonly used in building information modelling (BIM), to meet requirements for design team collaboration. With the ability to provide high interoperability and parametric capabilities with detailed simulation programs, the DMM was hypothesised to address all recommendations from literature to overcome the barriers to implementing BPS within the design process. Furthermore, the study proposed the use of building performance sketching as an approach to assess the architectural sketch as a means to ensure quality assurance.  The study concluded that DMM cannot currently address all wants and wishes of users established in literature, but has potential. Future research efforts are required to focus upon: creating industry specific templates for building types; developing these templates to be adaptable for the different modelling operators of the proposed workflow demonstrated to the participants within this study; and developing quality assurance standards for modelling and guidelines for model validation. Finally, the study concluded with future work required beyond tool development: improving education of architects; and introducing legislation.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohuan Xie ◽  
Zhonghua Gou

INTRODUCTION Current green building practice has been largely advanced by an integrated design process. This integrated design process involves multiple disciplines, such as architecture, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. The design method heavily relies on utilizing building performance simulation to illustrate how design parameters affect the energy consumption and quality of the indoor environment before actual design decisions are made (Anderson, 2014). The architectural design tools in the integrated design process supersede traditional geometrical exploration instruments, such as Sketchup, Revit, ArchiCad, and Rhino (Negendahl, 2015). More building performance simulating tools, such as Ecotect, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Radiance, and EnergyPlus, have been developed to help architects measure building performance (e.g., natural ventilation, daylighting, solar radiation, and energy uses) in the design process and attain green building standards such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The information presented by these tools guide architects at a certain level in achieving green building goals. However, building simulation is generally beyond the architect's knowledge domain. Many architects have difficulty in understanding these technical terms and models, as well as their design implications. Therefore, specific consultants have emerged to help architects grasp the meanings of these numbers and models, which require architects to implement a high level of design collaboration and coordination (Aksamija, 2015; Gou & Lau, 2014). Simulation consultants can work in parallel with architects at the early design stage to intervene in the conceptual and schematic design; they may also work behind architects to verify the building performance after the design is finished and make their design green through technical alterations. Most existing literature argues for an early intervention of building performance simulation in the architectural design process and explores different algorithms or models for optimal intervention (Degens, Scholzen, & Odenbreit, 2015; Sick, Schade, Mourtada, Uh, & Grausam, 2014; Svetlana Olbina & Yvan Beliveau, 2007). However, the difference between early intervention and late verification is often not investigated. Few qualitative studies can help understand how the building performance simulation is actually implemented, and how it influences the quality of design solutions in addition to the quantity of performance outcomes. The current research presents two case studies that compare building performance simulation as an early intervention and a late verification tool in the architectural design process, which contextualizes the building simulation research in real building practices.


Author(s):  
Wim Zeiler ◽  
Perica Savanovic ◽  
Emile Quanjel

Integral Building Design is done by multi disciplinary design teams and aims at integrating all aspects from the different disciplines involved in a design for a building such as; archtitecture, construction, building physics and building services. It involves information exchange between participants within the design process in amounts not yet known before. To support this highly complex process an Integral Building Design methods is developed based on the combination of a prescriptive approach, Methodical Design, and a descriptive approach, Reflective practice. Starting from the Methodical Design approach by van den Kroonenberg, a more reflective approach is developed. The use of Integral Design within the design process results in a transparency on the taken design steps and the design decisions. Within the design process, the extended prescriptive methodology is used as a framework for reflection on design process itself. To ensure a good information exchange between different disciplines during the conceptual phase of design a functional structuring technique can be used; Morphological Overviews (MO). Morphology provides a structure to give an overview of the consider functions and their solution alternatives. By using this method it is presumed that it helps to structure the communication between the design team members and a such forms a basis for reflection on the design results by the design team members. This method is used in the education program at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and was tested in workshops for students and for professionals from the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA) and the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers (ONRI). Over 250 professionals participated in these workshops.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Angeliki Zanni ◽  
Robby Soetanto ◽  
Kirti Ruikar

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to develop a building information modelling (BIM)-enabled sustainable design process model that identifies critical decisions actions in the design process along with the information and level of detail that facilitate an informed and timely decision. Building performance analysis is usually performed after the design and construction documents are produced, resulting in lost opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – A number of research methods have been adopted; these include extensive literature review and 11 in-depth exploratory interviews with industry practitioners (sustainable building design experts, early BIM adopters). Findings – Project delivery methods have a significant effect on the sustainable outcome of buildings. The development of a structured process can assist sustainable design practice among building professionals. Learning from implemented projects, that have utilised BIM processes, facilitates the scope of creating this process and advises future projects to prevent failures. Process mapping is essential to streamline the process, support key project processes and help the design team manage their own responsibilities and deliverables required by them. Originality/value – The identification of the gap and the need for a structured process for sustainable building design for BIM execution is discussed. The synergies that exist between BIM, building performance modelling, Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method assessment and the Royal Institute of British Architects Plan of Work are shown. The effect that project delivery has on sustainable design outcome has been established. A coordinated collaborative design process model is presented based on the findings from interviewing early adopters.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael Robert Donn

<p>The spur for this research was a lack of use by architecture practitioners of the environmental design decision support tools (eddst’s) they learn to use during their education. It was hypothesised that lessons for the improvement of eddst’s could be found in a systematic examination of the problems encountered by design teams with a range of currently available eddst’s. The research plan was to establish through surveys and case studies how practising architects who have tried to use building eddst’s assess the effectiveness of these tools. A range of different types of eddst was examined, each addressing a different aspect of the environment in buildings. The research did not achieve its original goal of developing a formula for the generation of new eddst’s for architects in the fields of building acoustics, lighting, thermal design and aerodynamics. What was found is a more fundamental common denominator underlying building design eddst’s: the need for built-in Quality Assurance measures that assure not only the architect, but also the simulationist and the client of the reality of the ebuilding performance predictions. It was found that contrary to their general reputation, designers do want detailed quantitative environmental information. They want to be able to discuss costs and benefits of decisions. However, they also want to be able to understand and trust this information. The output from eddst’s must therefore also be qualitative in the sense that it communicates the quality of life resulting from a design decision. What is proposed therefore for designers and simulationists is Quality Assurance (QA) procedures that are codified and incorporated into the design tools themselves. These are to ensure that the ‘black box’ of a digital simulation of building performance yields information that designers feel they can trust. The research demonstrates that to address the issues identified in the practitioner surveys, a Quality Control (QC) reality test is the single most important feature needed in any QA process. This would be a reality test that examines whether the ebuildings constructed with an eddst behave in a believable manner - like a ‘real’ building. The proposed Simulation QA (SimQA) approach is an internet web service. It is a database of the databases available on the internet of Quality Assured performance data. Each time a person sets up a new Quality tested eddst input file or measures a building, it becomes another “data point” - another database listed in the SimQA metadata. Also required in a robust QA process is the development of international norms for the simulation of building performance. www.aecsimqa.net is proposed as the venue for the development of an international documentation standard for simulation. Finally, modern computer-based building performance simulation has not rid the design profession of its traditional problem with design tools: that they evaluate completed designs. The proposed database will make web-accessible a set of tested building designs and their associated performance measures. Placed at the designer’s fingertips this will reveal insights into how their current building design should perform. It should be possible to generate initial design ideas based on systematic study of the successful precedents!</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Brembilla ◽  
Christina J Hopfe ◽  
John Mardaljevic ◽  
Anastasia Mylona ◽  
Eirini Mantesi

A new set of CIBSE weather files for building performance simulation was recently developed to address the need for better quality solar data. These are essential for most building performance simulation applications, particularly for daylighting studies and low-energy building design, which requires detailed irradiation data for passive solar design and overheating risk analysis. The reliability of weather data becomes paramount when building performance is pushed to its limits. Findings illustrate how principles of good window design can be applied to a case study building, built to the Passivhaus standard, and how its expected performance is affected by the quality of solar irradiation data. Analyses using test reference years were most affected by changes in the solar radiation model (up to 8.3% points), whereas for design summer years the maximum difference was 1.7% points. Adopting the new model caused overheating risk to be classified as more severe using test reference years than design summer years, prompting a discussion on the design summer year selection method. Irradiance data measured on-site were used as a benchmark to evaluate the new solar radiation model, which was found to significantly improve the accuracy of irradiance data within weather files and so the reliability of overheating assessments. Practical application: CIBSE weather files are widely used for compliance verification of building performance in the UK context. This paper tests how the introduction of a new solar radiation model in weather files will affect daylighting and overheating simulation results. Examples are given on how low-energy building design considerations driven by advanced simulation techniques can help reaching indoor visual and thermal comfort requirements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Ardeshir Mahdavi

This paper addresses the model validation challenges relevant to representation of inhabitants' presence and behavior in buildings. Motivated by the lack of general guidelines for the evaluation of user-related behavioural models in building performance simulation, the paper underlines the need for rigorous processes toward quality assurance while integrating behavioural representations in building performance simulation applications and processes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 206 ◽  
pp. 02010
Author(s):  
Nissa Aulia Ardiani ◽  
Suhendri ◽  
Mochamad Donny Koerniawan ◽  
Rachmawan Budiarto

Designed in Brutalism style by architect Andrew Renton, Tower Building has 17 floors for academic and lecturers’ office function. As the highest point in University of Nottingham, this tower has been built for almost five decades. The aim of this project is to propose the tower retrofit from current function to accommodation purpose. Improvement in terms of function and building energy performance by applying sustainable building technologies are the objectives of the retrofit. The advanced plan of building retrofit was proposed after assessing the current building performance and determined the problems. The proposed building design was based on building performance simulation result, literature, and precedent studies. Thereafter, several technologies and design ideas were applied for further investigation, to examine how is the strategies works in the building retrofit. Integrated double skin façade with BIPV, bio composite material for internal wall, double low-e glass for external wall, as well as green lung to improve natural ventilation and create public space were proposed for the building.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document