Program
All SimAUD 2015 paper presentations will take place on April 13-15 (Monday-Wednesday).
For those interested, the overarching SpringSim Conference is hosting a poster session on Sunday, April 12, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. SimAUD submissions on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will be among the posters presented. There are also tutorials on Sunday from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM. For more information, see the SpringSim 2015 Website or download the SpringSim 2015 Program.
SimAUD participants are encouraged to attend the SpringSim keynotes on Monday and Tuesday mornings (see schedule below). For those interested, there is also an awards session and third SpringSim keynote on Wednesday, April 15, from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM (scheduled in parallel with the first SimAUD session on Wednesday).
Below is the SimAUD 2015 Program. Click here for a printable version.
Invited Talks
SpringSim Keynote
Simulation in the Scientific Study of Religion
Wesley J. Wildman – Boston University
Presenter Biography
See Abstract and Speaker Bio on the SpringSim Website
SimAUD Keynote
Stochasticity in Building and Urban Simulation
Darren Robinson – University of Nottingham
Presenter Biography
Professor Darren Robinson is Chair in Building and Urban Physics at the University of Nottingham’s Faculty of Engineering where he heads the environmental Physics and design research group (ePad) and directs the cross-faculty Laboratory of Urban Complexity And Sustainability (LUCAS). His personal research activities lie at the intersection between social physics (people), building physics (buildings) and urban physics (city): people | buildings | city; in particular building and urban energy micro-simulation, incorporating stochastic models of peoples’ presence, activities, behaviours and comfort.
In recent years Darren has held teaching positions at EPFL (2004-2011), the Architectural Association (2002-2004) and Cambridge University (1998-2000), and worked in industry as an Associate with BDSP Partnership (2000-2004).
He has over 100 refereed scientific publications to his credit including the book "Computer modelling for sustainable urban design". He sits on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Building Performance Simulation (JBPS), the Building and Environment (BAE) Journal and the on-line journal Sustainability. Darren is a recipient of the CIBSE Napier-Shaw Medal and the JPBS Best Paper Prize, and a two-time recipient of the BAE Best Paper Award.
SpringSim Keynote
Overcoming the Barriers: Getting Simulation Used in Healthcare
Sally Brailsford – University of Southampton
Presenter Biography
See Abstract and Speaker Bio on the SpringSim Website
Paper Abstracts
Simulating Human Behavior in not-yet Built Environments by means of Event-based Narratives
Davide Schaumann, Yehuda E. Kalay, Seung Wan Hong and Davide Simeone
Current Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) systems fail to represent buildings in-use before their realization. This failure prevents testing the extent to which a proposed setting supports the activities of its intended users. We present a novel approach to human behavior simulation based on a thorough representation of end-user activities by means of events – computational constructs that simulate users' individual and group activities to achieve a specific goal. Human behavior narratives result from a combination of top-down (planned) and bottom-up (unplanned) sequences of events, as a reaction to time-based schedules and to social and environmental stimuli, respectively. A narrative management system orchestrates the narrative developments and resolves conflicts that may arise among competing events.
Capturing an Architectural Knowledge Base Utilizing Rules Engine Integration for Energy and Environmental Simulations
Holly T. Ferguson, Charles F. Vardeman II and Aimee P. C. Buccellato
The era of "Big Data" presents new challenges and opportunities to impact how the built environment is designed and constructed. Modern design tools and material databases should be more scalable, reliable, and accessible to take full advantage of the quantity of available building data. New approaches providing well-structured information can lead to robust decision support for architectural simulations earlier in the design process; rule-based decision engines and knowledge bases are the link between current data and useful decision frameworks. Integrating distributed API-based systems means that material data silos existing in modern tools can become enriched and extensible for future use with additional data from building documents, other databases, and the minds of design professionals. The PyKE rules engine extension to the Green Scale (GS) Tool improves material searches, creates the opportunity for incorporating additional rules via a REST interface, and enables integration with the Semantic Web via Linked Data principles.
Digital Campus Innovation Project: Integration of Building Information Modelling with Building Performance Simulation and Building Diagnostics
Zixiao Shi, Aly Abdelalim, William O'Brien, Ramtin Attar, Peter Akiki, Katie Graham, Barbara Van Waarden, Steve Fai, Alex Tessier and Azam Khan
Building Information Modelling (BIM) has emerged as a powerful technology that creates a central hub for managing building energy and resources at all phases of the building life cycle. Without it, many tools that lack interoperability are used, thus massively under-exploiting the efforts of other building design and management parties; this largely describes the status quo. However, despite the power of BIM, it has not been readily adopted by industry, and especially not at the community and campus scale. Digital Campus Innovation (DCI) is a large multi-year and multidisciplinary project involving development of a methodology for use of BIM for operation and maintenance of a portion of Carleton University's 45 interconnected buildings. Major elements include: (1) development of highly-detailed BIM models for site and buildings; (2) conversion from BIM models to building performance simulation (BPS) models; (3) model validation using measured data; (4) building Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) using advanced algorithms and calibrated modelling; and (5) advanced building performance data visualization on top of 3D BIM model. This paper will describe the methodologies that are being developed while demonstrating the ongoing processes by a case study of Canal Building, a part of DCI project. While the project is only one year old, impactful examples have already demonstrated BIM as an invaluable technology that improves indoor environment quality, reduces energy costs, and has a potential application for asset management.
Forensically Discovering Simulation Feedback Knowledge from a Campus Energy Information System
Clayton Miller and Arno Schlueter
Simulation model calibration has been long identified as a key means of reconciling the consumption and efficiency characteristics of buildings. A key step in this process is the creation of the actual diversity factor profiles for occupancy and various energy end uses such as lighting, plug-loads, and HVAC. Creation of these model inputs is conventionally a tedious process of site surveys, interviews or temporary sensor installation. Sometimes measured energy data can be used to create these schedules, however there are many challenges, especially when the sensor network available is large or unorganized. This paper describes a process applying a series of knowledge discovery filters to screen data quality, weather sensitivity, and temporal breakouts from large nonresidential building performance datasets collected by building management and energy information systems (BMS/EIS). These screening techniques are used to qualify the desirability for calibrated model diversity schedule creation from a forensic perspective. A diurnal pattern filtering technique is then applied that automatically extracts frequent daily performance profiles, which can then be normalized and used as model inputs according to conventional industry techniques. The process is applied on a raw dataset of 389 power meter data streams collected for eight years from the EIS of a campus of 32 higher education buildings. The results are discussed in the context of time and effort savings for creating urban and building scale simulation model inputs.
Multiobjective Optimization of Structure and Visual Qualities
Kirk Martini
The paper describes and demonstrates an optimization tool that combines methods developed independently in the fields of structural engineering and fine art. Optimization has a long history in structural engineering. Most commonly, structural optimization seeks a configuration that minimizes material volume, subject to constraints on strength and stiffness. Metaheuristic search methods, such as genetic algorithms, have been widely applied to structural optimization problems. Such methods have also been applied in the field of evolutionary art. This field seeks to produce aesthetic images or objects through an iterative search, guided by visual, rather than functional objectives. The paper presents the Variable Evolutionary Strategy for Pareto Optimization (Vespo), and demonstrates its use to integrate visual objective functions like those in evolutionary art with technical objective functions and constraints in structural optimization. The goal is to aid a designer in developing an efficient structure with desired visual qualities. The work is motivated in part by the prominent trend in contemporary architecture toward randomized, free-form structures.
Decomposition Strategies for Building Envelope Design Optimization Problems
Steve Barg, Forest Flager and Martin Fischer
The design of a building’s envelope, including exterior walls, glazing and shading elements, has a significant impact on the life-cycle cost and environmental impact of the facility. Computational Design Optimization (CDO) methods have been developed to assist architects and engineers to systematically search through large numbers of design alternatives to identify high-performing building envelope solutions. This paper presents a method to quantitatively compare different CDO approaches in terms of solution quality and computational efficiency. To demonstrate the method we compare four CDO methods: two single-level genetic algorithms, a single-level gradient-based algorithm that maps continuous solutions back to discrete options, and a bi-level decomposition with a gradient-based algorithm operating on continuous variables nested within a genetic algorithm operating on discrete variables. The example chosen for benchmarking purposes is a midrise apartment building in Chicago. The results show that the all-in-one multiple objective genetic algorithm is the most computationally efficient and produced superior solution quality. The limited breadth of the current results does not allow general conclusions about the methods, but does demonstrate a methodology for further evaluation of optimization techniques.
Optimizing Creatively in Multi-Objective Optimization
Yassin Ashour and Branko Kolarevic
Designers will always face the challenge of designing well-performing buildings using what are often conflicting and competing objectives. Early stage design decisions influence significantly the final performance of a building and designers are often unable to explore large numbers of design alternatives with respect to the performative criteria set for the project. This research outlines a ‘creative optimization workflow’ using a Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) engine called Octopus that runs within Grasshopper3D, a parametric modeling tool, and simulation software DIVA for daylight factor analysis. The workflow utilizes a ‘creative optimization tool’ which allows the designer to explore, sort and filter solutions, and analyze both quantitatively and qualitatively the trade-offs of the resultant design solution space. It enables the designer to visually compare alternative solutions in a gallery and subsequently analyze trade-offs through a radar-based chart, parallel coordinate plot graphs and conditional domain searches. This feedback tools allows the designer to quickly and efficiently identify potential solutions for either design development or to select preferred solutions for further optimization, i.e. ‘optimizing creatively’. A retrospective design case study, the ‘De Rotterdam’ building, is used to demonstrate the application of the tools. The workflow demonstrates the ability to reduce design latency and to allow for better understanding of design solutions. Additional research is needed to better understand the application of MOO in the early stages of design; and the further improvement of the creative optimization tools to accommodate the designer’s need for a more dynamic and synergistic process.
A Multi Agent Systems for Design Simulation Framework: Experiments with Virtual Physical Social Feedback for Architecture
David Jason Gerber, Evangelos Pantazis, Arsalan Heydarian and Leandro Marcolino
This paper presents continuing research on the development of multi-agent systems (MAS) for integrated and performance driven architectural design. It presents the development of a research framework that bridges architecture and engineering, through a series of simulation based experiments. The research is motivated to combine multiple design agencies into a system for managing and optimizing intricacy across complex architectural form, on objectives and contexts. The research anticipates the incorporation of feedback from real world human behavior and user preferences with physics based structural form finding and environmental analysis data. The framework is a multi-agent system that provides design teams with informed design solutions, which simultaneously optimize and satisfy competing design objectives. The initial results of the multi-agent systems approach for building structures- hypothetical and real- are measured in terms of the level of lighting improvements and qualitatively in geometric terms. Critical to the research is the elaboration of the system and the feedback loops that are possible in using the multi-agent systems approach.
Exploratory Sequential Data Analysis for Multi-Agent Occupancy Simulation Results
Simon Breslav, Rhys Goldstein, Azam Khan and Kasper Hornbæk
In this paper we apply the principles of Exploratory Sequential Data Analysis (ESDA) to simulation results analysis. We replicate a resource consumption simulation of occupants in a building and analyze the results using an open-source ESDA tool called UberTagger previously only used in the human-computer interaction (HCI) domain. We demonstrate the usefulness of ESDA by applying it to a hotel occupant simulation involving water and energy consumption. We have found that using a system which implements ESDA principles helps practitioners better understand their simulation models, form hypotheses about simulated behavior, more effectively debug simulation code, and more easily communicate their findings to others.
Occupant-Aware Indoor Monitoring for Enhanced Building Analysis
Dimosthenis Ioannidis, Stelios Krinidis, Anastasios Drosou, Dimitrios Tzovaras and Spiridon Likothanassis
In this paper a novel, cost-effective and robust occupancy monitoring system is presented, which is based on a fuzzy confidence voting algorithm utilizing spatial height histograms. Spatial height histograms are invariant to rotations and translations, providing this way a desirable feature to occupancy measurement systems, and when combined with distance coefficients can fix an occupancy feature vector, which is the main source for the fuzzy confidence voting occupant tracking algorithm. The proposed occupancy extraction system can be efficiently applied to multi-space environments using a privacy preserving multi-camera cloud. Statistics per building, space and occupant can be finally extracted by the system. The experimental results will illustrate its robustness, accuracy and efficiency on occupancy extraction.
A System for Tracking and Visualizing Social Interactions in a Collaborative Work Environment
Mani Williams, Jane Burry, Asha Rao and Nathan Williams
This paper presents our work on indoor tracking and demonstrates its capacity as a data collection system for the study of socio-spatial interactions that occur in a collaborative work environment. Deployed at a recent week-long international design workshop, our system was able to track the movements of more than fifty people from various roles, and generate live visualizations. In this paper we will present the data collection system and the system configurations, the complete dataset collected and sample visualization scripts to stimulate further research in the area of people interaction study and its relation to spatial usage.
((MODYPLAN)) - Early-Stage Hospital Simulation with Emphasis on Cross-Clinical Treatment Chains
Gabriel Wurzer, Wolfgang E. Lorenz, Matthias Rössler, Irene Hafner, Niki Popper and Barbara Glock
Health trusts are aiming to consolidate the clinical landscape: The provision of medical services, now handled by individual clinics, is to be transformed such that the patient volume can be redirected between different specialized service providers. As implication, hospital planning needs to embrace the subject of cross-clinical development rather than looking at each facility in isolation. In this context, we have been developing ((MODYPLAN)), a cross-clinical simulation for early-stage architectural planning. Our software takes the patient volume as input and redirects it to different facilities, each one having a different spatial layouts and treatment capacity. As outputs, we obtain the utilization and occupancy of each service unit on which we can base further analysis concerning bottlenecks. Furthermore, different configurations of the clinical landscape can be compared, facilitating a multi-faceted discussion among stakeholders (clinical providers, their staff and patients). As audience, we target hospital administration, architects and process designers preparing or working on tenders. Such an early application of cross-clinical simulation is, to the best of our knowledge, yet unprecedented.
Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms for the Minimisation of the Life Cycle Carbon Footprint and Life Cycle Cost of the Refurbishment of a Residential Complex`s Envelope: A Case Study
Yair Schwartz, Rokia Raslan and Dejan Mumovic
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is an environmental assessment and management framework that aims to simplify the decision-making processes of manufacturing and consumption, with regard to their environmental impact. In the built environment, LCA is often used as a comparative tool that helps in choosing one design alternative over another. Most LCA studies compare a limited number of design alternatives due to the complexity of the method.
The main goal of this study is to examine the various Life Cycle aspects of a refurbishment of a case study, and explore the potential of using Multi Objective Genetic Algorithms (MOGA) with Dynamic Thermal Simulation Tool (EnergyPlus) to find optimal refurbishment measures in terms of Life Cycle Carbon Footprint (LCCF) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) over an assumed life span of 60 years.
Results show that MOGA successfully identified optimal design solutions, when taking into account both basic design aspects such as window-to-wall ratio or envelope build-ups, but also more detailed ones, such as thermal bridges insulation and the use of different fuel types for energy generation.
Optimization of Passive Cooling Control Thresholds with GenOpt and EnergyPlus
Alexandra R. Rempel and Stephen J. Remington
Passive cooling strategies (e.g. shading, natural ventilation, use of thermal mass) can effectively reduce a building's cooling load during hot summer weather. Such techniques have been well-studied, with the provision that precedent work assumes operable shading devices, windows, and vents are operated according to pre-determined schedules or setpoints. This work, in contrast, investigates numerical optimization of the setpoints themselves.
Among space types most useful for studying passive cooling are unconditioned zones such as sunspaces, because they can easily overheat on sunny days and because heat loss pathways in the forms of wind, cool night air, cold night skies, ground contact, and precipitation can sum to a sizable proportion of the cooling load in temperate climates. At the same time, the transition of a given path between heat gain and loss may be undetectable to an occupant, causing manual controls to be ineffective and mechanical controls to be of interest.
Here, GenOpt was used to manage optimizations of shading and natural ventilation control thresholds, as well as auxiliary optimizations of shading type, material, and position; vent area; and thermal mass quantities, within a field-validated EnergyPlus sunspace model. Results predicted that controls operated according to optimized setpoints should maintain peak indoor temperatures 8-10°C (14-18°F) below outside air temperatures during the hottest August afternoons of the sunspace's native American Pacific Northwest climate. In addition, optimization data established clear priorities among field configurations to be tested, showing the potential to simplify subsequent field validation greatly.
Toward Pre-Simulated Guidelines for Low-Energy High-Rise Residential Design in Megacities
Holly Samuelson, Apoorv Goyal, Sebastian Claussnitzer, Alejandra Romo-Castillo, Yujiao Chen and Arpan Bakshi
In order to improve early decision-making for similar projects, the authors used parametric energy simulation with the eventual aim of providing pre-design guidance for multiple teams of architects and policy-makers. The authors investigated high-rise, multi-family residential buildings in three megacities as case studies. They tested the impact of various design parameters on different energy objectives that they anticipate including in their pre-design resource. The research included three parts. (1) The authors identified synergies and trade-offs, in terms of early design decisions, when designing for different energy objectives, including (a) reducing annual energy consumption, (b) shaving peak-energy demand, and (c) increasing passive survivability – i.e., maintaining the safest interior temperatures in an extended power outage. (2) They performed sensitivity analyses to identify the impact of various design parameters – which included building form, window-to-wall ratio, envelope construction, shading design, and others – in the presence of confounding variables such as varying internal loads. (3) The authors investigated the impact of urban context. Since in generalized guidelines the future building site is unknown, the authors tested a method for generating an urban context based on the floor area ratio and maximum building heights of an urban district. These tests support the larger idea of eventually creating a comprehensive, pre-simulated resource for pre-design.
A Digital Design and Fabrication Library
Stylianos Dritsas
The goal of our system, for lack of better name at moment named as Alpha, is to offer an integrated approach to digital design and fabrication with capabilities beyond computer aided design and manufacturing. We attempt this to identify new modes of digital design thinking and to address the broader picture, that is, the challenge of translating between design and its production. It is to understand the complexity of design and its implications in production, to enable and perform architectural design analysis, rationalization and design performance optimization. We integrate visual: geometric modeling and simulation components; and non-visual: mathematical modeling and numerical optimization techniques. The intended audience at the current early stage of development is the research community in digital design and fabrication and design education with later goal of expanding to production.
Aware Design Models
Martin Tamke
Appearing almost alive, a novel set of computational design models can become an active counterpart for architects in the design process. The ability to loop, sense and query and the integration of near real-time simulation provide these models with a depth and agility that allows for instant and informed feedback. Introducing the term “Aware models”, the paper investigates how computational models become an enabler for a better informed architectural design practice, through the embedding of knowledge about constraints, behaviour and processes of formation and making into generative design models. The inspection of several computational design projects in architectural research highlights three different types of awareness a model can possess and devises strategies to establish and finally design with aware models.
This design practice is collaborative in nature and characterized by a bidirectional flow of information. The concept of the aware model addresses hence the current infrastructures of digital design models and processes, which impede technologically and methodologically feedback between disciplines and processes.
Curve-Folded Form-Work for Cast, Compressive Skeletons
Shajay Bhooshan, Vishu Bhooshan, Ashwin Shah, Henry Louth and David Reeves
The research described in this paper explores the synergy between the methods of form-finding (for funicular loads) with curved-crease folding(CCF). The paper will propose a two-step process that combines a form-finding method that finds the form under vertical loading and with a mesh-perturbation method that solves for planarity and develop-ability constraints. The resulting geometry will be shown to be amenable to construct curve-crease folded moulds for concrete casting. The paper will also describe the design of a demonstrative prototype - a self-supporting structure composed of bar-elements that are formed by casting concrete into molds that are curve-folded from sheet material.
A Physical and Numerical Simulation Strategy to Understand the Impact of the Dynamics in Air for the Design of Porous Screens
Mani Williams, Rafael Moya, Daniel Prohasky, Mehrnoush Latifi Khorasgani, Simon Watkins, Mark Burry, Jane Burry and Philip Belesky
This paper describes a virtual and physical design and prototyping strategy intended to aid designers to understand the relational dynamic between airflow and porous screens for building facades at the conceptual design stage. The strategy consists of three main components: 1) A prototyping phase involving a combination of computer aided modeling (CAM), physical additive and subtractive fabrication; 2) A virtual simulation phase using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software; 3) A physical simulation phase of experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) using a miniature wind tunnel (MWT) and microelectronic measurement systems (MEMS) that measure: wind speed, air temperature and relative humidity. The design strategy supports the designer to make design decisions based on relevant feedback from both CFD and EFD methods – covering a vast design solution space. The tools utilized within this design strategy are presented as a kit containing parts that are relatively inexpensive, easy to assemble, and have been successfully user-tested at an international design workshop. The paper includes the description of the application of the strategy combining CFD, MWT, MEMs and real time visualization to the design and study of various porous screens produced during the design workshop.
Assessing the Energy and IAQ Potential of Dynamic Minimum Ventilation Rate Strategies in Offices
César Porras-Amores and Spencer Dutton
The energy and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) implications of varying monthly minimum ventilation rates (VRs) in California offices were assessed using EnergyPlus and its integrated multi-zone contaminant modeling feature to predict HVAC energy use and average indoor concentrations of formaldehyde. Minimum mechanical ventilation rates were varied monthly: rates were lowered below Title 24 prescribed values for months when the energy penalty of providing ventilation air was highest; rates were raised during temperate months. For each of California’s sixteen climate zones numerical methods identified the optimal combination of monthly ventilation rates that both lowered annual HVAC energy use and maintained average annual formaldehyde exposure below specified levels. Reference models used the fixed minimum ventilation rates prescribed in California’s Title 24 Standard.
In buildings without economizers, optimal monthly strategies reduced total HVAC energy consumption up to 21.7% and reduced indoor formaldehyde concentrations up to 44%. The benefits in buildings with economizers were much smaller with a maximum energy savings 0.3%. In temperate climates, in buildings without economizers, increasing ventilation rates all year round reduced annual contaminant exposures and lowered annual HVAC energy. A secondary benefit of the optimal variable ventilation strategy was a reduction of peak cooling electricity up to 17% in hotter climates.
A Comparative Study of Mixed Mode Simulation Methods: Approaches in Research and Practice
Priya Gandhi, Gail Brager and Spencer Dutton
This project explores how both researchers and practitioners use simulation methods for naturally-ventilated and mixed mode buildings. A focused literature review was conducted to outline the modeling tools and methods used by researchers, including appropriate tools and the importance of site-specific wind data and accurate wind pressure coefficients. The literature review also summarized research on window opening behavior, noting that there is little practical guidance for practitioners interested in related stochastic modeling techniques. The second phase of the project involved conducting interviews with practitioners who model naturally-ventilated and mixed mode buildings. Practitioners reported that they would like to see more integrated tools, tools with improved result visualizations, and early-phase design tools.
A New Approach to Modeling Frit Patterns for Daylight Simulation
Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari and Anne Waelkens
With recent progress in the development of affordable and faster digital design techniques and production methods, as well as the rising demand for buildings with better thermal and visual comfort, the use of frit patterns is becoming more common. There is a great diversity of fritted materials, but there are limited highly technical solutions for evaluating the effects of using these materials. This paper introduces a custom workflow for modeling frit patterns for daylight simulation on buildings, which streamlines quantitative and qualitative daylight analysis by using parametric modeling tools such as Grasshopper3D, in association with validated lighting rendering engine Radiance. The presented method was applied to a real-world project with custom ETFE facade elements and complex geometries to explain the capabilities of the workflow.
Remote Solving: A Methodological Shift in Collaborative Building Design and Analysis
Matthew Naugle and Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari
This paper presents a cross-disciplinary design workflow utilizing automated computation as a means for enabling rapid design and engineering collaboration between architecture engineering and construction (AEC) project teams. The workflow, known as Remote Solving, connects digital design models to remotely hosted bespoke engineering analysis engines to provide near real-time engineering feedback. This workflow fundamentally changes the way design and engineering practices may communicate information, resulting in design solutions that embody a fully integrated approach to design and engineering in digital practice. The paper provides an understanding of the fundamental technologies and methodologies that constitute a Remote Solving workflow alongside a case study demonstrating a prototype project designed to leverage this method of collaboration.
ComfortCover: A Novel Method for the Design of Outdoor Shades
Christopher Mackey, Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari and Panagiotis Samaras
Over the past few decades, several methods for designing shades to reduce energy loads of buildings have emerged. However, to date there are virtually no agreed upon methods available to assist in the design of outdoor shades to keep people comfortable. Here we present a novel method named ComfortCover to assist in the design of static shades in outdoor conditions using a 3-step methodology adapted from the current state-of-the-art process for the design of building shades.
The first step is an assessment of radiation falling on a person and the calculation of a corresponding solar-adjusted radiant temperature for every hour of the year. Second, this temperature is fed into an hourly calculation of Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Lastly, this UTCI is fed into an algorithm that projects sun vectors for every hour of the year from the location of a person through a surface where shade design is being considered. Each of the vectors is associated with a UTCI and a temperature difference from a ‘comfort temperature’ that is summed up for every subdivision of the test shade to color it with shade helpfulness (blue), shade harmfulness (red) and no major effect of shade (white).
Simulating Human Visual Experience in Stadiums
Roland Hudson and Michael Westlake
In this paper we describe progress to date of software that simulates occupant experience in high capacity sports venues. Our simulation aims to provide metrics that indicate quality of view, and in doing so generates data that indicates levels of human comfort. This approach enables the design process to be driven from the perspective of the occupant. In particular we implement a novel means of simulating and expressing quality-of-view that addresses deficiency’s in the standard method of describing view quality. Visualisation of the simulation output is via an online 3D viewer shared with the entire design team. Views from any seat location can be inspected and data fields from the simulation can be compared. Data is represented with colour scales bound to a 3D seating bowl model. Using simulation to understand spectator experience from within a 3D environment challenges the validity of traditional design approaches that are based on two-dimensional thinking and drafting board logic. Our simulated study of view quality enables us to consider revisions to these traditional techniques which could lead to more spatially efficient seating facilities. Increasing spectator density is believed to enhance atmospheric qualities, this combined with better views will contribute towards an improved occupant experience.
Self-Organizing City: Experiments using Multi-Agent Model and Space Syntax
Ming Tang
This paper describes a process of using local interactions to generate intricate global patterns and emergent urban forms. Starting with network topology optimization, agent-based model (ABM) is used to construct the micro-level complexity within a simulated environment. The authors focus on how agent-driven emergent patterns can evolve during the simulation in response to the “hidden hand” of macro-level goals. The research extends to the agents’ interactions driven by a set of rules and external forces. An evaluation method is investigated by combining network optimization with space syntax. The multi-phase approach starts with defining the self-organizing system, which is created by optimizing its topology with ABM. A macro-level “attraction map” is generated based on space syntax analysis. Then the map is used to control various construction operations of an adaptive urban model.
Computing Curved-Folded Tessellations through Straight-Folding Approximation
Suryansh Chandra, Axel Körner, Antiopi Koronaki, Rachelle Spiteri, Radhika Amin, Samidha Kowli and Michael Weinstock
The research presented in this paper explores curved-crease tessellations to manufacture freeform geometries for architectural and industrial design. The work draws inspiration from the ease of shaping paper into double-curved geometries through repeating fold patterns and the observed stiffening of curved surfaces.
Since production of large scale curved-folded geometries is challenging due to the lack of generalised methods, we propose an interactive design system for curved crease tessellation of freeform geometries. The methods include the development of curved folding patterns on the local scale as well as a novel computational method of applying those patterns to polysurfaces. Using discretized, straight-line fold approximations of curved folds in order to simplify computation and maintain interactivity, this approach guarantees developable surfaces on the local scale while keeping the double curved appearance of the global geometry.
Analyzing Indoor Comfort Conditions through Simulation and On-Site Measurements
Raghuram Sunnam, Annie Marston, Zhuzhou Fu and Oliver Baumann
ASHRAE standard 55-2013 defines thermal comfort of occupants as a mental state of satisfaction with regard to the thermal environment. Mechanical designers design HVAC systems to condition an occupied space so as to provide thermal comfort to at least 80% of the occupants. Thermal comfort is dependent on various physiological and psychological aspects of the occupants and it is defined by ASHRAE standard 55 based on – 1. Metabolic rate, 2. Clothing insulation, 3. Air temperature, 4. Radiant temperature, 5. Air speed, 6. Humidity. This paper presents the thermal comfort study of five conference rooms in the ground level of a 16 story office building in Frankfurt. The conference rooms are conditioned by a direct outdoor air system (DOAS) and radiant ceiling panels for cooling and heating. This paper discusses the modeling approach and the simulation results that were used by the project team to determine the additional cooling capacity needed by the conference rooms. The simulation results were used to make informed decisions about the number of chilled beams required in the conference rooms. Further, the measurements recorded on the site during the commissioning process were used to compare against the simulation results.
Approaching Biomimetics: Optimization of Resource Use in Buildings using a System Dynamics Modeling Tool
Mercedes Garcia-Holguera, Grant Clark, Aaron Sprecher and Susan Gaskin
The biomimetic field in architecture is developing tools for transferring processes and functions from biological systems to buildings. Buildings, like ecosystems, are dynamic and complex systems, thus studying their dynamics from a systems thinking perspective might bring insight to some environmental problems. STELLA®, a software commonly used to model environmental dynamics, was used to identify approaches for energy optimization in the Great River Energy Building. Long-term energy flows and thermal properties of the building were modeled to understand the feedback loops that control the behavior of the building system. The simulation showed that optimization of passive building parameters produced considerable energy savings, but more active strategies would be necessary to make the Great River Energy building a net-zero energy building. This exercise showed how the STELLA® software can represent the dynamic behavior of buildings as well as the dynamic behavior of environmental systems, and the potential of this tool for biomimetic research in architecture.
Development of a Modeling Strategy for Adaptive Multifunctional Solar Energy Building Envelope Systems
Nicholas Novelli, Justin Shultz and Anna Dyson
To achieve significant progress towards global targets for clean on-site energy self-sufficiency within the building sector, the integration of adaptive high efficiency solar collection systems into building envelope systems could offer broad additional benefits beyond power generation, such as: daylighting, hot water heating and purification, thermal comfort control, energy use reduction through lowered lighting and cooling loads, and tie-ins to direct current (DC) microgrids. Dramatic system efficiencies could be achieved with multifunctional envelopes by coupling to building systems to respond to fluctuations in weather and building use patterns. The development of active building envelope systems is impeded by current modeling workflows which do not provide adequate feedback or facilitate rapid design iteration within the context of building energy modeling (BEM). A simulation environment, Modelica, has purported extensibility and ease of co-simulation through the functional mock-up (FMI) standard. This environment is evaluated here through the development of a model for a novel multifunctional building envelope system, with concentrating photovoltaic and thermal collectors (BITCOPT) that incorporates multiple active and passive energy strategies simultaneously, while providing architectural benefits such as increased transparency and connection to views. The model is calibrated with measured data from an experimental prototype and is used to extrapolate the system’s theoretical power generation and energy efficiency effects. The simulation environment did indeed facilitate extensible model construction, encouraging future work to be pursued in co-simulation of the model with BEM via the FMI standard. The model structure, correlation to measured data, extrapolated results and future work are described here.