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Evolutionary design assistants for architecture
Get PDFIn its parallel pursuit of an increased competitivity for design offices and more pleasurable and easier workflows for designers, artificial design intelligence is a technical, intellectual, and political challenge. While human-machine cooperation has become commonplace through Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools, a more improved collaboration and better support appear possible only through an endeavor into a kind of artificial design intelligence, which is more sensitive to the human perception of affairs.
Considered as part of the broader Computational Design studies, the research program of this quest can be called Artificial / Autonomous / Automated Design (AD). The current available level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for design is limited and a viable aim for current AD would be to develop design assistants that are capable of producing drafts for various design tasks. Thus, the overall aim of this thesis is the development of approaches, techniques, and tools towards artificial design assistants that offer a capability for generating drafts for sub-tasks within design processes. The main technology explored for this aim is Evolutionary Computation (EC), and the target design domain is architecture. The two connected research questions of the study concern, first, the investigation of the ways to develop an architectural design assistant, and secondly, the utilization of EC for the development of such assistants.
While developing approaches, techniques, and computational tools for such an assistant, the study also carries out a broad theoretical investigation into the main problems, challenges, and requirements towards such assistants on a rather overall level. Therefore, the research is shaped as a parallel investigation of three main threads interwoven along several levels, moving from a more general level to specific applications. The three research threads comprise, first, theoretical discussions and speculations with regard to both existing literature and the proposals and applications of the thesis; secondly, proposals for descriptive and prescriptive models, mappings, summary illustrations, task structures, decomposition schemes, and integratory frameworks; and finally, experimental applications of these proposals. This tripartite progression allows an evaluation of each proposal both conceptually and practically; thereby, enabling a progressive improvement of the understanding regarding the research question, while producing concrete outputs on the way. Besides theoretical and interpretative examinations, the thesis investigates its subject through a set of practical and speculative proposals, which function as both research instruments and the outputs of the study.
The first main output of the study is the “design_proxy” approach (d_p), which is an integrated approach for draft making design assistants. It is an outcome of both theoretical examinations and experimental applications, and proposes an integration of, (1) flexible and relaxed task definitions and representations (instead of strict formalisms), (2) intuitive interfaces that make use of usual design media, (3) evaluation of solution proposals through their similarity to given examples, and (4) a dynamic evolutionary approach for solution generation. The design_proxy approach may be useful for AD researchers that aim at developing practical design assistants, as has been examined and demonstrated with the two applications, i.e., design_proxy.graphics and design_proxy.layout.
The second main output, the “Interleaved Evolutionary Algorithm” (IEA, or Interleaved EA) is a novel evolutionary algorithm proposed and used as the underlying generative mechanism of design_proxybased design assistants. The Interleaved EA is a dynamic, adaptive, and multi-objective EA, in which one of the objectives leads the evolution until its fitness progression stagnates; in the sense that the settings and fitness values of this objective is used for most evolutionary decisions. In this way, the Interleaved EA enables the use of different settings and operators for each of the objectives within an overall task, which would be the same for all objectives in a regular multi-objective EA. This property gives the algorithm a modular structure, which offers an improvable method for the utilization of domain-specific knowledge for each sub-task, i.e., objective. The Interleaved EA can be used by Evolutionary Computation (EC) researchers and by practitioners who employ EC for their tasks.
As a third main output, the “Architectural Stem Cells Framework” is a conceptual framework for architectural design assistants. It proposes a dynamic and multi-layered method for combining a set of design assistants for larger tasks in architectural design. The first component of the framework is a layer-based, parallel task decomposition approach, which aims at obtaining a dynamic parallelization of sub-tasks within a more complicated problem. The second component of the framework is a conception for the development mechanisms for building drafts, i.e., Architectural Stem Cells (ASC). An ASC can be conceived as a semantically marked geometric structure, which contains the information that specifies the possibilities and constraints for how an abstract building may develop from an undetailed stage to a fully developed building draft. ASCs are required for re-integrating the separated task layers of an architectural problem through solution-based development. The ASC Framework brings together many of the ideas of this thesis for a practical research agenda and it is presented to the AD researchers in architecture.
Finally, the “design_proxy.layout” (d_p.layout) is an architectural layout design assistant based on the design_proxy approach and the IEA. The system uses a relaxed problem definition (producing draft layouts) and a flexible layout representation that permits the overlapping of design units and boundaries. User interaction with the system is carried out through intuitive 2D graphics and the functional evaluations are performed by measuring the similarity of a proposal to existing layouts.
Functioning in an integrated manner, these properties make the system a practicable and enjoying design assistant, which was demonstrated through two workshop cases. The d_p.layout is a versatile and robust layout design assistant that can be used by architects in their design processes
Urban Form and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Get PDFThe research reported in this dissertation contains three complementary and overlapping parts:
One, “findings”: It assesses the factors of urban morphology that contribute to increased rates of greenhouse gas emissions per capita, and the ways they interact. It finds a significant but underrepresented set of factors, distinct from but relating the factors at the individual building scale and the scale of regional transportation systems.
Two, “strategies”: It assesses the methodologies by which such findings might be put to use in identifying and achieving reductions through changes in urban design, and proposes new strategies to do so using innovative forms of design decision support tools.
Three, “design decision support tools”: It then proposes a specific new technology, namely a new class of open-source scenario-modelling tool, embodied in new prototype software. The tool utilizes a new kind of “federated” web-based wiki technology incorporating design pattern languages, which was developed in collaboration with the software engineer and wiki inventor Ward Cunningham.
As part of this research, it has been necessary to examine fundamental methodological questions, and to account for limitations of current data as well as current significant gaps in research. In the process, this research has made a modest contribution to the state of knowledge about additional research needed.
For me, this work has also highlighted the need for urgent and effective reforms to current “business as usual” practices. The need is all the more urgent given unprecedented rates of urbanisation — much of it sprawling and resource-inefficient — taking place in many parts of the world today
Adaptive facade network – Europe
Get PDFEnergy efficient buildings significantly contribute to meeting the EU climate and energy sustainability targets for 2020 as approximately one-third of all end-user energy in Europe today is consumed by space heating/cooling, ventilation and lighting of buildings. In this context, the energy performance of future building envelopes will play a key role.
The main aim of COST Action TU1403 with 120 participants from 26 European countries is to harmonise, share and disseminate technological knowledge on adaptive facades on a European level and to generate ideas for new innovative technologies and solutions
lessons: tupker\risselada: a double portrait of dutch architectural education 1953\2003
Get PDFThis book is about the educational practice of two teachers of architecture, Max Risselada and Hans Tupker. They represent a new kind of teacher that came into being along with the wave of democracy that washed over the educational institutes in the late 60s and early 70s of the last century. Risselada’s and Tupker’s teaching is not the derivative of their architectural practice. On the contrary, they belong to the first generation of professional teachers. This new figure of the professional teacher is characterised on the one hand by an independent authority with regard to the professors and the governors, and on the other hand by the equal collaboration with students on organising and defining one’s own education
Form Follows Feeling — The Acquisition of Design Expertise and the Function of Aesthesis in the Design Process
Get PDFWhile the consideration of functional and technical criteria, as well as a sense of coherence, are basic requirements for solving a design problem; it is the ability to induce an intended quality of aesthetic experience that is the hallmark of design expertise. Expert designers possess a highly developed sense of design, or what in this research is called aesthesis. Reflection on 25 years teaching design in the USA, Hungary, and China led to the observation that most successful design students, more than intellectual ability, drawing, model making or drive, all seemed to possess what may be called an intuitive sense of good design. It is not that they already know how to design, or that they are natural designers, it is that they have a more developed sense aesthesis. This research takes a multi-disciplinary approach to build a theory that describes what is involved in acquiring design expertise, identifies how aesthesis functions in the design process and determines if what appears to be an intuitive sense of design is just natural talent or an acquired ability.
The research started with topics related to design methodology, which led to questions related to cognitive psychology, especially theories of problem-solving. An in-depth review of research in embodied cognition challenged the disembodied concept of the mind and related presuppositions and reintroduced the body as an essential aspect of human cognition. This lead to related topics including: pre-noetic (pre-verbal) knowledge, the cognitive architecture of the brain, sense mechanisms and perception, limitations and types of memory as well as the processing capacity of the brain, and especially how emotions/feelings function in human cognition, offering insight into how designing functions as a cognitive process.
The research provides evidence that more than technical rationality, expert designers rely heavily on a highly developed embodied way of knowing (tacit knowledge) throughout the design process that allows them to know more than they can say. Indeed, this is the hallmark of expert performers in many fields. However, this ability is not to be understood as natural talent, but as a result of an intense developmental process that includes years of deliberate practice necessary to restructure the brain and adapt the body in a manner that facilitates exceptional performance. For expert designers it is aesthesis (a kind of body knowledge), functioning as a meta-heuristic, that allows them to solve a complex problem situation in a manner that appears effortless. Aesthesis is an ability that everyone possesses that expert designers have highly developed and adapted to allow them to produce buildings and built environments that induce an intended quality of aesthetic experience to the user. It is a cognitive ability that functions to both (re)structure the design problem, evaluates the solution and allows the designer to inhabit the design world feelingly while seeking aesthetic resonance that anticipates the quality of atmosphere another is likely to experience. This ability is critical to the acquisition of design expertise
OverHolland 9: Architectural studies for the Dutch city
Get PDFOverHolland 9 opens with a promising graduation project by Ilmar Hurkxkens, entitled ‘Paradise Regained. The watchman, the sleeper, the dreamer and the city’. Hurkxkens presents his project as ‘a narrative inquiry into the history and future of the dyke as architecture’. As Dutch as you can get — and yet his approach is unusual by Dutch standards. The project took shape at the graduation workshop Territory in Transit, run by two postgraduate students, Filip Geerts and Stefano Milani, who have previously contributed to OverHolland. The theme of the workshop was taken from their research into ‘city and territory’ and ‘representation in architectural design’. Hurkxkens has used these themes to bring about a direct exchange between the analysis of territory and design, via representation in words and pictures. Language and drawings, narrative and image are interwoven. The location is the Hondsbossche Zeewering, a seawall near Petten in the province of North Holland. Filip Geerts provides commentary in the captions.
The second article is a follow-up to the first part of the study ‘Design and construction in the cities of Holland’, published in OverHolland 8. In the second and final part of this study, the authors, Gea Essen, Merlijn Hurx and Geert Medema, discuss the professionalisation of the Department of Public Works in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The study is partly based on the results of various studies by postgraduate students on specific aspects of the development of those departments in the Northern Netherlands.
One important result of this joint effort to review the development of the architectural profession and urban public works is that it raises questions on the correlation with other lines of development, including that of urbanisation in the Netherlands. This study makes clear that the process has had its ups and downs. However, a clearer understanding of the asynchronous development of the various cities could also be of value for the study of the departments of Public Works and the architectural profession.
The first step in this direction is the contribution by Nikki Brand, ‘The rise of the Randstad. An investigation using the rank size rule (11th21st centuries)’, based on the demographic data of the nine leading historical cities in the Randstad area (published in OverHolland 2). This clearly showed that the pace of urbanisation in these cities was extremely varied and that there were a number of shifts in the ranking of the cities. As the first step in her postgraduate research, Nikki Brand has applied the rank size rule to these data. She uses this theoretical model not so much to provide a conclusive explanation for the asynchronous development of these cities but to formulate questions for her further research. A number of factors that influence urbanisation processes are identified, including geography, demography, technology, the economy and administrative organisation. Another key factor is the nature of the links between the cities — the main factor underlying the present-day concept of the Randstad. Nikki Brand’s study focuses on the historical development of the links between Holland’s cities, with specific reference to the part played by what has come to be termed ‘administrative organisation of the spatial economy’.
The fourth article, ‘Dutch architecture in China’, is published to mark the publication of the Chinese edition of A hundred years of Dutch architecture, edited by Umberto Barbieri and Leen van Duin. The two professors also helped launch OverHolland. Their trip to China to attend the presentation was a worthy and enviable conclusion to their academic careers.
The first Dutch edition of the book was published by SUN in 1999. There is now an English edition and a third impression. The editors of A hundred years of Dutch architecture review various currents in twentieth-century Dutch architecture, and twenty highlighted buildings are thoroughly documented by a team led by Willemijn Wilms Floet. The approach is deliberately sober and academic. The twenty buildings are all redrawn in a standard manner, each with a written introduction. The edition includes a pullout folded calendar compiled by Pieter van Wesemael.
The initiative for the Chinese edition was taken by Professor Lu Pinjing of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. For the presentation of the book at the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing on 15 May 2009, Leen van Duin and Willemijn Wilms Floet created an exhibition with the snappy title Hundred Years of Dutch Architecture. From Berlage to Koolhaas. They took the opportunity to present not only a selection of the highlighted buildings but also some more recent works by teachers of architecture at Delft University of Technology’s Faculty of Architecture. Brief documentation on these works, with an introduction by Leen van Duin, is published in this issue.
The Polemen section covers two topics. Roberto Cavallo and Henk Engel review architect Hans van der Heijden’s book Architectuur in de kapotte stad (‘Architecture in the fractured city’). This is a book that deserves to be followed up. The reviewers describe it as ‘a brave attempt to find a way of presenting an architectural firm’s research and design work not as an advertising brochure in disguise, but as a serious contribution to the profession’.
Finally, architecture historian Herman van Bergeijk looks at an old document: a lecture, in poor English, by the Italian architect and urban planner Ludovico Quaroni, from the latter days of CIAM. Quaroni gave his lecture in 1956 at one of the CIAM Summer Schools in Venice. In his introduction, Van Bergeijk emphasises how important these meetings on the fringes of CIAM were for international exchange between budding architects. Denise Scott Brown suddenly turned up there from South Africa. How did she end up in the arms of the American Robert Venturi? A topic worth pursuing, particularly for those fascinated by recent family ties within the architectural profession. However, Van Bergeijk suggests other reasons for this, such as the fact that the Italians were trying to give CIAM a new lease of life by getting students involved in its work
Adaptive thermal comfort opportunities for dwellings: Providing thermal comfort only when and where needed in dwellings in the Netherlands
Get PDFThe aim of the research presented in this thesis is to design the characteristics of an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System for Dwellings to achieve a significantly better energy performance whilst not compromising the thermal comfort perception of the occupants. An Adaptive Thermal Comfort System is defined as the whole of passive and active comfort components of the dwelling that dynamically adapts its settings to varying user comfort demands and weather conditions (seasonal, diurnal and hourly depending on the aspects adapted), thus providing comfort only where, when and at the level needed by the user, to improve possibilities of harvesting the environmental energy (e.g. solar gain and outdoor air) when available and storing it when abundant.
In order to be able to create an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System to save energy knowledge is needed as to where, when, what kind and how much energy is needed to provide the thermal comfort. Therefore, this research aimed to gain insight in the dynamic behaviour of the weather and the occupant and the opportunities to design the characteristics of an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System for Dwellings to achieve a significantly better energy performance whilst not compromising the thermal comfort perception of the occupants answering the main research question;
What are the most efficient strategies for delivering thermal comfort in the residential sector with respect to better energy performances and an increasing demand for flexibility in use and comfort conditions?
To answer the main research question three steps were taken, which also represent the three parts of the research:
1. The dynamic information of the factors influencing the thermal heat balance of the dwelling was gathered in order to determine their opportunities for adaptivity. A multidisciplinary approach to Thermal Comfort Systems is followed taking into account the dynamic of occupancy profiles, weather, building physics, HVAC and controls.
A different approach to the comfort boundaries used in modern standards was introduced, creating insight in the spread in activity patterns and the comfort demand in the context of individual preferences and vulnerabilities. Information of sociology and thermal comfort studies were brought together creating occupancy and thermal comfort profiles for the Dutch situation. By recognizing the differences in occupancy patterns it becomes possible to design adaptive systems to be able to deliver the comfort demanded only when and where necessary in different occupancy scenarios. This is an opportunity to achieve a significantly better energy performance.
Furthermore, a method for dynamic analysis of weather conditions related to the thermal comfort was proposed in order to map the opportunities and threats of weather change. This makes the system able to seize upon every reasonably to be expected situation to create an optimal dynamic filter for the outdoor to indoor thermal environment at any time and place. This preliminary study was performed by presuming a simple shelter that can create shielding from wind and solar radiation without any form of thermal storage or insulation.
In this study it is emphasised that there is no need for active cooling in the residential sector of the Netherlands if the dwelling is well designed; blocking solar radiation when needed and to allow built up excess heat to be discarded.
An inventory is provided of the possibilities for adaptivity for a thermal comfort system which are used in common practice and which improvements and new techniques can be implemented to increase these possibilities for adaptivity of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System.
2. The effect of applying the detailed information and adaptive opportunities framed in step 1 on the energy saving and comfort delivery of the Thermal Comfort Systems was researched.
Firstly, the most appropriate calculation methods for the research were determined comparing various levels of detail and approaches in calculation. Control algorithms and strategies are researched. The thesis uses both the lumped capacitance model 3R1C based on the EN-ISO 13790 to benefit from its generic properties to be able to stimulate new concepts for adaptivity of the thermal comfort system to be developed and the TRNSYS model to verify the conclusions from the lumped capacitance model and research the short term practical implementation.
Through calculating various strategies in heating and prevention of overheating by using variable thermal insulation, ventilation and solar shading the advantages and disadvantages of the control strategies are researched. These calculations concluded that these can have a significant potential of reducing the energy demand of a dwelling whilst not compromising thermal comfort. The optimal behaviour of these building characteristics is described in part three of this thesis. The energy saving potential of the adaptive approach relative to the reference dwelling of AgentschapNL is very high regarding the following conditions;
The total energy saving potential for heating of the adaptive approach is around 61% on heating demand for the living room and 99% for the bedroom compared to the situation with adaptive thermal comfort delivery (providing heating only when and where needed), minimised ventilation and high insulation values.
This energy saving is achieved by adaptive and fast heating and adaptive increase of solar heat gain in case it would be possible in the future to harvest all solar radiation falling on the facade as heat.
Applying the variable building characteristics as described the cooling can be eliminated in most situations and will be 10% of the reference situation at most. The remaining cooling demand will be low enough to cancel the need for installation of active cooling. It is most effective to use both an adaptive heat loss factor and solar factor; however, to counter overheating controlling the solar factor is most effective of the separate measures assuming all solar radiation can be blocked from entering the room as heat.
In the reference cases the cooling load is significantly lower with higher thermal mass and the heating load does not significantly vary with thermal mass; this is due to the good basic insulation of the dwelling and sufficient solar gain which causes the drop in temperature during the non-heated periods to be very low regardless the thermal mass. The energy saving for cooling by the adaptive strategies is higher with higher thermal mass more drastically reducing the already much lower cooling demand for the references with higher thermal mass. In case of the North orientation it can be an option to build with lower thermal mass because there is significantly less solar radiation available to lower the heating demand; showing a slight increase in heating demand for the higher thermal mass variant. The advantages of adaptive solar shading are significantly lower with the North orientation due to the lower range of solar gain.
As the definition suggests the control of the thermal comfort system adaptive to the occupancy and the variable thermal comfort demand resulting from it is an essential part of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System. This effect is most apparent in the case of adaptive heating; high occupancy means less heating demand than if a standard heating schedule is used because of higher internal gain while the heating demand with control for presence shows less deviation between the occupancy profiles and higher heating demands with higher occupancy. This means that the improvement of energy efficiency is larger the lower the occupancy level. Furthermore, the control algorithm designed in chapter 4 is significantly less accurate in case of the occupancy profile with highest occupancy especially because the temperature falls below the heating setpoint by the time the occupants re-enter the room resulting in higher heating demands than the reference, which can be prevented by prediction of the setpoint temperature. This effect decreases with higher thermal mass because of the slower temperature decrease during the night. Additionally, the occupancy has a great effect on the effectiveness of non-automated systems in case of overheating prevention meaning more effect of automation with lower occupancy rates. This emphasises the need for automated overheating protection by especially solar shading in case of larger periods of absence during the day.
3. The design recommendations for product development were provided and illustrated according to the design of an example dwelling with an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System, assessing some practical implementations. The guidelines and conclusions are categorised in 6 categories;
Occupancy (§ 2.3)
The occupancy schedule was used to determine the dynamic demand on which the behaviour and energy saving potential of the adaptive building characteristic are calculated in this thesis. It is not possible or necessary to determine the exact comfort temperature for the occupant. Instead, a range was determined which should be easy to reach in an energy efficient way.
Great differences can exist in thermal comfort demand in occupancy of the spaces which makes the application of control according to presence a good way of increasing energy performance for thermal comfort. Relatively simple measures as occupancy sensors connected to the control of the heating can save up to 25% of heating demand depending on the occupancy profile.
Weather (§ 2.4)
This thesis confirms the fact that in the Netherlands virtually no overheating problems are caused directly by the weather and that the overheating occurring in dwellings is due to the trapping of heat from incoming solar radiation and internal gains due to minimised heat loss combined with insufficient solar shading and possibilities to discard excess heat.
Spatial layout (§ 3.3 & chapter 6)
According to this thesis there are some preconditions that will facilitate the functioning of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System.
To ensure the effectiveness of the adaptive ventilation the layout should not hinder the air flow through the building. In case of a heating demand this free airflow can be temporarily disabled by (automatically) closing doors and vents.
The ventilation can be aided by designing the dwelling with increased cross ventilation, increased stack ventilation or a "venturi" chimney.
To be able to profit optimally from the adaptive solar factor the rooms with the highest heating demand and/or very variable comfort demand should be oriented in the direction where most solar radiation comes from; if possible considering the time of day of the highest heating demand.
Materialisation (§ 3.4 & chapter 5 & 6)
For energy saving in the heating season it is very effective to apply high insulation values and minimise ventilation to conserve energy together with allowing maximum solar radiation into the room. This can save up to around 80% in heating energy compared to the reference situation with constant ventilation and average insulation value in case it would be possible in the future to harvest all solar radiation falling on the facade as heat. These measures should be combined with adaptive solar gain and adaptive heat loss factor (more easily obtained by extra adaptive ventilation than adaptive thermal insulation) to prevent overheating problems outside the heating season. If it is possible to block all solar radiation this can eliminate practically all need for cooling.
The Adaptive Thermal Comfort System increases the stability in air temperature by optimizing the adaptive characteristics for the room temperature to remain closest to the comfort temperature without energy expenses. Therefore, no extra benefit for adaptive thermal mass in an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System is detected. High thermal mass is preferable for a dwelling with an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System as it is for all (sufficiently insulated) dwellings.
HVAC (§ 3.5 & chapter 5 & 6)
To save energy in the heating season it is very effective to apply adaptive heating (around 25%); applying heat recovery has a significant added effect on energy saving (around 20% with a heat recovery efficiency of 60%). This needs to be regarded with the extra fan energy needed to operate the mechanical ventilation. Because the temperatures will fluctuate more than with constant heating and cooling the system needs to be able to heat up or cool down quickly, until approximately 6 °C in one hour. The extra energy saving gained by designing HVAC systems for an Adaptive Thermal Comfort System is applying techniques that, besides being energy efficient, can react fast and locally. Using high insulation in winter, high thermal mass and adaptive techniques as proposed in this thesis will stabilise the indoor temperature lowering the required heating speed to below 4 °C per hour with low thermal mass and below 0.5°C per hour for high thermal mass which increases the possibility of applying different heating systems.
Controls (§ 3.6)
It is very important to have a high level of automation in the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System because applying high insulation, no solar shading and minimised ventilation at absence of the occupant will lead to overheating problems. The energy saving potential of the automation for the adaptive ventilation decreases significantly for the profiles with least occupancy and lower thermal mass. The loss in effectiveness of the adaptive solar gain is dramatically decreased without automation with an average of 75% less energy saving. The energy saving potential for the combined measures without automation drops with 30% on average increasing the required heat loss factor to discard excess heat. This makes the automation crucial for the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System and mostly for the solar gain.
Furthermore, prediction of the setpoint temperature in the near future (for instance with an Adaptive Model Predictive Control (self-learning control) (§ 3.6.4) system) can increase the efficiency of the system preventing the heating load to increase due to rapid temperature drop after a period of passive cooling especially with low thermal mass.
Energy saving potentials and ranges of adaptive settings (chapter 5 & 6)
The need for cooling can be effectively diminished using the proposed adaptive measures and so the energy saving potential is nearly 100% for cooling. For heating the energy saving is around 25% compared to the reference by applying adaptive heating depending on the occupancy schedule and consequent heating demand and 66% for the living room and 90% for the bedrooms in the 3R1C model if the heat loss is minimised during the heating season. TRNSYS calculates an energy saving of around 45% for adaptive heating. An additional 20% can be saved on heating energy with heat recovery in the calculations with TRNSYS. In the lumped capacitance model it is shown that an additional 20% energy saving can be obtained compared to the TRNSYS calculations by increased solar gain (in case it would be possible in the future to harvest all solar radiation falling on the facade as heat) resulting in a total heating energy saving of around 80% on average
Configraphics: Graph Theoretical Methods for Design and Analysis of Spatial Configurations
Get PDFThis dissertation reports a PhD research on mathematical-computational models, methods, and techniques for analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of spatial configurations in architecture and urban design. Spatial configuration is a technical term that refers to the particular way in which a set of spaces are connected to one another as a network. Spatial configuration affects safety, security, and efficiency of functioning of complex buildings by facilitating certain patterns of movement and/or impeding other patterns. In cities and suburban built environments, spatial configuration affects accessibilities and influences travel behavioural patterns, e.g. choosing walking and cycling for short trips instead of travelling by cars. As such, spatial configuration effectively influences the social, economic, and environmental functioning of cities and complex buildings, by conducting human movement patterns.
In this research, graph theory is used to mathematically model spatial configurations in order to provide intuitive ways of studying and designing spatial arrangements for architects and urban designers. The methods and tools presented in this dissertation are applicable in:
arranging spatial layouts based on configuration graphs, e.g. by using bubble diagrams to ensure certain spatial requirements and qualities in complex buildings; and
analysing the potential effects of decisions on the likely spatial performance of buildings and on mobility patterns in built environments for systematic comparison of designs or plans, e.g. as to their aptitude for pedestrians and cyclists.
The dissertation reports two parallel tracks of work on architectural and urban configurations. The core concept of the architectural configuration track is the ‘bubble diagram’ and the core concept of the urban configuration track is the ‘easiest paths’ for walking and cycling. Walking and cycling have been chosen as the foci of this theme as they involve active physical, cognitive, and social encounter of people with built environments, all of which are influenced by spatial configuration. The methodologies presented in this dissertation have been implemented in design toolkits and made publicly available as freeware applications
Alignment of Partnering with Construction IT: Exploration and Synthesis of network strategies to integrate BIM-enabled Supply Chains
Get PDFSupply Chain Management (SCM) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) are seen as innovations that can manage complexities in construction by focusing on integrating processes and products respectively. Whereas these two innovations have been considered compatible, their practical combi-nation has been mainly anecdotal. The Netherlands was the locale of this study, where both SCM and BIM have been popular approaches. The research objective is to explore their real-world combination and propose strategies for the alignment of SCM and BIM, by viewing Supply Chain (SC) partnering as the inter-organisational proxy of SCM. The main question is: “How to align the SCM philosophy with BIM technologies to achieve integration in the construction industry? What aspects contribute to this alignment?”. The methodology was mixed and both qualitative and quantitative data were analysed. The overarching method was case study research and the unit of analysis was the firm, also referred to as ‘actor’.
After a semi-chronological review of the relevant literature, the two constructs of SCM and BIM were found interdependent in product-, process-, and actor-related (P/P/A) dimensions. The study consisted of four other consecutive studies. First, empirical insights into the practical implementation of SC partnering and BIM were obtained via the exploration of five cases. Second, a conceptual model for the quantitative analysis of the product-, process-, and actor-related dimensions was designed. Third, this model and mixed methods were applied to two polar (ex-treme) cases to analyse the contractual (typically SC-related), digital (typically BIM-related), and informal interactions among the involved actors. Fourth, an additional theoretical exploration of the BIM-enabled SC partnerships took place with focusing also on intra-organisational relations within the involved firms. After the four studies, the findings were systematically combined to cre-ate the theoretical synthesis, i.e. generate theory. Three consecutive steps of ‘construct’, ‘internal’, and ‘external’ validity took place after the synthesis, to define the transferability of findings. The systematic combination of findings deduced two routes to achieve SC integration in construction: (a) product-related (emphasis on BIM tools), and (b) actor-related (emphasis on SCM philosophy).
The two observed routes to SC integration emerged from the data of the polar cases. Two com-plementary sets of strategies for SC integration were derived afterwards. These strategies could ease the identification of which route is the ‘closest fit’ to SC integration, and then support the decision-making of how to pursue it. As the concept of BIM is currently a hot topic, it might be wise to undertake a ‘product-related’ route to integration and gradually introduce strategies from the ‘actor-related’ route. However, the ‘actor-related’ route could attain long-term integration and thus, long-lasting relations among the multi-actor networks. The key aspects of the alignment of partnering with construction IT for BIM-enabled SC partnerships are:
- The identification of whether the SC complexity is of process-, product- or actor-related nature;- The deployed BIM collaboration patterns, i.e. ad-hoc, linear or distributed;- The SC coordination mechanisms, e.g. centralised or decentralised;- The relation between formal and informal aspects, e.g. symmetric or asymmetric;- The emerging intra-organisational relations due to BIM and SCM implementation;- The hierarchical level that BIM-enabled SC partnership decision-making pertains.
As the construction industry evolves into an information-driven sector, the alignment of construc-tion IT with inter-organisational management is preeminent for managing the inherent com-plexities of the industry. In parallel, embracing inter-organisational approaches for information management such as BIM is a promisingway forward for SCM and construction management
Imagine: PROTOTYPING efn MOBILE
No full textThe Prototyping efn Mobile programme ‘emerging envelope’ develops innovative façade constructions with international student teams of the European Façade Network (EFN). The inspiring energy of workshops and 1:1 mock-up buildings generates a plethora of new ideas for intelligent, adaptive and sustainable façades. From adaptive building envelopes to sustainable end-of-life concepts, from user-interacting building envelopes to low-budget façades for various climate zones, this book provides innovative ideas and intelligent solutions for future-proof façade design and construction. Imagine is a series of publications that investigates technology and material development to provide architects and designers with ideas for their designs