Computational Design | arch-vinh-nhi-ly

Computational Design - PROCESSING / ANAR+ / EnergyPlus - Building Simulations

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Basic Computational Design

Introduction to PROCESSING & ANAR+

"Processing is an open source programming language & environment for people who want to create images, animations and interactions. Initially developed to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context, Processing also has evolved into a tool for generating finished professional work." web: processing.org

"ANAR+ is a 3D library for Processing extending geometric functionalities."

web: anar.ch

These projects are works of the basic process and syntax to generate a code. Using concise codes with some functions Processing provides, a complex mass can be drawn quickly. A 3D object is drawn not by lines or faces but by WORDS. It means quick and accuracy.

Processing is good for early design stage. With some parameters, it could provide great inspiration.

Advanced Computational Design01

In this project, an engine for parametrically testing multiple options for occupation of the site was developed. This parametric engine addressed possible variations within a typology such as courtyards and towers. The selected parameters all related to the energy performance of the building, including building orientation, floor depth, floor width and floor location.

5 possible versions of the building were produce by using this parametric engine. Collected data from the model were used as part of the argument for choosing the best version as optimal from the perspective of building energy performance taking into account factors such as solar heat gain & daylighting.

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Advanced Computational Design02

Parametric approach to design provides the ability to generate multiple design options that all meet certain basic design requirements.

For this project, parameters related to the energy performance of the building were applied. Parametric constraints were imposed on given parameters. These constraints had a precise upper and lower limit and were then used to test the fitness of each potential design solution.

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Advanced Computational Design03

EnergyPlus is a building energy calculation tool that has been widely used and tested. It provides a heat balance based solution to the heating and cooling loads required to maintain a building's thermal conditions. Various modules link into this core calculation to enable the representation of the building and its processes.

A scripting environment for parametric design in PROCESSING can be linked to the EnergyPlus building simulation tool to provide "quantitative insight into level of influence of each parameter under scrutiny, informing about changes altering, enhancing, or having only minor effect on performance." [Julien, 2012]. In this way, design intensions are balanced with performance aims right at the early design stages.

In this project, the selected parameters are related to THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE of the building. The capacity to extract data related to CODE REQUIREMENTS and ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE is also integrated into the model.

Advanced Computational Design04

The goal in this project is to design a parametric shading system that maximizes solar heat gain in Winter and minimizes it in Summer, while providing a high level of daylighting and maintaining views.

Because of the difference in environmental conditions on each of the building's facades, this shading system is capable of wrapping all the way around the building, and applied parameters allow this shading device to function differently depending on orientation.

By using EnergyPlus, simulations that test the effectiveness of this shading system are produced. Based on simulation results, parameters that had the greatest impact on overall energy consumption are identified.