This last month has been a really busy time for me, as I have now entered my final (thesis) year at the Newschool of Architecture. As I mentioned in previous posts I am a graduate student pursuing a professional degree in architecture, so most of my time this month has been spent working on research for my thesis.  My thesis exploration will look at the idea of kinetic (dynamic) architecture that can adapt (as needed) to its environment as a way to possibly enhance user experience as well as building performance. The current conditions of finished built structures tend to be static in nature which can at times lead to limits or barriers of how people experience space as well as how buildings perform. This exploration will look at how to potentially integrate parametric and performance strategies as a way to develop high performing architecture that can maximize the experiential qualities of the built environment.

In the last few months my interests on the subject of parameter driven design has increased. Parameter driven design which is more commonly referred to as parametric design gives designers the opportunity to explore the process of creating form. In this type of process designers identify potential variables that could be used to lead the process of form finding. In my thesis exploration I will be looking to further explore the idea of parameter driven design by using social as well environmental conditions as driving factors of form. The use of parametric strategies in conjunction with performative analytical methods will help me develop an optimal approach towards the development of architecture.

While working on my thesis research for the development of high performance architecture, I came across a list of recommended readings posted on Studio Mode’s website. These books are a good source of information on the subject of parametrics, fabrication and performative architecture.

My thesis investigations will give me the opportunity to further explore my goals of adapting performative design strategies for the development of a better approached and more informative process of design. In upcoming posts I will look at simulation software such as Autodesk Ecotect, and Desktop Radiance. Autodesk Ecotect is a popular performance simulation tool can be used in conjunction with Desktop Radiance to create daylighting studies. I have worked with both of these tools in the past during previous employment and found them to be very useful during the design process. The pursuit continues!!

I have to admit being in architecture school is very time consuming and at times extremely stressful, but at the end of the day I can honestly say that it is all worth it. Its a lot of fun.

Design Wizards

I have actually used eQuest in the past at my previous place of employment (KEMA) and found that this piece of software is actually pretty easy to pick up. Especially when you have the opportunity to work with a bunch of talented individual who specialize in high performance design and our proficient in the art of energy modeling. Working with these designers I got to see firsthand how this piece of software can helps designers find the best design solutions, and how I myself could potentially use it to verify my own design decisions. I am not an expert in eQuest (at least not yet), but I do see this software being a vital tool to any designers list of tools. Like I mentioned before it’s pretty easy to pick up. One of the reasons why eQuest seems to be such an easy program to use would have to be the design wizards used for inputting data. These design wizards help designers by creating guiding steps for data input. eQuest currently has two wizards one for schematic design and one for design development. As of right now I have only experimented with the schematic design wizard, which has worked great for my simple experiments.

Parametric Simulations

You might ask “how does eQuest work?” To answer that question it works by creating advance parametric simulations that helps designers figure out which design solution will work best. The design team uses eQuest to create baseline models that meet Title 24 (California) or Ashrae 90.1minimum energy standards for building designs. Then the modeler uses these baseline models as starting points for alternative design solutions. The designer applies energy efficient measures (such as, more efficient technologies, materials, or lighting strategies) to help find better alternatives. Once these parametric runs our done simulating the designers will be able to see detailed comparison studies of both the baseline models as well as the proposed alternative models. This will then give the designer and understanding of how the building will potentially perform and/ or further insight to what steps he/ she might possibly need to take.

Now the best way to succeed in high performance design is to know where you are going from the beginning.  So the use of energy modeling software such as eQuest should begin early on in the design process to help create better decisions on how to achieve the goal of high performance.

For more information on eQUEST check out the DOE2 website.

This project was a modeling exercise to explore and experiment with the associative modeling plug-in for Rhino called Grasshopper. Grasshopper is a simple yet powerful tool that could help in the development of advance design modeling. The end result of this exercise was a definition used to create double facade structures held together by a pipe frame.