Bespoke geometric glazing design for building energy performance analysis

Abstract

Geometry is an important architectural design issue in the assessment of a building model's energy performance using Building Performance Simulation tools. The commonly used window-to-wall ratio method, while providing a fast and automatic way of modelling glazing, is prone to geometrical inaccuracies, which can contribute to the energy performance gap between modelled and monitored buildings. To alleviate these challenges, this paper presents a mechanism for creating a bespoke glazing design on curved surfaces based on the concept of UV-mapping. The glazing can be designed on a 2D planar vector drawing as a set of interconnected curves, which are then mapped unto the UV space of the subdivided and planarised input wall as the glazing. It is hypothesised that a building model with a bespoke glazing design, while more time consuming, allows a more aesthetically representative and geometrically accurate glazing design, thus minimising the energy performance gap.

Keywords

• architectural design
• 3d modelling
• parametric surfaces
• glazing design
• energy analysis