The compactness indicators of solids applied to analysis of geometric efficiency of buildings

Abstract

The authors redefine and generalize the so-called relative ratio of compactness of solid with respect to sphere and cube introduced by Mahdavi and Gurtekin. The authors propose such new indicators as a relative ratio of solid compactness in the shape of a prism-shaped solid related to a cuboid with a square base and a given height (e.g. the height of the analyzed storey), a solid compactness indicator defined for the basis of the prism relative to the square. They introduce also other indicators: a relative defect of the perimeter and area. The test of indicators formulated and described in the paper was carried out in two groups of buildings: existing (spotted locally) and those whose designs can be found in the selected catalog available on the website. In addition to the compactness ratios calculated for existing and designed buildings, an analysis of the size of the indicators for the adopted building research models was made. Proposed indicators allow for a description of the compactness of the building model with an indication of the deviation from the real ideal solid. The introduced geometric determinants of solids may be useful in the initial phase of searching for satisfactory design solutions. First published online 20 August 2019

Keywords

• compactness of solid
• geometric compactness of building
• geometric efficiency of building
• compactness indicator
• relative ratio of compactness
• cuboid