Building facades are components that shape a structure’s daylighting, energy use, and view factors. This paper presents an approach that enables designers to understand the impact that different facade designs will have over time and space in the built environment through a BIM-enabled augmented reality system. The system permits the examination of a range of facade retrofit scenarios and visualizes the daylighting simulations and aesthetics of a structure while retaining function and comfort. A focus of our study was to measure how participants make decisions within the multiobjective decision space designers often face when buildings undergo retrofitting. This process often requires designers to search for a set of alternatives that represent the optimal solution. We analyze the decision-making process of forty-four subjects to determine how they explore design choices. Our results indicate the feasibility of using BIM-enabled AR to improve how designers make
informed decisions.
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Toward Net-Zero Energy Retrofitting: Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Curtainwalls
With the rapid urbanization and growing energy use intensity in the built environment, the glazed curtainwall has become ever more important in the architectural practice and environmental stewardship. Besides its energy efficiency roles, window has been an important transparent component for daylight penetration and a view-out for occupant satisfaction. In response to the climate crisis caused by the built environment, this research focuses on the study of net-zero energy retrofitting by using a new building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) curtainwall as a sustainable alternative to conventional window systems. Design variables such as building orientations, climate zones, energy attributes of BIPV curtainwalls, and glazed area were studied, to minimize energy consumption and discomfort hours for three cities representing hot (Miami, FL), mixed (Charlotte, NC), and cold (Minneapolis, MN). Parametric analysis and Pareto solutions are presented to provide a comprehensive explanation of the correlation between design variables and performance objectives for net-zero energy retrofitting applications.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2037631
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10311999
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International journal of highrise buildings
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2288-9930
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
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