Sun shading of the future

Abstract

This thesis is about improving the workflow for applying the Performative Computational Architecture (PCA) framework to sun shading design. The PCA framework is a design approach consisting of three phases; form-finding, performance evaluation and optimisation. The conventional workflow in regard to sun shading design is defined as a combination of tools for each of the PCA framework phases. The feasibility of this conventional workflow is explored based on an example case. This example case refers to a fictional office high-rise building in a tropic climate with an all-glass exterior, which is optimised on visual and thermal comfort. The selected sun shading system is an adaptation of the egg-crate system, which has an increased potential over other shading systems for this specific building typology in tropic climates. All further assumptions for the fictional example case are based on common trends in architectural design. Based on the optimisation results of the example case using the conventional workflow, the challenges limiting the feasibility of the workflow are identified. Proposals for overcoming these challenges resulted in the development of the next generation workflow. The core concept of this next generation workflow is to split up the workflow in three parts; preparation, execution and interpretation. First tests using the next generation workflow indicated it is significantly faster on a single high-end computer, compared to the conventional workflow. In addition, the next generation workflow offers a solution to some limitations in running sun shading optimisations in grid- and render farm environments.