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Guide to Simulation-Based Disciplines pp 167–182Cite as

Simulation-Based Architectural Design

Part of the Simulation Foundations, Methods and Applications book series (SFMA)

Abstract

In recent decades, architects have turned to computer simulation with the hope of designing more functional, sustainable, and compelling buildings. In such efforts, it is important to regard buildings not merely as static structures, but rather as complex dynamic systems driven by highly stochastic elements including the weather and human behavior. In this chapter, we describe how simulation has impacted architectural design research and practice. A multitude of simulation tools have been developed to model specific aspects of a building such as thermodynamics, daylight, plug loads, crowd behavior, and structural integrity under internal and external loads. Yet numerous challenges remain. For example, although many factors influencing buildings are interdependent, they are often analyzed in isolation due to the development cost associated with integrating solvers. A systems approach combining visual programming with state-of-the-art modeling and simulation techniques may help architects and building scientists combine their expertise to produce integrated complex systems models supporting emerging paradigms such as generative design.

Keywords

  • Architecture
  • Building simulation
  • Building science
  • Energy modeling
  • Sustainability
  • Systems approach
  • Discrete event simulation
  • Design tools
  • Computer-aided design
  • Building information model
  • Heat transfer
  • Occupant behavior
  • Daylight simulation
  • Co-simulation
  • Model integration
  • Visual programming
  • Dataflow programming
  • Parametric design
  • Generative design
  • Performance metrics

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Acknowledgements

We thank Erin Morrow (Oasys/Arup), Davide Schaumann (Technion), Nathaniel Jones (MIT), Thierry Nouidui (LBNL), David Benjamin (The Living), and Hali Larsen (Autodesk Research) for their assistance in presenting examples of state-of-the-art simulation-based research and tools in building science and computer-aided architectural design.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Autodesk Research, 210 King Street East, Suite 500, M5A 1J7, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Rhys Goldstein & Azam Khan

Authors
  1. Rhys Goldstein
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  2. Azam Khan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rhys Goldstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. MITRE Corporation, McLean, Virginia, USA

    Dr. Saurabh Mittal

  2. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Braunschweig, Germany

    Dr. Umut Durak

  3. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. Tuncer Ören

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Goldstein, R., Khan, A. (2017). Simulation-Based Architectural Design. In: Mittal, S., Durak, U., Ören, T. (eds) Guide to Simulation-Based Disciplines. Simulation Foundations, Methods and Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61264-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61264-5_8

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