A multi-objective design tool for decarbonising buildings at the concept stage

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Engineering and computational mechanics 2023-08, Vol.176 (2), p.84-102
• Main Authors: Chauhan, Daniel, Orme, Shane, Gugliotta, Serena, Wynne, Zachariah, Black-Roberts, Alex, Philipps, Diego Padilla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autonomy; Carbon; Commercial buildings; Daylight; Design; Design optimization; Energy consumption; Green buildings; Multiple objective analysis; Software
• ISSN: 1755-0777; 1755-0785
• DOI: 10.1680/jencm.23.00005

To achieve carbon-neutral, net-zero operations in building structures, a paradigm shift in design methods is required. Current design processes involve multi-disciplinary teams with divergent performance goals. Daisy offers a solution, being a flexible, performance-based parametric tool. It employs computational design to allow designer-driven multi-objective optimisation, achieving high performance across various metrics. A 63-storey commercial building case study is presented. It shows the advantage of early design space analysis in achieving superior performance in both architectural and engineering aspects. Enabling the move towards carbon-neutral building structures. Moreover, Daisy's methodology can address a myriad of civil engineering optimisation challenges by providing a versatile design space adaptable to unique project needs. Designs generated using the Daisy methodology demonstrated that by increasing the spatial daylight autonomy of the benchmark building by 14.7%, the building can be moved from the 10% of designs with the highest energy-use intensity to lower than 97% of other simulated designs. However, its embodied carbon surpassed 90% of the models. Conversely, decreasing daylight autonomy by 32.8% places the design's energy use intensity and embodied carbon below 75% and 60% of simulations, respectively, marking energy and embodied carbon reductions of 4.4% and 1.3%.