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Research Innovations for Advanced Analysis and Multi-Performance Driven Design in the Built Environment

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G1: Smart Cities and Urban Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2023) | Viewed by 12614

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco De Luca

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Academy of Architecture and Urban Studies, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
Interests: architecture; urban design; daylighting; performance-driven design; outdoor comfort; environmental design; parametric design; design exploration

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Lobaccaro

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2-134, Gløshaugen, Høgskoleringen 7a, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: solar energy; solar potential; daylight; urban climate; building technology; parametric modeling; building and neighborhood energy design
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Prof. Dr. Michela Turrin

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Guest Editor

Architectural Engineering and Technology Department, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: computational design; multi-objective multi-disciplinary optimization; performance-driven design; computational design exploration

Dr. Angelos Chronis

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Guest Editor

Head of City Intelligence Lab, Digital Resilient Cities Unit, Center for Energy, Austrian Institute of Technology, Giefinggasse 6, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Interests: architecture; planning; simulation; environmental design; artificial intelligence; mixed reality; positive energy districts

Dr. Timur Dogan

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Guest Editor

Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Cornell University, 129 Sibley Dome, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Interests: daylighting; energy modeling; passive control strategies; performance-driven design; wind simulations; outdoor comfort; simulations at urban scale; mobility modeling; software tools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Researchers, architects, designers, and planners are increasingly urged to develop approaches, methods, solutions, and tools to tackle the pressing issues of resource depletion, urban liveability, adaptation of the built environment, increasing CO₂ emissions, and related climate change. It is no longer sufficient to design and realize energy efficient buildings and districts and net-zero energy solutions. It is even more needed to generate a wider, positive impact on the built environment through low carbon and positive energy solutions. It has become evident that by addressing the single performance of buildings and analyzing the single urban scale it is not possible to guarantee the relevant impacts and diverse benefits necessary to improve the overall liveability of the cities and the quality of the built environment. Furthermore, minimum energy and visual and thermal comfort requirements are often regulated by potentially conflicting standards, metrics, and building codes. Thus, holistic approaches are necessary in order to develop sustainable architecture design solutions and resilient, regenerative urban planning strategies that enable to analyze the mutual interrelations of multiple performances, in single or multiple domains, from single buildings to neighborhood and district scales, thus linking anthropogenic and natural ecosystems. In this regard, during recent years, several researchers have been focusing on holistic and multi-objective and multi-disciplinary approaches. This Special Issue aims to provide insight into the most innovative, holistic, multi-domain, multi-disciplinary and multi-objective approaches in order to guide and support the scientific and design community at large and to trigger new research trajectories and tendencies.

Contributions on the following topics, but not limited to, are expected:

Investigations about trade-offs performance to balance competing solar energy uses, such as daylight vs. energy, solar accessibility vs. indoor thermal and visual comfort, and energy consumption vs. photovoltaics energy generation.
Innovative methods and solutions for the simultaneous fulfillment of different codes’ requirements and metric-recommended thresholds in the indoor building environment and/or urban outdoor environment.
Development of multi-objective workflows integrating indoor building performance, e.g., daylight, occupant comfort and health, and energy, and outdoor performance, e.g., pedestrian thermal comfort, and wind comfort, as well as the effects of mitigation and adaptation strategies, e.g., trees, vegetated surfaces, and water features, considering the mutual interactions between indoor and outdoor factors.
Innovative digital and computer advanced methods and technologies of co-simulation approaches in multiple domains, ranging from building to neighborhood up to the district scale.

Research works investigating the aforementioned topics and beyond, through the development of parametric workflows, building information and urban building energy modeling, computational methodologies, multi-objective optimization algorithms, digital twin, digitalization, artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital tools, and design-simulation software, are strongly encouraged to contribute to this Special Issue.

Dr. Francesco De Luca
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Lobaccaro
Prof. Dr. Michela Turrin
Dr. Angelos Chronis
Prof. Dr. Timur Dogan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

climate change
green shift for the built environment
energy transition
performance-driven design
outdoor comfort
indoor comfort
solar energy
energy consumption
renewable energy
multi-domain
multi-scale
multi-objective
digitalization
computation
digital twin
artificial intelligence
machine learning
deep learning
parametric design
building information modeling
geographic information system
urban building energy modeling
design exploration

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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28 pages, 8029 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Outdoor Thermal Comfort Optimization in a Cold Climate to Mitigate the Level of Urban Heat Island in an Urban Area

by Nasim Eslamirad, Abel Sepúlveda, Francesco De Luca, Kimmo Sakari Lylykangas and Sadok Ben Yahia

Energies 2023, 16(12), 4546; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16124546 - 06 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1299

Abstract

Climatic and micro-climatic phenomena such as summer heat waves and Urban Heat Island (UHI) are increasingly endangering the city’s livability and safety. The importance of urban features on the UHI effect encourages us to consider the configuration of urban elements to improve cities’ sustainability and livability. Most solutions are viable when a city redevelops and new areas are built to focus on aspects such as optimum design and the orientation of building masses and streets, which affect thermal comfort. This research looks beyond outdoor thermal comfort studies using UHI data and geoprocessing techniques in Tallinn, Estonia. This study supposes that designing urban canyons with proper orientation helps to mitigate the UHI effect by maximizing outdoor thermal comfort at the pedestrian level during hot summer days. In addition, optimizing the orientation of buildings makes it possible to create shaded and cooler areas for pedestrians, reducing surface temperature, which may create more comfortable and sustainable urban environments with lower energy demands and reduced heat-related health risks. This research aims to generate valuable insights into how urban environments can be designed and configured to improve sustainability, livability, and outdoor thermal comfort for pedestrians. According to the study results, researchers can identify the most effective interventions to achieve these objectives by leveraging UHI data and geoprocessing techniques and using CFD simulations. This evaluation is beneficial in guiding urban planners and architects in proposing mitigation solutions to enhance thermal comfort in cities and creating suitable conditions for approved thermal comfort levels. Results of the study show that in the location used for the survey, Tallinn, Estonia, the orientation of West-East offers the optimum level of comfort regarding thermal comfort and surface temperature in the urban environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Innovations for Advanced Analysis and Multi-Performance Driven Design in the Built Environment)

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26 pages, 9296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating Outdoor Thermal Comfort Using a Mixed-Method to Improve the Environmental Quality of a University Campus

by Nasim Eslamirad, Abel Sepúlveda, Francesco De Luca and Kimmo Sakari Lylykangas

Energies 2022, 15(4), 1577; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15041577 - 21 Feb 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2958

Abstract

Thermal comfort in cities is increasingly becoming a concern and comfortable places can be highly valuable for a variety of activities. Our investigation aims to explore how to improve the quality of cities by considering the relationship between microclimatic conditions, thermal sensation, and human preferences. The case study conducted in the open areas of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) campus, which is quite populated by visitors, staff, and students. We used a mixed-methods approach to assess outdoor thermal comfort, based on qualitative and quantitative findings of the relationships between the measured weather conditions and the results of thermal comfort assessment through the PET index and subjectively perceived thermal sensation. In the qualitative part, data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The main conclusions from the interviews were used to design a survey and the samples. Based on the results, it was possible to identify places that offer different levels of thermal comfort. Thus, the study helps to improve thermal comfort at the campus, which is one of the goals of the Green Transition project to make the campus fully sustainable. Moreover, the methodology is applicable in different urban areas to improve urban health and sustainability and create resilient urban environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Innovations for Advanced Analysis and Multi-Performance Driven Design in the Built Environment)

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26 pages, 6120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relationship Analysis and Optimisation of Space Layout to Improve the Energy Performance of Office Buildings

by Tiantian Du, Michela Turrin, Sabine Jansen, Andy van den Dobbelsteen and Francesco De Luca

Energies 2022, 15(4), 1268; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15041268 - 09 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1811

Abstract

Architectural space layout has proven to be influential on building energy performance. However, the relationship between different space layouts and their consequent energy demands has not yet been systematically studied. This study thoroughly investigates such a relationship. In order to do so, a computational method was developed, which includes a method to generate space layouts featuring energy-related variables and an assessment method for energy demand. Additionally, a design of experiments was performed, and its results were used to analyse the relationship between space layouts and energy demands. In order to identify their relationship, four types of design indicators of space layout were proposed, both for the overall layout and for each function. Finally, several optimisations were performed to minimise heating, cooling and lighting demands. The optimisation results showed that the maximum reduction between different layouts was up to 54% for lighting demand, 51% for heating demand and 38% for cooling demand. The relationship analysis shows that when comparing the four types of design indicators, the façade area-to-floor area ratio showed a stronger correlation with energy demands than the façade area ratio, floor area ratio and height-to-depth ratio. Overall, this study shows that designing a space layout helps to reduce energy demands for heating, cooling and lighting, and also provides a reference for other researchers and designers to optimise space layout with improved energy performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Innovations for Advanced Analysis and Multi-Performance Driven Design in the Built Environment)

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35 pages, 15120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimising High-Rise Buildings for Self-Sufficiency in Energy Consumption and Food Production Using Artificial Intelligence: Case of Europoint Complex in Rotterdam

by Berk Ekici, Okan F. S. F. Turkcan, Michela Turrin, Ikbal Sevil Sariyildiz and Mehmet Fatih Tasgetiren

Energies 2022, 15(2), 660; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15020660 - 17 Jan 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3094

Abstract

The increase in global population, which negatively affects energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and arable land, necessitates designing sustainable habitation alternatives. Self-sufficient high-rise buildings, which integrate (electricity) generation and efficient usage of resources with dense habitation, can be a sustainable solution for future urbanisation. This paper focuses on transforming Europoint Towers in Rotterdam into self-sufficient buildings considering energy consumption and food production (lettuce crops) using artificial intelligence. Design parameters consist of the number of farming floors, shape, and the properties of the proposed façade skin that includes shading devices. Nine thousand samples are collected from various floor levels to predict self-sufficiency criteria using artificial neural networks (ANN). Optimisation problems with 117 decision variables are formulated using 45 ANN models that have very high prediction accuracies. 13 optimisation algorithms are used for an in-detail investigation of self-sufficiency at the building scale, and potential sufficiency at the neighbourhood scale. Results indicate that 100% and 43.7% self-sufficiencies could be reached for lettuce crops and electricity, respectively, for three buildings with 1800 residents. At the neighbourhood scale, lettuce production could be sufficient for 27,000 people with a decrease of self-sufficiency in terms of energy use of up to 11.6%. Consequently, this paper discusses the potentials and the improvements for self-sufficient high-rise buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Innovations for Advanced Analysis and Multi-Performance Driven Design in the Built Environment)

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Other

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19 pages, 1593 KiB

Open AccessConcept Paper

Delightful Daylighting: A Framework for Describing the Experience of Daylighting in Nordic Homes and Coupling It with Quantitative Assessments

by Hanna Vikberg, Abel Sepúlveda and Francesco De Luca

Energies 2022, 15(5), 1815; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15051815 - 01 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2108

Abstract

In this conceptual article we propose a framework for describing the experience of delightful daylighting in Nordic homes and a method to correlate it with an existing quantitative daylighting assessment. In contrast to earlier research on daylighting, the present work gives priority to developing the methodology for researching the experience of the inhabitant in a real situation and relying the quantitative assessment on an existing method. In this way, we shift the focus of daylight studies from quantitative evaluations towards qualitative descriptions of the human experience of daylight. The framework enables future research that can broaden the way the experience of daylighting is described and to see if the quantitative assessment according to the standard EN 17037:2018 Daylighting in buildings correlates with these descriptions. Firstly, the current state of research on subjective daylight preferences and daylight assessment is reviewed. Secondly, a novel method, the long-term spatial interview, is introduced. The aim of the method is to describe a long-term experience of a spatial phenomenon, in this case, delightful daylighting of Nordic homes, through a phenomenological perspective and enable localisation of the qualitative research results. Finally, the use of the existing EN-standard as a tool to quantitatively describe the daylight situation of spaces is explained and a correlation analysis of the quantitative and qualitative results is explicated. Future research based on the framework can provide useful information for designers aiming at creating delightful daylighting experiences in Nordic homes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Innovations for Advanced Analysis and Multi-Performance Driven Design in the Built Environment)

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