Characterizing the Solution Space of Building Shading System Through Computational and Parametric Feed-Forward Design Approach

Abstract

AbstractBuilding shading systems play an important role in controlling solar heat gains, which can mitigate the impact of climate change on indoor environment. Effectively reducing cooling demand in summer and heating demand in winter requests further development of seasonally regulated shading systems. The main problem is to find a way that consumes less energy while reaching better comfort, which demonstrates potential for conducting an extensive search to parametrize configuration of shading. This paper aims to investigate the effects of building shading systems on energy and thermal performance in different seasonal conditions through a parametric design method, using Baoshan station in Shanghai, China as a case study to establish a baseline model and test different shading components’ direction, depth, spacing, and tilt angle. The method explores a large solution space at the beginning of design, establishing a variety of approaches that can inform the architectural design team. The results showed that a proper passive shading system can reduce energy consumption by about 13% while thermal comfort meets ASHRAE 55 standards. This finding indicates the possibility of improving the indoor thermal comfort while lessening building energy consumption.