Integrated Building Envelope Design Process Combining Parametric Modelling and Multi-Objective Optimization

As an important element in sustainable building design, the building envelope has been witnessing a constant shift in the design approach. Integrating multi-objective optimization (MOO) into the building envelope design process is very promising, but not easy to realize in an actual project due to several factors, including the complexity of optimization model construction, lack of a dynamic-visualization capacity in the simulation tools and consideration of how to match the optimization with the actual design process. To overcome these difficulties, this study constructed an integrated building envelope design process (IBEDP) based on parametric modelling, which was implemented using Grasshopper platform and interfaces to control the simulation software and optimization algorithm. A railway station was selected as a case study for applying the proposed IBEDP, which also utilized a grid-based variable design approach to achieve flexible optimum fenestrations. To facilitate the stepwise design process, a novel strategy was proposed with a two-step optimization, which optimized various categories of variables separately. Compared with a one-step optimization,though the proposed strategy performed poorly in the diversity of solutions, the quantitative assessment of the qualities of Pareto-optimum solution sets illustrates that it is superior.