Digitally designed airport terminal using wind performance analysis

Abstract

Over the past few decades, digital tools have become indispensable in the field of architecture. The complex design tasks that make up architectural design methods benefit from utilizing advanced simulation software and, consequently, design solutions have become more nature-adapted and site-specific. Computer simulations and performance-oriented design enable us to address global challenges, such as climate change, in the preliminary conceptual design phase. In this paper, an innovative architectural design method is introduced. This method consists of the following: (1) an analysis of the local microclimate, specifically the wind situation; (2) the parametric shape generation of the airport terminal incorporating wind as a form-finding factor; (3) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis; and (4) wind-performance studies of various shapes and designs. A combination of programs, such as Rhinoceros (Rhino), and open-source plug-ins, such as Grasshopper and Swift, along with the post-processing software Paraview, are utilized for the wind-performance evaluation of a case study airport terminal in Reykjavik, Iceland. The objective of this wind-performance evaluation is to enhance the local wind situation and, by employing the proposed architectural shape, to regulate the wind pattern to find the optimal wind flow around the designed building. By utilizing the aforementioned software, or other open-source software, the proposed method can be easily integrated into regular architectural practice.