A stakeholder- and function-based planning method for space-efficient buildings

Abstract

Space efficiency has proved to be one of the basic parameters for achieving a high level of sustainability of buildings. By optimizing the required space to fulfil functional requirements, high potential savings can be achieved in terms of space, material and energy consumption. This presupposes, however, that - following the principles of an integrated design process - the use-related functional requirements of buildings have been determined in the early planning phases and that architects take these functional requirements into account accordingly - also with regard to possible organizational, logistic and process-related options. So, interdependencies and (temporal) overlays can be reflected and the topological structure can be transferred into space-efficient spatial structures. But adequate tools and methods are currently missing that support this process of user-based functional demand planning in the sense of an integrated participatory process. This contribution introduces a methodology for early planning phases, which is based on a stakeholder analysis and helps to specify process-related user functions as well as qualified functional correlations. The functional relationships can be described, for example, spatiotemporally or in relation to the flow of materials and can be mapped in an adjacency matrix. The planner is thus actively encouraged to think about area- and space-related optimization potentials and can transfer the topological structure of functions into an space-efficient floor plan concept. Also a prototypical implementation of this method will be presented as a web-based tool that supports a participatory user and stakeholder-related planning process.