The synergy of building massing and facade: An evo-devo approach for performance-based design optimization combining facade design with building massing

Abstract

One of the problems lies in performance-based architectural design optimization is the separation of building massing design and facade design. The separation of design processes significantly weakens the synergizing of building massing and facades for more progressive performance improvement. In order to overcome this weakness, this paper presents a performance-based design optimization workflow combining facade with building massing design using an Evo-Devo approach. This workflow enables architects to make a rapid design exploration of different facade design schemes incorporating building massing design optimization. For demonstration, a case study is presented to show how this approach can facilitate early-stage architectural design exploration, and how the combination of the two factors can outperform the results produced by separated design processes.