Focus
The focus of this conceptual design stage in the process of creating your integrated design project is to identify:
- Building Site & Context Features that will affect your design decision-making
- Building Massing -- the overall shape and form that you’ll carry forward in your design
- Building Orientation -- the rotation of the form relative to the compass and the sun
Recommended Approach
At this point in our design process, we’ll start working with conceptual mass models to develop and test our design ideas.
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Step 0: Establish Goals and Specific Targets
The first step in a Performance-Based Design process is to establish the goals and specific targets that you’d like your proposed design to deliver.
As you evaluate alternative building forms to identify the “best” option to move forward with into the schematic design phase, please evaluate your design proposals as to how well they help you achieve these goals and specific targets:
Measure | Goal | Target |
Operational Energy (EUI) | Minimize the energy use intensity (EUI - kBtu/sf/year) of the building. | Between 15 and 25 kBtu/sf/yr (47 and 79 kWh/m2/year). |
Daylight Potential | Meet LEED v4 Daylighting requirements (spatial daylight autonomy or illuminance options) | Option 1: spatial daylight autonomy (sDA) achieved for 75% of regularly used spaces Option 2: illuminance levels are between 300 lux and 3,000 lux for 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., both on a clear-sky day at the equinox, for 90% of the regularly used areas |
Solar Potential | Maximize the available solar PV generating on-site to offset energy use. | Offset at least 75% of annual energy use with onsite solar PV (either a building integrated or separate onsite array) |
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Step 1: Open the Stanford CEE Student Hub
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Enable Autodesk Forma for your Autodesk ID.
YOU MUST COMPLETE THESE STEP TO ENABLE AUTODESK FORMA FOR YOUR AUTODESK ID.
- Go to http://students.autodesk.com, and sign into your Autodesk account.
- Go to Products and scroll down to the Autodesk Forma tile.
This will redirect you to the Autodesk Forma site — where you should be able to select the Stanford CEE Student hub.
If you are prompted to “create a hub”, choose SKIP to return to the list of hubs that you have been invited to. Then, select the Stanford CEE Student hub.
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Login to the Autodesk Forma and open the Stanford CEE Student Hub.
Open the Stanford CEE Student Hub
- Open the Autodesk Forma web application using the Google Chrome web browser.
- Choose the Stanford CEE hub from the list of hubs available to you.
Most features of Autodesk Forma will work in other browsers (for example, Safari), but for the best editing experience, we highly recommend that you use the Google Chrome browser.
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Step 2: Select a Project Site and Explore the Building Site Context
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Select one of the recommended project sites in Autodesk Forma.
- Click the Projects link from the left navigation bar in the Forma web interface, then open the CEE 120B/220B folder in the All projects section of the page.
- Click the Join button to join the program and enable editing.
You’ll be presented with a list of 3 potential project locations to work work with:
- New York City, USA
- Sao Paolo, Brazil
- Copenhagen, Denmark
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Explore the Building Site Context
Start by thinking about and exploring the information about your project’s site and how your proposed design can take advantage of its features -- are there:
- Unique site features -- for example, hillsides, view opportunities, and access
- Local climate conditions -- sun, temperature, and wind
- Adjacent buildings or public spaces -- how will your design interact with its neighbors
Note: For each project location, a Proposal Template has already been set up for you that includes:
- Building Data (showing the heights and locations of various buildings directly around your site)
- Road data
- Topography data
- Your Building Site boundary (shown in dark red)
You’ll use these Proposal Templates as the starting point for your Proposals.
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Step 3: Explore Building Massing Alternatives by Creating Several Proposals in Autodesk Forma
Create several conceptual mass models to develop and test a few alternatives for how you might mass the building forms. Think broadly and consider:
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- Should the building be:
- A single continuous mass?
- A series of interconnected masses optimized for each program use?
- A series of separate pavilions connected by the landscape ?
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- Should the building be bold, eye-catching, and dominant - or - subtle, blend-in, and compatible?
- How will the shape, height, and width of the building sections affect the user experience? For example -- if creating a connection to the outdoors is important, narrower building forms that keep users close to exterior walls might be preferred.
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- What shapes and forms will be most beneficial for:
- Sun Hours
- Daylight Potential
- Solar Potential
- Operational Energy Use
- Natural ventilation
- Rainwater collection
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Duplicate the Proposal Template to create a new Proposal
- Scroll down the list of Proposals in your project to find the Proposal named “TEMPLATE (Copy Only)”.
- Click the three dot menu, and choose Duplicate to create your new Proposal.
- Select your new Proposal aand click the three dot menu, then choose Rename
- Rename your proposal using a unique name using this form:
- LastName_FirstName_Proposal# — for example, Katz_Glenn_Proposal1
The list of Proposals is sorted by creation date, so
TEMPLATE (Copy Only) is near the bottom of the list.
DO NOT edit or rename the TEMPLATE (Copy Only) Proposal. This is the shared starting point for every student’s proposals.
Your new Proposal will be created at the top of the list.
It’s important to include your name in your Proposal names to make them easy to select. The list of Proposals will grow very long as many students complete the assignment.
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Open your new Proposal and edit it by adding new Building Forms
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The base features of your Proposal will be displayed in the drawing area, including elements copied from the Template project:
- Site Limits
- Terrain
- Buildings
- Roads
A Building Site (the location for your new buildings) and Site Context (the area around your building site that will included in the analyses) have also been set up for you in the Template project.
Site Context vs. Building Site
A Building Site (the location for your new buildings) and Site Context (the zone around your building site that should be included in the analyses) have also been set up for you in the Template project.
- You will be creating your conceptual building form within the Building Site.
- You will then be running analysis on the entire Site Context in order to understand how your building will perform in the context of other buildings.
This image shows the Building Site and Site Context that have been set up in a Project Template.
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Be sure to view the Module videos for tips on creating your building forms:
6.2.B.1 Creating Building Forms using Forma’s Basic Design Modeling Tools
6.2.B.2 Creating Building Forms using the 3D Sketch Modeling Tool
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Analyze your Proposed Design using 2 of the Analyses available
Use the analysis tools available in Autodesk Forma to predict the performance of the massing alternative proposals.
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Each of the buttons opens a lower pane in the Analyze Palette where you can set up the analysis or view the results.
- Sun Hours performs analyses of the sun hours on building facades and the sun hours on the ground.
- Daylight Potential calculates how much light reaches facades from the sky and the daylight potential of the building forms.
- Solar Energy measures the solar insolation on the building surfaces to understand which surfaces receive the most and least sun, affecting your ability to place PV panels that will generate renewable energy.
- Operation Energy calculates predicted energy use intensity (EUI) for each proposal given the same building envelope assumptions.
- Rapid Wind Analysis provides wind simulation results for how the wind conditions change based on your design.
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- Click the Selection button in the Analyze palette and make sure that the “Site Context” area is highlighted in blue.
- Close the Select Analysis Areas dialog (using the X button) to return to the Analyze palette.
If the site context is selected properly, the area and surrounding buildings will be highlighted in blue.
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- Run an analysis for four different dates (March 21, June 21, September 21, and December 21).
- View the analysis results for each of the dates.
- Observe where sun is hitting the surface and where you are shading neighboring buildings. You will be using this information to help decide on your preferred building form.
- Close the sun hours analysis by clicking the back button in the top left corner of the window.
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- Run an analysis.
- View the analysis results for each of the dates.
- Observe the areas that are receiving the highest and lowest Vertical Sky Component Scores (VSC). This score indicates how much light would shine through a window placed at those points on the facade. Maximizing the VSC will help you reach the daylight potential goals. The table below shows the thresholds and certain design interventions related to daylight
- What areas have ample daylight? What areas might you need to have larger windows? What areas do not get any daylight?
- Close the analysis by clicking the back button in the top left corner of the window.
- Solar Energy
- Operational Energy
- Wind
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- After each analysis is completed, click the Open Analysis button to view the results of your analysis for this Design Option.
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Repeat these steps to create a total of 3 Design Proposals analyzing different potential building forms for the same project site.
- Duplicate your Proposal created for Step 3.
- Rename the duplicate Proposal using “_Proposal2” or “_Proposal3”.
- Edit and reshape your building form created for your earlier proposal (or create a new building building form).
- Analyze the new design proposal.
- Run the same (2) analyses that you used for your first proposal — so, you’ll be able to compare the results of the analyses performed on each of the proposals.
Step 4: Compare the Analysis Results and Decide Which Proposed Building Form to Carry Forward
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Compare Your Proposals
- Use Forma's Compare tool to view the results of the analyses performed on each proposal side-by-side.
- Open the Compare tool located at the bottom of the left sidebar.
- Select one of your Proposals from the list displayed in the Compare tool.
- Then, select one of the Analyses that you have performed on that Proposal.
- Repeat these steps to display comparable analyses for each of your three Proposals side-by-side in the comparison viewing area.
You can review the steps for setting up a side-by-side comparison of your design proposals here:
6.2.C.9 Analyzing and Comparing Design Options
The analysis results will be displayed in the comparison viewing area.
You can hover over the right edge of the panes in the comparison viewing area to display a left arrow button that opens an Options panel to adjust any assumptions and tweak the analysis (e.g., change the date of the analysis period).
To close the Options panel, click the right arrow button that appears when hovering over the left edge of the panel.
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Post the Comparison of Your Analysis Results
- Save a screenshot showing the side-by-side comparison of the analysis results and paste this screenshot into your Notion posting.
- Your Notion posting should include the images of the side-by-side comparisons of at least 2 of the analyses you performed on your Proposals (at least 2 screenshots).
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Select the Proposal that you choose as the “Best” of your design options.
Which building form alternative or specific features ideas are best for supporting your design goals?
- Select the Proposal that includes the “Best” design option — based on your assessment of the analysis results.
- Post a brief explanation of why you chose this option in your Notion submission.
- Think about how you can use text and images of your building form alternatives and the analysis results to compare the results and share your thinking about which building form you will carry forward to the next stage in the design process.
- You don’t need to be exhaustive in your explanation -- create and share an executive summary the highlights the key findings from your analysis.
Thinking Ahead
In the weeks ahead, we’ll develop these big ideas into a detailed building design. If it helps your creative process, you can start thinking ahead to:
Space Planning and Building Layout (Module 5)
- Creating a space budget to meet the program requirements
- Developing a bubble diagram of how your program spaces will interconnect
Access, Egress, and Circulation (Module 6)
- Placing the entries, exits, building cores, elevators, and stairways to support circulation and emergency egress in your design
Building Envelope (Module 7)
- Designing the building facades and roofs (materials, glazing, shading) to support the uses and design/sustainability goals for each of the spaces in your design
Progress Check-In / Documenting Your Design Journey
About Design Journal Entries
You’ll be sharing your ongoing design process and progress with others in our class community through a posting in an online Design Journal using Notion.
Feel free to use whatever format best captures the ideas that you want to share -- text, images, sketches, photos of hand sketches, intermediate models, results of analyses, and so on.
For this class, your design process is as important as the final result.
Post a Design Journal Entry
Create a new posting sharing your Design Journal entry on this linked Notion page:
Design Project Check-In: Conceptual Design - Building Context & Passive Design
Your Design Journal entries for this module should highlight:
- the design alternatives that you modeled and tested
- the results of the analyses and how they influenced your thinking about how to move forward
Weekly Design Project Check-In
You’ll sign up for an appointment next week with a member of the teaching team to review your progress and share tips about how to proceed.