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Image of My Model

Paste images or screenshots of your original building form and the recommended building form based on your evaluation and analysis

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Paste images or screenshots of the Summary Tables (created in Word, Excel, Google Sheets, or some other data table tool) showing the input values tested and the values computed for each of the reported parameters.

Description

For my evaluation metrics I create two custom nodes.

The first one helps us determine the optimal location for balconies on a high rise structure. The main idea is that after you panelize the building form (such that each panel has a height corresponding to a level, i.e. every 10 feet), you can compute the directness of each panel towards the sun and use that information to determine which panels are "worth" having a balcony. That is, I sort the panels based on the insolation value and then pick from them say the top 25% (the designer has the option to choose what percentage of the structure's apartments will have balconies). You can then extrapolate from the selected panels the "bottom line", which serves as the "base line" for the balconies. The designer can then compute the balcony area available per floor (and in total) after assigning the desired balcony width (input parameter).

A second custom node takes this information alongside other inputs and calculates the cost for: 1) the interior floors 2) the balcony cost for the option of having them cantilevered vs not cantilevered (i.e. different cost for these two options AND in the case of the non-cantilevered option: the balcony floor area is subtracted from the overall floor area to get a more accurate result for the interior floor area) 3) the cost for a green roof. Once these cost estimates are computed, the various combinations of the above (e.g. cantilevered balconies + green roof VS no cantilevered balconies + green roof VS no cantilevered balconies + no green roof etc) get computed as well. All of the above then gets outputed to an excel sheet, for each building form variation, alongside said form's gross surface area, gross floor area, and gross volume.

In terms of deciding on the optimal design, I will assume in this scenario that the designer is placing more emphasis on health and well-being vs cost. This means prioritizing a green roof and balconies. Based on the cost combinations described above, I find the most strategic option to be the one with non-cantilevered beams (cheaper than cantilevered option_) plus a green roof.