Sustainability Star Tool - Overview
This tool can be used by used to assess the sustainability of a building form as well as the costs associated with construction, so that the user can observe any tradeoffs that exist between cost and sustainability. There are many inputs the user can choose. Some of the inputs are constant and some can be flexed in a generative model to determine the most optimal design choices.
Inputs
Dynamo player can be used to run this tool, and the inputs can be set below to generate the building form.
Outputs An example output is shown below.
All of these outputs are useful when assessing the sustainability of a building. For example, the surface area per volume should be minimized as having more surface area can allow more heat to transfer through the building envelope. Floor area per volume should be maximized to make the most efficient use of the space. The percent of floor area near windows should be maximized to reduce the need for artificial lighting. Lastly, the average r value should be maximized to ensure the building is well insulated. Also, unrelated to sustainability, costs should be minimized to make sure the building is viable.
A generative design study can also be done and any of the inputs listed above can be flexed to determine the optimal building form based on the outputs listed above.
Model Overview
The building is created using three profiles that are lofted together. The surface area and volume can then be calculated from this. Also, new surfaces are created that intersect with the curves from each floor. The areas of each floor are added together to get the gross floor area. The curves are then offset by 10 to find the floor area that is near the edge of the building. Lastly, the average R value is calculated to determine the average R value based on the window and wall R value and the window to wall ratio.