The original building form
The recommended building form based on your evaluation and analysis
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2Fb0df5917-ce1f-4003-b851-40384458b5e2%2FUntitled.png?id=71e513a3-7afd-4d6b-93ff-87b1c92f3254&table=block)
Step 1
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2Fa351d2f6-9bb0-4016-b559-30ed452ea7d5%2FUntitled.png?id=5a55606a-a106-45cc-ac38-09808cde6c00&table=block)
Workflows for step 1. The two metrics I evaluated are construction costs and solar electricity revenues. Below are the custom nodes.
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F113b9649-b620-4dd8-b5fa-2683d20f706e%2FUntitled.png?id=71af89e5-0a75-491f-be4b-a66b07278d67&table=block)
BuildingFormEvaluateValueByFloorAreaForTwoInputs
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F82881d2a-be04-4989-9564-e55b677858f1%2FUntitled.png?id=c0d6adc7-9a94-413e-a5de-ab028880bd4c&table=block)
The two metrics I evaluated. More custom nodes are displayed below.
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2Fd473337f-7852-4549-80d4-bf61b98308a6%2FUntitled.png?id=70170e43-e10e-49d2-9ce7-9d6de9fb002f&table=block)
MassFloors
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F40d70954-7441-4f09-825a-1cbc68828265%2FUntitled.png?id=38e64f27-392d-4aef-bf08-279334d87cc6&table=block)
EstimateCostByFloorLevel
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2Ff0ef2dd6-e637-4922-86d6-2d9bf36d0bbc%2FUntitled.png?id=46384ac5-f8cf-4cbf-88c2-f62e61db3a18&table=block)
SelectGroundOrNongroundSurfaces
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F9d4c6150-458e-46d4-ac8e-1e025693e3b2%2FUntitled.png?id=f9623f58-a4ba-4f10-8c0e-d1d529dd1f6d&table=block)
CustomedSolarAnalysis
I only considered self-shading here. I think considering surrounding buildings is not fair for the comparisons.
Step 2
I copied the table from the spreadsheet exported from Dynamo. Here, I recorded everything. The gross floor area always falls between 1,200,000 and 1,500,000 sf.
Test Cases | Building Width (’) | Top Rotation (°) | Gross Floor Area (SF) | Gross Surface Area (SF) | Gross Volume (CF) | Construction Costs ($) | Solar Electricity Revenues ($) |
1 | 180 | 30 | 1214994 | 524599 | 18224817 | 1250570273 | 20197335 |
2 | 180 | 45 | 1214969 | 524922.1 | 18224314 | 1250550296 | 21483900 |
3 | 180 | 60 | 1214903 | 525367.1 | 18223116 | 1250496659 | 19923381 |
4 | 180 | 75 | 1214764 | 525924.9 | 18220764 | 1250383961 | 17593695 |
5 | 180 | 90 | 1214513 | 526587.6 | 18216820 | 1250179900 | 15992445 |
6 | 190 | 30 | 1353743 | 556623.6 | 20306041 | 1393382310 | 24291095 |
7 | 190 | 45 | 1353716 | 557002 | 20305541 | 1393360052 | 24975088 |
8 | 190 | 60 | 1353642 | 557523.2 | 20304111 | 1393300289 | 23458592 |
9 | 190 | 75 | 1353487 | 558179.5 | 20301535 | 1393174722 | 23148064 |
10 | 190 | 90 | 1353208 | 558959.7 | 20297042 | 1392947357 | 21130354 |
11 | 200 | 30 | 1499992 | 588952.8 | 22499815 | 1543913917 | 25681247 |
12 | 200 | 45 | 1499962 | 589392.4 | 22499121 | 1543889254 | 25958662 |
13 | 200 | 60 | 1499880 | 589999.7 | 22497642 | 1543823035 | 24888040 |
14 | 200 | 75 | 1499709 | 590764 | 22494797 | 1543683903 | 23058596 |
15 | 200 | 90 | 1499399 | 591675.1 | 22489796 | 1543431975 | 21099453 |
Step3
I used the spreadsheet to determine the optimization scheme. The instruction said I could either choose to do it in Dynamo or a spreadsheet, so I did not create a Dynamo workflow for this part.
- What metrics are most important? Both are equally important.
- How do they interact? Revenues can be directly subtracted from costs.
- Is there a tradeoff? Yes. The ones with higher construction costs tend to have higher revenues.
- How can you weight or scale the values returned by your evaluation metrics to compare them? I don’t need to weigh or scale them. I can directly calculate them to find the optimization scheme.
- Can you create a new single measure that incorporates the individual metrics in a sensible way? I can add nodes in Dynamo to calculate the net costs. I can also calculate them in the spreadsheet.
Test Cases | Building Width (’) | Top Rotation (°) | Gross Floor Area (SF) | Gross Surface Area (SF) | Gross Volume (CF) | Construction Costs ($) | Solar Electricity Revenues ($) | Net Costs ($) |
1 | 180 | 30 | 1214994 | 524599 | 18224817 | 1250570273 | 20197335 | 1230372938 |
2 | 180 | 45 | 1214969 | 524922.1 | 18224314 | 1250550296 | 21483900 | 1229066396 |
3 | 180 | 60 | 1214903 | 525367.1 | 18223116 | 1250496659 | 19923381 | 1230573278 |
4 | 180 | 75 | 1214764 | 525924.9 | 18220764 | 1250383961 | 17593695 | 1232790266 |
5 | 180 | 90 | 1214513 | 526587.6 | 18216820 | 1250179900 | 15992445 | 1234187455 |
6 | 190 | 30 | 1353743 | 556623.6 | 20306041 | 1393382310 | 24291095 | 1369091216 |
7 | 190 | 45 | 1353716 | 557002 | 20305541 | 1393360052 | 24975088 | 1368384963 |
8 | 190 | 60 | 1353642 | 557523.2 | 20304111 | 1393300289 | 23458592 | 1369841697 |
9 | 190 | 75 | 1353487 | 558179.5 | 20301535 | 1393174722 | 23148064 | 1370026659 |
10 | 190 | 90 | 1353208 | 558959.7 | 20297042 | 1392947357 | 21130354 | 1371817004 |
11 | 200 | 30 | 1499992 | 588952.8 | 22499815 | 1543913917 | 25681247 | 1518232670 |
12 | 200 | 45 | 1499962 | 589392.4 | 22499121 | 1543889254 | 25958662 | 1517930592 |
13 | 200 | 60 | 1499880 | 589999.7 | 22497642 | 1543823035 | 24888040 | 1518934996 |
14 | 200 | 75 | 1499709 | 590764 | 22494797 | 1543683903 | 23058596 | 1520625307 |
15 | 200 | 90 | 1499399 | 591675.1 | 22489796 | 1543431975 | 21099453 | 1522332522 |
The added column shows the net costs. The lower ones are better.
Step 4
Test Cases | Building Width (’) | Top Rotation (°) | Gross Floor Area (SF) | Gross Surface Area (SF) | Gross Volume (CF) | Construction Costs ($) | Solar Electricity Revenues ($) | Net Costs ($) |
2 | 180 | 45 | 1214969 | 524922.1 | 18224314 | 1250550296 | 21483900 | 1229066396 |
1 | 180 | 30 | 1214994 | 524599 | 18224817 | 1250570273 | 20197335 | 1230372938 |
3 | 180 | 60 | 1214903 | 525367.1 | 18223116 | 1250496659 | 19923381 | 1230573278 |
4 | 180 | 75 | 1214764 | 525924.9 | 18220764 | 1250383961 | 17593695 | 1232790266 |
5 | 180 | 90 | 1214513 | 526587.6 | 18216820 | 1250179900 | 15992445 | 1234187455 |
7 | 190 | 45 | 1353716 | 557002 | 20305541 | 1393360052 | 24975088 | 1368384963 |
6 | 190 | 30 | 1353743 | 556623.6 | 20306041 | 1393382310 | 24291095 | 1369091216 |
8 | 190 | 60 | 1353642 | 557523.2 | 20304111 | 1393300289 | 23458592 | 1369841697 |
9 | 190 | 75 | 1353487 | 558179.5 | 20301535 | 1393174722 | 23148064 | 1370026659 |
10 | 190 | 90 | 1353208 | 558959.7 | 20297042 | 1392947357 | 21130354 | 1371817004 |
12 | 200 | 45 | 1499962 | 589392.4 | 22499121 | 1543889254 | 25958662 | 1517930592 |
11 | 200 | 30 | 1499992 | 588952.8 | 22499815 | 1543913917 | 25681247 | 1518232670 |
13 | 200 | 60 | 1499880 | 589999.7 | 22497642 | 1543823035 | 24888040 | 1518934996 |
14 | 200 | 75 | 1499709 | 590764 | 22494797 | 1543683903 | 23058596 | 1520625307 |
15 | 200 | 90 | 1499399 | 591675.1 | 22489796 | 1543431975 | 21099453 | 1522332522 |
This is the one with filtered and ranked results.
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2Ff8e2ece1-71fd-432b-9bbd-9a3bb22f390b%2FUntitled.png?id=c855469d-7526-4319-a775-0e3bf30abeaa&table=block)
These are the top three options.
I recommend the second test case. This one has a low construction cost but high revenue from solar electricity generation, so the net cost is the lowest.
This may be due to the addition of areas for solar panels. My strategy is to add solar panels all over the facades, not just the roof.
Step 5
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F2e495eed-aa5e-4264-a789-745391411427%2FUntitled.png?id=031d6283-2109-490e-b306-b1d8632850aa&table=block)
I did the scheme optimization in the spreadsheet, so I just selected the best case in Dynamo. I used the following custom node to select wall surfaces.
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F9a47f872-817c-4f66-9078-94b0e1b305a9%2FUntitled.png?id=836c2fbf-0a7e-4a39-b245-4e1bb4ee4613&table=block)
From the background, you can see the UV grid of points being created.
Step 6
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F0541774a-bea3-4a0a-8fd3-229832e0d192%2FUntitled.png?id=27d86c44-47b4-42d7-b34d-a68f4077076e&table=block)
Then I used my workflow in Module 4, Part 2, to define the panels’ color, width, and thickness based on the sun's positions. I used three custom nodes, which I had already described in Module 4, Part 2. Below is the Revit model.
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F9fb6cf63-dc31-4908-bef5-b76319562e39%2FUntitled.png?id=1b9f5192-bf2d-4117-8ff5-344639dbf2cd&table=block)
These are the custom nodes I had already used before.
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F2d146a12-b83b-4eb8-a04d-38dd253f3f6f%2FUntitled.png?id=dfd84add-d4f1-4664-a405-0db823825a40&table=block)
Panels.ComputeSunDirectness
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2F3648d8ea-30ab-4124-8193-f89cd91add06%2FUntitled.png?id=c73f3340-c733-445e-a1a2-cfa07f0d5fc0&table=block)
PanelNormals.AllPointUpward
![image](https://www.notion.so/image/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fsecure.notion-static.com%2Fa900aa6b-3674-4ada-9607-104a72831933%2FUntitled.png?id=cd87c287-1e3c-4828-a8be-806b73afd124&table=block)
Map the Distance Value to a Color Range