Computational Design and Virtual Reality Tools as an Effective Approach for Designing Optimization, Enhancement, and Validation of Islamic Parametric Elevation

Abstract

Virtual reality was investigated with various computational design approaches to improve users’ ability to communicate, share, and grasp the design’s requirements to better conceptualize ideas during various design and review stages. The study aims to show how computational design and virtual reality are utilized to forecast challenges, address design problems/limitations in a specific study space, and validate results. A case study of the main Architectural Engineering department building at the University of Sharjah (UoS) campus in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, was considered. The study focused on indoor daylight intake, ventilation, functionality, user comfortability, structural integrity, coherency and consistency, and performance optimization as factors to further evaluate and aid in the selection process of the optimal design. Consequently, innovative computational design tools were used in the study’s methodology to assess offered alternatives, such as altering and fabricating the building’s skin to deal with the challenges described above and improving the selected room’s visual and environmental conditions, such as optimal daylighting and ensuring users’ comfortability. The users’ immersive experience resulted in more accurate visualization and navigation around the to-be-built environment, allowing for more significant analysis and comprehension that further validated the results obtained. The chosen case study thus demonstrated the potential for computational design, mixed reality techniques, and strategies to enable an efficient process that ultimately verifies approaches taken toward a much more optimal solution through better visualization and contextualizing.

Optimising Daylight and Ventilation Performance: A Building Envelope Design Methodology

“…As expected, the integration of airflow and daylight simulation and optimisation improved the communication of design requirements within the parametric design process [94]. This integration represents a necessary step towards adaptive architecture [95,96].…”

Integrating an Image-Generative Tool on Creative Design Brainstorming Process of a Safavid Mosque Architecture Conceptual Form

“…image-generative platforms in architectural design has substantial potential advantages. These tools could allow architects to create 3D models, photorealistic pictures, and animations rapidly and efficiently, which can have the potential to change the design process in the future [10]. Currently, however, in the context of architectural design, a generated image reflects only the initial stage of the concept; it remains an architect's role to evaluate the feasibility of the building, make the changes that are required, determine the requirements of the building, and design its functional plan [7].…”

Simulation-Driven and Optimization-Based Design of an Architectural Building: A Case Study of a Space Tourism Building in the UAE

“…Building massing and façades play crucial roles in environmental performance in performance-based architectural design and have a big impact on things like daylighting, passive cooling/heating, and ventilation. Additionally, due to the quick advancement of computational design optimization, it is now common practice to include aspects of a building's massing or façade design in the optimization process to generate high-performing solutions; the creation of building massing designs using EvoMass initiates the workflow because it can produce building massing shapes with great architectural variation and differentiation [14]. We used an additive algorithm in EvoMass to create different building design options for massing to systematically assess a variety of designs while considering the current climatic conditions and surrounding environment and to eliminate task-and site-specific designs [15].…”