Understanding Computational Methods for Solar Envelopes Based on Design Parameters, Tools, and Case Studies: A Review

Abstract

<jats:p>The increasing population density in urban areas simultaneously impacts the trend of energy consumption in building sectors and the urban heat island (UHI) effects of urban infrastructure. Accordingly, passive design strategies to create sustainable buildings play a major role in addressing these issues, while solar envelopes prove to be a relevant concept that specifically considers the environmental performance aspects of a proposed building given their local contexts. As significant advances have been made over the past decades regarding the development and implementation of computational solar envelopes, this study presents a comprehensive review of solar envelopes while specifically taking into account design parameters, digital tools, and the implementation of case studies in various contextual settings. This extensive review is conducted in several stages. First, an investigation of the scope and procedural steps of the review is conducted to frame the boundary of the topic to be analyzed within the conceptual framework of solar envelopes. Second, comparative analyses between categorized design methods in parallel with a database of design parameters are conducted, followed by an in-depth discussion of the criteria for the digital tools and case studies extracted from the selected references. Third, knowledge gaps are identified, and the future development of solar envelopes is discussed to complete the review. This study ultimately provides an inclusive understanding for designers and architects regarding the progressive methods of the development of solar envelopes during the conceptual design stage.</jats:p>

A Computational Workflow for Generating A Voxel-Based Design Approach Based on Subtractive Shading Envelopes and Attribute Information of Point Cloud Data

“…Since then, various computational methods of solar envelopes, such as descriptive geometry, solar obstruction angle, and constructive solid geometry have been defined [19]. These approaches have successfully demonstrated the concept of solar envelopes into various urban settings (e.g., single building, open space, and urban scale) and multiple functional utilities (e.g., housing, offices, and commercial buildings).…”

“…It is regulated based on specific space-time constraints [18]. According to this principle, solar envelopes can be transformed into geographic and climatic properties within the size of on-site buildings [19]. Geographic properties deal with a group of parameters that define the spatial relationship between the design plot and existing context related to orientation typology, surrounding facades, sidewalks, building height, longitude, latitude, floor area ratio (FAR), setback, shadow fences, and street sizes.…”