Modos projetuais de simulação: uso de ferramentas de simulação térmica no processo projetual de arquitetura

Abstract

This thesis aims to describe and demonstrate the developed concept to facilitate the use of thermal simulation tools during the building design process. Despite the impact of architectural elements on the performance of buildings, some influential decisions are frequently based solely on qualitative information. Even though such design support is adequate for most decisions, the designer will eventually have doubts concerning the performance of some design decisions. These situations will require some kind of additional knowledge to be properly approached. The concept of designerly ways of simulating focuses on the formulation and solution of design dilemmas, which are doubts about the design that cannot be fully understood nor solved without using quantitative information. The concept intends to combine the power of analysis from computer simulation tools with the capacity of synthesis from architects. Three types of simulation tools are considered: solar analysis, thermal/energy simulation and CFD. Design dilemmas are formulated and framed according to the architect s reflection process about performance aspects. Throughout the thesis, the problem is investigated in three fields: professional, technical and theoretical fields. This approach on distinct parts of the problem aimed to i) characterize different professional categories with regards to their design practice and use of tools, ii) investigate preceding researchers on the use of simulation tools and iii) draw analogies between the proposed concept, and some concepts developed or described in previous works about design theory. The proposed concept was tested in eight design dilemmas extracted from three case studies in the Netherlands. The three investigated processes are houses designed by Dutch architectural firms. Relevant information and criteria from each case study were obtained through interviews and conversations with the involved architects. The practical application, despite its success in the research context, allowed the identification of some applicability limitations of the concept, concerning the architects need to have technical knowledge and the actual evolution stage of simulation tools