BIOCLIMATIC DESIGN GUIDE: A SOFTWARE FOR SMALL-SCALE BUILDINGS

摘要

A new generation of computer tools specially addressing the various phases of the early design stage is emerging, due to increased importance for the success of the building energy use. This study is an effort to address the pre-concept phase of early design stage, where architects can arm themselves with the requisite knowledge of the required bioclimatic design principles for their specific climatic location, before embarking on the concept design of the building. The successful implementation of strategies suggested should result in a building that is bioclimatically sound. The study has resulted in the development of a software tool; Bioclimatic Design Guide, to assist designers and architects who are not energy professionals, to understand the basic principles of bioclimatic design, easily and interactively. The main idea is to demonstrate a methodology of an integration of design principles into a suitable computer interface tool, which can be of greater assistance to a designer in the early stages of design than a post design energy evaluation tool. The design principles presented are based on the book "Climatic Design -Energy Efficient Building Principles and Practices" by Donald Watson and Kenneth Labs (1983).