Bioclimatology and design: strategies applied in a case study

Abstract

Historically, architecture and urban planning courses have often discussed the difficulties that students encounter when applying the knowledge acquired in environmental comfort and energy efficiency courses into projects developed in design studios and later in their professional lives. In this context, this research aims to address and discuss the main aspects that contribute to the incorporation of comfort and bioclimatology strategies in architectural design, both in the definition of its design approach and other phases of development. For this purpose, the proposal for a cultural center was defined as a case study. The work is divided into three stages: (1) development of the architectural proposal in an integrated way with bioclimatic strategies; (2) computer simulation of the building based on the INI-C method from PBE Edifica; and (3) analysis of the results and re-evaluation of the architectural design. Among the main results, the relationship between the design intentions - the conceptual design approach - and the adjustments made after the computer simulation was highlighted, especially concerning the formal and envelope/closure elements.