Resource Generative Skyscrapers
Date
2019-04-30
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Abstract
Rapid urbanization, resource depletion and limited land are further increasing the need for skyscrapers in city centers; therefore, it is imperative to enhance tall building performance efficiency and energy-generative capability. Potential performance improvements can be explored using parametric multi-objective optimization, aided by evaluation tools, such as computational fluid dynamics and energy analysis software, to visualize and explore skyscrapers’ multi-resource, multi-system generative potential. An optimization-centred, software-based design platform can potentially enable the simultaneous exploration of multiple strategies for the production of multiple resources. Resource generative skyscrapers (RGS) are proposed as a possible solution to explore further and optimize the generative potential of skyscrapers. This research outlines various resource-generation technologies suitable to be integrated within the RGS typology and provides a parametric design framework tool that guides this design exploration at its schematic design stage. By employing combined strategies of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, the created parametric design framework tool is utilized in the context of Cairo, Egypt to explore a pilot RGS design project. Although this research concludes by identifying that RGS is not feasible to operate at its full capacity in Cairo, Egypt due to various socioeconomic, political, and, environmentally related pitfalls, this research provides 1) enhanced understanding of the effect of height-induced environmental variation along a tall building’s altitude, which can potentially influence the architectural expression of future projects. 2) identifies an optimized building height range that can ensure a suboptimal balanced generation of the integrated resources. 3) Explores the concept of sky-sourced energy, highlighting the point of heating and cooling loads’ convergence. 4) Finally, the created parametric definitions are repackaged into coded grasshopper clusters that can be used by other designers to investigate potential RGS projects in other locations with different climatic conditions at the schematic design stage.
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Keywords
Energy Efficiency, Performance-based Design, Renewable energy, Resource generation, Multi-objective Optimization
Citation
Imam, M. (2019). Resource Generative Skyscrapers (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.