Publications

This paper presents a method to synthesise functional relationships and spatial configuration simultaneously using shape and graph computation from shape grammar and space syntax theories. The study revisits seminal works and summarises the compatibilities between shape and graph computation as a set of rules.

This article analyses the laminated timber arches of three Ralph Symonds factories in Sydney, the ground-breaking laminated timber projects in Australia between the 1940s and 1960s, using daylight simulation, structural simulation, and rule-based design analysis.

Research into the adoption of collaborative robots (CoBots) for construction industries and subject matter experts by surveying industry requirements, processes and sequences of work protocols for standard industrial robotic arms

Acoustic and spatiotempo­ral characteristics can be informed through the controlled robotic fabrication of macro- and micro-geometries, by using mathematical principles as a driver for design variations and machine code

Rethinking Building Skins: Transformative Technologies and Research Trajectories provides a comprehensive collection of the most relevant and forward-looking research in the field of façade design and construction today, with a focus on both product and process innovation. The book brings together the expertise, creativity, and critical thinking of more than fifty global innovators from both academia and industry, to guide the reader in translating research into practice. New opportunities emerge for the construction sector to respond to present challenges, towards a more sustainable, efficient, connected, and safe future.

By shedding light on the contribution of local ingenuity and craftsmanship in the making of one
of the most celebrated buildings in the world, this paper reveals the largely unacknowledged, detailed complexity
behind the fabrication of the iconic roof of the Sydney Opera House.

Authors:
L. Cardellicchio, P. Stracchi, P. Tombesi

This paper is based on the PhD research work “Supporting the Use of Parametric Design in Architecture”. One of the key factors in design and analysis of empirical research in parametric computer-aided design in architecture is the comprehensive and justified measurement metrics of parametric modelling effectiveness. Introduced studies agree about the same thing that some of the parametric design systems are parametric rules and strategies. There is an obvious gap between traditional design principles and methods, rules of algorithmic modelling. For understanding of this gap there is an algorithm identification along with its parametric research, that allows to encrypt ideas in the language of textual and visual type of programming. This paper describes the evaluation criteria, methodology and application procedures for measuring the effectiveness of parametric modelling and design ideation, which was developed as a part of the comparative study (on-going PhD research work) titled “Supporting the Use of Parametric Design in Architecture”.

It has been demonstrated that kinetic sunscreens linked to intelligent building systems have the potential to improve the energy performance of large-scale public and commercial buildings. However, there has been minimal uptake, primarily due to the capital and maintenance costs. This study proposes that costs can be offset through adding value by repurposing the sunscreening system as a low-resolution media screen. To evaluate the feasibility of this hybrid environmental-media facade concept, physical prototypes has developed and calibrated to real-time simulation and control software; and two case studies were undertaken to assess the physical and economic feasibility. This article introduces the rationale for a hybrid façade, documents the prototypes and case studies, and outlines further work on control systems for a truly smart building façade.

Using the theory of affordance from perceptual psychology and through discussion of literature within visual data mining and immersive analytics, a position for the multi-sensory representation of big data using virtual reality (VR) is developed. While it would seem counter intuitive, information-dense virtual environments are theoretically easier to process than simplified graphic encoding—if there is alignment with human ecological perception of natural environments. Potentially, VR affords insight into patterns and anomalies through dynamic experience of data representations within interactive, kinaesthetic audio-visual virtual environments. To this end we articulate principles that can inform the development of VR applications for immersive analytics: a mimetic approach to data mapping that aligns spatial, aural and kinaesthetic attributes with abstractions of natural environments; layered with constructed features that complement natural structures; the use of cross-modal sensory mapping; a focus on intermediate levels of contrast; and the adaptation of naturally occurring distribution patterns for the granularity and distribution of data. While it appears problematic to directly translate visual data mining techniques to VR, the ecological approach to human perception discussed in this article provides a new framework for big data visualization researchers to consider.

The implementation of two pre-occupancy evaluation tools (P-OET) demonstrating the feasibility of using mixed reality are documented. The focus is on the early design stages, where relative merits of distinct options are being considered. For proof-of-concept, a simple architectural design context was used – the simulation of a typical commercial office environment. Four principles underpin the specification of a Virtual Reality (VR) prototype: (1) quasi-realistic graphics and low geometry models; (2) a multi-sensory approach (3) the capacity to evaluate changes in temporal context (4) evaluation via a task-based approach, combined with voice recordings and activity tracking. The second prototype uses Augmented Reality (AR) technology to compare design options where interactive virtual models appear on a conference table. Evaluation of the prototype applications is discussed: VR POET proved highly feasible and demonstrated the effectiveness of the four principles above; AR POET showed potential but is constrained by the functionality of available hardware.

This paper details the design, fabrication and evaluation strategies of the full-scale aluminium panel prototypes developed for a kinetic hybrid facade. The concept of a hybrid facade was proposed as an approach to maximise the value of kinetic intelligent building systems. The overarching research project investigates the potential, feasibility and real-life applications of a hybrid facade that integrates environmental, media and individual micro-control functions in one compound solution operating through autonomous rotating panels. This paper describes the ongoing hybrid facade project’s third research stage, focusing on the manufacturing and feasibility evaluation of the self-powered, wirelessly controlled, full-scale kinetic facade panel prototypes fabricated from aluminium sheet. This study contributes to the field of hybrid kinetic facade systems through investigating approaches to fabrication, kinetic set-up and performance, and a material and economic feasibility assessment through cost and LCA.

This research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus. Three group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased. Most of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.

In the rise of offices designed to support activity-based working (ABW), parts of industry have fully transitioned to open-plan environments and then later to unassigned seating, whereas other parts, such as tertiary education, are still in the process of moving away from individual offices. There are a few relevant studies to understand how occupants from industry sectors with different levels of adoption of ABW perceived environments designed to support this way of working. This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge gap by providing insight into workers’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction from open-plan offices designed to support ABW along with the key predictors of perceived productivity.

This paper reports the results from a dataset comprising 9794 post-occupancy evaluation (POE) surveys from 77 Australian open-plan offices. This paper specifically focuses on a sub-set of 20 offices (n = 2133), identified by ranking 10 offices each, with the least (n = 1063) and highest (n = 1070) satisfaction scores, respectively. The satisfaction scores were evaluated on the basis of seven factors (i.e., building/office aesthetics and quality, thermal comfort and indoor air quality, noise distraction and privacy, personal control, connection to outdoor environment, maintenance and visual comfort, and individual space). Using the POE survey data from 20 offices, regression analyses and two-way ANOVA tests were carried out to understand the differences in occupants’ satisfaction and perceived productivity arising from open-plan offices. According to the statistically significant regression analyses results, it was identified that building/office aesthetics and quality (β = 0.55, p < 0.001) and noise distraction and privacy (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) were the two strongest predictors contributing perceived productivity in low-performance offices. Two-way ANOVA test results for the 10 high-performance offices indicate that the perceived productivity was strongly associated with the office’s physical configuration, the employees’ working experience, and the working hours at that office.

This exhibition showcase the comprehensive work developed during the 60s and 70s by the world-famous Italian engineer, Pier Luigi Nervi and his office in Rome for Harry Seidler.

This is a quick reference guide to creating a net zero carbon built environment in Australia. It is the first, and at the time of publication, the only national guide for Australia that provides metrics and targets for current and future buildings in terms of their operational and embodied carbon emissions and presents a pathway towards a net zero whole life carbon built environment.

There is a growing interest in how organisms adapt to environmental changes and how an understanding of this can offer novel approaches to develop innovative facades. Technologies such as biomimetic adaptive building skins are emerging, allowing facades to adapt to changing conditions. They offer automated controls for occupants’ needs, provide efficient strategies to differing functional requirements, foster improved comfort and reduced energy demand. Biomimetics promotes adaptability since most organisms have advanced adaptations with minimum reliability on external mechanisms. This chapter provides a review of state of the art of biomimetic adaptive building skins, discusses the existing design processes for developing biomimetic adaptive building skins, describes several biomimetic design processes with case studies outlining their application and implementation as building envelope systems and analyses their measured performance benefits. A significant challenge faced with biomimetic adaptive building skins is the necessary expertise across multiple disciplines to design and performance analysis. The future needs in this area may focus on translating design principles found in nature that present how nature achieves optimum performance and measuring the environmental and energy performance of biomimetic adaptive building skins.

Authors:
A. Kuru, P. Oldfield, S. Bonser, F. Fiorito

Biomimetic adaptive building skins (Bio-ABS), being adaptable to changing environmental conditions, can foster improved comfort and reduced energy demand. Bio-ABS are climate-adaptable façades, and biological functions inspire their design. Buildings often require multiple functions for improved environmental performance. Multifunctionality refers to hosting multiple triggered by diverse stimuli interdependently. The realisation of multifunctional Bio-ABS may be challenging due to difficult construction processes, expensive materials, and the complexity in their application. Thus, digital modelling and simulation of multifunctional Bio-ABS are important to predict their performance. This paper reviews the studies on simulating Bio-ABS, proposes a novel simulation framework for multifunctional Bio-ABS and demonstrates it through a parametric case study. Performance comparisons among twenty base-case scenarios and 600 iterations of shading and ventilating multifunctional Bio-ABS provides shading through photovoltachromic (PVC) glazing and ventilation through Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) springs triggered openings. It is multifunctional by changing its morphology and physiology due to photovoltachromic glazing triggered by solar irradiance and Shape Memory Alloys being triggered by temperature. The results show that Bio-ABS improves building performance when compared against non-adaptable façades, reaching 37.1% for 90% acceptability limits and 18% for 80% acceptability limits for adaptive thermal comfort in an educational building in the humid subtropical climate of Sydney. Australia. The main outcome and contribution of this study is a novel simulation framework to predict the performance of morphology and physiology changing multifunctional Bio-ABS. Future work may focus on prototyping and validated experiments to close the gap between theory and the real world.

Authors:
A. Kuru, P. Oldfield, S. Bonser, F. Fiorito

Building skins should host multiple functions for increased performance. Addressing this, their design can benefit by learning from nature to achieve multifunctionality, where multifunctional strategies have evolved over years. However, existing frameworks to develop biomimetic adaptive building skins (Bio-ABS) have limited capabilities transferring multifunctionality from nature into designs. This study shows that through investigating the principles of hierarchy and heterogeneity, multifunctionality in nature can be transferred into biomimetic strategies. We aim at mapping the existing knowledge in biological adaptations from the perspective of multifunctionality and developing a framework achieving multifunctionality in Bio-ABS. The framework is demonstrated through the case study of Echinocactus grusonii implemented as a Bio-ABS on a digital base-case building. The methods include the Bio-ABS case study demonstrating the framework and simulating the performance of the case study and base-case building to comparatively analyze the results. The outcomes are a framework to develop multifunctional Bio-ABS and simulation results on the performance improvement Bio-ABS offer. The performance comparison between the Bio-ABS and base-case building show that there is a decrease in the discomfort hours by a maximum of 23.18%. In conclusion, translating heterogeneity and hierarchy principles in nature into engineered designs is a key aspect to achieve multifunctionality in Bio-ABS offering improved strategies in performance over conventional buildings.

Authors:
A. Kuru, S. Bonser, P Oldfield, F. Fiorito

Both organisms and adaptive building skins (ABS) respond to changing environmental conditions. There have been several systems developed through the synthesis of biomimetics and ABS to reduce energy demand or improve comfort in buildings. This paper presents the definition, characterisation and a comparative analysis of existing applications in the field of biomimetic adaptive building skins (Bio-ABS). We evaluate current uptake in the field, present an overview of the state-of-the-art and undertake a meta-analysis of fifty-two Bio-ABS applications to determine performance trends, opportunities and challenges. We found that current development in the field of Bio-ABS is limited. 53.8% of all published Bio-ABS remain at a conceptual stage of development, resulting in a gap between theoretical and real-world uptake. In addition, there is little quantitative analysis in terms of environmental or energy performance measurements, with only 44.2% of the projects considering these performance metrics. Of those that do, 78.2% demonstrate either thermal or visual comfort analysis while only five, 21.7%, include energy analysis. A further conclusion drawn is that the majority of Bio-ABS are monofunctional, only controlling a single environmental parameter. Very little attention is paid to multifunctionality, with only 13.4% of the published projects controlling more than one parameter. Multifunctionality in Bio-ABS needs further study to address multiple contradictory functional requirements of buildings regarding energetic and environmental performance.

Authors: A. Kuru, P. Oldfield, S. Bonser, F. Fiorito

This chapter discusses the way in which a tree’s geometry is visually perceived and constrained in architectural design. The discussion is centered at the intersection of visual perception and geometry to explore the design opportunities in a tree’s complex geometry.

Three implementations with different materials show the advantages of using computational weaving that combines traditional principles with today’s digital (CAD/CAM) tools to develop affordable fabrication techniques.

This paper re-examines the interweaving method to demonstrate how architectural computation can reinterpret the advantages of this traditional crafting techniques for its geometrical compatibility and rule generativity.

This study focuses on developing an understanding of the logic of the imagery in the passura in order to investigate the method by which meaning is embedded in them through certain design strategies.

This paper present a computational method to synthesize shell designs through the interplay between mechanical idealization and visual computation using traditional craft as a reference.

This paper highlights the ways in which Shape Grammar inductive reasoning can analyze and represent design knowledge in a tacit environment.

The role of shape grammar schemas in analyzing parametric and grammatical structural analysis is discussed, and a set of schema to generate novel structural topology is provided.

To some extent, the architect acts asa puppeteer,controlling the users’ access and obstacles –usually from a top-downview– and hope that the users will live as they imagine. This article discuss the state of architectural ABM during the pandemic.

This study uses dynamic hygrothermal simulations to assess the risk of failure of both timber-framed and mass-timber emerging external wall assemblies across Australian major cities, where most of the population lives. The transient analysis also investigates the sensitivity of the simulation outcomes with respect to the indoor climate input data. Results suggest that the mass-timber timber envelope performs overall better across the different scenarios of analysis compared to the timber-framed solution. However, the hygrothermal behaviour of the massive envelope solution consistently changes with the indoor climate model variation. This article highlights the importance of addressing condensation risk and moisture safety in timber envelopes from the early design stage. Input data and simulation scenarios must be carefully defined according to the specific case as they can highly impact the results’ outcome.

This paper outlines an analysis of Utzon’s process of ideating vault through the lens of shape grammar, from investigating the eureka moment of the spherical schema for the Sydney Opera House to interpreting vault schema generation in his later projects

This paper conducts a computational investigation on the settlement patterns of Kasepuhan villages in West Java, Indonesia, a traditional community that remains adherent to its ancestral principles, including migrating the capital village from one place to another.

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