Building Design Efficiency = Do things right. Effectiveness = Do right things.

To achieve sustainability in buildings a clear goal and a systemic view is required. An effective design process not only provides efficient technology but includes the environment (climate, location and microclimate), the cubic volume of the building (orientation, shading), the façade (openings, sun protection, construction) and building technology (energy supply, distribution and generation). In particular the needs of the users should be considered in order to enable an efficient operation of the building. Furthermore the preview to renovation and demolition of existing buildings should be included.

The earlier the fields of sustainability are implemented in the design process the greater the probability of achieving the goal! An optimized design can result in up to 30% ore more energy saving potential. Therefore we support planning teams and owners in advance to the starting design process. This can be the definition of sustainability objectives or support within architectural competitions in order to exploit the full potential of the architectural design.

Bioclimatic architecture is one of the most influencing factors in energy efficiency and sustainability. Local radiation and air temperature as well as daily and seasonal fluctuations correlate directly with the resulting energy requirements. Our buildings respond to these specific site conditions which usually are non-controllable constraints.

An architectural design developed in accordance with the climate and site conditions simultaneously causes identification with the place. Apart from energy demand local people use buildings differently in different climatic zones. The involvement of local materials also leads usually to lower energy consumption for production and transport as well as higher efficiency.

The facade plays a key role as protection against the external climatic conditions. At the same time it provides important supply functions. In the good case optimal daylighting with positive physiological and psychological effects on people will be balanced with reduced energy demand for cooling and artificial lighting

Nevertheless, too much daylight without adequate sun protection causes quite the opposite. The optimisation of the interaction of natural light and heat transfer into the building therefore is necessary and useful.

Designing for people first and foremost means knowing what people need in buildings, e.g. adequate lighting for good visional performance without glare or thermal comfort by appropriate temperatures with low air flow rates.

However, sufficient comfort is not equal to the positive impact of an user optimised building. With “sufficient light” the visual task can be fulfilled; whether it is highly accepted by the user or there is a positive influences on the performance and concentration remains in question. But, especially in workplaces these factors play an increasingly important role. A high level of comfort in the interior leads to higher productivity, reduced sick days and thus lower (personnel) costs. The view on the user acceptance in buildings therefore also pays off financially.

BLAUSTUDIO supports you in developing user optimised comfortable buildings generating high performance and acceptance. In addition to general known comfort indices, we also carry out detailed investigations on daylight or thermal comfort. For post-operating evaluation we offer user acceptance studies.

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In addition to relatively soft factors such as the user acceptance resulting in the need for scientific studies, a variety of simulation programmes have been established to predict the building performance. The most important analysis methods for optimal building performance are mentioned briefly below:

• Shading and radiation analysis
• Thermal dynamic building simulation
• Daylight simulation
• Air flow simulation
• Building element simulation

Depending on the state of planning we use smaller tools for a quick check in the preliminary design stage or expert software in further planning stages.

Apart from thermal dynamic building simulation providing information about cooling and heating requirements as well as thermal comfort usually daylight simulation plays an important role in building design supporting the optimisation of daylighting and electricity demand in the building.

In contrast to simulation looking at certain questions under site specific conditions the standard calculation procedures fulfil country specific legal requirements. In Germany as an example, the energy demand is calculated with the standard calculation method for energy saving regulations (based on DIN 18599). Buildings of the same typology are made comparable in terms of the expected energy demand. A statement about the actual performance of the building can be made through standard calculation method only partially since the boundary conditions, such as climate data or usage profiles are standardized. Studies have shown that the calculations can deviate up to 200% from a monitoring of the same building.

Therefore we recommend to test the performance of a building in the planning phase through simulation with implemented correct and site specific boundary conditions. In addition to a full accompaniment of a project we offer individual studies on special questions.

Depending on the type of project and claim we offer to optimize different parameters. With the following scope but not limited to we support you in achieving your goals:

• Support in the development phase of projects, formulation of sustainability goals
• Development of competition tender documents
• Support architectural competition teams
• Shading and solar radiation simulation
• Development of energy concepts
• Indicative thermal simulation optimising buildings in the early planning stage
• Calculation according to German energy regulation (EnEV)
• Facade optimisation
• Daylight optimisation and -simulation
• Testing comfort criteria in buildings
• Life cycle analysis and life cycle cost analysis
• Documented evidence of conformity according to certification systems (DGNB, BNB, BREEAM, LEED)

The number of issues possible in a project make full list hardly possible. For more services please contact us directly at any time! Scopes and fee proposals will be created specifically after a first interview and screening of project documents for each project.