CBDM 25
A configurable application that generates simple rectangular architectural mass while simultaneously providing regional economic and climate insights for a chosen country/city from the top 50 cities around the world. The tool allows users to adjust base dimensions, total building height, and per-floor height, then quickly see how costs, climate data, and massing possibilities vary by location. It’s ideal for early design or research stages, where an understanding of basic geometry, feasibility, and local conditions is crucial.
End User
Architecture Students and Design Researchers needing to explore preliminary building massing and local context data (construction cost, climate, economic data.).
Purpose of Use
To serve as an interactive tool for:
- Designing and customizing a basic rectangular volume (multi-floor).
- Visualizing the building mass (stacked floors) in 3D.
- Comparing location-specific data (cost, temperature, precipitation, etc.) to inform early-stage feasibility or conceptual design decisions.
By combining geometry generation with country/city metadata, the user can rapidly assess cost and climate conditions alongside the shape and size of a proposed structure.
User Inputs
- Geometry Parameters
- Length (horizontal dimension)
- Width (horizontal dimension)
- Height (total vertical extent)
- Floor Height (used to calculate how many floors/segments)
- Number of Volumes (repetitions in X-direction)
- Location Selection
- City Name (pulls economic data like construction cost and climate details from a built-in dictionary)
- (Optional)
- Bounding Box Preview (a translucent shadow to visualize the total building or each repeated volume)
User Outputs
- 3D Parametric Model
- Rectangular volumes (stacked floors), repeated horizontally if desired.
- Bounding/Shadow Geometry
- A visual “outline” showing full building height or per-volume bounding boxes.
- Key Calculations
- Total Surface Area (envelope of the stacked volumes).
- Floor Area (footprint × number of floors × number of volumes).
- Approximate Construction Cost (floor area × city-specific construction cost).
- Location-Specific Data
- Country
- Population Growth Rate
- GDP / GDP per Capita
- Temperature, Humidity, Precipitation
- Sunshine Hours, Prevailing Winds
Metadata
- Floor Count
Derived from total height ÷ floor height. - Construction Cost
Tied to city selection from an internal dictionary. Cost Per Meter (US$) - Climate Info
City-based average temperature, humidity, and wind patterns, Predominant Sun/Wind Direction, Sun Hours. - Building Mass
Stacked volume geometry for conceptual massing studies. - Economic Data
Country GDP, Population Growth Rate (%/yr)
Special Support Thank you! for Faculty: David Andres Leon, Justyna Szychowska and Faculty Assistant Sophie Moore
