Optimizing Bar Buildings for Sunlight and Pathways

The aim of this project was to design a typology of housing is needed that resembles small, artificial terrains. The Bar Building typology will have set of long, dense buildings that will mimic the form of a topography. The forms will need to be optimized to allow for all the residents within the buildings to receive the maximum amount of light throughout the year. A pathway between the buildings will also be optimized to allow pedestrians to travel to each entrance with ease.

Sensitivity Analysis

The Sun Exposure is the factor that is affecting the heights and forms of the buildings. The fitness value being targeted is the average value of the sun exposure from Ladybug. The parameters that are being affected are the Z Coordinate values of the artificial landscape, which in turn create the buildings that are analyzed in the Sun Exposure component. New buildings are created with each iteration that receive the maximum amount of sun exposure for the particular period chose. June was the month chosen for this portion of the analysis, but the effects may vary at different points of the year. Furthermore, as new buildings are created, new points are chosen as the lowest height for each building, thus creating an new optimized path between each building. 

Pseudocode – Form Development

The script begins by making a landscape from an arrayed grid, which is then populated with trees. Then, an Artificial Landscape is then created using Galapagos’ Gene Pool. The artificial landscape is then contoured, projected, and extruded to make a series of bar buildings that replicate the landscape through topographic lines. A path is then created by analysis the topography lines, and finding the lowest point of each line. This point serves as the entrance, and an optimized path is created between each. Finally, the buildings were then placed into Ladybug for a solar exposure analysis, and the forms and heights are to be optimized to allow for the maximum light exposure throughout the year.

Catalogue – Optimization of Building Forms

Catalogue – Optimization of Pathway

Optimization GIF