This study presents a retrofit strategy: integrating optimized photovoltaics (PV) in the form of responsive shading devices using a dual-axis solar tracking system. A prototype-based model was fabricated to compare the efficiency of PV in this implementation with the conventional fixed installation. The office building, T1 Empire World in Erbil, was selected as a retrofit case study and for the application of the proposed integration system. In order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed retrofit method, the energy performance of the base case is simulated to be compared later with the energy performance simulations after the integration technique. The amount of generated electricity from the PV surfaces of the integrated shading elements is calculated. The energy simulations were performed using OpenStudio^® (NREL, Washington, DC, USA), EnergyPlus^TM (NREL, Washington, DC, USA), and Grasshopper/ Ladybug tools in which the essential results were recorded for the baseline reference, as well as the energy performance of the retrofitted building. The results emphasize that the PV-integrated responsive shading devices can maximize the efficiency of PV cells by 36.8% in comparison to the fixed installation. The integrated system can provide approximately 15.39% of the electricity demand for operating the building. This retrofit method has reduced the total site energy consumption by 33.2% compared to the existing building performance. Total electricity end-use of the various utilities was lowered by 33.5%, and the total natural gas end-use of heating demand was reduced by 30.9%. Therefore, the percentage reduction in electricity cooling demand in July and August is 42.7% due to minimizing the heat gain in summer through blocking the sun’s harsh rays from penetrating into interior spaces of the building. In general, this system has multiple benefits, starting with being extremely efficient and viable in generating sustainable alternative energy—which is the global growing concern of today’s sustainable development—providing thermal comfort for occupants, and granting a dynamic appearance to the building when the PV-integrated elements rotate according to the sun’s position in the sky.

Natural ventilation through window openings is an inexpensive and effective solution to bring fresh air into internal spaces and improve indoor environmental conditions. This study attempts to address the “indoor air quality–thermal comfort” dilemma of naturally ventilated office buildings in the Mediterranean climate through the effective use of early window design. An experimental method of computational modelling and simulation was applied. The assessments of indoor carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration and adaptive thermal comfort were performed using the British/European standard BS EN 15251:2007. The results indicate that when windows were opened, the first-floor zones were subjected to the highest CO₂ levels, especially the north-facing window in the winter and the south-facing window in the summer. For a fully glazed wall, a 10% window opening could provide all the office hours inside category I of CO₂ concentration. Such an achievement requires full and quarter window openings in the cases of 10% and 25% window-to-floor ratios (WFR), respectively. The findings of the European adaptive comfort showed that less than 50% of office hours appeared in category III with cross-ventilation. The concluding remarks and recommendations are presented.

The hybrid philosophy behind the mixed-mode (MM) strategy aims at achieving energy-efficient buildings and sustainable development. A performance-based open-plan office design facilitates the handling of multiple design parameters to identify optimal design solutions for effective MM offices. This research presents a method of open-plan office design for an improved natural ventilation potential and reduced supplementary heating/cooling loads in the early design stage within a Mediterranean climate. Different design variables including office size, layout aspect ratio, window orientation and fraction of window opening, with several factor levels, were studied. The design of experiment developed by the Taguchi method was applied to define the most informative simulation scenarios. Analysis of variance was utilised to indicate the effectiveness of each design parameter, while the signal-to-noise ratio approach identified the near-optimal level combinations that support informed decision-making. Suggested by the EN 15251:2007 standard, the hourly dynamic simulations were conducted using TAS Engineering. The measurement criteria included airflow rate, carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, adaptive thermal comfort and air-conditioning (AC) loads. The calculated indicator was the number of hours in which a specific performance criterion is met during the occupancy period and the AC loads.

The conceptual design stage often involves a compound set of objectives and constraints such as abstract notions of function and aesthetic, performance, project requirements, site constrains and construction costs. To respond to these complexities, a number of design instances and alternatives need to be developed and assessed against predefined criteria. While this process requires human imagination, computational generative systems are increasingly being used in this stage of the design process. However, some of these approaches have limitations in the ability to make modifications within an interactive environment, requiring a model to be recreated with different attributes and parameters if changing geometry configuration or topology are needed. This research introduces a new approach - Parametric Design Procedures (PDPs) - which combines the techniques of Design Procedures and Parametric Modeling to address the limitations of existing systems. PDPs offer possibilities to explore a particular design instance after a model is constrained through the generation of an infinite number of design instances which can be considered in the evolution of parametric design instances. The rational for, and features of PDPs are described. The viability of this approach is explored through a prototype implementation in Grasshopper. The brief for an architectural design competition is used as the basis for the prototype development. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research and development, for example in the use of other software and other design phases to test the implementation and viability of PDPs.

This study proposes a performance-based window design model for optimised natural ventilation potential by reducing the level of indoor carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration and improving thermal comfort, consequently minimising supplementary heating/cooling loads. The model consists of several stages: (1) Knowledge acquisition, (2) establishing a relationship between window design and natural ventilation, (3) identifying performance criteria and the design of experiments (DOE), (4) conducting performance-based dynamic simulations, (5) evaluation of findings, and (6) making informed design decisions. The study also proposed an evaluation method by which assessments of indoor CO₂ concentration and adaptive thermal comfort are performed using the threshold suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland) and the acceptability categories of the British/European standard BS EN 15251:2007. The proposed model was applied to a single office inspired by the staff offices at the Department of Architecture, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus. The findings show that the developed model of performance-based window design enables the handling of various window design variables along with different performance criteria to determine the near-optimal window design alternatives for effective natural ventilation (NV) and mixed-mode (MM) offices. This model can guide architects in making informed decisions in the early stages of office window design.