Optimisation of shading devices in buildings is a broadly investigated topic; however, most studies only focus on a single façade orientation, since the observed buildings are typically located in high latitude regions. However, in tropical regions, optimisation of all façade orientations is required due to the relatively high solar radiation and long sunshine duration. While adaptive shading devices are a promising solution, they are not without disadvantages, and as such a combination of adaptive shading devices and a fixed shading device shall be considered. This research therefore aims to design the optimum internal shading devices on four façade orientations of a high-rise office building in a tropical city, considering fixed and adaptive shading design options, and to determine the impact on annual daylight performance using computational modelling and simulation. The simulation is carried out under: (1) fixed design option, focusing on the numbers and width of slats; and (2) adaptive design option, focusing on the slat angle on various conditions. It is found that both sDA_300/50% and ASE_1000,250 are only influenced by the orientation. Under the fixed design option, the sDA_300/50% and ASE_1000,250 targets can be achieved only on the north and south façades, and accordingly the adaptive design option shall be implemented on the east and west façades. Overall, this study contributes to knowledge regarding the optimisation of shading devices in high-rise buildings in the tropics, considering the daylight admission from the four cardinal orientations.

The city of Bandung, Indonesia contains thematic parks which use certain themes to highlight the features of the park. They are also used as a branding strategy for the city as a whole. As social networking has become a type of media used by most global populations to share experiences and stories and to influence perceptions, and because online reviews are one way to get potential positive information about the success of a business or service, we analyzed online reviews from the Bandung thematic parks. We identified that thematic parks have an influence on the branding of the city of Bandung. Data collection involved data extraction from Google Maps user reviews. Text mining was used to collect the information attributes needed to determine the public perceptions of thematic parks. Data analysis was used to determine the extent to which a park can be a benchmark for place branding in Bandung. This research found that the influence of the thematic park concept is a good strategy for the city of Bandung. Online reviews show that thematic parks in Bandung are better known than non-thematic parks, and that thematic parks get very good ratings and good opinions from online reviewers. This information is expected to be a reference for developing the concept of thematic parks, especially in the city of Bandung, and it can be used by the government, architects, and urban designers to get a better understanding of the users’ perceptions and as a benchmark for similar projects.

Buildings account for around 30 percent of the world’s total energy consumption and a similar percentage of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions the main cause of climate change. The building sector is a major energy consumer, and empirical research reveals that carbon-dioxide emissions from the building sector exceed those of the industry and transport sectors. Contextual juxtaposition has commonly been applied in designing a new building in the historic district. In the realm of design, such philosophy-based design approach requires objective measurements. When new glass building considered, the question on greenhouse gas emissions becomes significant. To minimize energy consumption and reduce sun glare, brise-soleil and horizontal fixed shading devices have been used as elements of building’s facade. Nowadays, algae as part of building facade system have been used in creating a healthier indoor environment. This paper is written based on an on-going architectural design-based research on the use and role of algae as part of the building facade system. The new building of ITB Innovation Park is used as an infill project. With the help of modelling and extensive literature survey, this research will investigate how far the building (facade) design is affected by considerations on energy consumption pattern and environmental condition.

In recent years, researchers in the architecture field have explored VR technology for various purposes in the architectural design process. Current efforts have supported the growing knowledge of VR utilization, specifically for the architectural design review process. In this study, we adapt the affordance concept from the ecological psychology study to add further evidence on VR utilization for the design review process. This study aims to develop an affordance-based design review method in architectural design by utilizing immersive VR technology. It sits at the crossroads of architecture design, virtual reality, and affordance research. This project aimed to create an affordance-based review method framework, a VR system to support the method, test both the method and the VR system, and assess the VR system’s effectiveness as a companion system for the affordance-based design method process. The study was conducted in the scope of architectural education settings only. It used a third-year architectural design studio course as a case. This study confirms that the affordance-based design review method using virtual reality helps students improve their design work. The method reveals the presence of positive and negative affordances in their work. It also shows the differences between a student and supervisor in perceiving the affordances for reviewing design works.