Renovating a lecture hall with a glass roof: A case study of performance based design

Abstract

In practice, architects, due to time and budget constraints do not analyze designs and evaluate alternatives from the building physics perspective. They expect this analysis to be carried out by engineers. Engineers mostly get involved late in the design process, after key decisions are already finalized, leaving them powerless to solve problems efficiently. However, rapid advances both in computing and engineering have produced various simulation based tools for evaluating building performance that architects themselves can employ early in the design process. The proliferation of these tools throughout the architectural practice and education is necessary for achieving higher performance levels. In this study, the brand new Lecture Hall at Izmir Institute of Technology, Department of Mathematics that is in need of renovations to improve acoustic, visual and thermal comfort is diagnosed through measurements and the possibility of foreseeing, through simulations, the existing level of performance during the design stage is explored.