Artificial Intelligence in Performance-Driven Design

11Building Better Spaces: Using Virtual Reality to Improve Building Performance

Azadeh Omidfar Sawyer¹ and Kynthia Chamilothori²

¹ School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

² Human‐Technology Interaction, Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Introduction

Design decisions in architecture transform and shape relations between individuals, communities, and environments and are central in forming the experience of our daily lives, most of which are spent in built environments. At the same time, these design decisions are a crucial factor in climate change and the depletion of natural resources, with the building sector being responsible for 40% of the global annual carbon dioxide emissions in 2018 (International Energy Agency 2019). As a result, there is a growing urgency and responsibility for researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders in the building sector to make the most of available resources and create spaces that are energy efficient, as well as comfortable and pleasant for their occupants. As stated by Lam and Ripman, already in the 1970s, “we can no longer afford to waste space and energy so lavishly to produce such pitiful, pitiless environments.”

The initial design phase plays a crucial role in shaping the overall performance of buildings. Decisions made during this stage of building design, such as massing, building orientation, layout, and material selection, ...