1.Form-finding

Building geometry was generated with Sub-D modelling tools and mesh in Grasshopper.

2. SOLAR STUDY AND OPTIMISATION

After achieving the desired geometry, Sun path study was carried out for the Site location : Barcelona, considering the following dates when the sun angles vary drastically : Equinox 21st March ,Summer solstice -21th June ,& Winter solstice -21st December.

There after, Annual Sun hours study was done to understand the Sun vectors.

The building orientation that would minimize the most amount of sun hours was calculated using Galapagos optimisation with one degree of freedom:Rotation on  Z axis.

3.PARAMETRIC FACADE AND KINETIC SKIN

A parametric façade was generated with the optimised orientation based on annual sun hours. A domain for the scale of opening sizes was set based on the sun point mesh generated by the Annual sun hours. Regions receiving lesser sun exposure have larger openings and vice versa.

To observe the kinetic movement of the facade created, V-Ray rendering engine on grasshopper was used.

4.SPATIAL DAYLIGHT AUTONOMY

To understand the indoor conditions of the generated volume, one full floor was analyzed  to learn how daylight changes with and without a shading device on the skin.

Scenario 1: Spatial daylight autonomy without any shading device.

Scenario 2: Spatial daylight autonomy with louver orientation optimised with respect to Annual sun hours. 

The louvre orientation that minimizes the most amount of sun hours was  calculated using Galapagos with two degrees of freedom: Rotation on X and Z.

5.ENERGY MODELLING

The spatial daylight autonomy was calculated considering the 4 following  scenarios.

6.PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR PANELS

Solar energy is renewable  and one of the ways to tap it is by the usage of Photovoltaic panels. Hence, the proposed tower was tested to infer amount of PV’s needed, best angle to mount, monthly energy chart and total power production, normalized per area (kWh/m2).

7.PAVILION SHADING OPTIMISATION

Shading orientation of the pavilion that minimizes the most amount of sun hours was calculated using Galapagos with Multiple degree of freedom: Rotation in Z axis and free movement in X and Y plane.

TORRE ONYX is a project of IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed during the course, Environmental Data Driven Parametric Buildings at the Masters in Advanced Architecture in 2021/2022 by: Student: Aishwarya Shama Sunder Rajendra Prasad Faculty: Carlos Bausa Martinez