ARCH689 Project 1_julian

The main goal of this conceptual design is to transmit certain bio-inspiration of natural organism by using parametric design of BIM. This building is an earth-sheltered exhibition whose main entrance is the central visual expression for outside and other functions about exhibition is underground. I design this concept in Beijing, China.









I was inspired by the butterfly wings' microstructure involving with honeycombed shape, whichscales absorb more solar radiation than would a smooth surface. Conversely, the fold wings minimize the area of surface and avoid more thermal transmissions. In my design, I translate this structure into a roof with hexagon structure on the surface. Each hexagon structure has a height which will change according to seasonal solar radiation and temperature difference between interior and exterior. The following is the principle formular involving the parameters of height, radiation, season and temperature.

Height=if(or(and(Is it summer, Outside_Temperature > Inside_Temperature), and(Is it winter, SolarRadiationInWinter<200)),800, if(Is it winter, 800+ SolarRadiationInWinter, -50 * (Inside_Temperature - Outside_Temperature) + 800.1))--


1) In winter, the outside solar radiation in a daytime is high, and sometimes even higher than summer's for Beijing climate. So, I make the hexagon structure to the concave one which is able to concentrate more surrounding thermal radiation and then transmit heat to interior space. As the increas of solar radiation, the height of panel increases. Ideally, the color of hexagon panel will change to dark at this time. However, during the period without solar radiation or the nighttime in winter, inside temperature is higher than outside temperature, which will lose heat because of the roof's thermal transmission. So, the hexagon structure will change to a smooth surface without any concaves.

2) In summer's daytime, higher outside temperature will be transmitted through the envelop of the building. For minimizing the area of surface to receive solar radiation, the hexagon panel will change to a smooth surface like the case in winter. On the other hand, people activity will increase the indoor temperature obviously; however, short-period cloudy, rainy or nighttime cools the outside environments. For employing this natural short-period cool climate, each hexagon panel should be turned into a convex which enables to absorb more thermal radiation from interior and then transmits heat to outdoor.

Overall, the concave and the convex of each panel facilitate transmitting heat than smooth panel. This conceptual design just bases on the temperature difference between interior and exterior to form the appropriate panel structure of roof and in turn hopefully achieve energy efficiency and thermal comfort, but the final effect is still pending until the resulting building gets the evaluation for energy consumption through connecting BIM to certain energy simulation software.