A computational design exploration platform supporting the formulation of design concepts

The comparison of various competing design concepts during conceptual architectural design is commonly needed for achieving a good final concept. For this, computational design exploration is a key approach. Unfortunately, most of existing research tends to skip this crucial process, and purely focuses on the late-stage design optimization based on a single concept that, they assume, has been good enough or accepted already. This paper focuses on information or knowledge extracted from a multi-objective design exploration for the formulation of a good geometrical building design concept. To better support the exploration process, a new integration plug-in is developed to integrate parametric modelling software and process integration and optimization software. Through a case study that investigates the daylight and energy performances of a large indoor space, this paper 1) tackles the importance of design exploration on the formulation of a good design concept; 2) presents and shows the usability of the new integration plug-in for supporting the exploration process.