Performance at the service of architecture

Designing spaces that are able to balance human comfort, energy-efficiency and well-being in a given climate is a real challenge, yet a problem faced every day by architects and building designers. Within the overall framework of promoting linkages between the engineering and design fields, this talk will discuss new approaches in research and education that are being developed to better integrate building performance considerations in the architectural design process. Daylighting is chosen as a strategic focus for this effort, being inherent to architectural design and one of the main drivers of a building's technical performance and resulting human comfort and health. The talk will present research and teaching perspectives for the recently founded Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Performance-Integrated Design (LIPID), which include new calculation methods, evaluation tools, instruments and metrics that will support this integration effort in the course as well as the lab environments.