Mayhoub, M., Labib, R. TOWARDS A SOLUTION FOR THE INEVITABLE USE OF THE GLAZED FAÇADES ... TOWARDS A SOLUTION FOR THE INEVITABLE USE OF GLAZED FACADES IN THE ARID REGIONS VIA A PARAMETRIC DESIGN APPROACH

The utilisation preference of glazed facades in the hot regions is accompanied by serious environmental and economic impacts. Attempts are continuing to fulfil an optimum balance between minimising heat gains and maximising daylighting benefits; in an economical approach. This study was conducted in Egypt, where a real case study was investigated to evaluate the thermo-visual performance of a building with glazed facades. Improvements of the thermo-visual performance are pursued via the application of five different glazing alternatives in the first phase of the study. In the other two phases, further enhancement is sought via the addition of parametric lightshelves and perforated double skin facades; creating a total of 138 possible configurations. The best configuration that combined clear glass and a lightshelf has significantly improved the thermal comfort and daylighting uniformity, but it also slightly improved the availability of daylight. This ultimately leads to an energy saving, however, further economic assessment is required.