Parametric Energy Analysis in Early Stage Design: Case of High-rise Office Buildings in Tehran

Nowadays, the high rates of energy consumption of buildings in contemporary societies, as well as in global problematics such as climate change, depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution, is widely recognized. In this context, energy efficiency of buildings has become a crucial aspect of national and international energy policies. Nevertheless, the design of high performance buildings is not a simple assignment, because they represent complex systems that have to fulfill multiple goals, often contradictory such as minimum energy consumption versus maximum thermal comfort, minimum energy consumption versus minimum carbon emissions. The research aims to propose a simulation-based multi-objective optimization method to improve the energy efficiency, comfort and environmental performance of high-rise office buildings in Tehran during the early architectural design process. The parametric project includes 7 design variables including: Building Shape, orientation, WWR, Floor Height, Glass Type, Wall Insulation and Thermal Mass. Among the conclusions, WWR, Glass Type and Building Shape are the most influential design variables and Wall Insulation and Thermal Mass are the least important variables on performance objectives. Also rectangular shape building with southern orientation and 25% WWR Triple-glazing can be considered a good overall choice for high-rise office building in Tehran.