The Concept of Building Performance in Building Performance Simulation – a Critical Review

The concept of building performance in building performance simulation – a critical review Pieter de Wilde Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom building performance analysis) and design (thus Abstract excluding other parts of the building life cycle); Building performance is a concept that receives moreover it is rooted in a pure normative view of significant interest through efforts in the fields of High decision making. Performance Buildings in the USA, the Energy A common definition of building performance will help Performance of Building Directive in Europe and many to strengthen the position of both scholars and others, and which is at the core of the work of the practitioners in the field of building performance International Building Performance Simulation simulation, and can go some way in bridging the Association (IBPSA). Yet the concept remains evasive performance gap between predicted/simulated and and mostly left undefined. This paper presents findings measured performance by providing a common from an in-depth literature review on the topic and understanding. suggests a working definition for discussion within the community. This definition relates to further efforts Methodology needed to correlate various performance quantification This paper summarizes key findings from an extensive approaches. The paper also reflects on the position of the review and in-depth thinking on the subject of building field of building performance in relation to other performance analysis, conducted by the author while adjacent disciplines. writing a book on this subject that is to be published by Wiley in 2017, which cites well over 1000 different Introduction sources from literature in both our field as well as This paper discusses an important missing link in the adjacent disciplines. knowledge base of building performance simulation: the absence of a working definition of “building Findings performance”. This seems to be a common issue with The concept of building performance is not new; it is an other disciplines; as noted by Rahim (2005), ‘technical integral part of the history of building and architecture in articles of research tend to use the term "performance" general. Performance concerns clearly already played a but rarely define its meaning’. role in the shelters built by early humans, and some Thus far, the notion of building performance has mainly Neolithic monuments like Stonehenge (3000-2000 BC) been developed from inside the building discipline, have a number of fascinating performance attributes like chiefly from a background of building science and durability and alignment with the solar path. Building simulation. However, a generally accepted theory that performance is mentioned in the famous work by can underpin the efforts to further building performance Vitrivius, and is implied in his famous notion of firmitas, simulation is still missing. There also is a mismatch utilitas and venustas (strength, utility and beauty). The between the needs of the building community, industrial revolution led to the emergence of new experimental measurement, and simulation approaches, disciplines, such as structural engineering and building leading to a range of work that addresses what is known services engineering, which separated from architecture as “the performance gap”; yet in reality, there are many and brought in their own perspectives and notions of such gaps. performance. In 1896 Louis Sullivan, an American Seminal works on the topic of building performance architect, wrote the famous line ‘form follows function’, were the book by Markus et al (1972) and Report 64 by which led to deep rethink of architectural design and an the CIB (1982). However, most recent work fails to increased emphasis on building function and connect to that early basis, with many contributions performance. Around the 1960, the field of building either focussing only on single aspects (e.g. energy science (or building physics in continental Europe) efficiency) or being overly broad (such as many of the emerged, hand in hand with the development of personal sustainability studies). Arguably, the most recent computers. Interest in building performance, and contribution of note is the chapter by Augenbroe (2011) especially energy efficiency, was spurred on by the on the role of simulation in performance based building. energy crisis of the 1970s, leading to the works by This addresses some fundamental issues, however it is Markus et al (1972) and Report 64 by the CIB (1982) as limited to simulation (thus excluding other methods of mentioned in the introduction. IBPSA, the International Proceedings of the 15th IBPSA Conference 1021 San Francisco, CA, USA, Aug. 7-9, 2017 https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2017.270 Building Performance Simulation Association, was moisture ingress and fire. It covers both founded only in 1987, after the use of personal physical measurement as well as prediction, and computers had been well established. In the late 1990s, introduces the notion of a Performance Test the Probe studies in the UK (Post-occupancy Review of Method (PTM). Sections discuss the Buildings and their Engineering) raised questions about performance approach in buildings, the the actual performance of state-of-the-art facilities necessary knowledge base, determination of through a range of deep user satisfaction surveys, performance requirements, prediction of the combined with extensive measurements. Towards the performance of design solutions, evaluation of end of the 2nd millennium, concerns about sustainability suitability for use, and application of the and climate change maintained momentum, while the performance concept at various scales and life ICT revolution led to rapid development of measurement cycle stages. Report 64 is famous for the often as well as simulation techniques. quoted phrase that ‘the performance approach The field of building performance is complex due to a is, first and foremost, the practice of thinking number of characteristics of the built environment. and working in terms of ends rather than These include the long life span of buildings, with its means’. many phases, the many different stakeholders in Hartkopf et al. (1986a, 1986b) launched the buildings (which even change over time), the many idea of Total Building Performance, which systems and components that are used in buildings, the relates various predominantly building physics wide range of challenges in the environmental, domains (spatial performance, thermal economic, health and wellbeing that buildings have to performance, indoor air quality, acoustical respond to, the organisational structure of the performance, visual performance and building construction industry, underlying tensions between the integrity) with physiological, psychological, fields of architecture and engineering, and others. sociological and economic issues. This structure A large body of literature has been produced that deals leads to a matrix where the domains span a with various aspects of building performance, with number of rows, whereas the physiological, journals like Building Research & Information, Building psychological, sociological and economic and Environment, Energy and Buildings, Advanced aspects span columns; each field in the matrix Engineering Informatics, Automation in Construction, list a number of relevant building performance Applied Energy, Energy Policy, the Journal of Building requirements. This work also furthers the Performance Simulation, Building Simulation: an thinking about diagnostic tools for existing International Journal, Architectural Science Review, buildings. Design Studies, Architectural Engineering Design and IEA Annex 21 (2016) developed the concept of Management, the Fire Safety Journal, the Journal of a performance assessment method (PAM). A Cleaner Production, Construction Management and PAM is a roadmap for assessing building Economics, Construction and Building Materials and performance through building energy others all having published hundreds of journal papers simulation, which requires the establishment of on relatedwork. A full review of all these contributions a representation of a base case design, model is beyond the scope of this paper and, indeed, any work calibration, the evaluation of boundary of writing. Instead, a few selected key contributions are conditions, integrated simulation, an expression briefly discussed here to give a flavour of the field: of multivariate building performance, Markus et al (1972) contributed the first book identification of problem areas, generation and on the specific subject of building performance. testing of solutions to any problems, and a This work highlights the importance of testing of the robustness of the performance understanding the role of humans in the analysis by running different weather files. For assessment of building performance, as well as a deeper discussion see for instance Clarke the interaction of various systems. It also (2001: 285-298). presents design as a special kind of decision Kalay (1999) gives an insightful contribution on making. Chapters discuss designing for people, tensions between building form, function, design as decision making, the use of resources, context and behaviour. He explores the famous spatial elements, the bounding of spatial architectural notion that ‘form follows function’ elements, the grouping of spatial elements, the and relates this to views of building design as computer as a design tool, appraisal during and problem

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