Tools for environmental simulations and calculations in an Integrated Design Process

Present paper is focused on how students at Architecture & Design, Aalborg University in Denmark, are working with an integrated design process where the environmental simulations and calculations are used from the beginning of the design process and even in the analysis phase of the project to address environmental issues. This paper in specific takes its starting point in a student project where the student is working with a building complex that have to fulfill the passive house standards and through that the student explores the use of the simulation and calculation tools in the design process. What the research shows is that the students can have great benefit from utilizing such tools in the design process if they are able to utilize them in a dynamic way where the simulation and calculation tools does not become the main focus. Furthermore the research reveals that the tools traditionally used to document projects in a Danish context and the tools that traditionally have been taught to the students are insufficient as they are too detailed. It shows that it becomes even more important to utilize the full spectrum of the programs applied like in this case Ecotect where the possibilities of interoperability and the different possibilities are utilized pointing towards a heavier focus of the utilization of BIM tools in the design process from the first stages.