DESIGN CONS/EFI/CIENTE: O impacto do fator de forma no desempenho energético dos edifícios

Abstract

Acknowledging architecture's potential for social transformation is to acknowledge its capability, together with other disciplines, to provide answers to the crisis humanity currently faces. It is indisputable that there is an urgent necessity to reduce the overall energy consumption of the building sector without impairing the comfort and living conditions of its inhabitants. Strategies to minimize energy requirements related to building usage are mainly based on restoring the response capability of architecture projects, particularly the architectonic shape, to this issue, primarily through passive measures and adaptations to bioclimatic strategies. In order to achieve this, it is essential to understand the causality between a building's geometry and its energetic necessities, that stems from the complex interactions between climate, topography, localization, solar orientation and the building's morphology. As such, the form factor arises as an extremely relevant concept in the development of a project, due to its intrinsic connection to a building's energetic performance. This dissertation intends to raise awareness and alert all the participants of an architecture project to this issue, as well as calling for greater accountability when designing a project. Through dynamic simulations and analysis of multiple case studies, clear guidelines are hereby presented with the goal of better understanding the impact of the form factor in the energetic performance of buildings.