Guedi Capeluto is a Professor of Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and former Chair of The Architecture Program.His research is centered on the field of green and zero-energy buildings, intelligent buildings, building performance, energy-conscious design as well as daylight and solar rights in urban design. He is in charge of teaching lighting in architecture in both undergraduate and graduate levels.Prof. Capeluto is co-founder of the Climate and Energy Laboratory (CELA), a member of the Israeli Climate Change Information Center (ICCIC) and is involved as research partner in various financed researches and projects, among them the development of an Energy Rating System for Buildings in Israel, and the European Projects MeeFS – Multifunctional Energy Efficient Façade System for Building Retrofitting and BRESAER – BREakthrough Solutions for Adaptable Envelopes in building Refurbishment. He is a Visiting Researcher at the Building Technologies Department, Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
ABSTRACT This paper proposes a method and a tool for determining maximum building heights in an u... more ABSTRACT This paper proposes a method and a tool for determining maximum building heights in an urban setting while maximizing solar access. Expanding upon previously conducted ‘solar envelopes’ research, a flexible and advanced filtering mechanism based on weather data, site geometry and mixed programmatic requirements is introduced and the concept of parametric solar envelopes is presented. In order to make the proposed method widely accessible, it is released as an open-source tool as part of the Ladybug analysis tools suite in Rhino/Grasshopper. As a case study, a comparison of simulated solar envelopes based on varying requirements in an urban context is presented and the qualitative and quantitative advantages compared to existing methods are discussed. It is expected that this method and its practical implementation will inform the early design stages and provide meaningful feedback which will contribute to environmentally conscious design and healthier, more sustainable environments.
The chapter provides an introduction to the subject, even though it assumes that readers are fami... more The chapter provides an introduction to the subject, even though it assumes that readers are familiar with basic building physics’ concepts. It also presents specific definitions to the subject (intelligent, smart, responsive and adaptive) making it clear that the aim of the book has to do with energy-conscious design and architecture of intelligent building envelopes. Readers can find that the design philosophy of the book is that intelligence is not only a collection of smart devices and mechanical systems but the product of a careful architectural and informed design process .
Architectural design is a complex process that depends on the information available to the design... more Architectural design is a complex process that depends on the information available to the designer to achieve the design task. Information provided by design tools during all stages of the design process may have a critical value on the success of the design alternative. However, many of the existing design tools are still rudimentary with many limitations for use by designers in early design stages of any architectural project. The paper presents several approaches for design tools for architects to support the entire design process. Moreover this work will demonstrate how existing modeling tools, widely used by architects for modeling purposes only, can be easily enhanced presenting information with a new meaning most valuable for design generation, giving architects new ways to make informed design decision towards high-performance architectural and urban design.
The Israeli standard 5282 for energy rating of buildings includes, besides a Prescriptive path, a... more The Israeli standard 5282 for energy rating of buildings includes, besides a Prescriptive path, a Performance Approach that requires using an hourly energy simulation model to demonstrate compliance. In this work, we present the development of a Graphical User Interface (GUI), in which most of the expert knowledge needed to run such complex simulation model is embedded in it. The output of the evaluation is a certificate specifying the energy rating of each unit in the building, as well as the energy rating of the whole building. Although IS5282 includes different building types, in this work we will demonstrate the tool using the Residential building type. One of the advantages of the system is that it suits any stage of the design process and not only the detailed one. In such a way, the user can design buildings being more aware of the energy performance features and their impact on the energy performance of the building. The GUI has been adopted by the Standards Institution of I...
This paper addresses the limitations of existing Solar Envelope (SE) methods to explore the trade... more This paper addresses the limitations of existing Solar Envelope (SE) methods to explore the trade-offs of solar radiation and urban shading, and to simultaneously account for several different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It offers an alternative parametric workflow - the Solar Block Generator (SBG) - which is based on an additive voxelization method by which multiple solar-driven massing alternatives are generated and evaluated for a given site, corresponding to a set of user-defined environmental KPIs. This method is tested here on an urban redevelopment case study in the Mediterranean (Tel Aviv). The results help achieve a more holistic approach for solar driven urban design.
Carbon dioxide is the largest component of the human footprint and one of the major components of... more Carbon dioxide is the largest component of the human footprint and one of the major components of all greenhouse gases. The expected increase in population will lead to growth in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The building industry has the highest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, buildings should become not only efficient consumers but also energy producers, not a simple task in dense cities. The paper describes the feasibility and limitations of near zero energy design in highly dense urban conditions. The study was carried out by examination and comparison of various density design, alternatives of an existing urban plot in the coastal climate zone of Israel. Increased dwelling units’ number leads to higher total energy use on the one hand and mutual shading of new high-rise residential buildings on the other. Preserving solar rights for PV systems installation become more complex. The relation between urban density and solar rights in ...
ABSTRACT This paper proposes a method and a tool for determining maximum building heights in an u... more ABSTRACT This paper proposes a method and a tool for determining maximum building heights in an urban setting while maximizing solar access. Expanding upon previously conducted ‘solar envelopes’ research, a flexible and advanced filtering mechanism based on weather data, site geometry and mixed programmatic requirements is introduced and the concept of parametric solar envelopes is presented. In order to make the proposed method widely accessible, it is released as an open-source tool as part of the Ladybug analysis tools suite in Rhino/Grasshopper. As a case study, a comparison of simulated solar envelopes based on varying requirements in an urban context is presented and the qualitative and quantitative advantages compared to existing methods are discussed. It is expected that this method and its practical implementation will inform the early design stages and provide meaningful feedback which will contribute to environmentally conscious design and healthier, more sustainable environments.
The chapter provides an introduction to the subject, even though it assumes that readers are fami... more The chapter provides an introduction to the subject, even though it assumes that readers are familiar with basic building physics’ concepts. It also presents specific definitions to the subject (intelligent, smart, responsive and adaptive) making it clear that the aim of the book has to do with energy-conscious design and architecture of intelligent building envelopes. Readers can find that the design philosophy of the book is that intelligence is not only a collection of smart devices and mechanical systems but the product of a careful architectural and informed design process .
Architectural design is a complex process that depends on the information available to the design... more Architectural design is a complex process that depends on the information available to the designer to achieve the design task. Information provided by design tools during all stages of the design process may have a critical value on the success of the design alternative. However, many of the existing design tools are still rudimentary with many limitations for use by designers in early design stages of any architectural project. The paper presents several approaches for design tools for architects to support the entire design process. Moreover this work will demonstrate how existing modeling tools, widely used by architects for modeling purposes only, can be easily enhanced presenting information with a new meaning most valuable for design generation, giving architects new ways to make informed design decision towards high-performance architectural and urban design.
The Israeli standard 5282 for energy rating of buildings includes, besides a Prescriptive path, a... more The Israeli standard 5282 for energy rating of buildings includes, besides a Prescriptive path, a Performance Approach that requires using an hourly energy simulation model to demonstrate compliance. In this work, we present the development of a Graphical User Interface (GUI), in which most of the expert knowledge needed to run such complex simulation model is embedded in it. The output of the evaluation is a certificate specifying the energy rating of each unit in the building, as well as the energy rating of the whole building. Although IS5282 includes different building types, in this work we will demonstrate the tool using the Residential building type. One of the advantages of the system is that it suits any stage of the design process and not only the detailed one. In such a way, the user can design buildings being more aware of the energy performance features and their impact on the energy performance of the building. The GUI has been adopted by the Standards Institution of I...
This paper addresses the limitations of existing Solar Envelope (SE) methods to explore the trade... more This paper addresses the limitations of existing Solar Envelope (SE) methods to explore the trade-offs of solar radiation and urban shading, and to simultaneously account for several different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It offers an alternative parametric workflow - the Solar Block Generator (SBG) - which is based on an additive voxelization method by which multiple solar-driven massing alternatives are generated and evaluated for a given site, corresponding to a set of user-defined environmental KPIs. This method is tested here on an urban redevelopment case study in the Mediterranean (Tel Aviv). The results help achieve a more holistic approach for solar driven urban design.
Carbon dioxide is the largest component of the human footprint and one of the major components of... more Carbon dioxide is the largest component of the human footprint and one of the major components of all greenhouse gases. The expected increase in population will lead to growth in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The building industry has the highest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, buildings should become not only efficient consumers but also energy producers, not a simple task in dense cities. The paper describes the feasibility and limitations of near zero energy design in highly dense urban conditions. The study was carried out by examination and comparison of various density design, alternatives of an existing urban plot in the coastal climate zone of Israel. Increased dwelling units’ number leads to higher total energy use on the one hand and mutual shading of new high-rise residential buildings on the other. Preserving solar rights for PV systems installation become more complex. The relation between urban density and solar rights in ...
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Papers by Guedi Capeluto