Quantification of building performance to evaluate novel design methods

A framework is proposed to characterise in a holistic and quantitative manner the performance of buildings. This framework aims at using continuous performance assessment, from the design conception through the life of a building. The quantitative assessment will allow designers to move away from thinking of buildings as prototype that provides no feedback loop to designers towards analysing buildings as living laboratories that inform novel design approaches. To understand the value of the framework and any factors limiting its application, a biomimicry approach was used as an example. Biomimicry principles capitalise on evolution to deliver continuous quality improvement, and therefore these principles were found to be consistent with modern design objectives. A series of high-profile buildings were analysed based on publicly available data. Six buildings were shortlisted for a more in-depth analysis; nevertheless, it became evident that for all these buildings there was insufficient data analysis, against the design objectives, to enable a holistic assessment of performance. To illustrate the weaknesses in the data set, the best documented building, the Council House Building (CH2) in Melbourne, Australia, was analysed and areas where data were missing were established.