Optimizing urban building layout for solar potential and energy efficiency using multi agent methods

Urban Building Layout (UBL) plays a critical role in determining energy consumption and solar accessibility of a community, making its optimization crucial for a sustainable city. However, few studies have focused on this area, particularly those combining energy performance with thermal comfort. To address this issue, this research developed a generic framework combining multi-agent systems (MAS) and multi-objective optimization. The framework focuses on minimizing Energy Use Intensity (EUI), Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), and Percentage of People Dissatisfied (PPD), while maximizing photovoltaic (PV) energy potential and Sunlight hours (SH) on building façades. Using a high-rise residential site in Karachi, Pakistan, as a case study, the framework demonstrated its effectiveness in designing energy-efficient buildings. Specifically, Building Layout Orientation (BLO) and PV panel tilt angle are the most critical factors influencing urban building energy performance. Among various generations, the 99th generation (final generation), with a − 55° orientation and 17° PV tilt angle, was identified as the most effective solution. Compared with the initial baseline urban layout, it achieved a 14.53% reduction in EUI, a 27.39% increase in PV energy generation, and 207.04% increase in SH, alongside improved thermal comfort (PMV by 23.53%, PPD by 31.09%). The findings highlight the role of climate-responsive urban morphology and provide practical insights for dense, hot cities.