ARCHITECTURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Proceedings of PLEA 2011, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (July 2011) ISBN xxx-x-xxxx-xxxx-x - ISBN (USB

stick) xxx-x-xxxx-xxxx-x @ Presses universitaires de Louvain 2011

Assessing building forms through Envelope-to-Volume ratio

Thanos N. STASINOPOULOS
School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT: The form of a building determines its envelope-to-volume ratio (E/V), which is an early indicator of the construction cost of its facades & roof. This study examines E/V ratios of several rectangular blocks at various proportions, leading to conclusions on the minimum envelope size relative to total floor area of a building. E/V ratio is also recognized as a simple index of a buildings contact with the surrounding climatic conditions that affect its running cost. To explore solar exposure, the research examines incident radiation on the same configurations in Athens, London, and Riyadh, correlating building form & size to insolation levels. Keywords: building form, envelope to volume ratio, insolation, solar exposure for several areas A. The parameters involved and their applied values are: Total floor area (A): 200, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, 2 10000, 20000 m . Floor height (H): 3 m Number of floors (N): 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. The base of each block is excluded here from the size E of the envelope, for two reasons: Firstly, the base cost is added with total area A; its extra cost for thermal insulation and waterproofing is generally negligible compared to facades and roofs. Secondly, this study refers also to insolation on the exposed envelope, which does not include the base. The width of rectangular footprints is set at 10m, considering that daylight can reach up to 5m deep from each faade. Too short (<5m) and too long (>400m) buildings are discarded as extreme cases. Fig. 1 illustrates two block groups of the study 2 with square & rectangular footprints and A=5,000m .

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Aim of the study Buildings of the same size and same materials may have different construction cost, depending on their form. Compact forms have a smaller envelope than, say, elongated ones of the same volume. For instance, an apartment block is generally less expensive than detached houses of the same total floor area, due to the fact that the unit cost of external surfaces is higher than of internal partitions. A vital attribute of sustainable design is to reduce natural resources required for a certain task; for that reason it is helpful to comprehend how the shape of a building affects the amount of materials needed for its skin. This study looks into the envelope-to-volume ratio of several basic blocks at various sizes as an index that assists the designer to optimize building shape at early stage. In addition to construction cost, the envelope size affects exposure to climatic conditions, influencing the heating & cooling costs of a building during its lifecycle. The study quantifies the solar aspect of that effect by assessing incident radiation on the same blocks at 3 different locations, Athens, London, and Riyadh. 1.2. Basic assumptions Buildings come in numerous forms, but many can generally be described as rectangular blocks. The proportions between the major dimensions of a block length, width, height- affect the total area of its skin and determine its Envelope-to-Volume ratio (E/V). This study examines two block types, with square and rectangular footprint, where a total floor area A is divided into N storeys of the same height H. The volume V of all variations is fixed (A*H), but their dimensions vary according to the number of storeys, thus giving different E/V ratios. Blocks of the same proportions can have different E/V ratios due to different volume size. To assess the effect of total size, the same process is repeated

Figure 1: Blocks of total floor area A=5,000m2 divided in 1 to 64 floors. On the left, square footprints; on the right, rectangular with fixed width 10m. Blocks of area A=200 to 20,000m2 are formulated in a similar manner.

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2. ENVELOPE SIZE
2.1. E/V ratio variations Graphs 2a & 2b in Fig. 2 show E/V ratios of the selected square & rectangular blocks relative to their number of floors N on y-axis; each curve refers to a 2 floor area A from 200 to 20,000m . The successive curves in both graphs depict the general rule that E/V ratio decreases as volume (in this case area A) increases. Yet, a small and a large volume can have the same E/V ratio depending on their number of floors. For instance, a 2-storey 2 square building of 500m has the same E/V ratio with 2 a 32-storey one of 2,500m (graph 2a). The curves spread out as N rises; that means that the effect of N on E/V ratio is higher on multistorey buildings than on those with fewer floors. For buildings of the same N, the difference of E/V ratio is less pronounced between small areas A than large e.g. between 200 & 500 vs. between 10,000 & 2 20,000m . Further search (not shown here) indicated that E/V ratio decreases when floor height H increases. 2.2. Optimum number of floors The large variations of E/V ratio for the same floor area A show that the effect of number of floors N on the envelope size can be quite significant. For 2 instance, the envelope of a 20,000 m single-storey square building is 3 times larger than of the same floor area divided in 8 storeys (E/V=0.362 vs. 0.122 see bottom curve in Fig. 2a). Such substantial variations appear in volumes of all sizes. The graphs in Fig. 2 show that, starting from a
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single-storey volume, E/V ratio lessens as the number of floors N increases. The ratio drops to a minimum value, and then rises continuously. Therefore in each area A, a particular number of floors N gives the lowest E/V ratio, whereas more or less floors increase it. As shown in Table 1, the optimum N depends on the size of area A, ranging from 2 to 8 in blocks with square footprint, and from 2 to 20 with rectangular.
Table 1: Number of square & rectangular floors with lowest E/V ratio for total floor area A (m2).

A 200 500 1,000 2,500 5,000 10,000 20,000

square 2 3 3 4 5 7 8

E/V 0.567 0.421 0.330 0.243 0.193 0.153 0.122

rectangular 2 3 4 6 9 13 18

E/V 0.567 0.431 0.363 0.304 0.273 0.252 0.237

2.3. Relative E/V differences The envelope-to-volume ratio is directly linked to the construction cost of a building since it determines the size of its skin. Therefore, in any building project, the early decision on the vertical distribution of the given floor area i.e. the building form- has a major effect on its overall cost. This is illustrated in Fig. 3, where the same data of Fig. 2 is plotted as percentage of the lowest E/V ratio possible for each total floor area A. The graphs highlight the additional envelope size when deviating from the optimum number of floors of each area A.
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Figure 2: E/V ratios of various blocks according to their number of floors (square footprint left, rectangular right). Each curve refers to different total floor area A, from 200 to 20,000m2. Some curves in graph 2b are shorter because too short or too long blocks (L<5 or >400m) have been omitted.

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Figure 3: E/V ratio as % of the minimum value given by a particular number of floors, depending on the total area A = 200 to 20,000m2. The graphs highlight the extra envelope size when deviating from the optimum number of floors.

3. ENVELOPE EXPOSURE
3.1. Insolation on envelope Common wisdom says that compact buildings are less exposed to their environment, therefore they require less energy and other means to cope with adverse ambient conditions. A simple compactness index of a form is its Envelope-to-Volume ratio, which is related to the thermal performance of the building as shown in [1] & [2]. This study examines the quantitative relationship of E/V ratio with insolation on the previous blocks, oriented as shown in Fig. 1. Solar energy R incident on the exposed envelope is calculated using detailed data from [3] for global irradiance on horizontal & vertical planes under average sky conditions, including reflected radiation for ground albedo=0.2. Of course large volumes receive more solar energy than small ones; to evaluate insolation on all configurations in connection with their size, incident energy R on the envelope of each block is correlated to its total floor area A. The R/A ratio of a block indicates energy per square meter of floor area and represents its level of solar exposure, which could subsequently affect the interior in a negative or positive manner. 3.2. Solar energy in Athens Solar energy calculations were based on Athens radiation data at first. Results are shown in Fig. 4 for square and rectangular footprints, during the entire year (Fig. 4a & 4b), during December (Fig. 4c & 4d), and during June (Fig. 4e & 4f), illustrating seasonal variations. The curve patterns in Fig. 4 appear similar to those in Fig. 2, verifying that solar exposure is closely related to E/V ratio. The spans between

curves show that large buildings are less exposed to solar radiation compared to small ones with the same number of floors. Additionally, the wide disparities between high & low R/A values of each curve demonstrate that the shape of a building has a significant effect on its total solar load. A difference from E/V curves is that the minimum R/A ratio values are given by more floors than the E/V ratios. For example, the curves for 200 & 20,000 2 m in Fig. 2a have their lowest point at 2 & 8 floors respectively, but those in Fig. 4a at 3 & 14 floors. A similar displacement of the lowest values is observed in rectangular blocks too. Table 2 summarizes the number of floors with minimum R/A ratio for various total floor areas A in Athens.
Table 2: Number of square & rectangular floors with lowest R/A ratio for total floor area A (m2) in Athens.

A 200 500 1,000 2,500 5,000 10,000 20,000

year 3 4 5 7 9 11 14

Square Dec. June 2 3 3 5 4 6 5 8 7 10 8 12 10 15

Rectangular year Dec. June 3 2 3 4 3 6 6 5 7 10 7 12 14 10 17 20 14 23 28 20 33

As shown in Table 2, the number of floors that give the minimum R/A ratio is not constant through the year e.g. it is less in December than in June. That means that lower buildings are less exposed to solar energy in December than in June, when the least exposed configurations are those with a few floors more. Considering the high solar path in summer, this can be interpreted as a result of the smaller roof of a tall building compared to the roof of a shorter one with the same total floor area.

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Figure 4: Solar radiation R incident on building envelope correlated to floor area A in Athens (year, December, June).

3.3. Relative insolation differences Insolation is a major issue in the design of a building, related to several topics, from energy performance to materials degradation. It can have a negative effect as it might cause overheating, but it
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can also be beneficial for solar applications through the envelope (e.g. direct gain, PV facades, etc.). The balance between the pros and cons of insolation depend on the location and season. Solar load in Athens is a liability during most of the year, and therefore it is usually wise to reduce it. A good start is to decrease radiation incident on the building
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Figure 6: Comparison of annual solar radiation R incident on building envelope, correlated to floor area A (London, Athens, Riyadh data). The graphs are arranged as in Fig. 4, but for clarity only areas A=200 & 20,000m2 are displayed.

envelope by adjusting its size. Moving away from the number of floors that give the minimum R/A ratio can have substantial effects on solar load. This is illustrated in Fig. 5, where the same data of Fig. 4a & 4b is plotted as percentage of the lowest R/A ratio possible for each total floor area A (the curves of some areas A are omitted here for clarity). 3.4. Regional comparison The envelope-to-volume ratio is independent of location but solar radiation hence R/A ratio- is not. To compare locations with different solar regime than Athens, the same procedure has been applied using London and Riyadh data sets from [3]. Fig. 6 shows 2 the R/A ratio for blocks of A=200 & 20,000m in the three locations under study; the graphs are arranged as in Fig. 4, but some areas A are omitted for clarity. Though different in magnitude due to unequal solar availability, the curves of the three locations are similar, indicating analogous patterns of exposure to available radiation as floors vary in number. The lowest R/A value for each total area A is given by nearly the same number of floors in all 3 regions. A difference is that London curves are smoother than in Athens & Riyadh, with smaller disparity of high and low values. A notable detail is that, in June,

square buildings in London can receive more energy than in Riyadh (Fig. 6e). This is due to smaller roofs and larger south elevations beyond a certain number of floors, plus the fact that summer insolation on south facades is stronger in London than in Riyadh.

4. CONCLUSION
The form of a building and its number of floors and height in particular, is a complex matter linked to several factors. Aesthetic considerations, structural and aseismic requirements, topography, plot shape & size, access and escape means, utilities networks, wind stress, functional needs, legal constraints, are among the related issues. From all such parameters, this paper explores the envelope size required to enclose a given volume. A survey of simple prisms at various proportions shows that the ratio between envelope size and total floor area of a building can vary considerably depending on its number of floors. For a given total floor area, a particular number of storeys offers the minimum envelope size. Optimizing the number of storeys can reduce the envelope size down to compared to other options of the same volume. Therefore, in addition to other topics linked to building form, designers and planners should keep in mind that the geometric shape of buildings can

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considerably affect their construction cost due to the need for a smaller or larger envelope for the same total volume. Findings of this study can be used as a rule of thumb to reduce the construction cost of a building project, as well as the use of building materials, which is a major step in lessening the environmental footprint of buildings. That is even more important in large scale applications, such as new housing schemes or planning specification, where the adoption or promotion of building forms with large Envelope-to-Volume ratios can lead to substantially higher expenditure and resources consumption (see layout examples in Fig. 7). In environmental terms, the form of a building determines its exposure to the elements and its overall thermal performance. Insolation levels and heat transfer through the fabric depend on the envelope size, affecting the interior according to the Envelope-to-Volume ratio. Additionally, the building height influences exposure to the wind that speeds up heat losses. Furthermore, flat forms can promote radiation losses through the roof to the night sky. Among such issues, the present paper focuses on the relation between building form and solar exposure, which can have a major thermal effect on the interior, especially in summer. Selecting the number of floors that offer the least exposure to solar heat compared to alternative options is a simple method to reduce cooling load at no cost at all.

5. REFERENCES
[1] T.A.Markus & E.N.Morris, Buildings, Climate & Energy, Pitman 1980; Ch. 9 Shape of Building. [2] J.R.Goulding, J.Owen Lewis, T.C.Steemers, Energy in Architecture, CEC 1992; Ch. 6.4 Building Shape. [3] T.N.Stasinopoulos, Geometric Forms & Insolation, doctoral thesis, National Technical University of Athens, 1999 (in Greek w. English summary); synopsis at Proc. PLEA 98 Conference, Lisbon Portugal (1998), 563.

Figure 7: A variety of housing schemes of 100 dwellings, from single-storey detached to high-rise towers. In each case, the total building envelope varies considerably.

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