Raise your hand if, as an architect, you have ever patiently waited for energy modeling results, only to receive a lengthy report suggesting that your building would be much more efficient if it were re-oriented, had less glass, or had more exterior shading—except you’re already at the end of the design phase.
Or raise your hand if, as a modeler, you’ve been asked to evaluate the impact of glass quantity on a building, so you ran countless energy models… only to realize the architect was thinking of the glass’s effect on daylighting, not energy.
At AIRLIT, we’ve experienced this frustration from both sides: working with architects and feeling that the modelers we hired were just “not getting it,” and later, working as consultants and feeling the architects were “not getting it.” And yet, we are all smart, competent people!
The issue is that architects and modelers speak different languages, and very few of us were taught in school how to translate effectively.
Poor communication: You’re not alone
Recently, my peers, Carlos Cerezo Environmental Performance Director at KPF, and Jacob Knowles, Director of Sustainability at BR+A, and I facilitated an interactive session at AIA 2024 on how architects can get the most out of their MEP consultants and energy modelers. We asked the audience to share their main frustrations with energy modelers, and here are some of their answers:
Note that no one questioned their modeler’s technical ability; rather, most audience frustrations stemmed from poor communication or a lack of understanding of how each specialty approaches building performance. Today, we’re focusing on communication issues, as these prevent us from positively impacting building design. Fortunately, these issues are easily avoidable if we learn to ask the right performance questions throughout the design process.
Asking the right performance questions
Let’s get back to the idea that architects and modelers speak different languages. If you’ve lived in a different country, you know language nuances and cultural differences can lead to big misunderstandings. The Spanish word mañana means both morning and tomorrow; the Greek word for yes is neh; and directly translating I’m embarrassed into French or Spanish may lead you to hint that you’re either perplexed or pregnant instead. Without even crossing the border, poor communication is frustration waiting to happen:
Abroad or locally, asking clear, simple questions is the best way to ensure we understand what others mean.
The same applies to getting what you want from your energy modeler or architect: focus on clear, simple questions that cover the what and the why (we’ll get to the how in a bit), so that goals, priorities and outcomes are aligned. Here we introduce our favorite recipe. Beware: it is deceptively simple, yet surprisingly powerful.
When discussing a study that needs to be performed, phrase the purpose of the study as finding the answer to one or many questions in the following format:
Where:
Design variables are features that can still be modified.
- In Concept Design variables may be massing, orientation, or overall window-to-wall ratio.
- Schematic design variables may be the type of shading (vertical vs horizontal), HVAC system, or glazing type.
- In Design Development, the variables may be shading depth or % energy recovery.
- Elements one cannot control, such as climate, occupant comfort or occupant count, are rarely a variable worth exploring to influence building design.
Metrics are what we use to measure the performance implications of a design modification. By definition, they must have a clear unit associated to them:
- Common metrics include annual energy use, HVAC size, peak load, daylight penetration, glare, shade-down time, first cost, etc.
- Vague terms like lighting, energy, or carbon are NOT metrics because they don’t have a unit to measure them with. Try instead lighting energy use, daylight penetration, lighting power density, annual/monthly/hourly energy use, operational carbon emissions, embodied carbon, whole life carbon, etc.
Here are some examples of questions you may ask:
Each combination of these questions will require a different how -some may require an energy model, others a daylight analysis, a life cycle cost analysis, a CFD, or perhaps a quick back of the envelope calculation. Determining the right how can only be accomplished if both the variables and metrics are clearly defined.
If we take a step back and think of those occasions where the how takes center stage when asking someone to “run an energy model,” without any insight on the what or the why behind the request, we should not be surprised by the frustration that ensues.
In practice
When discussing how a design modification may impact building performance, we encourage you —architect or consultant— to:
If we go back to the audience’s frustrations with their modelers, you will notice that having a more direct communication by following the checklist above could have helped eliminate a lot of the frustration.
Whether you a looking for a thoughtful questions-first environmental consultant or are interested in training to improve your communications skills with your clients or consultants, reach out to us to discuss how AIRLIT studio can help.
Resources
The recipe outlined in the blog post was developed by Project StaSIO. Their website has a trove of —crowd-sourced and beautiful— building performance simulation graphics, based on key building performance questions.
