Established in 2009, the Perkins&Will Research Journal is a twice-a-year, peer-reviewed publication dedicated to documenting and presenting practice-related research associated with buildings and their environments.
It is well known that occupant behaviour is a factor that affects a building’s energy performance. While a good deal of study and research has been done on residential energy use, less research has focused on the behaviour of commercial office occupants. This paper explores how occupant engagement, coupled with a web-based energy challenge, can... Read more »
As architects computerize their design practices they are faced with unique networking challenges. One of these is the “wide area design” problem. This is the problem of collaborating on large architectural projects from geographically dispersed locations. Revit, in particular, presents acute collaboration challenges owing to its large monolithic file sizes and its rigid synchronous database... Read more »
The application of general information theory to pragmatic problems within the architecture, engineering, construction, owner and operator (AECOO) industry is explored in this article. Some basic principles about the nature of information and how it provides value are defined and applied to current issues in the use of building information modeling (BIM) and integrated project... Read more »
Institutions have prioritized the development of new residence halls that respond to incoming student classes who expect more privacy, social space, technology and fewer boundaries than any previous generation. To address the difference between student expectations with the current built norm, we have envisioned a new living model that can be implemented in new or... Read more »
This article discusses performance-driven design and fabrication as one of the emerging approaches in architectural design, where computational tools are used for integrated design exploration, analysis and fabrication. It discusses development of a new course that integrates simulations into the design process with special consideration for parametric design. Simulations and digital modeling are used to... Read more »
Evidence Based Design (EBD) research analyzes the built environment through a very rigorous lens, one that takes its methodology from scientific protocol. Most environmental designers are not well versed in the utility of scientific methodology for demonstrating design efficacy, even though they employ a similar method of questioning. Using a previously published study as a... Read more »
The objective of this paper is to provide some insight into how HVAC systems are changing to meet the drive towards lower energy usage. The paper is primarily focusing on trends, observed by the author in designs which have been highlighted in research journals and project work. A case study is provided which highlights how... Read more »
This article presents North House, an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional design research project to develop a full-scale prototype of a net-positive energy solar powered residence optimized for cold climate applications and describes the project’s performance objectives that privileged environmentally responsive envelope design, the use of hybrid passive and active energy systems and inhabitant participation in managing the... Read more »
High-performance, energy-efficient buildings require a different design approach than conventional buildings. Building performance predictions, use of simulations and modeling, research-based and data-driven design process are the key elements in the design of high-performance buildings. This article discusses relationships between building performance simulations and design, as well as the role of building performance research in architectural... Read more »
This paper discusses current trends in research related to the design of cities, primarily focused on the relationship between regulations that are put in place to control development and the outcomes resulting from the regulations. Unlike other arenas of urban research, where the desired outcome is the health, safety and welfare of the general public,... Read more »
This chapter describes approaches to advancing knowledge through research at Perkins+Will. Some are practitioner-driven initiatives motivated by real project needs and constrained by project budget and schedule. Others are firm-wide initiatives responding to larger global and competitive issues. Research questions are wide-ranging, addressing issues related to advanced materials, building technologies, environmental and energy concerns, design... Read more »
