Systems modelling for sustainable building design

To support performance-oriented modelling for sustainable building design, one must both model geometric interdependencies in a parametric way and include non-geometric physical, environmental, and economic design reasoning. For this purpose, this paper examines the use of Systems Modelling Language (SysML) to model systems for sustainable building design and develops a method called Parametric Systems Modelling (PSM). Selected diagrams demonstrate the application of the method for performance-oriented building design and show generic models of typical requirements, design structures, internal processes, and item flows of energy and resources in a systems view. An exemplary implementation of a parametric system, which handles the trade-off between investments in both building envelope and heat generation technology, illustrates the use and benefit of systems modelling for decision-making. Further considerations address integrating systems modelling into the CAD/BIM-based design process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.