Abstract
This paper deals with an application of optimization in architectural design. Formally, we consider the problem of optimizing a function that can only be evaluated through an expensive oracle. We assume that the analytical expression of the function is unknown and first-order information is not available. This situation frequently occurs when each function evaluation relies on the output of a complex and time-consuming simulation. In the literature, this is called a black-box optimization problem with costly evaluation. This paper presents a black-box problem from architectural design: we aim to find the values of the design variables that yield optimal lighting conditions inside a building. The building façade is described as a parametric model whose parameters are the design variables.We tackle this problem by adapting the Radial Basis Function (RBF) method originally proposed by Gutmann (2001). Experiments indicate that our open-source implementation is competitive with commercial software for black-box optimization, and that it can be a valuable decision-support tool for complex problems requiring time-consuming simulations. The usefulness of this approach goes beyond the specific application in architectural design.
Supported by IDC grant IDG21300102.
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Costa, A., Nannicini, G., Schroepfer, T., Wortmann, T. (2015). Black-Box Optimization of Lighting Simulation in Architectural Design. In: Cardin, MA., Krob, D., Lui, P., Tan, Y., Wood, K. (eds) Complex Systems Design & Management Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12544-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12544-2_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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