Climatic conditions as a guideline to mass customisation in Brazilian housing

Abstract

Reducing the housing deficit is a vital issue to be addressed in developing countries. Although government programmes in Brazil aim to reduce it, there is criticism regarding the housing design, especially about their poor thermal performance. Guaranteeing high levels of thermal performance in affordable housing is expected to improve occupants’ satisfaction and reduce energy consumption. Therefore, this article aims to propose a system to develop solutions for designing a housing-unit module that enables adaptation to climate, topography, and site plan, as well as flexibility regarding expansions and changes in the pattern of use. Guidelines were created to develop the adaptable housing unit framework, which was programmed in Grasshopper to allow parametric design. One of the possible compositions was simulated using EnergyPlus and Ladybug Tools to determine suitable envelope characteristics for different climates. This process relied on multicriteria analyses to determine the best solution considering cooling and heating degree hours. Thermal performance simulation results show that the envelope solution for Florianópolis differs from that for São Joaquim, even with the same shape composition. While Florianópolis has lower wall absorptance and brick walls as the best solution, São Joaquim requires insulated walls and higher wall absorptances. The main conclusion is that such a framework is more feasible than a single solution because the design might be adapted according to problems identified a priori. This outcome is expected to guide practitioners toward sustainable development, considering the vital role that affordable housing plays in Brazil.