COST OPTIMIZATION FOR DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE, INTELLIGENT AND INCLUSIVE BUILDINGS USING TRIZ

Purpose – To formulate a methodology for handling qualitative optimization of buildings when several target-functions are considered, such as smartness, green design and inclusiveness.

Methodology/approach - Concurrent Multi-Function Deployment method is used to study a multitude of criteria that give the performance of a building. Performance criteria such as costs, health and comfort of the inhabitants are weighted. They are in relation with target functions, such as sustainability, intelligence and inclusivity. TRIZ is included to solve several conflicts in relation with these target functions.

Findings – It is possible to formulate a balanced solution in designing a building where several target functions, such as sustainability, inclusiveness and intelligence, are taken into account.

Research limitations/implications – The methodology was tested only on three target functions and on a relatively simple building. We do not have yet a clear understanding about its reliability on complex civil engineering projects, where the entropy is very high.

Practical implications – The proposed methodology is applicable in any civil engineering project, where we need to tackle design from multiple angles.

Originality/value – Originality is defined both in terms of the methodology we have proposed to solve the design problem and in its domain of applicability. Usually, qualitative optimization of buildings has been reduced to one or maximum two target functions (e.g. inclusiveness, smartness, sustainability or a mix of two of them). By our knowledge, there is no treatment of design from an aggregated perspective of all three dimensions.