Computational Fluid Dynamics in Building Design Practice

This paper provides a state-of-the-art of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the building industry. Two methods were used to find this new knowledge: a series of interviews with leading architecture, engineering, and software professionals; and a series of tests in which CFD software was evaluated using comparable criteria. The paper reports findings in technology, workflows, projects, current unmet needs, and future directions. In buildings, airflow is fundamental for heating and cooling, as well as occupant comfort and productivity. Despite its importance, the design of airflow systems is outside the realm of much of architectural design practice; but with advances in digital tools, it is now possible for architects to integrate air flow into their building design workflows (Peters and Peters 2018). As Chen (2009) states, “In order to regulate the indoor air parameters, it is essential to have suitable tools to predict ventilation performance in buildings.” By enabling scientific data to be conveyed in a visual process that provides useful analytical information to designers (Hartog and Koutamanis 2000), computer performance simulations have opened up new territories for design “by introducing environments in which we can manipulate and observe” (Kaijima et al. 2013). Beyond comfort and productivity, in recent months it has emerged that air flow may also be a matter of life and death. With the current global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, it is indoor environments where infections most often happen (Qian et al. 2020). To design architecture in a post-COVID-19 environment will require an in-depth understanding of how air flows through space.