In the heart of Jakarta, a team of researchers led by Dalhar Susanto at Universitas Indonesia is reimagining the humble brick, transforming it into a high-tech tool for enhancing occupant comfort and energy efficiency in buildings. Their groundbreaking work, published in the Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, explores the potential of non-conventional roster bricks, designed using advanced parametric exploration and multi-objective optimization techniques.
The team’s innovative approach addresses a pressing need in the construction industry: improving occupant comfort. With people spending a significant portion of their time indoors, factors like daylighting, wind conditions, and visual privacy have become crucial for creating sustainable indoor environments. Susanto and his team have tackled this challenge head-on, optimizing non-conventional roster bricks to enhance these very factors.
The results are impressive. The optimal roster brick design boasts a Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) of 66.38%, a wind velocity of 2.067 m/s, a wind temperature of 27.6739°C, and a visibility percentage of 15.34%. These values not only align with comfort and energy efficiency standards but also pave the way for real-world applications through digital fabrication.
“Our study shows that by optimizing these non-conventional roster bricks, we can significantly improve occupant comfort while maintaining energy efficiency,” Susanto explains. “This is a game-changer for the construction industry, offering a method to enhance building façades in a way that’s both innovative and sustainable.”
The implications for the energy sector are substantial. Buildings account for a significant portion of global energy consumption, and improving their energy efficiency is a key strategy for combating climate change. By integrating these optimized roster bricks into building designs, architects and engineers can create structures that are not only more comfortable for occupants but also more energy-efficient.
Moreover, the study’s findings suggest a negligible correlation between the optimized parameters and the rating index, indicating that these improvements can be achieved without compromising other performance metrics. This is a significant step forward in the field of parametric design and digital fabrication, offering a method to enhance occupant comfort while maintaining energy efficiency.
As the construction industry continues to evolve, driven by the need for sustainability and innovation, research like Susanto’s is set to shape future developments. The use of non-conventional roster bricks could become a standard practice, transforming the way we build and inhabit our spaces. The Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, where this research was published, translates to the Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering. This research is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and the potential of advanced technologies to drive change in the built environment. As we look to the future, it’s clear that the humble brick is far from obsolete—it’s evolving, adapting, and leading the way towards a more sustainable and comfortable built environment.