Workspace: Buildings-Building/Floor/Zone Definition-Create/Edit Bldg Stories
Workspace Areas: Active Project Model Tree - 3d view - 2d view - Create/Edit Geometry
One thing that can be a bit challenging when you are creating window array configurations on your building on the Glazing tab is the Win/Wall Ratio (WWR). At times it may seem that the ratio is too low, however it is important to be aware of what influences the WWR.
The image above is the Glazing Table for one array for a 100' x 100' building footprint that is 13' tall. All seven columns (not including exterior shading) influence the resulting number of windows and the size of the window.
Strip - enables a single strip window for walls of that orientation. Disables window width and minimum gap.
Target Win/Wall Ratio - The target percentage of the wall that should be glazing.
Win Top Elevation - sets where the top of the window will begin, which reduces the wall area where the 30% glazing can be located. In this case it is at 10', so a
Window Width - determines if a strip window (0 ft) will be created or the width of each window in the array, which influences the number of windows that will be in the array.
Window Minimum Gap - determines the spacing between each window in the array and ultimately influences the number of windows in the array
Window Offset From Left - sets where the window array will start from the left side of the elevation. In a similar fashion to the 'Win Top Elevation' this reduces the wall area where the 30% glazing can occur.
Window Offset From Right - sets where the window array will start from the right side of the elevation. In a similar fashion to the 'Win Top Elevation' this reduces the wall area where the 30% glazing can occur.
So for the setting in the case above 520 ft2 (40% x (100 ft x 13 ft)) will be created on the facade. Since values are included for all five, the only real variable is what the height of each window in the array will be. The image below (Custom Openings Workspace) shows the result, which is that each window in the array is 6.5 ft tall. If you check the math (10 ft wide x 6.5 ft tall x 8 windows in the array), you will find that it is equal to 520 ft2.
Now, if we keep the same floor plate and height size, but we enable Strip Glazing ( or set the 'Window Width' to 0 ), we see that a single strip window is created starting at the 10 ft. elevation extending between the value for the 'Window Offset From the Left' and the value for the 'Window Offset From the Right'.
We now have a 96 foot long window that is 5.42 feet in height, which is also equal 520 ft2.
The scenarios get more complex as you add more arrays (up to three total), because you need to keep in mind where the window top elevations are set for each, which ultimately determines the WWR that is possible, as well as the other variables for offsets, window width and spacing.
The following shows a three (3) array assembly for the same building (100' x 100' building footprint that is 13' tall) described above. The glazing table shows the default values provided for each array within Simergy when 'Three Window Arrays' are selected from the drop down list. If you were to start entering higher WWR% values in any of the arrays and selecting 'Preview', you would soon reach a point when you would receive a message stating something like "One or more South window(s) have not been created because the windows overlap the windows below." The reason this appears is because based on the boundary conditions that you have set by entering values in the five columns described above you have established an upper limit of what % glazing will fit.
Let's take a closer look at the vision glazing array (Array One). The maximum height the window can be is 4.5 feet, since the Array One Window Top Elevation is set at 7 feet and the Array Three Window Top Elevation is set at 2.5 feet. 7 ft - 2.5 ft = 4.5 ft.
Based on our Window Width, Gap and Offset settings the array will have eight (8) windows. So, the maximum glazed area possible for this set of values is ~325 ft2, which is 25% of the overall wall area. If we were to edit the glazing configuration for any of the facade orientations on this floor and we input WWR = 26%, we would receive the message described above ("windows are not able to be created"), but if we input WWR = 24%, we would not receive the message. If we had set the Window Width to zero (0), creating a single strip window, then based on the inputs up to 416 ft2 of glazing could be created, which this case equates to 32% of the overall wall area.
If we wanted to increase the WWR% allowed for Array One in this scenario we could do any of the following:
Input a higher value for Win Top Elevation. Note: This will influence the WWR% possible for Array Two, which is the array above, unless the Win Top Elevation value for that array is increased as well.
Setting Window Width to zero to create strip windows
Reducing Window Minimum Gap
Reducing either or both of the Window Offsets from the Left or Right
Reducing the input height for the Win Top Elevation for Array Three, which is the array plane below.
When you are trying to maximize the size of different arrays to potentially represent a 100% glazed facade, there are a couple of things to consider:
Win Top Elevation of Array Below: The Win Top Elevation of the array below will determine the maximum height of the array that can be created. Simergy does not allow you to develop glazing geometry that overlaps an array below.
Finished Floor Elevation = 0: No finished floor material, floor space or floor plenum is created
Ceiling Elevation is set to a value: The height of the ceiling value determines the maximum value that can be entered in the Win Top Elevation cell for any orientation. If you enter a higher value, when you select preview then you will receive a message stating one or more windows cannot be drawn.
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