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DISSERTATION
The dissertation brings together building performance simulation, structural form-finding, and life cycle assessment through the design of 3D-printed building thermal mass under the purview of carbon emission. Specifically, it addresses how early stage design of structural form and thermal mass distribution can be integrated in a seamless form-finding process. In doing so, the integration of structural design and thermal mass performance can achieve operational carbon savings and occupant comfort improvements within the constraints of embodied carbon associated with material use. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and physical experiments to characterize the thermal mass performance of a specific morphology of a building’s concrete funicular floor slab – one that is structurally optimized with Polyhedral Graphic Statics for minimum weight and maximum surface area exposure – I demonstrate a parametric early co-design workflow. Next, using whole building energy simulation, I investigate the climatic and grid emission variabilities of a building designed with the optimized structural floor slab throughout its lifecycle across different climatic zones in the United States to demonstrate the regional potential and limitation of operational carbon reduction using this thermal mass element. The total lifecycle carbon emissions of the building, both embodied and operational, serve as the metric to weigh the tradeoffs in this co-design strategy.