Configuration Models Used for Design Review of Façade Systems in Building Renovation

This article discusses how a configuration model may serve as a tool for conducting a design review of a product, and, thus, improve its design. There is a globally increasing demand for operational solutions for the renovation of multistory buildings, particularly in terms of sustainable methods. In this context, the renovation of fac¸ades to enhance buildings’ energy performance is fundamental and entails a mass customization problem.

The construction industry is familiar with mass customization methods, and literature suggests a few examples of configurators’ use for customizable fac¸ade systems. This article presents a framework and a case study where the configurator model is used to evaluate, improve, and clarify details missing in the product design, i.e., a fac¸ade system.

The framework includes a method to structure and relate the models of the existing building fac¸ade and the new fac¸ade system to be mounted based on modular elements. The fac¸ade system was portrayed utilizing a socalled product variant master and the structuring principles from the domain theory on how to model mechanical products.

Besides, the study attempts to address multiple stakeholders’ equirements across the configurator development process, i.e., the architecture, supplier, and construction companies. The case study demonstrated that configuration models are a valuable tool to assess the fac¸ade system design and can reveal several design details that still require to be specified.