The need for computacional support in energy-efficient design projects in the Netherlands

This   paper   reports   on   a   research   project   that investigates the need for computational support for a specific stage of the building design process: the selection of energy saving components. The approach consists of a survey amongst architects and consultants who were involved in the design of recent energy-efficient building projects. The results reveal that computational tools only play a limited role in the selection of energy saving components, mainly due to the design decision process currently in use. The conclusion is that  future developments in the field of ‘design tools’ should include the development of procedures (‘process templates’) for specific stages of the building design process in which the use of appropriate computational tools can be embedded.