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// case study · commercial

private office facades.

a façade optimisation study for a private office building on the via españa corridor, comparing glazing and shading variants to inform a single envelope decision before construction.

private office facades
location
domingo díaz, panamá
year
2022
area
TBD m²
typology
commercial
status
postponed
role
façade simulation + envelope specification
TBD
// the proof

envelope optimisation · postponed.

recommendation issued, project postponed before construction.

// the brief

what the climate asked for.

the developer had a structural shell already designed and a façade procurement decision still open. the brief was a paid simulation study to compare reasonable envelope variants, shading depths against glazing specifications, and recommend one for construction.

no architecture was changed. only the wall.

// the approach

how we worked the problem.

the model ran on the building's actual orientation and adjacency, with multiple weather files (tmy, hot extreme, recent year). each variant got a cooling load, a daylight autonomy reading, and an indicative capex delta.

the recommendation favoured an intermediate shading depth with better glazing, not the most expensive option on either axis.

// cumulative strategies

each move contributes incrementally.

performance is not one heroic intervention. it is the small decisions, added up. each row below is a number the model produced.

01
glazing comparison
multiple low-e specs modelled against the same massing.
TBD
02
shading depth
multiple external fin depths modelled to find the sweet spot for west and south.
TBD
03
orientation tuning
per-elevation glazing ratio adjusted on the south and west faces.
TBD
04
roof spec
continuous insulation added under the rainscreen; reflective topcoat.
TBD
result
simulated cooling load · selected variant
TBD
the boring decision, made with evidence, ahead of time.
// project outcome · in the team's own words