Integral Design methodology in the context of sustainable comfort systems

A newly developed methodology for structuring and documenting integral design processes enables verification and reproduction of decisions made during designing. Its conscious use by professionals results in iteration cycles within and between their own domains. The gradual emergence of a design language that helps structuring design tasks and solutions further stimulates the multidisciplinary exchange of ideas and concepts. The design process should improve by this approach, which is tested within the professional context. In 2000, the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA), the Dutch Society for Building Services (TVVL) and Delft University of Technology started a research project on Integral Design, resulting in a series of workshops for architects and HVAC consultants. This project was succeeded by new research within the Knowledge Centre Building & Systems (KCBS), in which Eindhoven University of Technology and TNO Environment and Geosciences cooperate. The ongoing workshop series, in which already over 200 professionals from BNA and the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers (ONRI) participated, is used for development and evaluation of integral design methodology in the domain of sustainable comfort systems. Besides its added value for building design, this integral design methodology directly stimulates application of sustainable energy in the built environment.