Performance-Based Design: Current Practices and Research Issues

In view of current developments in the theory and technology of digital design, potential novel directions for environments that support performance-based design are beginning to emerge. The field of performance-based design is defined through an analysis of current work in the field. Various models of performance-based architectural design are presented and discussed. On the basis of this analysis, key concepts and issues in the application of performance-based design in architecture are defined and certain research directions for the development of new approaches are presented. Finally we propose a new approach termed: Performative Design. Performative Design suggests that in creating simulation environments for performance-based architectural design both generative and evaluative capabilities can be integrated within performance-based simulations. The potential of performance-based simulation as a model of performance-based design is explored through a case study from an experimental digital design studio. Implication of this work on future research directions in the field is explicated.