Expertise

Topics:  Green Design, Building Envelope, Design Quality, Virtual Reality, Immersive Visualization Systems

Industries: Architecture and Planning, Construction - Commercial, Construction - Residential, Energy

Azadeh Omidfar Sawyer's interdisciplinary research focuses on quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate building envelope, its effect on lighting, and occupants’ comfort and visual impressions. One goal is to address how “green” design can result in comfortable and aesthetically pleasant design. Sawyer focuses on evaluating and minimizing the discrepancies between the design of an envelope compared to the actual experience of it. This can be achieved by bridging the gap between building technology, design quality, and by humanizing data though the use of immersive visualizations such as VR.

Media Experience

Research Using AI in Energy Applications at CMU Showcases the Frontier of Opportunities  — CMU News
When it comes to research aiding systems that are already in place, Azadeh O. Sawyer, assistant professor in building technology with the School of Architecture, is using AI to make building design more efficient. Setting a benchmark standard for buildings’ energy usage of a typical size in a specific location allows for future designs to use those figures to continue to improve efficiency, but many cities don’t have those comprehensive energy benchmarking data to compare past designs with those under development, Sawyer said.

Guiding the Clean Energy Transition  — Carnegie Mellon University
Azadeh Sawyer, assistant professor in building technology in CMU's School of Architecture, showed how she's using virtual reality to promote green building practices, allowing clients to explore how different design elements impact the user experience and energy efficiency.

Global Energy Leaders View Innovation at Mill 19  — Carnegie Mellon University
A third demonstration will be provided by Azadeh Sawyer(opens in new window), from CMU's School of Architecture(opens in new window), whose research focuses on how green design can also be comfortable and aesthetically pleasing for building occupants. With the help of virtual reality, Sawyer and her team can quickly prototype thousands of potential building designs and explore each one from the occupant's point of view while also evaluating its energy efficiency. "We look at different design options and see how they impact energy demand, daylight or shadows instantaneously," Sawyer said. "This is how we ensure our spaces are not depressing and lifeless. Instead, they are human-centric."