The first assignment of Environmental Performance Simulation taught at Carnegie Mellon University. The exercise was tailored to familiarize myself with the Ladybug plug-in for Rhino Grasshopper by performing various simulations at the envelope of a sample building. In a small group with two other classmates, we were responsible for analyzing environmental factors such as solar radiation and weather data.

The building for our group was given a location in Miami, Florida, a hot and humid environment in Climate Zone 1. Some of the exercises we conducted for this assignment include, but are not limited to, dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity analysis, global, direct, and diffuse solar radiation intensities, heating and cooling degree days, and sky cover. In addition to analysis, we were tasked with several design exercises including determining optimal solar photovoltaic orientation, designing an environmentally responsive landscape design, conducting solar performance simulations (which included building orientation and shadow range analysis), and designing a static solar shading device. We concluded the assignment with a report covering