What can computational architecture establish?

A computational model makes a design question explicit enough to calculate, compare and challenge. It does not turn an attractive concept into an approved building.

How to use this idea

Maha separates requirements, model inputs, calculations, observations and professional decisions. IFC provides an information-exchange foundation; energy and lighting engines answer different physical questions. Our proposed workflow binds each result to the question it actually answers, rather than treating a model as a universal certificate.

Worked illustration

A synthetic library option has enough assignable area in an arithmetic schedule. That result leaves circulation, accessibility, structural spans and operating demand unresolved. Passing the schedule check is useful precisely because its meaning is narrow.

All numerical examples here are synthetic, not measured building results.

Checks before relying on a result

  • State the decision before choosing the model.
  • List which inputs are measured, assumed or unavailable.
  • Name the specialist review that the calculation cannot replace.

What this does not establish

No structural, financial, planning or occupancy approval is supplied by this collection.

Sources and review

Automated editorial preparation, not independent expert review. Examples and proposed workflows are Maha-authored.

buildingSMART IFC 4.3.2.0

Locator: 1 Scope; General use

Supports: IFC defines information exchange across building lifecycle disciplines; exchange scope must be specified.

Limit: An exchange standard is not approval of a design.

Inspection and reuse

Selected HTML sections inspected 2026-09-27. Linked original; short original summary. Documentation identifies CC BY-ND 4.0; no schema or documentation republished.

DOE: EnergyPlus

Locator: Project Objective

Supports: EnergyPlus is a whole-building modeling engine with heat, air, moisture, systems and control capabilities.

Limit: Tool capabilities do not validate an individual model. Historical page figures are not used as current performance evidence.

Inspection and reuse

Selected HTML sections inspected 2026-09-27. Linked official overview; original summary, no figures reproduced.

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