Virtual and Augmented Reality for building design and simulation.

Net Zero Energy and sustainable design.

Parametric and generative design systems for sustainable architecture.

Daylighting in buildings.

Housing solutions for the developing world and refugee camps.

Luisa Caldas is Professor in the Department of Architecture and director of the Virtual and Augmented Reality Laboratory.

An architect by training, she has been active for more than twenty years in the field of sustainable design and green building, both in academia and as an energy consultant for large commercial buildings. Her work focuses on the use of advanced computational tools to support the deployment of environmental factors into early architecture design stages. A main area of research is the integration of challenging, complex geometry architectural solutions with sustainability, by developing the conceptual processes, workflows, and computational tools that allow multiple scale integration, from master planning to building design to envelope components.

She founded the Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Lab in the Department of Architecture, where apart from offering several courses in this field, her research focuses on use of immersive environments for parametric building design and simulation, with a particular focus on daylighting. She is also creating an Augmented Reality project for BAMPFA, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, focusing on the construction of their new building, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. She is a member of the Center for Augmented Cognition at UC Berkeley, and of the FHL HTC Center.

Caldas research is also directed to the field of generative design systems. She is the author of GENE_ARCH, the first generative design system that used Pareto Genetic Algorithms for search and generation of energy efficient buildings by simultaneously optimizing thermal and lighting energy patterns, and integrated Energy Plus as a simulation engine. GENE_ARCH currently includes other simulation engines, such as Radiance and Daysim. Recent software development are: Painting with Light, a user-guided interactive evolutionary system for daylighting design, that allows architects to use color to specify desired light levels in space and searches for building geometry and materials; and Sun_Carve, for direct light design.

Examples of student course work:
Light as Form Generator

Evolving Skins: Materials, Energy and Light

Caldas L, Santos L, 2016, Painting with Light: An Interactive Evolutionary System for Daylighting Design, Building and Environment, Vol. 109, Nov. 2016, pp. 154-174

Santos, L., Schleicher, S., Caldas, L., 2016, Automation of CAD models to BEM models for performance based goal-oriented design methods, Building and Environment, Feb 2017

Caldas, L., Santos, L., 2016, Painting with Light: A Generative Design System for Daylighting Design, proceedings of PLEA 2016,  Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative Environments, Los Angeles, July 11-13, 2016, pp. 634-639

Caldas, L., Stavridi, E., 2016, Light as Form Generator: Workflows for Performance-Based Generative Design , Facade Tectonics 2016 World Congress, Los Angeles, October 10-11, 2016

Wang, J., Caldas, L., 2016, Selection of Energy Efficient Windows for Hot Climates Using Genetic Algorithms Optimization, proceedings of PLEA 2016, Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative Environments, Los Angeles, July 11-13, 2016, pp. 29-34

Wang, J., Caldas, L., 2016, Simulation-Based Optimization of Window Properties Based on Existing Products, Proceedings of BSO’16, International Conference on Building Simulation & Optimization 2016, Newcastle, UK, Sep 12-14 2016

Caldas, L., Andaloro, A., Calafiore, G., Munechika, K., Oliveira, M., Taube, B., Cabrini, S., 2018, Water Collection from Fog in Buildings Envelopes, Part 1 and Part 2, April 2018, Water and Environment

Song, Y., Wang, J., Caldas, L., Zhu, N., Lin, Z., 2014, Indoor Comfort and Energy Saving Building Performance Created by Envelope Materials, Time + Architecture, 2014 (3). 77-81

Caldas, L., 2014, Complex Geometry in EnergyPlus, Report for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Caldas, L., Santos, L., 2012, "Generation of Energy-Efficient Houses with GENE_ARCH: combining an Evolutionary Generative Design System with a Shape Grammar" in: 30th eCAADe Proc: Prague, v.1, pp. 459-470

Arsénio, A., Oliveira, M., Caldas, L., 2011: Social Interaction and the Development of Artificial Consciousness, in Introduction to Modern Robotics, eds. Chugo, D., Yokota, S., iConcept Press, pp. 93-118

L. Caldas, 2008: Generation of Energy-Efficient Architecture Solutions Applying GENE_ARCH: An Evolution-Based Generative Design System", in Advanced Engineering Informatics, Vol. 22 (1), pp. 59-70, Elsevier

L. Caldas, 2006: GENE_ARCH: An Evolution-Based Generative Design System for Sustainable Architecture, in Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series, I.F.C. Smith (Ed.): EG-ICE, LNAI 4200, pp. 109-118, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Caldas, M., Caldas, L. e Semião, V., 2006: Multicriteria Optimization of Gasification Operational Parameters Using a Pareto Genetic Algorithm, Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Vol. 3, nº 2, pp.69-74

Duarte, J.P., Rocha, J., Ducla-Soares, G., Caldas, L., 2006: “An Urban Grammar for the Medina of Marrakech”, in Gero, J. (ed.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, July 2006, pp 483-502, Springer, The Netherlands.

Caldas, L., Duarte, J., 2005: “Fabricating Innovative Ceramic Covers: Re-Thinking Roof Tiles in a Contemporary Context”, Proc. ECAADE’05, September 21-24, Lisbon

Caldas, L., 2005: “Three-Dimensional Shape Generation of Low-Energy Architecture Solutions using Pareto Genetic Algorithms”, Proc. ECAADE’05, Sep 21-24, Lisbon

Caldas, L., Norford, L., 2004: Shape Generation Using Pareto Genetic Algorithms: Integrating Conflicting Design Objectives in Low-Energy Architecture, International Journal of Architectural Computing, Vol. 1, N.4, pp. 503-515

Duarte, J.P, Caldas, L.G., Rocha, J.M., 2004: “Free-Form Ceramics: Design and Production of Complex Forms with Ceramic Elements”, Proceedings of ECAADE’04, September 15-18, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 174-183.

Caldas, L.G., Norford, L.K., 2003: Genetic Algorithms for Optimization of Building Envelopes and the Design and Control of HVAC Systems, Journal of Solar Engineering – Transactions of the ASME, August 2003, Volume 125, Number 3, pp. 343-351

Caldas, L., Norford, L., Rocha, J., 2003: An Evolutionary Model for Sustainable Design, Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Volume 14, Number 3, pp. 383-397

Caldas, L., 2003: “Shape Generation Using Pareto Genetic Algorithms: Integrating Conflicting Design Objectives in Low-Energy Architecture”, Proceedings of CAADRIA 2003, October 18-21, Bangkok, Thailand

Caldas, L., Rocha, J., 2002: A Generative Design System Applied to Siza’s School of Architecture at Oporto, The International Journal of Design Computing, 2000-2001, Vol.3

Caldas, L.G., Norford, L.K., 2002: Energy Design Optimization Using a Genetic Algorithm, Automation in Construction, Elsevier, Volume 11, Number 2, pp. 173-184

Caldas, L., 2002: Evolving Three-Dimensional Architecture Form: An Application to Low-Energy Design, in: Artificial Intelligence in Design 2002, ed. by Gero, J.,S., (Cambridge, UK: Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht) , pp. 351-370

Caldas, L., 2002: Pareto Genetic Algorithms in Architecture Design: An Application to Multicriteria Optimization Problems. Proceedings of PLEA’02 (The 19th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture), Toulouse, France, July 2002, pp.37-45

Caldas, L., Norford, L., Rocha, J., 2001: An Evolutionary Model for Sustainable Design, Proceedings of PLEA'01, Florianópolis, Brazil, November 7-9 [Best Paper Award]

Caldas, L., Norford, L., 2001: Architectural Design Constraints in a Generative Design System: Interpreting Energy Levels, Proceedings of Building Simulation 2001, IBPSA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 13-15, Vol. 2, pp. 1397-1404

Caldas, L., Rocha, J., 2001: A Generative Design System Applied to Siza’s School of Architecture at Oporto, Proceedings of CAADRIA’01, Sydney, Australia, April 19-21, pp. 253-264 [Commended Paper Award]

Caldas, L.G., Norford, L.K., 1999: A Genetic Algorithm Tool for Design Optimization, Proceedings of ACADIA ’99, Salt Lake City, October 28-31, USA, pp. 260-271

Patents

PT103137: Discontinuous system for covering roofs and facades with coplanar ceramic elements
PT103020: Ceramic bricks generators of freestanding walls with complex double-curvature shapes
PT103141: Roof coating system in discontinuous ceramic glazed elements

PT103138: Double-faced building coverage system
PT103140: Building coverage system in ceramic material
PT103139: Circular discontinuous ceramic coating of circular shape

PT103019: Rotating Ceramic Tile