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11-24 

11 

 

 

 

Article 

Skin porosity geometry from the energy 

efficiency point of view; case study: an office 

building in Mashhad, Iran 
Sima Khayami*, Khosro Daneshjoo, Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad  

Department of Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran  

A R T I C L E   I N F O 
 

Article history: 
Received 10 September 2022  
Received in revised form 
17 October 2022 
Accepted 23 October 2022 
 
Keywords:  
Energy Consumption Optimization,  
Daylight Entry Control,  
Double Skin Façade,  
Dynamic Shading Skin, Shading Skin 
 
*Corresponding author 
Email address: simakhayami@modares.ac.ir 
 
 
DOI: 10.55670/fpll.futech.2.2.2 

A B S T R A C T 
 

The construction sector accounts for a large portion of the world's energy 
consumption; in Iran, it’s more than 40% of energy consumption. Office 
buildings have a relatively unfavorable energy consumption pattern due to 
impersonal ownership and lack of supervision and needs improvement. The 
aim of this research is to achieve the most optimal skin porosity geometry in 
terms of energy for a dynamic double-skin façade. Since this idea is intended to 
be used in Mashhad, which is one of the religious centers of Iran, so to create 
this feeling in users, the geometry used for its dynamic second skin porosity is 
inspired by Islamic patterns of tiles and decorations of the holy shrine of Imam 
Reza (AS). By analyzing the energy performance of 5 selected geometries with 
Ladybug and Honeybee plugins, the most optimal one will be determined. 
Daylight is one of the most influential parameters in the design of energy-
efficient buildings. To make the most of this parameter, it is necessary to create 
facades with maximum transparency. But these facades face challenges such as 
overheating. Therefore, it’s important to control the amount of daylight 
entering. In this research, an optimal geometry for a dynamic double skin 
façade porosity intended to be used for office buildings in Mashhad is 
presented, although the energy analysis results of all 5 geometries are very 
close to each other. This means that the porosity geometry does not have much 
effect on the optimization of energy consumption. 
 

 

1. Introduction 

The price of oil and fossil fuels is increasing, and this 
issue has turned the amount of energy consumption and its 
production method, into one of the main challenges in 
developing countries. In recent decades, the energy demand 
of our society, especially in the building sector, has been 
steadily increasing [1]. The energy consumption of buildings 
constitutes about 40% of the total energy consumption in 
developed and developing countries [2]. In the last decade, 
the proportion of energy consumption in Iran has been about 
five times its global consumption. The continuously 
increasing demand for energy-efficient buildings has drawn 
widespread attention to the role of various building elements 
[3]. Skin, as the main building element, plays a vital role in 
protecting internal environments and controlling 
interactions between internal and external spaces [4]. 
Building skins are usually considered to consist of penetrable 
and impenetrable surfaces [5]. Conventional facades can lead 
to poor natural ventilation, low levels of daylight, the absence 

of thermal comfort, and an increased amount of energy 
consumption. These disadvantages are often aggravated in 
modern facades that have significant amounts of glass. As a 
result of high solar heat absorption or a significant amount of 
heat loss at night or in cold climates, wide glass facades lead 
to high energy consumption [4]. Solar heat absorption 
through glass leads to 50% of the building's cooling load and 
therefore has significant effects on thermal loads. Considering 
the fact that 22% of heat absorption and loss takes place 
through the building skin, the necessity of using passive 
technologies in building skins in order to reduce the energy 
consumption of the building becomes clear [5]. "Passive 
building" is a building in which the internal environment is 
controlled by the structure and architectural design of the 
building and its components instead of using mechanical 
cooling and heating systems. Among passive approaches, 
double skin facade (DSF) has recently become a popular 
technology. The desire to combine the transparent facade of 
modern buildings with energy efficiency has led to the use of 

 

 

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S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

12 

 

DSFs [6, 7]. The issue of natural lighting is effective in the self-
efficiency of buildings; because lighting accounts for 15% of 
the energy consumption of buildings around the world [8, 9] 
This issue requires more attention, especially in the case of 
office buildings; Because the energy consumption for the 
lighting of this sector alone includes between 20% and 40% 
of the total energy consumption [10]. In Iran, artificial lighting 
accounts for 25% of electricity consumption in office 
buildings. Studies and evaluations show that about 4800 
million kWh of electrical energy (equivalent to 2.5% of the 
country's total energy consumption) is used to meet the needs 
of governmental offices. The amount of this consumption 
varies from 100 to 1000 kWh per person per square meter 
depending on the location of the office, its dimensions, and the 
number and type of equipment used in it [11]. Daylight is an 
important source of renewable energy that is simply available 
and unlikely to run out in the future [12]. Despite the fact that 
Iran possesses a lot of daylight during working hours 
(Mashhad has an average of 8 hours of sunshine per day), this 
level of electricity consumption remains relatively high. Along 
with the global awareness of the importance of more 
sustainable and efficient building performance, it is necessary 
to provide methods to minimize electricity consumption for 
lighting. An efficient method is to use natural daylight 
effectively in interior spaces [13]. The utilization of daylight 
plays a fundamental role in lighting the building, and its 
efficient use can reduce the overall energy consumption of the 
building. In addition, bringing daylight into the interior has a 
significant impact on the health and comfort of residents [14-
16]. To provide light properly, three factors must always be 
considered: the quantity and quality of light and the way it is 
distributed. The light varies from moment to moment in 
terms of intensity and quality, and the desirable or tolerable 
degree of this change depends on the specific use of space 
[17]. 

In the past years, researchers have tried to reduce 
dependence on non-renewable energy sources by using 
natural daylight as the main source of energy for the building. 
Most of these studies have focused on the optimization of 
daylight inside buildings. However, in their methods, due to 
the limitations of their research methods, the highest possible 
efficiency was impossible. In certain approaches, although the 
daylight optimization strategies have achieved the best angle 
of the shading elements, the system cannot move in three 
dimensions; thus, the optimal and available amount of light 
during the day reduces [8]. In optimal designs, minimizing 
energy consumption is the main goal. Based on this issue, 
openings are considered for sunlight entrance into the space, 
and in this way, energy consumption is decreased by reducing 
electric lighting [18]. Various types of shading devices have 
been designed on the basis of the orientation, location, and 
glazing types of buildings to increase thermal and lighting 
performance [19]. Studies in recent years have shown a shift 
in approach from simple and static shader systems to 
complex ones [20]. In this research, an optimal geometry for 
the porosity of a dynamic double-skin facade that could 
optimize the amount of interior space illumination through 
daylight has been investigated. 

2. Methodology  

In this project, with the aim of using daylight as much as 
possible, a wide glass facade is used in the sunlight-exposed 
face, and in order to control the amount of incoming daylight 
in different seasons, a dynamic second skin is applied on it. 
Since this idea is intended to be used in Mashhad, which is one 
of the religious centers of Iran, so to create this feeling in 

users, the geometry used for its skin porosity is inspired by 
Islamic patterns of tiles and decorations of the holy shrine of 
Imam Reza (AS). By analyzing the energy performance of 5 
selected geometries with Ladybug and Honeybee plugins in 
Rhino software, the most optimal one will be determined. 
These results show the energy consumption per kWh per year 
so that a better comparison of the results can be made. 
Between the two facade layers, there are foldable shader 
surfaces that open and close with the movement of skin and 
change the porosity percentage of skin in different seasons. 

2.1 Skin primitive design idea 
The primitive design idea consists of a dynamic skin with 

foldable shader surfaces placed in the space between the two 
facade layers, which open and close with the movement of 
skin and control the amount of daylight entering. The study of 
previous research in the field of double-skin facades shows 
that in order to have proper natural ventilation in the space 
between the two layers and also to prevent it from 
overheating, their distance should be 20 to 60 cm. Therefore, 
in this design, the movement of skin is considered in such a 
way that the distance between the two layers varies between 
20 and 60 cm when opening and closing. Figure 1 illustrates 
the primitive design idea and its distance changes. 

 

 
Figure 1. The primitive design idea 

 
2.2 Skin porosity pattern 

Considering the fact that this idea is intended to be used 
in the holy city of Mashhad, which is one of the religious 
centers of the country, so with the aim of creating this feeling 
in users, the second skin porosity geometry is inspired by 
Islamic patterns of tiles and decorations of the holy shrine of 
Imam Reza (AS), and then 5 geometries were selected and 
analyzed by the energy analysis software. Figures 2-6 
illustrate the inspiration sources of those 5 geometries. 

3. Case Studies 

The main concern of this research is to provide a solution 
to reduce the level of fossil fuel consumption, to use sunlight 
as a renewable energy source as much as possible, and to use 
a passive method in the design of a dynamic skin in order to 
improve the building energy consumption. For this purpose, 
the background of the projects carried out in this field has 
been reviewed, and their goals and solutions have been 
analyzed in Table 1 (Appendix I). The study of case studies 
showed that a large part of efforts had been made in order to 
optimally control the entry of daylight, provide the comfort of 
the indoor environment and reduce the level of energy 
consumption. This approach provides the possibility of using 
the facade in two ways, completely transparent and 



S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

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completely rigid, and besides creating a suitable view, it 
causes the potential to optimize energy consumption. In 
addition, the mobility of facade elements gives it dynamism 
and allows users to make changes based on their needs and, 
at the same time, create a different appearance in the facade. 

3.1 First Geometry 

Figure 2. The first geometry, which is inspired by the 
courtyard and ceiling of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) 

3.2 Second Geometry 

Figure 3. The second geometry, which is inspired by the 
porch of Goharshad mosque 

3.3 Third Geometry 

Figure 4. The third geometry, which is inspired by the ceiling 
and decorations of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) 

3.4 Forth Geometry 

Figure 5. The fourth geometry, which is inspired by the door 
of Dar al-Siadeh porch (Goharshad courtyard) 
 

 

3.5 Fifth Geometry 

Figure 6. The fifth geometry, which is inspired by Dar al-
Siadeh porch (Goharshad courtyard). 

 
4. Results and discussion 

By specifying the porosity geometries, a porous skin by 
these geometries is modeled with the same porosity 
percentage (50%), and each of them is analyzed by Ladybug 
and Honeybee plugins in terms of energy efficiency. Finally, 
the most optimal geometry will be determined. Figure 7 
(Appendix I) illustrates the algorithm used for skin energy 
analysis with each geometry. The results support the related 
literature [21-40] strongly, which shows the validity and 
reliability of the research. 

4.1 Energy Analysis of 5 Skin Porosity Geometries 
4.1.1 Skin Energy Analysis with First Geometry (50% 

porosity) 
Figure 8 illustrates the skin with the first geometry, 

and the graph of its energy loads in each section is shown in 
Figure 9. Figure 10 also shows the skin energy loads diagram 
individually with the first geometry. The result of energy 
loads for each month and the total energy loads of the first 
skin have been presented in Table 2. 

4.1.2 Skin Energy Analysis with Second Geometry (50% 
porosity) 
Figure 11 illustrates the skin with second geometry 

and the graph of its energy loads in each section is shown in 
Figure 12. Figure 13 also shows the skin energy loads diagram 
individually with the second geometry. The result of energy 
loads for each month and the total energy loads of the second 
skin have been presented in Table 3. 

4.1.3 Skin Energy Analysis with Third Geometry (50% 
porosity) 
Figure 14 illustrates the skin with the third geometry, 

and the graph of its energy loads in each section is shown in 
Figure 15. Figure 16 also shows the skin energy loads diagram 
individually with third geometry. The result of energy loads 
for each month and the total energy loads of the third skin 
have been presented in Table 4. 

4.1.4 Skin Energy Analysis with Forth Geometry (50% 
porosity) 

Figure 17 illustrates the skin with the fourth geometry, 
and the graph of its energy loads in each section is shown in 
Figure 18. Figure 19 also shows the skin energy loads diagram 
individually with the fourth geometry. The result of energy 
loads for each month and the total energy loads of the fourth 
skin have been presented in Table 5. 

 
 
 
 



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Figure 8. Skin with the first geometry 

 
Figure 9. First skin energy loads graph 

 
Figure 10. First skin energy analysis diagram 

Solar Gain 

(kWh) 

Total Energy 

Load (kWh) 

Electric Light 

(kWh) 

Total Thermal 

Load (kWh) 

Heating 

(kWh) 

Cooling 

(kWh) 
  

948.609272 602.346764 112.660928 489.685836 74.783893 414.901943 October 

704.617394 265.141225 112.077593 153.063632 146.280437 6.783195 November 

698.922888 492.502641 109.208945 383.293696 383.017287 0.276409 December 

718.08324 601.118993 116.8296 484.289393 483.858704 0.430689 January 

721.251032 309.665609 102.573579 207.09203 206.694061 0.397969 February 

819.457508 221.530483 113.377617 108.152866 80.882152 27.270714 March 

4610.941334 2492.305715 666.728262 1825.577453 1375.516535 450.060918   

Solar Gain 
(kWh) 

Total Energy 
Load (kWh) 

Electric Light 
(kWh) 

Total Thermal 
Load (kWh) 

Heating 
(kWh) 

Cooling 
(kWh) 

 

958.790672 604.617958 112.660928 491.95703 74.581807 417.375223 October 

713.053085 264.181626 112.077593 152.104033 145.313598 6.790435 November 

707.578703 489.66521 109.208945 380.456265 380.177939 0.278326 December 

726.680824 598.069054 116.8296 481.239454 480.805871 0.433583 January 

729.655292 308.039838 102.573579 205.466259 205.063776 0.402483 February 

826.388818 221.319009 113.377617 107.941392 80.616207 27.325185 March 

4662.147394 2485.892695 666.728262 1819.164433 1366.559198 452.605235  

Table 2.  Skin energy analysis results with the first geometry 

Table 3.  Skin energy analysis results with the second geometry 



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Figure 11. Skin with the second geometry 

 
Second skin energy analysis graph. 

 
 

Figure 13. Second skin energy analysis diagram 

 
 
 

 
Figure 14. Skin with third geometry 

 
Third skin energy analysis graph. 

 
Figure 16. Third skin energy analysis diagram 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
Figure 12. Second skin energy analysis graph 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Figure 15. Third skin energy analysis graph 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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Solar Gain 
(kWh) 

Total Energy 
Load (kWh) 

Electric Light 
(kWh) 

Total Thermal 
Load (kWh) 

Heating 
(kWh) 

Cooling 
(kWh) 

  

959.248034 604.670907 112.660928 492.009979 74.55712 417.452859 October 

713.410499 264.170121 112.077593 152.092528 145.290961 6.801567 November 

707.958743 489.716099 109.208945 380.507154 380.226824 0.28033 December 

727.000047 598.090547 116.8296 481.260947 480.825401 0.435546 January 

730.067929 308.003759 102.573579 205.43018 205.026208 0.403972 February 

827.062075 221.261315 113.377617 107.883698 80.532076 27.351622 March 

4664.747329 2485.912748 666.728262 1819.184486 1366.458589 452.725896   

 
Figure 17. Skin with fourth geometry. 

 
Figure 18. Forth skin energy analysis graph  

Figure 19. Forth skin energy analysis diagram. 

Solar Gain 
(kWh) 

Total Energy 
Load (kWh) 

Electric Light 
(kWh) 

Total Thermal 
Load (kWh) 

Heating 
(kWh) 

Cooling 
(kWh) 

  

958.478707 604.492946 112.660928 491.832018 74.576421 417.255597 October 

712.314561 264.303063 112.077593 152.22547 145.430956 6.794514 November 

707.380436 489.930075 109.208945 380.72113 380.441084 0.280046 December 

726.285243 598.40339 116.8296 481.57379 481.137816 0.435974 January 

728.974232 308.255055 102.573579 205.681476 205.278993 0.402483 February 

826.468719 221.304399 113.377617 107.926782 80.567563 27.359219 March 

4659.901898 2486.688928 666.728262 1819.960666 1367.432834 452.527834   

Table 4.  Skin energy analysis results with the third geometry 

Table 5.  Skin energy analysis results with the fourth geometry 



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4.1.5 Skin Energy Analysis with Fifth Geometry (50% 
porosity) 
Figure 20 illustrates the skin with the fifth geometry, 

and the graph of its energy loads in each section is shown in 
Figure 21. Figure 22 also shows the skin energy loads diagram 
individually with the fifth geometry. The result of energy 
loads for each month and the total energy loads of the fifth 
skin have been presented in Table 6. 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As seen in Figure 23, the energy analysis results of 
different geometries are very close to each other. It means 
that "the porosity geometry does not have much effect on 
energy consumption optimization". Therefore, all 5 
geometries can be used for skin porosity. Nevertheless, the 
most optimal geometry (the third one), which has the less 
energy load and the most solar gain, has been specified. 
Figure 24 illustrates the final skin with optimal geometry. 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Figure 20. Skin with fifth geometry 

 
 
Figure 21. Fifth skin energy analysis graph. 

 
 

Figure 22. Fifth skin energy analysis diagram. 

Solar Gain 
(kWh) 

Total Energy 
Load (kWh) 

Electric Light 
(kWh) 

Total Thermal 
Load (kWh) 

Heating 
(kWh) 

Cooling 
(kWh) 

  

955.439129 603.76423 112.660928 491.103302 74.674068 416.429234 October 

709.683818 264.552667 112.077593 152.475074 145.699443 6.775631 November 

704.223527 490.702503 109.208945 381.493558 381.214038 0.27952 December 

723.330107 599.209857 116.8296 482.380257 481.947764 0.432493 January 

726.589907 308.602532 102.573579 206.028953 205.627039 0.401914 February 

823.658242 221.424003 113.377617 108.046386 80.759023 27.287363 March 

4642.924731 2488.255792 666.728262 1821.52753 1369.921374 451.606156   

Table 6.  Skin energy analysis results with the fifth geometry 



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Figure 24. Final skin with optimal geometry 

Figure 23. Skin energy analysis diagram with different geometries 



S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

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5. Conclusion  

The increasing growing of population and urbanization 
around the world has turned the optimal use of energy 
resources and sustainable design into a global concern. In 
Iran, the construction sector accounts for 40% of this energy 
consumption. Meanwhile, office buildings have an 
unfavorable energy consumption pattern due to a lack of 
supervision and impersonal ownership and require special 
attention. In order to optimize the energy performance of 
buildings, there are many passive solutions, one of them being 
the use of renewable energy sources to meet energy needs. 
One of the most available sources of renewable energy, 
especially in Iran, is solar energy. The skin, as a boundary 
between the inside and outside of the building, is the 
component that has the most contact with the external 
environment and the sun; therefore, it can have a significant 
impact on the energy performance of the building. Today, 
various technologies are used to design skins, and one of the 
most effective methods is the use of double-skin facades and 
shading skins. Studies showed that in order to create optimal 
ventilation, the distance between two shells needs to be at 
least 20 and at most 60 cm. Basically, daylight is one of the 
most influential parameters in the design of energy-efficient 
buildings. To make the most of this parameter, it is necessary 
to create facades with maximum transparency. But these 
facades face challenges such as overheating in hot seasons. In 
order to solve this problem, it is necessary to control the 
amount of daylight entering in hot seasons. In this project, 
with the aim of using daylight as much as possible, a wide 
glass facade is used in the sunlight-exposed face, and in order 
to control the amount of incoming daylight in different 
seasons, a dynamic second skin is applied on it. Since this idea 
is intended to be used in Mashhad, which is one of the 
religious centers of Iran, so to create this feeling in users, the 
geometry used for its skin porosity is inspired by Islamic 
patterns of tiles and decorations of the holy shrine of Imam 
Reza (AS). By analyzing the energy performance of 5 selected 
geometries with Ladybug and Honeybee plugins in Rhino 
software, the most optimal one is determined; although the 
energy analysis results of all 5 geometries are very close to 
each other. This means that the porosity geometry does not 
have much effect on the optimization of energy consumption. 

Ethical issue 
The authors are aware of and comply with best practices 

in publication ethics, specifically with regard to authorship 
(avoidance of guest authorship), dual submission, 
manipulation of figures, competing interests, and compliance 
with policies on research ethics. The authors adhere to 
publication requirements that the submitted work is original 
and has not been published elsewhere. 

Data availability statement 
Datasets analyzed during the current study are available 

and can be given following a reasonable request from the 
corresponding author. 

Conflict of interest 

The authors declare no potential conflict of interest. 

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S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105041 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This article is an open-access article 

distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative 

Commons Attribution (CC BY) license 

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 



S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

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Appendix I 

Table 1. Examples of case studies carried out in this field and their goals and solutions 

Case Study Goal Solution 

Al-Bahar Towers 

 
[19] 

 
[20] 

Compatibility with Abu Dhabi weather 
(intense sunshine, temperature above 100 
degrees Fahrenheit with 0% chance of 
rain). 

Mashrabiya shading system with actuated 
panels [20] 

 

A responsive facade to sunlight and 
changes in radiation angles during 
different days of the year. 

Reducing glare 

50% reduction in solar heat absorption. 

Reducing the building's need for energy for 
air conditioning. 

Light filtering 

Better view 

Less need for artificial light 

Façade transparency at night [20] 

Kiefer Technic Showroom 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
[20-22] 

Changing based on outdoor environmental 
conditions 

A dynamic facade which adapts to changes 
of outdoor environment [20] 

 
[23] 

 
[24] 

Providing interior environment comfort 

Changing personal spaces to the taste of 
users 

Presenting different views throughout the 
day as a dynamic sculpture 

Ability to control by optimization 
programs [20] 

SDU Campus Kolding 

Responding to changes in daylight 
intensity 

Dynamic solar shading system [20] 

Adaptation to specific weather conditions 



S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

23 

 

Case Study Goal Solution 

 
 

 
[25] 

Compatibility with user needs 

 
[25] 

Providing optimal daylight 

Providing internal comfort conditions 

Facade dynamism during the day [20] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



S Khayami /Future Technology                                                                                                        May 2023| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | Pages 11-24 

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