Andrei CreangăArchitect
Computational Design Explorations

Environmental design exploration

Barneveld — Solar & Shading Study

Barneveld, The Netherlands · 2026

An exploratory study for the new VO-Barneveld school, connecting seasonal shadow studies with incident solar radiation on glazing and parametric shading design. Grasshopper, Ladybug and Wallacei support a comparison of louver depth, spacing and orientation, balancing summer shading, retained winter radiation and louver surface area. The study reports 200 evaluations, 86 unique configurations and nine selected alternatives. These are comparisons within the sampled design space; indoor thermal comfort and daylight require separate assessment.

My contributionParametric modelling, solar radiation analysis, shading studies and visualisation.

Work developed at Van den Berg Architecten. Source study: 22 September 2026.

01 / Incident solar radiation on glazing — 1 April–30 September, 08:00–17:00, excluding weekends and configured days off. Values in kWh/m² for the study period.
01 / Incident solar radiation on glazing — 1 April–30 September, 08:00–17:00, excluding weekends and configured days off. Values in kWh/m² for the study period.
02 / Summer sun and shadow — 21 June
03 / Winter sun and shadow — 21 December
04 / Exposure across the school facades — another view of the same warm-season analysis and colour scale.
04 / Exposure across the school facades — another view of the same warm-season analysis and colour scale.
05 / Parametric louver controls — depth, spacing and horizontal or vertical orientation
06 / Wallacei exploration — edited process recording, slowed for readability
07 / Strong summer shading · Variant 6 | 2 · Horizontal louvers, 959 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 651 mm. Summer radiation reduction 81.4%; winter radiation retained 42.3%; louver surface area 835.8 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
07 / Strong summer shading · Variant 6 | 2 · Horizontal louvers, 959 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 651 mm. Summer radiation reduction 81.4%; winter radiation retained 42.3%; louver surface area 835.8 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
08 / Trade-off · Variant 8 | 5 · Horizontal louvers, 914 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 1,559 mm. Summer radiation reduction 53.5%; winter radiation retained 70.4%; louver surface area 372.0 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
08 / Trade-off · Variant 8 | 5 · Horizontal louvers, 914 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 1,559 mm. Summer radiation reduction 53.5%; winter radiation retained 70.4%; louver surface area 372.0 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
09 / Trade-off · Variant 3 | 19 · Horizontal louvers, 434 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 792 mm. Summer radiation reduction 51.0%; winter radiation retained 71.6%; louver surface area 330.1 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
09 / Trade-off · Variant 3 | 19 · Horizontal louvers, 434 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 792 mm. Summer radiation reduction 51.0%; winter radiation retained 71.6%; louver surface area 330.1 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
10 / Low material use · Variant 4 | 0 · Vertical louvers, 305 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 1,977 mm. Summer radiation reduction 13.6%; winter radiation retained 87.7%; louver surface area 84.1 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
10 / Low material use · Variant 4 | 0 · Vertical louvers, 305 mm deep, maximum axis spacing 1,977 mm. Summer radiation reduction 13.6%; winter radiation retained 87.7%; louver surface area 84.1 m². Percentages relative to the unshaded reference.
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