BASE Lab - University of Houston
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GERALD D. HINES COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

BASE Lab

Building Analytics and Sustainable Environments (BASE) Laboratory


The Building Analytics and Sustainable Environments (BASE) Laboratory is a conglomeration of research initiatives promoting performance-based, human-centric thinking for sustainable environmental design at the building and urban scale. The Lab aims to challenge traditional design processes by prioritizing sustainability and human well-being while addressing resilience in the era of climate change. Use of computational analytics, specialized sensing equipment, and qualitative methods to approach research questions, assist studio and thesis projects, encourage interdisciplinary collaborations, and promote innovation in high-performance architecture. BASE Lab is a space of exploration where we learn how environments inform the design process and how design affects the environment.

Projects

Equipment

  • Mobile Measuring and Data Logging

    Mobile Measuring and Data Logging

  • Weather Station and Specialized Light Sensors

    Weather Station and Specialized Light Sensors

  • Thermal Comfort Toolkit

    Thermal Comfort Toolkit

  • Aerial Infrared Imaging

    Aerial Infrared Imaging

Publications

Kyropoulou, M., Subramaniam, S., Tobin, M., Hoffmann, S., Modeling Photosynthetically Active Radiation Using a Spectrally Weighted Raytracing Approach. eCAADe, Gratz, Austria, 2023. http://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.2.239

Kyropoulou, M., Thermal comfort and indoor air quality in higher education: A case study in Houston, TX during mid-season. cisbat, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2023.

Kyropoulou, M., Shading Design for Outdoor Learning in Warm and Hot Climates Using Evolutionary Computation: A Case Study In Houston TX, in 2022 Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference (ANNSIM), San Diego, CA, USA, 2022 pp. 682-693. doi: 10.23919/ANNSIM55834.2022.9859518

Montelli, R., Kyropoulou, M., Impact of Climate Change in Houston TX: Resilient Residential Buildings and Equitable Design, in ARCC-EAAE 2022 Conference Proceedings, Miami, FL, 2022 pp. 667-674.

Kyropoulou, M., Subramaniam, S., Hoffmann, S., An Automated Workflow for Urban Greening Based on Photosynthetic Radiation Modeling, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2069, 012060. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2069/1/012060

Kyropoulou, M., Huang, J., Weather File Creation Methodology for Remote, Underserved Locations. PLEA Conference Proceedings, A Coruña, Spain, 2020 Vol. 2. pp. 1089-1094. https://doi.org/10.17979/spudc.9788497497947

Kyropoulou, M., Shrestha, S., Low Source Energy Neonatal Unit in Mbale, Uganda: A whole building assessment in a low resource setting. PLEA Conference Proceedings, A Coruña, Spain, 2020 Vol. 2. pp. 1321-1326. https://doi.org/10.17979/spudc.9788497497947

Subramaniam, S., Kyropoulou, M., Hoffmann, S., Radiation modeling strategy for incorporating vegetation in urban microclimate simulations.SimAUD Conference Proceedings, Vienna, Austria, 2020. pp. 373-380. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3465085.3465136 

People

Director

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Mili Kyropoulou is the founder and director of BASE Lab. She is an international architect, educator, and researcher, and her work manifests through building performance simulations, generative design, human-centric design, performance-based design, performance parametrics, and performance analytics. She studied architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holds an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Design (SED) from the Architectural Association (AA) London. Kyropoulou is a RIBA Chartered Architect in the UK, registered Architect in the UK and Greece, and LEED Accredited Professional. She is the past president of the IBPSA Houston chapter, which was recently recognized by the International Building Performance Simulation Association – USA (IBPSA-USA) through the Outstanding Chapter Award. With more than 14 years of experience in architecture, Kyropoulou has been involved in built projects or proposals in the US, Europe, the UK, Africa, Latin America, Russia, the Middle East, and East Asia. She has lectured or taught in Greece, Spain, and the United States and has written for publications such as the PLEA, ARCC-EAAE, SimAUD, Façade Tectonics, and Advanced Building Skins.

Research Assistants

Cameron Klassen

Research Assistants Alumni

Umaymah Sigbathulla
Mohannad Elabbasi
Raffaella Montelli
Felipe Perez Villareal