# Building Information Modelling and Energy Simulation for Architecture Design
## 6 Application of the Methodology on an Existing Case Study
### Case Study Modelling
In addition to the beams, visible directly from the outside, there are other reinforced concrete elements, such as the U-shaped gargoyles, the ventilation openings, and the panels under the windows. These latter serve to further stiffen the floors, linking the masonry with the reinforced concrete of the beams and floors [45]. The floors are reinforced slabs, made together with the beams and panels under the windows. Their stratigraphy, described from bottom to top, varies according to the reference plane:  
Figure 7: Section of the building. * Ground floor slab: This slab rests directly on the ground and is composed of a bed of compacted materials (generally stones, bricks, concrete) of about 20 cm thick, by a 15 cm cast-in-situ reinforced concrete slab, by a layer of bitumen, from a 3 cm screed, from a 1 cm floor, mainly made of wood and stoneware;
* floor slab: 1-1.5 cm lime-based plaster, 15 cm cast-in-situ reinforced concrete slab, bitumen layer, 3 cm screed, 1 cm flooring (wood or stoneware);
* roof slab: 1-1.5 cm lime-based plaster, 12.5 cm cast-in-situ reinforced concrete slab, 3.5 cm screed, bituminous sheath;  
The fixtures are very similar to those envisaged in the project and consist of wooden frames, painted white, with single glass. Regarding the plants, it must be noted that this building, like many others built in the 1950s, was not originally equipped with heating or cooling systems. The control of the internal temperature was therefore obtained through natural ventilation. In the winter season, the heating of the rooms was performed by a wood-burning fireplace in each single house in the living area. Over the years, with the change in technology, product costs, and lifestyles, each home has been equipped with a heating system. The individual owners carried out the construction of the systems independently. For this reason, the components of the systems (boiler, radiators) vary from apartment to apartment. The solution adopted provides, in general, the installation of an autonomous internal boiler of about 24 kW in the central masonry body. The boiler allows the production of domestic hot water and the power supply of the terminals located in each room of the apartment. The terminals are standard radiators. Given the differences between the apartments, a schematic was adopted in the calculation phase, considering the system of a typical accommodation and then applying it to the other apartments examined. Therefore, small differences (model or commercial brand of the radiator, for example) were eliminated, given that they did not affect the calculation results. The fireplace is present in all apartments, but its function changes, e.g., in some cases, it is not used. Its function is performed by the heating system (Figure 8). In other cases, residents decided to continue to use it in combination with the heating system, maintaining the wood supply, and others replaced the wood-burning fireplace with a gas fireplace that replaces the radiators in the living area. Figure 8: Pictures of the flat with a gas-fireplace and a wood-fireplace (**above**) and a picture of the external part of the building with the analyzed part (**below**). Figure 8 shows pictures of the flat with a gas-fireplace and a wood-fireplace and a picture of the external part of the building with the analyzed part. The cooling systems have never been installed because they are not necessary because the climate in London in the summer is not very hot. Furthermore, it should also be considered that the building is located in a well-ventilated area, far from the densely built urban center. The present study examined a single block consisting of 6 apartments, distributed in pairs, on three elevations, and served by a common staircase. The limitation to a single block of apartments does not affect the search results. It respects the modularity desired by Stirling and excludes the repetition of identical elements, superfluous for the purposes of the calculation.