Xiao Sunny Li (MArch 2014) presented a paper at the Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design on Wednesday, April 16. The paper, "Experimental Design of Energy Performance Simulation for Building Envelopes Integrated with Vegetation," was co-authored by Daniels alumnus and Instructor Ultan Byrne (MArch 2013) and Associate Professor Ted Kesik.

The symposium brought together researchers who use simulation tools to better understand and address the enormous amounts of green house gases produced by buildings. Li, an Assistant Researcher at the Daniels Faculty's Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory (GRIT Lab), spoke about simulation and modeling tools that can quantify the energy performance of green facades. The paper proposed a new program to measure the thermal performance of green building envelopes and identified vegetation's transpiration as a key contributor to cooling.

Li has been an Assistant Researcher at the GRIT Lab, headed by Assistant Professor Liat Margolis, since 2013. His research focuses on digital simulation of the thermodynamic performance of green facades in relation to building envelopes. Check out the live roof cam of the Daniels Faculty's green roof, where the GRITlab's research is conducted.