eCAADe 2026 conference paper

Building-Integrated Agriculture (BIA) incorporate food production into the built environments to address food security and resource efficiency. However, its implementation in architectural design is limited by the complexity of coordinating architectural, environmental, and agricultural factors. Existing decision-support tools typically focus on post-project evaluation or single-solution optimization under fixed conditions, which does not align with the iterative nature of design exploration. This paper presents D-SymBIA, a scenario-based computational framework and prototype designed to support the exploration of BIA design alternatives. The research utilizes a design study methodology and agile development to structure the BIA design process into modular scenario units. These units consist of property-value pairs and data representing coherent design possibilities across four domains: Resource Circularity, Spatial Integration, Agricultural Systems, and Crop Specification. The interaction model is structured into three phases: Explore and Generate, Compare and Match, and Combine and Evaluate. The current prototype focuses on the initial Explore and Generate phase, specifically for identifying building locations and determining crop types. By integrating architectural geometry, climate data, and agricultural datasets, the system allows users to iteratively filter and visualize potential configurations within a 3D modelling environment. As this is ongoing research, the prototype provides a foundation for future integration of waste circularity and performance evaluations, offering a structured approach to exploring BIA implementation in urban contexts.