Buildings are responsible for 38 % of energy use in Norway, about 64 % of which is heating energy. Lacking of architectural design at the early design stage has adverse consequences on the climate and environmental efficiency of buildings, which is a burden for reducing the energy consumption of buildings.

This research uses Ådland project as a case study in order to investigate how the building morphology which is one aspect of the architectural quality will impact the heating demand of buildings. The research is based on the design which is ongoing in the Research Centre of Zero Emission Buildings (ZWB).

The objective of this research paper is to provide designers with general guidelines at the early design stage for selecting the most energy-efficient building morphologies from the perspective of the heating demand of buildings.