A GENERATIVE PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGN FOR LOW-COST 1 BRICKWORK SCREENS 2 3 Sahar Abdelwahab 1 , Yomna Elghazi 2,3 4 1 Department of Architecture, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. 5 2 Department of Architecture, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. 6 3 Department of Architecture and Environmental Design, The Arab Academy for Science and 7 Technology, Cairo, Egypt. 8 9 ABSTRACT Brick was employed in buildings’ facades as mediating terms to buildings aesthetics and low-cost. Recalling the inherent qualities of brick; aesthetic, economic, and environmental can enhance natural daylight qualities. Elegantly articulated perforated brickwork screen can provide an exhilarating play of light throughout the day, block direct sunlight and soften strong daylight while retaining some ventilation. Variation of brick arrangements creates unlimited patterns of light and shade, which could be parametrically optimized to achieve low-cost and efficient environmental performance. This paper is going to recall brick as a local and available construction material in Egypt for façade design by using generative design and simulation tools. Brick patterns are achieved by placing a single brick type into one of several possible positions within its framework. Research method will integrate different brick bonds’ configurations (shifting, rotating and stepping), with pre-programmed analysis data of environmental changes for identifying the most efficient daylight performance. In conclusion, this paper has developed configurations that facilitate the new ecological approach to traditional brick screen. INTRODUCTION Bricks have been used in the construction industry as a building medium for millennia. Brick is one of the oldest building materials and its story starts at the very beginning of the history of civilization (Campbell, 2003). Bricks patterns depict the unique aesthetic intentions found in Roman, Gothic and Islamic architecture (Afsari, Swarts, & Gentry, 2014). Historically, Lessons had been learned from English brickwork as well as Dutch brick traditions since the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth century, where the elements of brick construction came into play and were realized with harmony and perfection. Brick bond and detailing became of paramount importance and colors were matched and contrasted with a high degree of artistic concern. The crafting of details was important even for humble buildings. Brick continued to be a major building material throughout the world during the nineteenth century (Hall, 2015). Its strength, durability, availability, relative cheapness and a beauty that improves with time made brick unassailable. Brick is an ideal material to be used structurally because of its compressive strength, fireproof nature and because it offers good insulation and durability. The twentieth century saw brick used as both a loadbearing structural material and, increasingly, as a mere cladding material, giving it a 'wallpaper' role; header and closers which indicate a solidly bonded wall are replaced by repetitive and economic stretcher bonds (Hall, 2015). The 20th century saw changes in brick manufacturing which were even more remarkable than those of the century before. They were being made in highly sophisticated and heavily automated factories (Campbell, 2003). In the twenty-first century brick continues to play a creative role in the making of functional and delightful architecture. Indeed, in this age of ever-increasing concern over ecology, sustainability and energy conservation, bricks-with their long-life span and splendid insulation characteristics remain an ideal building material (Hall, 2015). Therefore, recalling the inherent qualities of brick, aesthetic, economic, environmental and structural which have been recognized by mankind at very distant time can be reduce energy consumption. Brick is central to new ways of thinking about architecture, thus, it is time reappraise our view of brick. In Egypt, the oldest surviving images of brickmaking were found in 1450 BC. Mud bricks arc still made using much the same process on the banks of the Nile today (Campbell, 2003). The vast majority of Ancient Egyptian building was constructed more rapidly and economically by the extensive use of sun -dried brick as the major material (Spencer, 1979). Brick: Sustainable and Energy Efficient Bricks require considerable energy consumption related to their production. However, they are really long-lasting and easy maintainable constructive materials. Brickwork can last for centuries, considering that finished bricks are “clean” recyclable building unit. History of Architecture proved that bricks are an interesting example of a long lasting material (Cristini & Ruiz-Checa, 2014). Using local materials also has some community benefits, in that it can help support the local economy and skills. On the other hand, when it comes to certain technologically demanding building elements, it may not be possible to source an appropriate