Increased awareness on environmental issues, together with requirements imposed by implementation of energy efficiency codes, has generated the need for tools that evaluate thermal performance of buildings. Their objective is to ensure compliance and certification. However, existing computer models are still rudimentary with many limitations for use in early design stages of any architectural project. They require exact data in a stage when designers consider conceptual ideas from a range of options rather than precise details and numbers. Design tools that suggest solutions based on ideas are rare. This disadvantage can be seen in the planning of intelligent facades, where the number of possible configurations can be overwhelming and decisions made in early stages have profound effects on energy and comfort performance. This paper presents NewFacades, a model that helps pass from ideas to significant concepts in the design of intelligent facades. It uses energy and visual comfort strategies abstracted from a prescriptive energy code for hot climates to suggest a range of good starting solutions. Designers can have energy and visual comfort estimations to these alternatives through an advanced stage energy simulation program such as EnergyPlus, or explore them further with other tools. Methods used by the tool are presented here in the context of sample cases. By working on energy principles or relying on local existing energy standards, the model can be extended to all types of climates. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.