Conference Agenda

Field measurements were made in an urban canyon, located in the center of the City and Port of Veracruz, Mexico, where higher temperatures are compared to its surrounding areas. Research focused on better understanding the behavior of the microclimates of a city and its impact on thermal comfort. Temperature (T) and Relative Humidity (RH), are the variables considered to be measured by an autonomous flight system (MeVA), for the determination of the behavior of the street's thermal profile and its fluctuations due to the vehicular park that it transits. It is determined that the increase in temperature as a result of the cars increases from 3.50 to 1.50 ° C, and this effect is dissipated at a height of 3 meters. The investigation allows establishing parameters of adequate control of the vehicular tributary and a better planning in the aspect ratios of an urban canyon so as not to increase the temperature and achieve hygrothermal comfort values for the pedestrian.

The modern building industry sends products all over the world to improve building envelope performance. Though there are existing standards and tools to evaluate hygrothermal behavior of wall sections in different climates, they are often based on different assumptions and provide development teams with different insights. This paper attempts to compare the capabilities and limitations of three hygrothermal analysis tools: Ubakus, HT Flux, and WUFI. An engineered bamboo wall section with wool insulation that was recently built in Washington D.C. is used as a case. The results from the various tools are compared for the different climate zones where constituent parts of the building envelope were manufactured as well as the location of final assembly.

Thermal conditions of spaces in a load-bearing wall house were investigated. The key finding results are 1) steel reinforced concrete structure is needed to be reduced due to its high capability of heat accumulation 2) measured data showed that peck temperatures occurred in late afternoon due to the material’s heat inertia. A new wall system that use the same material was developed. The new wall has the less mass and the air inside the block’s cavities could be ventilated by stack effect in order to reduce heat build-up in the wall and lower peak temperatures of the spaces.

The central scope of this work is the architecture element roof, analysed through its close relationship with two conditions of low latitude regions. First, its relationship with climate conditions, in reference with the high amount of solar radiation it is exposed to, and second, the roof importance, in terms of area, in the middle of a disperse urban tissue. Thus, this study addresses the roof impact on residential buildings interior conditions, in these regions. This investigation has been handled with the use of simulation software. The input data and results were based and validated with a measurements campaign carried out in a seaside city of Ecuador. The results highlight the roof as the principal source of heat gains on the interior heat balance, even higher than direct solar gains through windows.

Providing access to a view out is fundamental for ensuring healthy living conditions in indoor spaces; however, there are no procedures for capturing luminous variations of a view over time. The study introduces a dynamic method for quantifying such variables through HDR time-lapse photography and digital image-processing techniques. Two series with analogous contextual features portrayed three consistent luminous variability conditions. Local luminous variation suggests the highest potential to influence visual response. Finally, the paper discusses design implications and future refinements to the methodology.

Large scale daylight simulations and representations on one single analysis grid are currently impossible with the

use of conventional software and computers. Computational limitations that relate to the capacity of computer machines as well

as analysis restrictions that relate to the allowable grid node count imposed by daylight simulation software prohibit daylightcoefficient

based calculations on large scale analysis grids. The present paper utilizes a real aviation project and presents the

development of a workflow that provides the ability to perform very demanding processes in acceptable time. Radiance related

ray‐tracing processes and matrix multiplications occur on the cloud using High Performance Computing and custom scripts that

facilitate and accelerate the progression. The analysis grid count is decomposed into manageable fragments and after the

calculation is performed, the fragmented values are recomposed in one single list of results that are utilized for colouring the

analysis grid mesh. Processes are sped up by approximately 32 times. Customized tools can be adaptive and reused in other

applications with minimum modifications. The methodology can also be adopted for performing other annual climate‐based

simulations or for glare studies.

Spectral information is fundamental in understanding the human responses to light. In order to assess the impact of light on visual and non-image forming effects (NIF) in more complex surroundings, in addition to spatially and temporally resolved daylight measurement, spectrally resolved information is required. This paper focuses on the inclusion of spectral aspects of daylight to specify the potential when planning for NIF aspects in urban structures, to reduce energy consumption for electric lighting for this purpose. It introduces a novel model to describe spectral characteristics on facades in the built environment in function of prevailing daylight conditions (location, sun position, season and time of day) and the building orientation. These orientation-dependent spectral characteristics of daylight on façades are represented in spectral daylight potential diagrams (SDPD).

This study evaluates the daylight performance of the newly built workshop building at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India using calibrated Radiance simulations with Lightstanza user interface. The building houses model making, wood, metal, ceramics & clay workshops. The methodology included field measurement of illuminance at the task plane, long term measurements, and surface material characteristics, calibrating the daylight model, and calculations of lighting energy savings. The calibrated model of the building has a RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) and an NMBE (Normalized Mean Bias Error) of less than 4%. The daylighting performance of building could achieve 4 points for LEED v4 with 93%sDA750/50% and 0.4%ASE1000/250hr. and meets ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) daylighting requirements. It achieves a DA750 of 46%, and the current manual switching response to daylight saves INR 86,424 per year. The Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) analysis showed that the spaces inside the workshop are likely to experience glare issues during the summer months, mostly between the time period 5-6 PM when direct sun penetrates in to the space.

This research focuses on thermal performance of Mongolian self-built houses within the capital city; Ulaanbaatar. The main aim was to optimize the thermal performance in terms of energy efficiency. Fieldwork in Mongolia and computer-based analyses were undertaken. The intention of the fieldwork was to a) visit a range of self-built houses and create a design interpretation of the typical Mongolian self-built house, and b) monitor the internal and external temperatures of one house for validating the computer model. The computer based study used Autodesk Ecotect software to model both the monitored and the typical design. Monitored data was statistically compared to simulated temperatures and mean internal temperatures inside the typical house were simulated. A parametric study was carried out to optimise the walls, floor and ceiling insulation to reduce the annual heating loads. The optimum insulation level for the external walls was found to be 300mm of expanded polystyrene on the outside of the walls. Infiltration rate was found to significantly affect the heating loads. The effect of several construction combinations were simulated and the best case scenario was found to reduce the total annual heating loads from 37,990 kW to 12,692 kW.

This paper proposes a new heuristic to simulate and study the visual comfort aspect in the designing of Complex Fenestration Systems. The goal of the heuristic is two-folded, (i) provide useful and simple visualization tools for preliminary glare assessments of indoor spaces, (ii) reduce the computational overhead of extremely expensive annual glare simulations by reducing the number of simulations necessary in the study of glare. The work demonstrates that through a spatial and temporal sampling of annual Vertical Illuminance data it is possible to map the potential glare POVs and to find the critical hours to conduct more detailed simulations. The authors applied the proposed heuristic in a comparative study of 3 different fenestration schemes for 3 annual sky types, a typically overcast (London, UK) and clear sky (Phoenix, AZ, USA), and an intermediate sky (Oakland, CA, USA). In sum, the results of the work show that the proposed heuristic yields a high potential to be used in design procedures that currently are based on expensive glare simulations.

This abstract focuses on how to better adapt design aid software in daylighting to the architectural and urban design process. Reflecting on why daylighting evaluation tools are seldom use in the design process, we highlight the fact that current validated tools cannot provide results in a timely manner compatible with the design process. Users do not need the same precision of results during the various phases of design process. Much more importantly they need information at the right time. We show that cumulative ray-tracing is a good candidate for results better suited to the design process, we call this type of method "Instant Method".

This paper presents an application of the Light Pipe Dimensioning Model (LPDM) on the design of systems which guide daylight into underground boarding platforms on typical subway stations found in the city of São Paulo. The dimensioning model resulted in two different design proposals, which were empirically tested using a scale model (1:20) as a source of data for performance comparisons. Polished aluminium light pipes, with 95% internal reflectance, were designed and distributed along the train boarding platform. The illuminance data obtained one meter above the floor shows how the distance between two pipes affect the quality of the distribution of light in the space.

With the availability of high quality remote sensing data, the phenomena of urban heat island has been well documented over the past two decades. Various mitigation measures, including changes to urban form, construction material, etc. have been suggested; however, these factors tend to be static and have a long gestation period. Water and forest body have higher specific heat compared to urban built up and thus have a lower surface temperature during the afternoon, when the temperature generally peaks. Many indigenous civilizations have used this ‘cooling effect’, but the effectiveness of water and forest bodies on cooling is poorly understood. This study uses remote sensing data, specifically, thermal imagery from Landsat 7 and 8 satellites to calculate the quantity and range of cooling due to the combined presence of water body and green strip along the water’s shore. The study finds that in the studied area, the cooling effect ranges from 1.1 to 3.9˚ C but with a maximum effective range of 360 meters under the favourable wind conditions. The short range of cooling effect raises questions if green-blue infrastructure can be an effective way to combat UHI in the dense urban area where land is scarce and expensive.

Retrofit of naturally ventilated educational building is an effective solution to the thermal and visual discomfort problems of the occupants. A residential school, located in outskirts of Hyderabad, India. The school functions in an International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum. The building has IGBC Platinum rating. The project deals with the retrofit procedure of the Senior Academic Block, which is naturally ventilated. The procedure involved assessment of the existing conditions through climate analysis, thermal images, measurements & occupant surveys. The retrofit design proposal was then presented to the owners and further prioritization and optimization of the scenarios were done based on thermal and daylighting simulations. The tools used for the analysis were EDSL TAS and LightStanza. Replacement of windows and addition of a low-energy cooling system (evaporative cooler) was identified as the best solutions.

The techniques applied in this paper were planned to minimise the additional energy and capital costs required for achieving occupant thermal comfort in Chilean residential buildings. Extensive analytical work is reviewed here to assess the influence of building design and occupant envelope-controls on auxiliary space-conditioning energy. Results of simulations indicate that indoor comfort temperatures can be achieved all year long at low extra capital and without recourse to traditional space-heating and cooling. The methods applied here for central Chile outline guiding principles for designing naturally conditioned dwellings across the main inhabited region of the country.

Risks of urban heat island (UHI) on the outdoor comfort and human health are rising in the trends of high-density urbanism. Green façade (GF) is one of the technologies which interested by researchers and architects because of the effects of the diminution on UHI, urban acoustic, and air pollution. This paper focuses on the shading effect of the GFs on the semi-outdoor thermal environment. A student dormitory with GFs is invited to investigate on a summer day in Munich, Germany. Through the measurements comparing the shaded and exposed area, results show that the Ave. and the Max. air temperatures (Temps) are decreased by 0.7℃ (W) and 2.1 ℃ (W), the Ave. surface Temp of the glazing is reduced by 1.2℃ (E), and which of the aluminium is reduced by 3.5℃ (W)in the shaded area. Results confirm the shading effect of the GFs and reveal the potential of the decreasing heat reflection on building façade to the surrounding environment.

This case study applies life-cycle assessment methods to the preliminary design of an office building in order to quantify the benefits achieved when reusing its load-bearing components. Results show that the production of the load-bearing system would account for 40% of the global warming potential indicator. The slabs are responsible for 65% of the environmental impacts among all structural elements and should be considered for reuse first. Compared to traditional constructions built from first-use material, a fictitious reuse of undamaged load-bearing components over three consecutive use cycles would reduce the global warming potential indicator by 25%. The global warming potential of reuse is eventually computed according to three repartition methods, highlighting the need to separate the life-cycle footprints related to production, use, and end-of-life more systematically.

The built environment is facing environmental regulations more ambitious than ever before. In Europe, a law will lead all new buildings to the Nearly Zero-Energy performance level. However, even if a building does not have any energy consumption for its operation phase, it still has embodied impacts. To that end, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods have been developed and improved since the 1960s. However, LCAs are still not used as a standard practice among the architecture, engineering and construction industry. This study aims to discover the reasons for the low use of life-cycle performance approaches thanks to a web survey targeting practitioners, and to formulate key recommendations to improve their usability. This research reveals the low penetration rate of LCA software among building designers due to their limited efficiency within the design context. The main reasons for this situation are the cost of use, too heavy for the early design stage constraints, and the functionality, which is limited to the environmental assessment. Indeed, practitioners expect much more design support functionalities (multi-criteria approach, exploration mode, etc.). The survey findings aim to support the usability improvement of new LCA-based methods and the research and development of new tools at early design stages.

There is a growing consensus on the influences of heat waves and increased temperature as among the most threatening climate change phenomena to human mortality. In addition, the effect of heat waves is exacerbated significantly in cities as a result of urban heat islands effect. Such intensification of heat waves combined by potentially prolonged periods of extreme temperature will pose huge risks on human mortality in the built environment. Over the past decade, a number of metrics in literature have been developed to assess human thermal risks and their response to extreme climate conditions. However, most of these metrics take into account socioeconomic factors, housing characteristics and climatic risks without looking at the spatial characteristics across the city. Yet, the combination of these factors on an urban resolution haven’t been largely explored yet, specifically for vulnerable population with low access to adaptation resources and minimum potentials for ventilation. The paper presents the framework of an urban vulnerability index based on identifying parameters that correlate with thermal discomfort on urban block level and building level. The study analyzes a historical residential neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt to examine the applicability of the proposed index in understanding levels of vulnerability under extreme temperatures.

Buildings consume 33% of total energy (24% domestic and 9% commercial) in India and this is growing at 8% per annum hence, there is a need for energy efficiency in the building sector. The revised version of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was published in June 2017 after ten years. The new version of ECBC goes beyond minimum compliance and has two additional levels of ECBC ‘plus’ and ‘super’ which include prescriptive requirements and alternative performance goals based on energy use intensity. This paper assesses the energy savings and payback period for the prescriptive of ECBC-2017, minimum compliance, plus and super levels for an office building in Vishakhapatnam. It also demonstrates alternative cost optimized solutions for these three levels of ECBC. The office building is a real building in design stage according to the current construction trends that do not comply with previous ECBC version 2007 for all building systems. The availability & cost of equipment and material to reach the ECBC 2017 levels is are assessed with a market survey. Since ECBC 2017 is a new code that has yet to be adopted by local building departments, this study shows the energy benefits for ECBC minimum compliance, ECBC plus and ECBC super levels. Further, this paper also demonstrates how simulations can be used to find more cost-effective approaches to reach ECBC 2017 performance levels using the whole building compliance approach.

It is common practice to use hourly dynamic thermal modelling for building design, yet climate responsive urban design, is often based on predominant wind directions analysed for particular ëtypicalí days or times. Such a snapshot view does not reflect how often these conditions occur and whether design changes based on single instances are warranted. This paper explores the efficacy of using an annual dynamic approach, by extending and comparing results from a previous study of district massing on local microclimate. These dynamic annual analyses were undertaken using a new cloud-based microclimate analysis tool that employs open source software for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and post-processing of results. This tool allows for complex hourly analyses of solar radiation, wind and comfort distribution to be conducted within a commonly used 3-D modelling software environment. Following the previous study, this paper compares the resulting urban form across three major issues: pedestrian comfort, air quality and building cross-ventilation potential. Pedestrian comfort assessment includes thermal comfort, using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) and wind comfort, using the Dutch standard NEN 8100. Air quality is approximated by air age distribution. Building ventilation potential is assessed by mapping pressure differentials at points on opposing building faces.

This research aims to provide some knowledge for architects and urban designers on urban public space form optimization in terms of wind environment during initial design stage. In this paper, different vertical opening layouts were investigated on the influence of different region’s spatial ventilation by CFD numerical modelling. Spatial mean velocity magnitude at pedestrian-level and air flow rate at space vertical opening and top boundaries were calculated to evaluate spatial ventilation. Simulation results show that appropriate vertical opening layouts could improve velocity magnitude of space’s recirculation area. When the inlet opening is not directly opposite the outlet opening, spatial mean velocity of some recirculation regions could be increased by 2 times. When the outlet opening is located at the boundaries of recirculation regions, the influence of opening layouts on airflow patterns are limited, with variation range below 30%

The use of solar chimneys for natural ventilation could contribute to a reduction of the energy consumption of buildings. For the planning process of solar chimneys, it is necessary to be able to predict the ventilation effectiveness precisely. In this paper, different analytical equations are compared to results from computational fluid dynamic simulations and experimental measurements. It was found that the investigated analytical methods neglect the occurrence of backflows which leads to an overestimation of the air flow for chimneys with a large depth. For an accurate result, detailed calculations with an adapted discharge coefficient are required to account for this effect.

The conservation of archive buildings is particularly important due to the generally sensitive material that they are intended to preserve. A detailed understanding of the heat, air, and moisture transport within these buildings is important to ensure that informed decisions may be taken in their design. A case study of the Notarial Archives in Malta is presented here; a historic building composed of thick walls and high ceilings with no damproofing; augmenting the problems of rising damp and indoor air quality. Therefore, the study provides a number of challenges to the conservation of such archives. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was used to simulate such conditions, with the key focus on the validation of the model. Validation included the comparison of simulated data to data obtained during a monitoring cycle. The results highlight the effects of the boundary conditions on the space as well as other unsteady phenomena. The CFD model provided a more complete picture of the microclimate within such spaces that can aid a holistic conservation approach of such archives and their preservation for future generations.

This research aims to advance performance of the single stage passive downdraft evaporative cooling tower (PDECT) and expand its applicability beyond the hot dry conditions where it is typically used by developing and testing a design of a multi-stage passive and hybrid downdraft cooling tower (PHDCT). Experimental evaluation on half-scale prototypes of these towers was conducted in Tempe, Arizona, during Summer, 2017. Cooling systems in both towers were operated simultaneously to evaluate performance under identical conditions. Results indicated that the hybrid tower provides significant advantages over the single stage tower as the former outperformed the latter under all ambient conditions.

With the aim of reducing carbon emissions and increasing hygrothermal comfort, buildings across the UK are undergoing energy retrofits. With historic buildings, it is important that retrofit actions have a limited negative impact on the building’s fabric and cultural significance. Work to date in the UK has focused on the retrofit of historic solid masonry construction, with little research into the retrofit of historic timber-framed buildings. Changes to these buildings must be managed through the use of established conservation principles. However, where infill panels are beyond repair or have previously been substituted with inappropriate materials, there exists the potential to retrofit a material with a higher thermal performance. Nonetheless, it must be ensured that this retrofit does not create interstitial hygrothermal conditions that could threaten the survival of surrounding historic fabric. In this paper the authors present the hygrothermal simulation and physical monitoring of three different potential replacement infill panels. Results from Glaser calculations, WUFI® Pro and WUFI® 2D are compared to measured results of physical test panels mounted between two climate-controlled chambers. Whilst all three prediction methods successfully identified interstitial condensation where it was measured to occur, major discrepancies existed both between simulated and measured results, and between different simulation methods.

New methods for designing with phase change materials (PCM) could widen the range of applications of passive systems for indoor cooling in architecture. This paper investigates material and formal strategies for generative architectural design that support the thermal performance of PCM. Dendritic geometry of PCM encapsulation with a large surface area per unit volume is proposed for enhancement of the heat transfer between PCM and surroundings. The prototype of the PCM ceiling component is digitally designed, manufactured in glass and tested in an experimental set-up for thermal cycling. Correlations are made between geometric configurations and cooling performance of dendritic and spherical PCM containments. The presented methodology integrates tools and techniques from digital design and energy technology, with an aim to contribute to novel PCM-based concepts for local thermal regulation in architecture.

The new WUDAPT portal tool 'WUDAPT2ENVI-met' supplies a fast and easy way to generate large urban areas for ENVI-met simulations in a worldwide consistent manner. WUDAPT’s Local Climate Zone Classifications provide spatial information based on satellite imagery, which is translated into large ENVI-met model areas by templates of ENVI-met objects called Standard LCZ tiles. While 17 Local Climate Zone classes seem to be sufficient to describe the inhomogeneity of urban morphologies within one urban area, the inhomogeneity of urban morphologies across different urban areas worldwide might call for more, site-specific morphology classes. Based on this requirement WUDAPT2ENVI-met was enhanced allowing the import of user-generated, site-specific LCZ tiles for the translation. In order to examine whether the Standard LCZ tiles are versatile enough to dissect urban areas worldwide, a classification using the Standard LCZ tiles and specific, user-generated morphologies is compared in a case study of Sao Paulo. Furthermore, the results are compared against a simulation of the same area consisting of the actual building morphology. The comparison showed that the use of site-specific morphologies, materials and plants improved the results, better fitting the results of the actual morphology simulation, which states an important enhancement of the tool.

Facing the challenges of global warming, daylighting design optimisation for energy saving and visual comfort has become increasingly important. Across the centuries, architecture precedents have showcased daylighting as one of the key defining elements of spatial quality. While light does not exist in any physical forms, it possesses the superiority to reveal, create and enhance the atmosphere of a physical space, which in-turn impacts the perception and experience of users. How then do we meaningfully make use of this profound natural source to reach our goal in energy savings and visual comfort? This paper investigates different daylighting design strategies in sacred environments, aiming to understand how daylighting strategies using dynamic brightness balance and contrast were applied in two unique sacred structures for enhanced visual perception and energy saving. The research methodology included qualitative field studies by subjective recording of the lit scenes through photographs and hand drawn sketches to assess the visual and biological appreciation of the spaces; and quantitative surveys of brightness contrast in selected visual fields by luminance and illuminance distribution mapping. The research outcomes reveal how visual perception and comfort in sacred environments can be enhanced by appropriate use of daylight, leading to substantial long-term energy saving.

This paper deals with the effect of intra-climate diversity of composite climatic zone of India on the thermal performance of the naturally ventilated public housing buildings. This study is an attempt to improve the accuracy of the existing prescriptive benchmarks. The study has two objectives (a) to analyse the thermal severity variation within the composite climate of India and develop a tiered stratification of locations (b) analyse the impact of the thermal severity variation on the performance of representative public housing projects. The scope of study is limited to naturally ventilated residential typology. Data for 162 locations were obtained from Indian Meteorological department (IMD) and statistically analysed in order to classify them based on thermal severities. A review of housing designs of low income group housing being implemented by governmental agencies was reviewed and three representative designs are selected. A short-term thermal performance monitoring is conducted in these residences. The data is used to compare the thermal performance variations as well as to face validate the virtual models developed in Energy Plus software tool. The buildings are simulated for their performance at locations with high, moderate and low thermal severities within composite climate zone. A comparative analysis is carried out with that of NBC prescribed thermal performance guidelines. A set of scaling factors are determined after performing local thermal optimizations at representative locations. The factors are validated with location specific simulations performed for other locations.

The comfort and health of building occupants are significantly affected by the indoor thermal environment, which can be improved by building envelopes with a good façade design. This study aims to explore the impact of façade shading on the indoor thermal comfort by adding external shading panels on a typical public rental housing building in Hong Kong. Potential improvements on thermal comfort, in terms of indoor operative temperatures (Top), were evaluated for vertical and horizontal shading panels that were tilted at different angles to the façade. Simulation results on DesignBuilder reveal that horizontal shading panels (with a Top reduction up to 0.91˚C) can achieve a better thermal performance than those oriented vertically (with a maximum Top reduction of 0.57˚C). Moreover, shading panels tilted at 90˚ to 45˚ for horizontal panels and at 75˚ to 0˚ for vertical panels were preferred for better thermal performances. This strategy can be readily implemented to procure more sustainable public housing without causing obstructions to the window view of occupants.

In 1930’s modern architects in Israel discussed the influence of local climate on the building design. The climatic adaptation of these buildings was based merely on the Architecture itself. Environmental aspects, such as natural ventilation and shading, were a significant part in the architectural discourse and practice. The solutions provided sometimes were based on research and sometimes on common sense. Despite the efforts, these solutions have been never properly evaluated to confirm if they are indeed performing as expected. Lack of strict testing has been due to the absence of methods and tools to carry out these tests, especially spatial tools. However, today we can assess the thermal performance of the building by using novel computer models, and presenting the results on the space itself through spatial maps. This study will focus on the climatic performance of residential buildings in the 1930’s, which were built in Tel-Aviv in the International style. It will examine these buildings in terms of their ability to achieve thermal comfort. It will also question the intentions of the architects and the effectiveness of their architectural solutions in order to maintain comfortable conditions in the buildings.

This paper discusses occupants’ comfort, summertime overheating and heat stress in multi-family Colonial Revival style timber-frame buildings in Hartford region of Connecticut, United States. The study considered thermal comfort survey of occupants using questionnaire and on-site measurements of parameters as the methodology. The Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) heat indices are also calculated using the variables measured during the survey. Across the buildings, the results show a mean temperature of 25.3°C, a mean RH of 61.2%, and an average dew-point of 17.2°C. The occupants feel warm as over 67% responses are on the warm part of the sensation scale while 74% prefer to be much cooler and 83% of the revealed the occupants are thermally satisfied with the thermal environment. The study reveals the occupants are prone to summertime overheating. Applying the WBGT and the UTCI mathematical models, the study recommends the WBGT of 21.7°C and the UTCI of 25.8°C as possible heat stress thresholds. Also, the study found out the basement areas provide the most comfortable thermal environment for the occupants. The results show a higher heat stress index is reported in this study than the existing research on heat stress in buildings.

This paper aims to discuss about the thermal performance during the winter season of the recent production of open plan micro-apartments in São Paulo. The field research was conducted during 20 days, in the cold weather period, and consisted in the measurement and analysis of five units that are representatives of this dwelling typology.

Using numerical analysis, I investigated the human body exergy balance under an unsteady-state thermal environment surrounding the human body in the course of individuals moving indoors after having been outside for a while in summer. The mechanisms of thermal physiological adaptation such as sweat secretion were clarified from the exergetic perspective to some extent. Human body exergy consumption rate in the conditions that indoor absolute humidity is equal to outdoor is smaller than that in the conditions in which indoor absolute humidity is lower than outdoors. It suggests that extracting indoor moisture by ventilation is preferred compared to the dehumidification.

This paper provides parametric estimates of embodied carbon reduction when structural components are reused in a typical office building. First, a lower bound of structural material quantities is estimated for a typical steel frame structure in a low-rise office building. The embodied carbon of this conventional design is then compared with values collected from a series of similar existing steel buildings (deQo) as benchmark. Various scenarios regarding the impact of selective deconstruction, transportation, and cross-section oversizing are constructed and parameterised. The study eventually computes carbon savings over one life cycle of the building project. Results show that reuse remains beneficial for long transport and high oversizing. The discussion calls for more comprehensive studies and refined metrics for quantifying selective deconstruction.

The paper questions the morphological characteristics of air-conditioned office buildings found in warm humid climates for performance on their indoor climate and thus Energy Utility index (EUI). The investigation involved with 86 multilevel office buildings but identified two critical case buildings with a shallow plan form and similar morphological characteristics such as orientation, occupant and equipment density and façade architecture for a field investigation of heat stress patterns on their facades and thus indoor environment. Measuring indoor air temperature during office hours in 3mX3m multi zones across the depths and lengths of these two buildings using Hobo meters reveals dynamics of air temperatures up to 10.5 degrees C against set point temperatures of 24 degrees C. The work highlight severity of heat stress on air conditioned indoor environments and thus an issue related to shallow plan form typology but to be addressed for energy sustainability.

Building data are required to initialise urban canopy parametrisations in atmospheric models. Improving the precision of such data enhances the accuracy of model outputs and enables us to better simulate the urban surface energy balance and the potential impacts of climate change on cities. This study aims to characterise buildings in Hong Kong using a locally-adapted approach, taking into consideration its subtropical climate, rapid urban development process, and complex high-density environment. We identify 18 building archetypes distinguished by their morphology and use. For these we define building architectural characteristics and human behaviour schedules. These parameters are intended for use in fine scale urban climate simulations with the Town Energy Balance (TEB). Subsequent findings may be applied for urban planning and climate change impact studies.

Building a house using traditional rammed earth construction technique helps farmers to reduce the building cost and improve thermal comfort by using passive thermal strategies. Experimented in 2006, in rural area with cold winter and hot summer (Chinese official division of climate zones), by building a 264 square meters house, thanks to the support of Generalkonsulat der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Shanghai, it cost 80’000 RMB. Furthermore, this cost can be reduced to half if the farmers built it themselves. The building has been renovated in recent years and this study is based on its current state. This paper will present the scientific research of the different passive design strategies of this modern rammed house, employed to ensure thermal comfort without a mechanical heating or cooling system. The composition of the loam, the structure of the roof, the orientation and the surrounding local bamboo are the main contributors. The data were collected every 10 minutes for air temperature and relative humidity and were used to analyse the indoor conditions. This research will be of great importance not only for the energy efficiency, but also for the re-appreciation of the traditional residence construction method.