Conference Agenda

Today, most of the people spend 80-90% of the time indoors either in the office or at home. Indoor air is contaminated by human activities and building materials which emit volatile organic compounds. Exposure to these compounds has a short and long-term impact on health. It is therefore important to provide a healthy and productive indoor environment. Acceptable indoor air quality can be maintained by operating a building in natural ventilation, and this can also reduce energy consumption. The water table is an inexpensive, easily accessible apparatus that helps to analyze natural ventilation in buildings due to wind effect and provides instantaneous two-dimensional results of airflow patterns in and around the building. This paper provides and tests a methodology to objectively quantify the images from the water table simulations and calculate results for ventilation metrics like percentage of dead spots, absolute ventilation efficiency, air changes per hour, dose and room mean age of air that quantifies air movement within a physical building model simulated in the apparatus. The quantitative method will help for comparative analysis between design options and make design decisions in terms of opening sizes, orientation, and appropriate positioning of openings optimized for wind-driven naturally ventilated buildings.

There is a possibility that the sick building syndrome has already spread widely among the newly constructed apartments in major cities of Indonesia. This study investigates the current conditions of indoor air quality, focusing especially on formaldehyde and TVOC, and their effects on health among occupants in the urban houses located in the city of Surabaya. A total of 471 respondents were interviewed and 82 rooms were measured from September 2017 to January 2018. The results indicated that around 50% of the respondents in the apartments showed some degrees of chemical sensitivity risk. More than 60% of the measured formaldehyde levels in the apartments exceeded the WHO standard, 0.08 ppm. The respondents living in rooms with higher mean formaldehyde values tended to have higher multiple chemical sensitivity risk scores.

A semi-empirical multilayer urban canopy model is developed to estimate vertical dispersion of traffic emissions in high density urban areas. It is motivated by the heterogeneity of urban morphology in real urban cities and the need of quick urban design and planning. The urban canopy is divided into multiple layers, to include the impact of building height variance on pollutant dispersion. The model is derived by mass conservation within each layer through adopting a box model. The validation study indicates that the new multilayer model performs well to model the vertical pollutant transport, and modelling results can mostly follow the trend of the CFD simulations. A case study was conducted to illustrate how to implement this multilayer urban canopy model in the planning practice.

The need to achieve thermal comfort in residences and strong dependence of air conditioning systems has led to huge energy consumption. In order to reduce the energy consumption of residences and properly size the air conditioners, air leakage needs to be reduced by tighten the building envelope. One such approach to quantify the air leakage is the use of blower door, which uses a powerful calibrated fan to depressurize or pressurize the house at an induced pressure to measure air flow (air leakage) from the house. In this study, 23 residences of Ahmedabad, 12 bungalows and 11 apartments were measured for air leakage. The study is also a first step towards developing methodology to conduct an air tightness test in residential buildings. For comparison, mean normalized leakage (metric for air leakage) of the 23-measured residence was 2.1. Due to old age construction, bungalows have more leakages than apartments. High air flow rates can be observed in buildings with intentional openings, inferior quality windows and cracks on walls. Retrofitting those windows, sealing the intentional openings in an air-conditioned space can lead to huge energy savings for air-conditioned spaces.

This paper presents a workflow that informs urban design decisions using measured data clustering to calibrate Urban Building Energy Models (UBEMs). The method’s goal is to support urban design in terms of form, building systems configurations, as well as influencing user behaviour aspects in the built environment through a systemic analysis of measured data to develop reliable future-case design scenario energy models. Detailed data on appliance-level electricity use were employed via data clustering to calibrate a UBEM for the Mueller community in Austin, TX, USA. The data were collected by the Pecan Street Institute for a year in 2014 from consumers in Austin and other cities. Firstly, collected energy data was restructured and cleaned from corrupt and missing information. Secondly, in order to identify common energy use patterns, a model-based clustering algorithm for functional data was applied. Behavioural/usage profiles were determined through clustering and translated into usage schedules and behaviours. As a result, a UBEM built in the urban modelling interface (umi) was calibrated, with fully calibrated and semi calibrated buildings, within a maximum error margin of 14%. Finally, an illustration of calibrated-UBEM design case scenarios is presented, and implications on community energy potential effects are discussed.

It is becoming more and more important to create a comfortable thermal environment in cities. In order to increase consideration of the thermal environment in the planning and design process, this study proposed a method to combine rule-based rapid modelling with thermal environment simulation. This method can realize the flexible and visualized presentation of landscape and the thermal environment effect. Meanwhile economic cost of design elements was also taken into consideration. The proposed method can support the designers to evaluate the trade-offs among landscape, thermal environment and cost and then choose a better scheme. A historic district in China was taken as a case study object in this paper. Three optimization plans were made by changing building height, greening space and area of water-permeable pavements. Through visual analysis of 3D landscape models and thermal simulations, it was found that the green space and water-permeable pavements had an obvious effect on the improvement of the thermal environment, but control of building height had negative thermal improving effect. The proposed method also effectively improved public understanding of reconstruction design and thermal environment formation.

The records of the strategic documents for Lodz pay special attention to the need to undertake work in the historical parts of the city. One of the strategic objectives of the Municipal Revitalization Program for the city of Lodz 2026+ has become the "revival of the area of residence" through the transformation of residential objects with the environment related to them functionally, i.e. public and semi-public spaces.

One of the ways to improve the urban tissue standard is to ensure the correct microclimatic conditions prevailing in the areas of public spaces. In the paper, the microclimatic parameters and thermal comfort in the area of one of the oldest public spaces in Lodz - the Old Marketplace were estimated by the usage of the CFD program. Two types of input data have been applied, i. e. from direct field measurements and meteorological station database. It turned out that simulations based on data from direct field measurements were characterized by greater precision of obtained results. Existing thermal conditions were discomfortable, which results in the necessity of redesigning public space.

This study aims to clarify the trend of adapting clothing fitting to the thermal environment in offices located in Thailand by analyzing thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and thermal preference. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) measuring devices were installed to investigate the thermal environment of two offices in Bangkok, Thailand. Questionnaires following ASHRAE 55 standard were distributed to occupants during their work hours. The results obtained showed that when plotted on a psychrometric chart, the thermal environment was mostly outside the 0.5 clo comfort zone (39% and 64%). The average clothing insulation in case studies was 0.65 clo, which is slightly higher than the normal standard value. The percentage of neutral thermal sensation votes decreased when the value of clothes gradually increased similar trend as to the percentage of neutral comfort votes. PMV calculation deviated from thermal sensation vote about 1 °C when considering thermal neutrality. Probit analysis shows that the neutral temperature of each clothing rate ranged from 24.2°C to 25.6°C. Occupants in less clothing could tolerate a wider range of temperatures than the occupants in more clothing. This study would be applicable to office buildings in the tropical region in terms of both the occupant’s behavioral aspects and temperature setpoint.

Most studies on indoor environments and productivity have been conducted in controlled, static conditions often not representative of the real world. This paper uses a case study-based, real-world approach to empirically investigate the relationship between the indoor environment and workplace productivity in a mechanically-ventilated office environment in southern England. Evidence gathered during a baseline period is used to implement an intervention (limiting peak temperature) with the aim of improving productivity. Environmental parameters (temperature, relative humidity and CO₂) were monitored continuously. Transverse and longitudinal surveys recorded occupant perceptions of their working environments, thermal comfort and self-reported productivity, while performance tasks objectively measured productivity. Although the building was operating within narrow temperature, RH and CO₂ bands, productivity was perceived to decrease when occupants were thermally uncomfortable and when they perceived the air as stuffy. Correlations with perceived changes in productivity were stronger for the perceived environment than for the measured environmental conditions. In addition, test scores were found to decrease at higher temperatures. Median scores were 16% lower for tests conducted when CO₂ levels were in the 1000-1200ppm range compared to those conducted below 800ppm. Insights from the study can be used to optimise indoor office environments to improve staff productivity.

The US Green Buildings Council (USGBC) has created a market transformation program led by a certification process to promote, build, and renovate buildings into LEED™ rated green facilities. One of the goals of the LEED rating system is to reduce carbon and energy expenditure in buildings while improving occupant’s health and wellbeing. Due to a lack of systemic evaluation of buildings undergoing this certification process, however, the effects of this program on building resource utilization, indoor comfort, and occupant’s well-being remain contested. This paper reports on a cross-sectional survey study that investigates discrepancies between LEED certified buildings credits achieved as well as predicted and actual performance. The survey assessed 14 buildings, matched in pairs of two, of LEED and non-LEED buildings. Resource consumption and indoor environmental quality were assessed between both building pairs and their relationship to the LEED certification credits achieved. Results show that while LEED buildings outperformed their non-LEED comparatives, their resource consumption, however, exceeded their predicted expectations in most categories. In addition, the amount of credits achieved were not directly related to better performance. The paper concludes with a framework to integrate occupant feedback and building performance into the way we design, deliver, and operate buildings.

There is an urgent need for construction systems that enable the recovery of materials at the end of a building’s life. The current widespread use of adhesive-based fixings and single-life materials formed from petrochemical derivatives has led to the unprecedented generation of toxic material waste. Consequently, up to 40% of global waste is estimated to come from the construction sector. This design-led research study examines the potential of new light timber frame designs to facilitate material recovery. The research focuses the geometric and jointing properties of the components within the light timber frame and their potential for reuse. To validate the success of the proposed design ideas, a lifecycle assessment of the product was undertaken. This has been supported by a detailed discussion of the durability performance of the system. The study finds that the geometric and assembly conditions of the frame significantly increase long-term sustainable measures. The proposed design is estimated to represent a 70% reduction in embodied energy over an extended product’s lifetime versus conventional light timber platform framing.

The multiple criterion scale developed by Hopkinson is extensively utilised to analyse the subjective degree of discomfort due to glare. Using a luminance adjustment procedure, the brightness of a glare source is adjusted to reveal four levels of discomfort, typically: just imperceptible, just acceptable, just uncomfortable, and just intolerable. In many experimental studies, observers are requested to attend to each level of discomfort in ascending order, from the lowest to the highest criterion. There are, however, reasons to believe that assessments made using adjustments might be affected by the initial anchor, i.e. the setting of the variable stimulus before an adjustment is made, and by order effects, this influencing the reported thresholds of discomfort. To investigate anchor bias and order effects, two Hopkinson-like multiple criterion adjustment experiments were performed, respectively with three different initial anchors and three order sequences (ascending, descending, and randomised). The results revealed substantive bias due to anchor and order effects, primarily at lower glare criteria. This demonstrates the need for caution when interpreting subjective evaluations of discomfort due to glare and estimating the robustness of glare indices derived from studies that used models fitted to data obtained with Hopkinson’s multiple criterion scale and luminance adjustment procedure.

Occupant exposure to unhealthy Particulate Matter (PM) in naturally ventilated air-tight dwellings is not fully understood. In the UK, past studies have not investigated PM in bedrooms. Yet, PM is considered the most toxic pollutant and affects more people than any other pollutant; and bedrooms are the spaces that people typically occupy for the longest cumulative periods of their lifetime; with little or no control of ventilation during sleep. This paper evaluates monitored PM10 and PM2.5 in the context of occupant health in bedrooms of eleven dwellings across Scotland. It focuses on PM2.5, the size associated with greatest impact on health. PM and window operation were monitored concurrently. Air-tightness, smoke tests, dwelling inspections, occupant surveys, questionnaires, and interviews were also conducted. The results indicate that PM2.5 concentrations were generally above the recommended limits by WHO; and potentially unsafe in all the dwellings in the context of the EU-ESCAPE study. Bedtime mean concentrations were significantly lower than the 24hr mean, but would also have potentially negative health impacts based on the ESCAPE study. This suggests possible health burdens of particulates in bedrooms, with continuing construction of air-tight dwellings. Further work is needed on a larger sample of dwellings across different seasons.

Construction of low-cost housing in Colombia is one of the greatest social challenges of the country. Due to Bogotá's climate conditions at 8500 ft. of altitude and non-adapted materials to local conditions, the temperature of these state-subsidized dwellings is usually below optimum comfort standards. This research analyzes the effect of the use of certain types of materials on temperatures, comparing the effect of some traditional building skin– composed by brick and concrete - with a new wall envelope made of recycled elements. A comparative study was carried out by housing typologies, based on a work of measurement of the temperatures inside 16 individual dwellings.

The simulations in design builder to compare the traditional brick envelope material vs a compacted plastic brick, the results suggests that the construction of dwellings with traditional materials such as brick blocks and prefabricated concrete blocks may not provide the best conditions of thermal comfort. Alternative materials made of recycled plastic can represent a cheaper, ecological and comfortable solution. Findings could be of interest to construction stakeholders for the low-cost housing construction in resilient cities, within the framework of a new plastics economy.

Key words: Social housing, thermal comfort, envelope, architecture, recycled materials, energy efficiency.

In the case of regenerative processes, design can receive significant benefits from information that can be obtained by applying the life cycle assessment methodology. The LCA (life cycle assessment) approach can be implemented both for a single building material and for the whole building. An effective and efficient real application of this methodology requires the integration of LCA databases and analysis routines to the simulation tools (Building Energy Simulation, Building Information Modelling). The integration of LCA tool significantly impacts the design efficacy especially in reducing environmental impact of the construction industry. This paper reviews the integrated LCA tools in simulation software currently available for BIM platforms and will explore the possibilities given to restorative design informed by LCA analysis, through a test on two construction typologies for a case study.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have evolved over the past decade as both advanced military technology and off-the-shelf consumer devices. There is a gradual shift towards public use of drones, which presents opportunities for effective remote procedures that can disrupt a variety of built environment disciplines. UAS equipment with remote sensing gear present an opportunity for analysis and inspection of existing building stocks, where architects, engineers, building energy auditors as well as owners can document building performance, visualize heat transfer using infrared imaging and create digital models using 3D photogrammetry. This paper presents a comprehensive review of various literature that addresses this topic, followed by the identification of a standard procedures for operating a UAS for energy audit missions. The presented framework is then tested on a university campus site based on the literature review to showcase: 1) pre-flight inspection procedure parameters and methodologies; 2) during-flight visually identified areas of thermal anomalies using a UAS equipped with Infrared (IR) cameras and; 3) 3D CAD modelling developed through data gathered using UAS. A discussion of the findings suggests refining procedure accuracy through further empirical experimentation, as well as study replication, as a step towards standardizing the automation of building envelope inspection.

This paper presents the global methodology proposed for studying the microclimatic comfort of Algiers Kasbah. Three complementary approaches are used: (1) objective evaluation, (2) subjective survey, and (3) numerical simulation. Moreover, four typologies characterizing the Algiers Kasbah, since the algero-ottoman period until today, are considered to characterize the urban ambiances. This research aims to define the qualities and defects of different urban forms in order to outline a new framework for the future developments. The final objective is to learn from the past to produce urban spaces that respect the challenges of the sustainable development.

Manipulation of solar radiation and ventilation are key in achieving comfort in the tropics, hence transitional spaces often find their use as passive cooling agents in ethnic Indian architecture. A chawl is an example of a building typology in which transitional spaces find themselves serving plural functions- social and comfort enabling. Unique to Mumbai, chawls can be classified as social housing of the colonial times, consisting of buildings with long corridors, flanked by one room tenements and an enclosed courtyard. This paper focuses on evaluating the performance of aforementioned transitional spaces, through the optimization of their respective design elements. The courtyard is analysed to parameterize the relationship between design features and creating a favourable micro-climate, while the corridor study is aimed at quantifying human comfort as a parameter in transitional space design. The paper culminates with a comparison of performance of the optimized spaces to an existing chawl, emphasizing the method as well as the potential in the inclusion of transitional elements in design.

BIM use on the rise in New Zealand with popular software packages, including Revit and ARCHICAD, adopting a semi-automated simulation platform. This allows architects and designers to calculate the thermal and energy performance of their designs. This paper aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these semi-automated simulation platforms. The objective is to investigate how accurate their assumptions are in determining a reliable output for use in achieving compliance with Clause H1 of the New Zealand Building Code. To achieve this, this paper will conduct a comparative study that examines the software’s ability to calculate construction R-values, interpret thermal properties and simulate energy performance. The results from this study show that there is a significant difference between the simulation results of the two software packages, due to the assumptions made by the default settings. It also identifies the disadvantages of the inbuilt construction R-value calculators and explores a potential path to resolving this through redefining the inputs of thermal properties.

In high-density urban areas in Asia, pedestrian-level wind environment is highly-related to human health and thermal comfort. However, it is still uncertain how irregular breezeways should be connected and oriented for optimizing the pedestrian-level wind velocity ratio (VRw). This paper used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to compare VRw in regular and irregular breezeway patterns in four actual high-density urban areas of Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Two representative wind directions were considered for each urban area. The simulation method was validated by the wind tunnel experimental data of an actual urban area in Japan. Three indices, road density (RD), irregularity ratio (IR) and building coverage ratio (BCR), were proposed to estimate VRw by applying regression analysis. The paper suggests the following results: 1) urban patterns with lower RD and BCR have better ventilation regardless of wind directions; 2) urban patterns with higher IR tends to benefit the airflow penetration in the deep urban area; 3) BCR (R-squared = 0.7488), as a single index, can most effectively estimate VRw; 4) IR together with BCR (R-squared = 0.9805) can more effectively estimate VRw. The proposed indices, especially IR, may help planners to improve road pattern design for obtaining better ventilation.

This paper discusses the comfort and energy impact of green actions for schools in northern China. Green roof, green façade, tree planting and grass pavement, were evaluated using a case study regarding their outdoor discomfort hours and building cooling demand in summer. Results show that planting trees is the most effective school design strategy in both reducing discomfort time and cooling demand. Green roof and green façade can also decrease the building cooling demand, yet with little effects on the outdoor comfort. Natural grass pavement has only a slight effect on both the outdoor comfort and building cooling demand.

This study is aimed to provide reliable evidences of occupants’ view clarity through window affected by direction and angle of the shading blinds for multi-objective design optimization. The study was performed in a lab of Tianjin University in northeast of China, with 18 human subjects, and the data were collected to analyse the relationship between different external shading blinds and view clarity through window. Then the results were used to develop an empirical model to calculate the angle of external shading blinds that can qualify the minimum view clarity level. It can be concluded that the angle of horizontal shading blinds should not exceed 33.2°and the angle of vertical shading blinds should not exceed 48.4°so as to reach the minimum view clarity level.