Conference Agenda

The building footprint is likely to increase five-folds by 2030. These buildings consume a large chunk o energy in the form of electricity for running systems like air conditioning, artificial lighting, and equipment to name a few. The energy consumption in building sector can be decreased. This can be done by carrying out building performance evaluation studies, which will help in understanding the energy losses inside a building. This research focuses on developing an affordable monitoring and sensing system for building performance evaluation studies. Different hardware and software platforms are explored, and component selection was done after comparative analysis based on various aspects. The aspects considered for selection include: specifications, the ease of use, cost, and complexity of the system. The expected outcome is a methodology tailored for custom needs of the user, and a prototype for building performance evaluation studies.

The study addresses issues of the detection of built-up areas based on satellite images and prediction of changes in spatial planning using artificial neural networks. Using satellite images from the Landsat satellite, the authors have developed a built-up areas detection model using a combination of indexes such as NDBI, NDVI and MNDWI. The quality of classification was empirically verified on the basis of a set of randomly selected image points. Forecasts of changes in spatial planning were carried out with the use of two types of neural networks: MLP and RBF. For MLPs, the activation functions, such as logistic, hyperbolic tangent, Gaussian and sine, were tested. In total, more than 5.000 different models of artificial neural network have been built and verified. The simulations covered two areas diversified in terms of building density – fragments of the cities of Lodz and Zgierz located in central Poland in central Europe. Developed model provided changes in built-up areas between 1998 and 2006. In order to confirm the quality of model’s operation, the authors calculated percentage correctness of the area classification, which was 94.06% for the area with a higher degree of urbanization and 91.86% for the less urbanized area.

The semi-outdoor space is an important space in the hot-humid climate for preventing indoor environments from overheating and reducing building air-conditioning energy consumption. This paper presents a case study to find out the uncomfortable locations in a university building through field measurement, and proposes strategies for improving the thermal environment in the thermally uncomfortable locations. The improvement effect of the proposed strategies was analyzed using a microclimate simulation tool (ENVI-met) in terms of PMV and etc.

Laterite stone is an integral part of vernacular architecture in konkan belt of India. Procurement of these stones involve quarrying by small scale industries that have no further action plan in disposal of the scrap generated during the stone cutting. The paper looks at utilising the laterite quarry scrap to make blocks and exploring the opportunities the material holds in terms of its thermal properties, environmental factor, economic factor and structural factor. To establish the thermal properties of the scrap block in comparison to laterite stone and concrete block, a wall module of the respective material was built to determine a comparative decrement factor and time lag. The paper recommends the use of scrap, utilising locally available material, curbing the pollution generated and providing a cost-effective solution for the locals.

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.

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.

In the tropical environment, air conditioning has become a popular yet high-energy-consuming solution for interior cooling in urban households. With the rising trends in global warming, continued increase in air-conditioners usage has been serious environmental concerns over the past decades, calling for the need to rethink of more sustainable resolutions. While heat is alleged to be the main reason that creates discomfort, humidity also furtively plays a significant role. Sweaty and sticky feeling caused by humid environment deceive people to feel hotter than it truly is. As a matter of fact, rather than the heat itself, the discomfort triggered by humid environment could be the actual root for the high demand of air-conditioners in the tropic. This paper discussed the undesirable effects of humidity on people’s sensation and health which subsequently leads to the introduction to awareness of benefits of humidity control. The paper results in suggestions of how architectural design could take parts in controlling indoor moisture level by proposing a sustainable, energy-efficient, free-running design solutions to help people stay drier and cooler indoor. The research features materiality research and design experimentation regarding key humidity management strategies.

As the most widely applied residential building type in China, the form of residential areas composed of multi-storey residential building are strictly restricted by the sunlight standard in the design code. However, sunlight can still be inadequate in open spaces and overshadowed buildings in a compacted layout. Using a theoretical model, this paper identified the problem of sunlight and seeks to improve the sunlight performance in the type multi-storey residential building through formal modification of the building. The results showed the efficiency of the modification, which represented both in the open space and overshadowed building.

The application of studies of environmental quality of buildings and public spaces into practice and the way the planning of cities will face the climate changing challenge depends strongly on political will and governmental capacity to create appropriate management tools. While countries as Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada adopted continuous updated performance-based Building Codes, Sao Paulo city laws have lost over the last century, almost all the prescriptive construction requirements, which influence the environmental quality of buildings, such as the orientation of facades and the minimum sun hours on the openings. In the Code in effect, parameters as the minimum size of windows or the need to provide openings facing the exterior of buildings, or even the adequate room dimensions according to use were excluded. This paper aims to be critical and to make an alert to Sao Paulo’s planners about the risk of building such a complex city not regarding the quality of constructions.

Although research in the field of urban climatology has greatly expanded in the last two decades, the impact of urban climate knowledge on the urban planning and design practice remains very low. This is particularly the case in developing countries such as China, which faces a series of environmental problems. The paper looks at the ways urban climatic evaluation and application are incorporated into the master urban plan. It introduces the newly developed China National Guide—‘Technical specification for climatic feasibility demonstration in urban master plan (QX/T 242-2014))’, which aims to assist practitioners and policymakers to respect the natural environment and climate, and to adopt the concept of eco-protection. They can then carry out the overall urban planning climate feasibility evaluation from a climate perspective, so the city’s development will follow a rational planning program based on scientific evidence that will lead towards the goals of urban liveability and sustainable development. It also provides suggestions on data collection, methodology, planning implementation and technology report preparation. In this paper, the Tongzhou wind corridor plan is selected as a case to demonstrate the adoption of this Guide in real planning and design scenarios.

: This paper aims to explore the role that critical engagement with precedent might play in the delivery of Architectural sustainable design excellence. It is argued here that there are currently two divergent core paradigms in the field of architectural design: one based upon a conceptually underpinned process of Conjecture and Analysis, termed here Architectural Design Excellence; while the second, termed Sustainable Performance Excellence, seeks its delivery through a process termed by Bamford, Analysis and Synthesis, of constituent problem fragments. The central role of precedent in architectural design processes is acknowledged in both contexts, and as such it is argued that critical engagement from a sustainable performance perspective with case studies that demonstrate architectural design excellence may provide an effective route for achieving their synthesis. Online coverage of the 21 Stirling Prize winners, 1996 – 2016 (as a proxy for Architectural Design Excellence) were evaluated using a framework for holistic sustainability and the results presented in summary here. It was found that sustainable performance was largely ignored in the available critique, despite some performing well within the narrow measure of energy performance as evidenced through DEC’s, thus limiting precedents’’ potential role within the delivery of a future synthesised sustainable design excellence paradigm.

This paper tackles the challenge of lowering the energy consumption of office towers in Dubai. The idea of “Sky Gardens” is used as an alternative design concept to base on it. These spaces are defined as transitional zones between indoor and outdoor environments, which provide a smooth transition between otherwise contrasting climatic conditions. The research explores the multiple possibilities of the Sky Gardens; not least as an incentive for users to spend more time away from mechanically conditioned spaces while providing a better climatic interface for the conventional offices. The concept can be traced back to the vernacular courtyards of the region, which were typically equipped with systems that ameliorated the harsh outdoor conditions. The idea is translated and sophisticated so that the Sky Gardens can be adapted during mild, warm and hot periods to improve the building’s performance by coupling and decoupling it with the outdoor environment.

This paper refers to a project research of an office building in a cold climate, which objective is to achieve optimized energy standards by applying integrated design strategies. A theoretical model is proposed, and the formulation begins with a morphological analysis. Subsequently, thermal, light and ventilation criteria are integrated; analysing the energy demand throughout the design process. The model is compared with a reference case. As a result, the optimized model achieves a significant reduction in energy demand, and better thermal / visual performance. It concluded that the application of the integrated design, with the support of assisted simulation tools, allows to optimize the energy performance of a building in the design stage

ABSTRACT: Carlo Scarpa is skillful in using components and materials to create, moderate and enhance the light required for exhibiting the sculptures. The aim of this research is to explore his daylighting strategies and try to understand the interplay of light and space in the sculpture gallery of the Castelvecchio. This study started with background research, on-site studies then followed by parametric analysis. Overall, the findings suggest that Scarpa has wisely used key light and side light in the problematic space, creating a fascinating lighting environment.

KEYWORDS: daylighting, exhibition design, modelling, spatial creation

It is widely acknowledged that buildings contribute a considerable proportion of global GHG emissions in both their construction and use, making them a key contributor to global climate change. This reality is still absent in architectural education in much of sub-Saharan Africa, where a business-as-usual approach still predominates. Contemplating the responsibility of architects, landscape architects, urban designers and urban planners have in curbing GHG emissions, this paper reflects on how architectural education could respond to the challenges posed, placing architecture students and educators front-and-centre in this challenge, through their actions and outputs. The paper presents on-going dialogue surrounding the need to address climate change as an integral part of architectural discourse, looking at the attendant opportunities and challenges that arise from this process, and what we can learn from this discourse.

This paper presents preliminary research outcomes from applying EEG Mind Wave Mapping methodology for investigating the impacts of learning environment on students' concentration and learning performance under different lighting conditions. During the learning process, whether students remain attentive generally influences their learning efficacy. Literature shows that classroom lighting may be important for pupils' academic performance. However, most of the time, lighting could not be adequately controlled due to the given building envelope design and the spatial layout. The present study explores the influence of different lighting conditions in a conditioned room on architectural students' mind wave when they were engaging in a learning task. Lighting scenarios included naturally lit, artificially lit and hybrid mode set in this room were experimented and the test scores of the learning tasks under these scenarios were compared against mind wave mapping results . The preliminary findings from this study showed that students’ performance in a natural daylit and hybrid lit room shows higher concentration than that in the artificially lit room, as a result, the use of natural light in the learning environment is more desirable and this can have significant benefit for reducing energy demands from artificial lighting in educational spaces.

Urban climatology (UC) is fundamentally interdisciplinary as it draws upon the expertise of several distinct fields including: atmospheric sciences, architecture, engineering, geography and urban planning & design [1]. For a student of UC, integrating the contributions of each to an understanding of urban climate is a challenge; each has a focus on different spatial and time scales and uses different terminology to describe the relevant features/processes from their perspectives. As a result, what represents a solution in one field can create a problem for those working in another. For example, building air conditioning that is used to offset uncomfortably hot outdoor temperatures adds waste energy to the outdoors, contributing to warming and creating an energy demand feedback loop. In this paper, we describe the London Urban Climate Walk and how it is used to explore urban microclimates and teach the principles of urban climatology. The walk treats the participants as a mobile ‘weather stations’ and links their sensory faculties to climate processes. The paper will present the results of atmospheric measurements taken along the route and of interviews with participants.

Non-atomizing misting systems have typically been employed to alleviate the problem of thermal heat stress among occupants and have been shown to be effective especially in temperate countries. However, its impact in tropical countries is not widely studied and it is the same for the impact of the water temperature on reducing air and skin temperature. Using CFD simulation models, this paper seeks to address these gaps. A Langrangian-Eulerian approach is adopted using the Steady K-Epsilon turbulence model and Discrete Phase Model in Ansys Fluent software. Inputs for misting spray and modelling human skin are adopted from other published papers, and Grid Independence studies are also conducted. The results show that Misting sprays can cool the air temperature by up to 4.5oC, based on a hot afternoon condition in Singapore and there is an almost linear relationship between water temperature and cooling effect. At 3m downstream from nozzle, a 45oC water temperature leads to neither decrease nor increase in air temperature. Skin temperatures can also be reduced by a maximum of 3oC. Due to thermal properties of water, even 95oC water temperature only increases air temperature by less than 4oC.

3DFOGTECH© is a water enhancement technology applied in fog collection. This study is focus on geo-climatic data collection in selected fog sites, including design and structural test. 3DFOGTECH© is a portable, lightweight and modular polyhedral space-frame with light-coloured and water-repellent textile screens that collects condensed water drops in 360° from fog promoted by physical surface effects such as cooling, coalescence and condensation following the multi-directionality of winds, without any active energy demand. It offers autonomous water management in water-stressed areas with frequent dense fog events. Previous experiments made by author and collaborators (2010-16) were focused in obtaining efficient forms and designs through lighter space-frames and affordable hydrophobic meshes to secure clean water for drinking and irrigation. 3DFOGTECH© can harvest at least six times more water than planar fog collectors. Tubular frames are made with aluminium, which is a light, strong, durable and recycling material, whilst modular meshes are made with textiles treated with water-repellent coating solutions, light coloured surfaces and natural, synthetic or remanufactured polymers. Advanced design, connectors and structural prototypes are tested digitally and physically. 3DFOGTECH© is an applied research project co-financed by EU H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie and ACCIO TecnioSpring Plus programmes.

The East Ukraine military conflict has caused a large-scale devastation and displacement of millions of people. Most of the families are forced to live in the conditions unfit for human habitation. This paper is based on a research aimed at defining a settlement strategy for the Ukrainian internally displaced persons (IDPs). The study assumed that the displaced families can be settled in the existing rural houses that have been abandoned due to demographical process. The refurbishment of these houses has the potential to satisfy the required needs. Due to the local cold climate, energy efficiency retrofitting solutions, in particular for heat conservation, were studied and assessed with computational simulation.

This work deals with the particulars of urban design in hot climate cities, where direct solar radiation leads to high temperature. This paper considers old part of Jeddah city as a compact neighborhood case study. We address the correlation between Sky View Factor (SVF) and direct solar radiation by orientation, value and time interval in the old Jeddah area, with the aim of adjusting future morphology in order to enhance outdoor thermal conditions. Results show that the sky view factor (SVF) could be an indicator of solar access in an urban morphology. The objective of this study is to identify and discuss the relationship between canyon geometry (size, orientation) and SVF to see how it impacts solar radiation within the urban street.

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.

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.

School buildings in Manila are ill equipped to deal with the high demand for student places. This has manifested in overly dense classrooms, which in combination with standardised geometries has led to poor thermal and daylighting conditions. This research contextualises passive design strategies from literature and built precedents then applies these approaches to a theoretical classroom. The result is a design proposal that improves indoor comfort through simple interventions in geometry, ventilation, and materiality.

This paper presents the application of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithms to develop forecast models to predict future energy consumption, outdoor weather and indoor microclimatic conditions in a historical art gallery. Each of these prediction models were implemented on two separate cases of sampling frequencies – daily and hourly sampling; providing a case of day-ahead and a case of hour-ahead predictions, respectively. The ANN models were trained with historical real-data obtained from the various sources, such as building sensors, building management information, and MetOffice. Excellent accuracy in the prediction results were observed through the statistical platform of coefficient of correlation (R) between the real-data and the ANN-predicted counterpart. It was observed that the prediction models for hour-ahead forecasting performed stronger compared to the same for day-ahead forecasting for all the cases of outdoor weather parameters, indoor microclimatic parameters, and NGS energy consumption parameters. The study further reinstates that the ANN-based forecast models can prove to be an ideal platform to investigate various optimisation strategies of the building operation in future, especially in the case of restrictive traditional building types where any retrofit solution needs a strong scientific backing before practical implementation.

As a response to the need to find urban solutions to the energy and food dependency in Singapore and to reduce the overall carbon footprint the concept of productive facades is proposed for residential buildings. Departing from the premise that buildings and the urban environment should not solely be the recipient but also the producer of energy, food and water; eight façade design arrangements have been optimised and built at the Tropical Technologies Lab at the National University of Singapore. All proposed facades, with and without balconies, integrates photovoltaic (PV) panels with farming systems as a way to partially supply energy and vegetables to the residents. In addition, the impact of the façade arrangement on indoor thermal and visual performance is also taken into account. The objective of the paper is to present the final design of the productive façade prototypes and the measurement strategy corresponding to the first three months from August till October 2018 in terms of PV electricity generation, vegetable growth and indoor thermal and visual conditions. A comparison with simulation results is expected to be made for four façade systems.

Most methods to analyse and understand the residential energy use features rely on invasive measurements, such as energy monitoring systems, which eventually affects the reliability of pattern classifications. This paper, thus, adopts a non-invasive method using unsupervised data mining algorithms to analyse hourly energy consumption data in order to learn the occupant’s lifestyle and energy consumption behavioral patterns. The study analyses hourly energy use of 298 households in Texas in 2015, using an online open source data set - Pecan Street Dataport. This study scientifically identified household’s energy use features and associated behavioural patterns through a multi scale observation of the clusters. As the contribution, this study takes the house age and size into account as these variables may significantly affect building energy use patterns. Second, it takes dissimilarity measures into account by using TSclust R package for clustering time series. And third, introduces a method of multiscale observation of clusters in order to interpret the lifestyle patterns. Finally, the results demonstrated how data mining techniques might be utilized to help investigating energy use data from the behavioural perspective.

This paper reviews sixteen residential schemes that represent the range of urban typologies encountered around London, UK. Fieldwork and detailed analytical studies conducted on each scheme provided insights on environmental performance and the connections between type, architectural design and performance. The study demonstrates the potential for passive design to lead to free-running buildings that do not require conventional space heating while also highlighting an increasing problem with overheating that is affecting smaller, highly insulated dwellings of recent construction.

This paper presents a prototype classroom-field interactive teaching and research tool, named Interactive Satellite Solar Lab (ISSL) that transcends the physical boundary of conventional classrooms and expands the venue of teaching and learning to out-of-doors. Tethered wirelessly to the classroom, the satellite lab empowers students to examine real-time performance of solar systems in real world settings. While experiments are conducted in remote settings by a team of students, their experiments and collected data are communicated instantly to the classroom instructor and students. The visual images and collected data from field experiments are simulcast in the classroom where the instructor and other students are viewing them. The data gathered from the field are transmitted to the instructor’s and students’ PCs or cellular phones. Activities of onsite experiments can be recorded and projected in the classroom. The field team and the classroom students are able to assess field conditions, make decisions, and perform experiments together. The ISSL was developed by a multidisciplinary team of faculty and students in an effort to transform the environmental dimension of architectural education, and to explore and promote a next generation pedagogic paradigm for science and engineering.

The goal of this study is to investigate the academic efforts to apply Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in architectural design. CFD refers to a computational method for predicting the movement of fluid. Since airflow is an important issue in architecture, CFD can be a helpful tool in architectural design. Specifically, the benefit of using CFD can be maximized if it can be used from the beginning of the design process. However, the complexity of CFD has been a barrier to be utilized in the early stages of design. Although the development of new software made CFD more accessible for architectural designers, it caused another problem of blind users who cannot interpret the simulation results. With a qualitative and interview-based research method, this study explores the current position of CFD in architectural design education. Former instructors and students of two CFD courses offered at two design-oriented architecture programs in the US participated in the interviews. Through the interviews, this study questions the future direction of CFD for architectural design education.

For the complex smart systems of the future, you need highly educated engineers to design systems which not only carry out their needed functionality but also are low power, which in turn benefits all people. Learning hardware modelling with a hardware modelling language like VHDL is an extensive undertaking, which involves practice by solving many assignments independently. Providing an adequate learning experience is a difficult task due to large classes and different types of learners. This paper presents the VHDL E-Learning System, an automated assessment system to give students tasks and automated feedback and therefore provides students the possibility to increasingly build up their proficiency in designing digital systems.

‘Community Energy’ refers to people working together to reduce and manage energy use, and increase and support local energy generation. It can help promote the infrastructural, social and cultural changes we need to reduce the impact of climate change and increase energy security. The core part of community energy initiatives is people, and therefore engagement is essential. In this work, the authors appraised three innovative mechanisms used to engage residents in Project SCENe (Sustainable Community Energy Networks), an ongoing research and development community energy scheme in a real-world setting involving 31 homes in its first phase along the banks of Nottingham’s River Trent. New tools for improving crucial consumer and citizen engagement, participation, co-production and demand-side management were used and their efficacy analysed. These included a user engagement platform, an energy interaction model and in-home smart technology. The findings presented here epitomise the centrality of social-technological interdependencies and the importance of social and collective processes throughout these. It was concluded that civil society were essential actors in the services used and shaped through the passive and active processes that underpin what we do and why, and that utilising these in interrelated methods supports the development and outcomes of such projects.

This paper aimed at an approximation of daylight availability metrics and users 'perceptions in order to understand if the daylight metrics approach the users' visual experience on the sufficiency of natural light in classroom spaces in the city of Florianopolis / SC, Brazil. The study allowed the comparison of the results by simulations of Daylight Autonomy performed throughout the software DIVA Plug-in Rhinoceros 5.0, with visual perception drawings, conducted by 256 users of three classroom environments. This comparison indicated which simulated parameters correspond more closely to the evaluations of daylit area, partially daylit area and non daylit area in study spaces. There was a greater proximity between the DA500lux [50%]/ DA 250lux [50%] parameters in the first two rooms studied, and DA 300lux [50%] / DA 150lux [50%] in the third room analysed. The results evidenced the relation of aspects of visual perception not only with illuminance values, but also with the physical measurements of surface brightness, expressed through luminance. Since it is known that in addition to criteria of horizontal illuminance levels in the work plane, several factors influence the process of visual perception and characterization of the conditions of the light environment.

The purpose of this research was to identify the habitability conditions presented by house for low-income families in an area with extreme hot dry climate such as Mexicali. Field work was carried out, through surveys. Based on the opinion of the occupants of the dwelling, their perception of spatial, psychosocial and thermal conditions of their dwelling were obtained. The results show which the psychosocial aspects, such as perception of security, privacy and pride, are at adequate levels, however, the thermal habitability showed problems throughout the year.

Artisan brick fabrication in Mexican communities are known to have social backwardness, this generates human health and environmental issues due to high levels of pollution. This study shows an improvement proposal for the locality of San Diego Cuachayotla, leading brick producer in Mexico. It focuses and highlight the main problems of the chain production, through a participative diagnose methodology. As a result, an integral project was designed, in stages. A first one with the construction of a proposal including an improved productive space, a living area, a family orchard garden, fruit trees, and family farm area to supply and promote a scheme for self-sufficiency. The improvements of the productive chain were developed following the «Best Available Techniques» concept, and an ecologic oven MK2 was chosen due to its high energy efficiency, to its pollutants reduction and fuel savings at low cost and feasible technology. This project shows how utilizing inclusive diagnosis methodology following a selection of best options available can help to improve quality of life as well as a reduction on the environmental impact focused on specific community needs and demands.

The aim of this study is to clarify detailed typical daily patterns of occupants’ behaviour of window-opening and air-conditioning in hot-humid climates. Face-to-face interviews for 1,570 typical households were carried out in Malaysia and Indonesia. All samples were divided into several groups, based on the city climates and air-conditioner ownership, and subdivided through a principal component analysis and a hierarchical cluster analysis. The result shows the daily patterns of occupants’ behaviour in hot-humid cities is clearly different from those in relatively cool city. Windows tend to be opened during daytime even if air-conditioner is installed, while air-conditioners are mainly used during sleep time.