Urban Form Optimization for Low Carbon Building Construction

Abstract

Carbon emission from building energy consumption constitutes a substantially important component of urban anthropogenic emission with rapid urbanization. Building operational process lasts for decades and its energy consumption reduction is critical for low carbon building construction. Integrating macro-climate, socioeconomic condition, building and micro-climate, or looking at the individual factors, the studies have acquired much achievement on operating building energy utilization driving mechanism. Micro-climate can be regulated to some degree, based on urban form modification. Therefore, urban form optimization is supported as an effective way for carbon emission reduction. Views and theories of urbanization, urban sprawl, compact city forms, and form optimization method from building-scale, street-scale, and city-scale for studying micro-climate regulation and low-carbon building construction are summarized. Data, theories, and strategies for low carbon building planning and construction from the viewpoint of building energy consumption summarized in this paper will help to answer ‘why urban form has the relationship with building energy consumption?’ and ‘How to optimize urban form to construct low carbon building?’