Brick House Research Articles

Analysis of the impact of magnetic and electric fields on the environment within the free space of SUTT segment Ulee Kareng - Banda Aceh

Abstract Public concerns exist regarding the potential negative impacts of magnetic and electric fields generated from SUTT lines on the environment and health. This study investigates the validity of this public concern by measuring and analyzing the magnitude of the magnetic and electric fields to determine if they remain within safe limits according to SNI, IRPA, and WHO standards. The study aims to mitigate the negative impact of SUTT on research locations including highway areas, plantations, rice fields, and brick houses, chosen using purposive sampling. This study found that the highest electric field value was measured in the plantation area at point A2 (2.1367 kV/m) and the lowest in the brick house area at point A5 (0.1795 kV/m). The highest magnetic field value was measured in the rice field area at point A5 (1.6363 μT) and the lowest in the road area at point B2 (1.5517 μT). SUTT operators monitor the magnetic and electric fields around the transmission area to ensure that the values remain within safe limits. Therefore, it is recommended to manage the vegetation around the transmission area to prevent interference with SUTT performance and to ensure that vegetation does not become an unwanted electrical conduction path.

Influence of unheated rooms on thermal comfort and energy efficiency of adjacent premises

AbstractThe research was conducted for three types of houses, including a panel house built before 1991, a brick house built in 2006, and a brick house built in 2022. It was established that the temperature difference, which is decisive when assessing the sanitary and hygienic condition of the premises, does not exceed the normative values for buildings built after 2006. In the building since 1991, the sanitary and hygienic indicators of the heated room deteriorate when the outside air temperature drops below −3 °C. At the same time, the fulfillment of the first condition of comfort in the room occurs at indoor air temperatures higher than the standard value, therefore, under the calculated conditions, residents feel discomfort when staying in such a room.

The Economic Demands on the Method of Founding a Passive Brick House on Foamed Glass Granulate

The Economic Demands on the Method of Founding a Passive Brick House on Foamed Glass Granulate

Mud brick houses as a suitable alternative to emergency shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs): evidence from Northern Syria

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of mud brick houses as an alternative to the more widely adopted emergency shelters used in war-torn Syria. It focuses on the mud houses’ sustainability, cost effectiveness, cultural preference, income generation and security. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative research approach to a single case study. Interviews were conducted with field experts from the Qatar Red Crescent Society and members of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) community living in mud brick houses. Findings The findings reveal that the utilisation of mud houses is a good alternative in relief efforts. The houses are sustainable and cost-effective, take into consideration cultural dynamics and provide economic empowerment to IDPs. However, the maintenance of mud brick houses turns out to be the largest flaw, and this problem requires further research. Originality/value The paper highlights the inefficiency of current emergency sheltering practices in Syria and reveals that tents are not a preferred mode of shelter. It further sheds light on a unique case study in which mud houses were used by an aid and development organisation, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. This paper contributes to practical discussion and ideation on more appropriate housing for IDPs.

Building a sustainable future: evaluating eco-friendly materials for energy efficiency and climate change mitigation

ABSTRACT Rapid population growth has increased housing demand. This demand was mainly addressed using conventional and unsustainable construction materials, which raised concerns about intensifying global warming. Economically challenged communities lacking access to cooling systems are more vulnerable to climate change effects. This research proposes strategies to address future climate change challenges, assessing the energy efficiency of a lab-developed eco-friendly construction material. A TRNSYS-based model was used in this study to evaluate four materials: rammed earth, hemp-lime bricks, DOUM fibre-stabilized material with quicklime, and cinder blocks in a real-scale building. Prior to the energy assessment, GenOpt software was used to ensure efficient building design. Optimizing the building's envelope can reduce annual thermal loads by up to 52%. The DOUM-clay brick house, with high thermal mass, exhibits significant potential. In comparison, the cooling loads of the cinder block, the rammed earth, and the hemp clay houses are 24.8%, 11.9%, and 9.2% lower, respectively. Additionally, the study considers the impact of climate change on buildings in a hot, semi-arid climate. The findings reveal a 20.3% lower thermal load for the lab-developed brick house compared to the cinder block house. The study also anticipates a reduction in natural ventilation’s potential in the future.

PROBLEMS OF PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE NATURAL MONUMENT – HISTORICAL "KADETSKYI HAI"

The article is devoted to the study, preservation and revival of the territory of the historical natural monument – Kadetskyi Hai. This is a unique ecosystem with the river Vershynka, lakes and a large oak grove, which has repeatedly undergone changes. This territory is known from chronicle sources of princely times and is depicted on historical maps, it is described as an important green zone in the suburbs of ancient Kyiv, which played several functions: recreational, economic, residential, military. After 1917, the mass destruction of the green massif of Kadetskyi Hai began, which was intensified by blocks of massive construction in the 1960s. The purpose of the research: to systematize historical information about the Kadetskyi Hai, to identify its features, to identify the problems associated with the process of organizing the remaining green areas today, and to provide proposals for their solution.
 According to the developed proposals, it is necessary to clean up and arrange the bed of the Vershynka River, setting up a sanitary protection zone around it. As an option, it is proposed to move the channel further from the railway track and turn it into a place of rest. Since the part of the “Sputnyk” park in the part of the White Gazebo (Bila Altanka) and the Vershynka River is unorganized and cluttered, it is proposed to organize it.
 The disorder of green zones remains a problem, both in Sputnyk Park and landscaping within residential neighborhoods. In fact, the areas of mass construction of the 1960s have turned into “sleeping neighborhoods” over time, where there is a lack of public service facilities, parking lots, organized recreation areas, sports and children's playgrounds.
 A separate problem is related to the disorganization of green spaces. The authors investigated the greening of the Pershotravnevyi residential area on the territory of the former Kadetskyi Hai. This neighborhood is characterized by a terraced terrain, where medium-story brick houses are located on the upper and lower levels of the natural slope. In the thickness of the slope there is an extensive network of communications, so it remains undeveloped. In recent years, because of the war, slope clearing and removal of self-seeding trees and bushes have not been carried out, so this area has taken on the appearance of a forest park made of deciduous trees.

Bamboo Construction Inspired by Vernacular Techniques for Reducing Carbon Footprint: A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Whilst upcoming innovations on digital technology and renewable energy can have a significant impact on the reduction of operational carbon emissions in the construction industry, readily available fast-growing building materials like bamboo are already proving reductions in the embodied carbon of dwellings above 60% when compared to traditional brickwork in Colombia. This paper presents a like-by-like comparison of the environmental impact of a conventional clay brick house (CBH) and a bamboo house for social housing in Colombia, which was built using adapted vernacular technologies. The bamboo house uses bamboo species Guadua angustifolia Kunth as the main structural support for the light cement bamboo frame (LCBF) system, a.k.a. ‘cemented bahareque’, whilst the CBH combines clay bricks and steel for the load-bearing walls. Traditionally built Guadua angustifolia Kunth bahareque (GaKB) houses are a key part of the vernacular architecture in the ‘coffee cultural landscape of Colombia’ (CCLC) recognised by UNESCO. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to calculate the carbon footprint of the houses following four phases: (1) definition of objective and scope; (2) inventory analysis; (3) impact assessment; and (4) interpretation of results. The results show that the carbon footprint of the GaKB house accounts for about 40% of the CBH, i.e., the GaKB generates a carbon footprint of 107.17 CO2-eq/m2 whilst the CBH results in a carbon footprint of 298.44 kg CO2-eq/m2. Furthermore, from a carbon balance calculation, the carbon footprint of the GaKB house is further reduced to about 36% of the CSB house. LCA results for the built GaKB house demonstrate that vernacular housing projects that preserve cultural heritage can also be resilient and climate-neutral. This paper sets a precedent for the establishment of targeted government policies and industry practices that preserve the cultural heritage and vernacular technologies in the CCLC region and in other emergent economies worldwide whilst promoting future-proof and net-zero carbon construction.

Thermal Comfort Comparison and Cause Analysis of Low-Temperature High-Humidity Indoor Environments of Rural Houses in Gansu Province, China

Low temperatures and high humidity often occur in the northern basins and mountainous regions of China. This research reveals a common winter indoor environment in this rural areas characterized by low-temperature and high-humidity indoor thermal conditions. Improving this environment directly with equipment would inevitably result in significant energy consumption. Therefore, comprehending the thermal performance mechanisms of different structural building materials is of vital importance as it provides crucial baseline values for environmental improvement. This study conducted a survey utilizing user questionnaires, resulting in the collection of 214 valid responses. Additionally, a local experiment regarding thermal comfort was conducted. Simultaneously, this study monitored the indoor physical environments of these houses (a sample of 10 rooms was taken from earth houses and 12 rooms from brick houses). Parameters measured on site included air temperature, relative humidity, light illumination, and CO2. The results showed that the humidity inside the earth houses is more stable and regression models can be developed between thermal sensations and temperature for long-term residents. The residents of these earth houses are more sensitive to temperature step. In contrast, the residents of brick houses, experiencing greater environmental variability, demonstrated lower sensitivity and greater adaptability to temperature changes. In addition, heating from bottom to top is more comfortable and healthier for the residents of brick houses in Gansu. Moreover, it is more favorable for the inhabitants’ livelihood to regulate the temperature steps to a maximum of 4 °C. This study provides valuable reference information for the future design of houses in low-temperature and high-humidity environments.

Biodiversity burdens in Spanish conventional and low-impact single-family homes

Biodiversity loss caused by housing is not a well-defined sector of environmental impact. This research quantifies effects on biodiversity of an average Spanish Single-Family House (SFH) with 180 m2 of built surface. The current Spanish SFH stock GWP amounts to 1.16 Gt CO2eq in a 50-year life cycle, 40 % of which is embodied in the building materials and the 60 % are emissions due to the use of the building. This stock also impacts with 10.2 Gt 1,4-DCB the land, water and human health. SFHs also drive 6052 species extinct in a 50 year life cycle, and account for 3.03 M years of life lost due to premature death or lived with a disability. Divided by the 16 M people living in Spanish SFHs, each one lost 0.19 years of their lives (68.1 days) due to their home's impacts on human health.The article compares a reference conventional building against three low-impact cases, to understand how different building techniques and materials influence environmental outcomes that keep biodiversity loss the lowest possible. Scenarios include a standard brick and concrete house as Scenario 0 (SC0, Base), a timber Passivhaus as Scenario 1 (SC1), a straw-bale house with renewable energies as Scenario 2 (SC2), and an earth bioclimatic house as Scenario 3 (SC3). An initial Global Warming Potential (GWP) analysis was performed to relate previous building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies with biodiversity metrics. Three main biodiversity metrics; ecotoxicity (as midpoint indicator), biodiversity loss and damage to human health (both as endpoint indicators) have been considered.Compared to SC0 with 1292 kgCO2-eq·m−2 (516 embodied) of GWP, we found that SC1 emitted −47.0 % of that, SC2–41.4 % and SC3–80.9 %. Concerning ecotoxicity, where SC0 has 11,399 kg 1,4 DCB, the results are −27.9 % in SC1, −19.2 % in SC2, and −45.6 % in SC3. Regarding biodiversity loss, where SC0 has 7.54 E−06 species.yr·m−2, the impacts are −30.9 % in SC1, −32.6 % in SC2, and −58.6 % in SC3.Human health damage in SC0 being 3.37 E−03 DALY, has been reduced in the timber home (SC1) is −44.2 %, of the Straw SFH (SC2) −39.2 %, and of the earth house (SC3) −67.1 %.This article shows that with current existing technological solutions GWP could be reduced in −80.9 %, ecotoxicity in −45.6 %, biodiversity loss in −58.6 % and human health in −67.1 %. Spanish Single-Family Houses built in timber, earth or straw-bale are real alternatives to current cement traditional building.

Нефтегазовая отрасль Чеченской Республики: история и современность (к 130-летию промышленной добычи нефти)

This article is devoted to the period of intensive development of oil production in the Grozny region, which is one of the oldest oil and gas regions in Russia. The issues of the formation, repeated reorganizations of “Grozneft” are highlighted, its role as a city-forming industry, in particular, in the development of the city of Grozny, in solving social and housing issues of oil workers in the difficult years of 1920-1930 is noted, construction of brick houses for oil workers in the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny, creation of conditions for rest and treatment, etc. It was noted about the gradual improvement of methods for drilling and oil production, the introduction of more efficient methods and techniques for prospecting and exploration of oil and gas fields, which made it possible to develop deep-lying chalk horizons.

Ochre Brick House

Ochre Brick House

The infiltration of wildfire smoke and its potential dose on pregnant women: Lessons learned from Indonesia wildfires in 2019

The occurrence of wildfires in Indonesia is prevalent during drought seasons. Multiple toxic pollutants emitted from wildfires have deleterious effects on pregnant women. However, the evidence for these on pregnant women was underreported. The study conducted 24-h monitoring of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations indoors and outdoors in 9 low-income homes in Palangka Raya during the 2019 wildfire season and 6 low-income homes during the 2019 non-wildfire season. A hundred and seventy pregnant women had their PM exposure assessed between July and October 2019 using personal monitors. It was observed that outdoor air pollutant levels were greater than those found indoors without indoor sources. The findings indicate that indoor PM2.5 concentrations were modestly increased by 1.2 times higher than outdoor, suggesting that buildings only partially protected people from exposure during wildfires. The concentrations of PM2.5 were found to be comparatively higher indoors in residential buildings with wood material than in brick houses. The study findings indicate that 8 out of 12 brick houses exhibited a notable RI/O24 h of less than 1 during the wildfires, whereas all I/O24 h ratios during the non-wildfire season were >1, suggesting the influence of indoor sources. Based on the estimation of daily PM2.5 dose, pregnant women received around 21% of their total daily dose during sedentary activity involving cooking. The present research offers empirical support for the view that indoor air quality in low-income households is affected by a complex combination of factors, including wildfire smoke, air tightness, and occupant behaviour. Also, this situation is more likely a potential risk to pregnant women being exposed to wildfire smoke.

A SWOT Analysis of AWH Project Implementation in the Brazilian Amazon as Perceived by Affordable Housing Stakeholders

In Brazil, affordable housing programs aimed at low-income populations reach a limited number of people. In the northern region, conventional bricklaying is the preferred method of building affordable single-family houses, which are essentially sets of tiny houses on the outskirts of cities. Conventional bricklaying can damage the environment. This study, started in July 2019, aimed to understand the perception of using timber to build affordable houses by housing program stakeholders and determine why the beneficiaries of housing programs prefer brick houses to wooden houses in locations with building permits. We applied a SWOT analysis to a group of 60 individuals comprising government agents and wooden and brick house residents of cities located in the northern region of Brazil. Subsequently, we devised relevant strategies, validated by stakeholders involved in public policy, for the provision of wooden housing for low-income populations. We used R software to analyze the data, and the results showed that the beneficiaries of affordable housing programs were unaware of wooden architectural projects and their durability, despite the regional abundance of wood and its environmental benefits. We suggest using strategies based on the SWOT analysis and validated by a group of experts to include the Affordable Wooden Housing (AWH) Project in the National Rural Housing Program (PNHR) and Harvest Plan.

On a Writing & Walking Field Trip with Seven High School Boys Exploring Langston Hughes Sites in Washington, D.C.

The city teaches us todaywith brick row houses andfront stoops, bicyclists,the squeal of car brakes.Hurried drivers watch uswaiting on a sidewalk,writing on his front steps.Bikes hiss by, their spokessparkle against a grey sky.My students gazeat Langston’s windows,wondering what poem beganhere, what poem ended here,what poem was tossed away.One moment, they are a riotof laughter, shining withsilly, colliding with each other.The next, they searchthe sky for wounds.I watch them sitting on Hughes’ stoop;these are serious boys,writing words they mean,seeking words that will be truein America.I wonder about these boys.Where do they begin?Where do they end?Will America toss them away?What loneliness or lovewill carry them?

We Made It in Venice! But Then …? Reversing Notions of Center and Periphery

We Made It in Venice! But Then …? Reversing Notions of Center and Periphery

“Animal-Style Art,” and Special Finds at Iron Age Settlements in Southeastern Kazakhstan: Chronology, Trade, and Networks during the Iron Age

Two Iron Age settlements, Tuzusai and Taldy Bulak 2 (ca. 500 BC to 1 CE), located in southeastern Kazakhstan on the Talgar alluvial fan north of the Tian Shan range, have yielded a small collection of bone, antler/horn, bronze, and stone artifacts with an affinity to the nomadic art of the first millennium BC. Both settlements date within the period of late Saka culture. Two pieces have decorative ornamentations with zoomorphic imagery: a small carved fragment with carved images of a wing and an ear and a perforated bone disk with the carving of three birds’ heads. The other artifacts include objects associated with Saka weaponry or nomadic economy, such as two horn psalias (cheek pieces) and a bronze amulet. A carnelian bead will also be described as an imported object. These special finds were found on the occupation floors of mud brick houses and in the pit houses of settlements, not in grave or burial contexts. The objects were placed in a stratigraphic sequence in the settlement sites. The method for placing these objects within the chronological framework of “animal-style art” is through comparisons with similar objects found throughout Eurasia—a method used in Soviet and post-Soviet archaeology. The results show that the functional and stylistic elements of the six objects indicate that the Talgar settlements were part of a larger world-system of trade and communication along the early Silk Route(s).

Time-dependence of decontamination efficiency after a fallout of gamma-emitting radionuclides in suburban areas: a theoretical outlook on topsoil removal

Decontamination of urban areas may be necessary in the case of extensive fallout of radioactive material after a nuclear accident, as removal of contaminated soil and vegetation will significantly reduce doses for the residents in an area affected by fallout. Experience from Japan shows that cleanup operations of urban areas may take years despite investment in ample resources. The time delay between the initial fallout and completion of the decontamination measures allows natural and physical processes to affect the results. The efficiency of the decontamination will therefore depend significantly on time. Radioecological modeling and computer simulation of urban topography with one-story houses were applied in this study to estimate action-influenced time-integrated dose reductions (TDR) of contaminated topsoil removal as a function of time after the fallout. Results indicate that the TDR decreases gradually after the fallout depending on the vertical migration rate of radiocesium and, to some extent, the initial 134Cs/137Cs ratio. Delaying the topsoil removal from 1 to 10 years will result in a TDR decrease by more than a factor of two. Removing the topsoil within one year after fallout results typically in an averted effective dose between 34 and 80 mSv per MBq m−2 deposition of 137Cs for residents in wooden houses. The corresponding values for residents in brick houses are about 50% lower due to higher shielding. Additional modeling is needed to estimate how age and sex influence the averted detriment to affected cohorts. In addition, more in-depth knowledge of how the efficiency of topsoil removal in practice compares with hypothetical models and the effect of incomplete removal of radiocesium is needed to improve calculations of TDR values.

Reception of the Zagreb Traditional Wooden House in the Brick Residential Architecture of Zagreb’s Opatovina and Upper Town in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries

During the foundation period of Zagreb’s Gradec and Opatovina, a specific architectural type of wooden single-storey residential house emerged, the so-called purgerska hiža, based on the traditional wooden architecture of the wider Zagreb area, which has been defined, for the first time in this paper, as the Zagreb traditional wooden house. Features of this house type can be recognised in brick residential houses from the 18th century onwards, both in Opatovina and Gradec, and they became a staple piece of architecture commissioned by the economically less powerful and less educated. This paper describes the prominent features of this architectural type, as well as the specificities of a more elaborate type of two-storey house that developed therefrom. Here it is shown that this type continued in the brick form long into the 19th century, and that certain features occasionally cropped up even in the 20th century. All Upper Town and Opatovina houses that can be subsumed under this type have been identified in this paper, as well as houses derived from that type, which can be considered its modifications, and they have been analysed in order to determine where the influences on this type of architecture had come from, adopting a new thesis on Zagreb as a border zone that was influenced by two ethnographic regions: Turopolje and Hrvatsko Zagorje.

RATE OF COOLING OF ROOMS IN BRICK HOUSES

An algorithm was developed and a program was written in the JavaScript programming language that determines the time for cooling the premises to 0°C when the heating is turned off in the winter. The calculation algorithm takes into account the loss of thermal energy through the outer walls and windows through the processes of convective and radiant heat transfer. The calculations were carried out for brick elite and standard Stalin and Khrushchev houses. When carrying out calculations, it was found that in the central premises of brick Stalinist and Khrushchev houses, the time to reach 0°C when the heating is turned off in winter increases by several hours when replacing standard single-chamber double-glazed windows (the total thickness of the double-glazed window is 24 mm) with standard double-glazed windows of the same thickness. The calculations also showed that in the corner rooms of brick houses, the replacement of standard single-chamber double-glazed windows with standard double-glazed windows with a total thickness of 24 mm practically does not increase the cooling time of the rooms to 0°C. If double-glazed windows with a total thickness of 44 mm are installed in the corner rooms (in these double-glazed windows the width of the air gap between the glasses is 16 mm), then, depending on the type of house, the freezing time of these rooms increases by 2-3 hours. Calculations also showed that the installation of two-chamber double-glazed windows with a total thickness of 44 mm creates a greater thermal effect in the corner rooms than laying a side window of the room with a brick over the entire thickness of the window opening.

Withdrawal and Transformation of Rural Homesteads in Traditional Agricultural Areas of China Based on Supply-Demand Balance Analysis

Idle and abandoned rural homesteads not only waste land resources, they also affect the quality of life of farmers and occupy land that could be used for agricultural production and ecological space. Analysis of the supply–demand relationship of rural homesteads is an important prerequisite for the implementation of rural homestead withdrawal and transformation, which is important for improving rural residential quality and land-use efficiency, promoting sustainable development and the classified revitalization of rural areas. Based on high-resolution remote sensing images of typical villages in traditional agricultural areas, a participatory evaluation method was used to analyze the supply–demand balance of rural homesteads and to propose countermeasures for their withdrawal and transformation. The results showed that: 1) rural homesteads have gradually realized the separation of living space and production space, the living function has gradually been enhanced, the production function has gradually weakened, and the ecological aesthetic function has emerged. 2) Farmers’ demand for rural homesteads is driven by various factors, including social and economic development level, lifestyle and livelihood. 3) There are a large number of idle or abandoned rural homesteads in traditional agricultural areas, with great withdrawal potential. The difference between the supply and demand of rural homesteads in use is obvious. The supply of living space of adobe house and mud-brick houses is less than the demand for them, and there is mixed use of space. The supply of production space for brick houses is less than the demand; in general, the supply of buildings is greater than the demand. 4) For rural homesteads still in use, exit and transformation strategies should be formulated according to the relationship between supply and demand, construction quality, spatial independence, and the wishes of farmers. The withdrawal and transformation of rural homesteads based on the balance between supply and demand is in line with the reality of rural development and the Chinese government’s strategy of national rural revitalization.