Building Configurations Research Articles

3D Indoor Environment Abstraction for Crowd Simulations in Complex Buildings

This paper presents an approach for the automatic abstraction of built environments needed for pedestrian dynamics from any building configuration. The approach assesses the usability of navigation mesh to perform realistically pedestrian simulation considering the physical structure and pedestrian abilities for it. Several steps are examined including the creation of a navigation mesh, space subdivision, border extraction, height map identification, stairs classification and parametrisation, as well as pedestrian simulation. A social-force model is utilised to simulate the interactions between pedestrians and an environment. To perform quickly different 2D/3D geometrical queries various spatial indexing techniques are used, allowing fast identification of navigable spaces and proximity checks related to avoidance of people and obstacles in built environments. For example, for a moderate size building having eight floors and a net area of 13,000 m2, it takes only 104 s to extract the required building information to run a simulation. This approach can be used for any building configuration extracting automatically needed features to run pedestrian simulations. In this way, architects, urban planners, fire safety engineers, transport modellers and many other users without the need to manually interact with a building model can perform immediately crowd simulations.

3D building configuration as the driver of diurnal and nocturnal land surface temperatures: Application in Beijing's old city

Urbanization has produced extremely diverse structures of buildings, including horizontal sprawl, vertical growth, and a transition from traditional to modern architecture. Although the influence of urban morphology on urban heat formation is unquestioned, previous research has relied just on the 2D building composition and its influence on diurnal land surface temperatures (DLSTs). However, it is not well known that the 3D building configuration affects nocturnal land surface temperatures (NLSTs) and seasonal variations. In a new approach, a set of 3D landscape metrics, based on both aspects of composition and configuration, is here proposed and tested for spatiotemporal associations to land surface temperatures (LSTs) in Beijing's old city. The combination of classical and modern architecture styles makes this region an ideal laboratory for LST studies in highly different urban structures. Major findings include: 1) 3D landscape metrics effectively and suitably describe the diversity, irregularity and spatial arrangement of buildings; 2) Denser and more compact building patterns result in higher DLSTs, whereas highest NLSTs occur around modern high-rise buildings; 3) 3D landscape metrics have sensitive correlations to DLSTs, but in general NLSTs are closer associated with composition metrics rather than configuration metrics; 4) Both DLST and NLST are most importantly affected by building numbers and nearest distances between buildings; 5) The association between urban morphology and LSTs is fairly stable over all four seasons; with the variation that the summer relationship was relatively lower due to stronger solar radiation and evapotranspiration of urban vegetation.

This is not a [bed]room

One of the commitments of modern architecture was to transform home living. Spaces were to be reviewed through new notions on use, fluidity, and transparency, often leading to formerly compartmentalized areas occupied by bulky furniture and pre-arranged compositions being opened up. In this way, some architects started experimenting with new arrangements, not only for single-family housing, but also in new apartment building configurations. This article, therefore, takes a perspective on two different but complementary home living experiments, by comparing Gio Ponti's Via Dezza apartment (Milan, Italy) and Paulo Mendes da Rocha's Butantã house (São Paulo, Brazil). Even though they come from different backgrounds and time periods, these works are similar in some of their fundamental principles, especially regarding the way they conceive the room. While designing their own home environments, these architects were able to freely express the essence of their ideas about home living. In both cases though, issues believed to be undeniable, such as privacy and intimacy, were treated in a very authorial way, sharing in common a particular way of interpreting the notion of the room.

Numerical investigations on built‐up cold‐formed steel beams for long spans

AbstractThe material saving obtained by using thin‐walled cold‐formed steel elements is well‐known for small structures as well as for common industrial structures. Additional to the truss type structures, another solution for obtaining light‐weight elements consist of connecting cold‐formed steel profiles as the flange to the corrugated steel sheets as the web. The resistance spot welding connecting technique is an advanced solution which offers reduced manpower and time for element production. These built‐up elements have shown their feasibility and high bearing capacity in previous studies. The present paper highlights additional characteristic responses of cold‐formed steel elements that extend in the response of built‐up corrugated web beams. The parameters considered in the numerical model include the span of the beam, the height of the beam, the thickness of the corrugated web plates, the thickness of the shear panel, the number of resistance spot welds and the orientation of the beam axis. By considering the real case configuration of industrial buildings, pitched roofs require the beams to have an inclination. The analyzed inclined beams exhibited increased capacity due to the redistribution of internal forces, growing the attractiveness of this solution.

Towards an Adaptation of Efficient Passive Design for Thermal Comfort Buildings

This paper discusses the effect of various climatic conditions that pertain to passive design measurements and their relationships with building configurations to improve indoor thermal comfort based on the different climate zones in Egypt to support Egypt’s sustainability agenda 2030. We find the most appropriate design settings that can increase the indoor thermal comfort, such as building orientation and shape. These settings can be modeled using DesignBuilder software combined with Egyptian meteorological data. This software is used accompanied by computational fluid dynamics to numerically assess the outcomes of different changes, by simulating indoor climate condition factors such as wind speed and temperature. Natural ventilation simulations were performed for four different shapes to create comprehensive dataset scenarios covering a general range of shapes and orientations. Seven scenarios were optimized to put forward a series of building bioclimatic design approaches for the different characteristic regions. The results indicated that the temperature decreased by about 3.2%, and the air velocity increased within the study domain by 200% in the best and the worst cases, respectively, of the four different shapes. The results of the study gave evidence that the configuration of buildings, direction, and wind speed are very important factors for defining the natural ventilation within these domains to support the green building concept and the sustainable design for a better lifestyle.

Identifying geometric configuration of earthquake-resistant buildings

Indonesia is an earthquake-prone area because it is located at the world's most active tectonic plates and hundreds of local faults. Obviously, there have been many earthquake victims caused by collapsed buildings, hence the need for earthquake-resistant construction. However, there is not much guidance for architects to design earthquake-resistant buildings. This research proposes guidance for architects on how to design building forms relatively able to resist earthquakes. The simulation experiment method involving 32 building models in various forms was employed. The experimental results were then analyzed with modal analysis in ETABS and SVA for architectural design. Based on the analysis report, some guidelines were proposed: 1). Avoid buildings that are too slender, use the slenderness ratio H/D ≤ 2, 2). Avoid soft stories where the ratio of the top column height (h) to the bottom column height (h1) ≤ 0.8, 3). Use symmetrical shapes with 1 or 2 axes and avoid shapes with random compositions, 4). Use the additive and subtractive mass transformation ≤ 15%, 5).Strengthen the structural elements, install shear walls, or use dilatation to minimize potential torsional irregularities and non-parallel system irregularities of L, T, U, +, and Z forms6). Avoid using non-axial asymmetrical forms.

Automated refactoring of legacy JavaScript code to ES6 modules

The JavaScript language did not specify, until ECMAScript 6 (ES6), native features for streamlining encapsulation and modularity. Developer community filled the gap with a proliferation of design patterns and module formats, with impact on code reusability, portability and complexity of build configurations. This work studies the automated refactoring of legacy ES5 code to ES6 modules with fine-grained reuse of module contents through the named import/export language constructs. The focus is on reducing the coupling of refactored modules through destructuring exported module objects to fine-grained module features and enhancing module dependencies by leveraging the ES6 syntax. We employ static analysis to construct a model of a JavaScript project, the Module Dependence Graph (MDG), that represents modules and their dependencies. On the basis of MDG we specify the refactoring procedure for module migration to ES6. A prototype implementation has been empirically evaluated on 19 open source projects. Results highlight the relevance of the refactoring with a developer intent for fine-grained reuse. The analysis of refactored code shows an increase in the number of reusable elements per project and reduction in the coupling of refactored modules. The soundness of the refactoring is empirically validated through code inspection and execution of projects’ test suites.

Beyond Cultural and Historic Values, Sustainability as a New Kind of Value for Historic Buildings

In attempts to improve the energy efficiency of protected historical buildings, two barriers arise. The first is the restrictions imposed by authorities that are responsible for cultural heritage preservation. The second is the exclusion of protected buildings from strict compliance with energy efficiency requirements in current regulations, such as the issue of an Energy Performance Certificate, which removes them from conventional channels of public policies. Both of these issues put heritage in a delicate situation, especially when they are intended for privately developed residential uses. This paper presents a methodology for assessing and establishing a trade-off between energy performance and the cultural value of heritage buildings through the comprehensive analysis of a case study: the retrofitting of Can Armengol Palace in Palma de Mallorca (Spain). The study revealed (1) the need to objectify the cultural values of the building as far as possible to identify conflicts with the strategies of energy efficiency improvement; and (2) the appropriateness of considering every aspect of a rehabilitation intervention in a global simultaneous approach, not just energy aspects. The method that was used had five steps: acquiring a deep knowledge of the building configuration, assessing the building performance for every legal requirement, identifying cultural values, defining intervention criteria, and analyzing intervention effects on the protected elements of the building. The most important contribution in this study is the detailed and extended definition of architectural heritage values and the consideration of interventions resulting from sustainability retrofits as a new kind of value, that reflects current worries, for which future generations will remember us.

Investigation and Improvement of Standard External Lightning Protection System: Industrial Case Study

In this study, the lightning protection system and grounding system of one plant of the petrochemical industry were investigated, evaluated, and improved. The methods used in this study were rolling sphere and angle protection methods. The grounding system of the building under study was modeled and simulated using ATP/EMTP (Alternative Transient Program/Electromagnetic Transient Program) software. The results show that the external lightning protection system of the prilling tower studied does not adhere to IEC 62305 and IEC 1024-1-1 standards. Moreover, the grounding configuration of the DCS building was not appropriate for protecting sensitive equipment inside. Lightning causes an enormous potential difference between lightning ground rods in the grounding system. Additionally, disabling the existing surge protective device (SPD) causes an increase in the magnitude of Ground Potential Rise at the DCS building. Improvement of the lightning protection system of the prilling tower and DCS building on Plant 1 of this petrochemical company as well as some other recommendations for improvements are proposed. This paper also shows evidence that external lightning protection, internal lightning protection, and the grounding system need to be connected to make an exemplary lightning protection system.

Analysis of Seismic Behavior of Multistoried R.C.C Building Resting on Sloping Strata under Seismic Load

Construction of RC buildings in preferred locations in the north & eastern hilly regions have increased during the last few decades due to urbanization, population increase, and high influx of tourists. The buildings situated in hilly areas are much more prone to seismic environment in comparison to the buildings that are located in flat regions. Structures on slopes differ from other buildings since they are irregular both vertically and horizontally and therefore susceptible to severe damage when subjected to seismic action. The columns of ground storey have varying height due to sloping ground. This paper presents the comparative analysis of various configurations of 15 storied building with to be found on varying slope with different plan and different structural arrangements situated on seismic zone IV. This study compares various reinforced concrete models framed and analysed their response against dynamic loading to identify and struggle the worst possible scenario. The study is carried out for a combination of three different slopes and different building configuration by response spectrum analysis method and various parameters are compared against various constraints.

Walling in Strategy Games via Constraint Optimization

This paper presents a constraint optimization approach to walling in real-time strategy (RTS) games. Walling is a specific type of spatial reasoning, typically employed by human expert players and not currently fully exploited in RTS game AI, consisting on finding configurations of buildings to completely or partially block paths. Our approach is based on local search, and is specifically designed for the real-time nature of RTS games. We present experiments in the context of the RTS game StarCraft showing promising results.

Estimating optimum parameters of a new SMA damper under different earthquake ground motions

Process optimization using metaheuristic algorithms is rapidly gaining interest from engineering practitioners and researchers. This study uses the cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) to find the optimum parameters of a novel smart damper under seismic excitations. For this purpose, seismic responses of four-story and nine-story building configurations under seven pairs of ground motions have been considered. The smart damper is a shear polyurethane friction (SPF) passive control device, made up of shape memory alloy (SMA) plates, friction devices, and polyurethane springs. The damper was installed using braced frame shear links of Y-shaped inverted type, in the form of a vertical link beam placed in the eccentrically braced frames. Because the shear mode of failure is common in such a configuration, the SPF damper is expected to reduce the residual inter-story drifts of the building subjected to strong earthquake loading. Numerical optimization and time-domain simulations were carried out using the MATLAB and OpenSees software programs, respectively. The targeted optimization criteria include the peak values of inter-story drift, residual drift, and floor acceleration; and the design parameters consist of SMA cross-sectional area, friction force, and the polyurethane stiffness of the SPF-SMA system. The results of this study demonstrate the suitability of CSA for the determination of optimum parameters of the SPF-SMA system for the buildings and ground motions considered. Future studies will investigate the generalizability of the proposed method to other building configurations and ground motions.

Efficient estimation and optimization of building costs using machine learning

This study provides a fast and accurate Machine learning (ML) and optimization framework, which allows a quick estimate for building costs, hence improving operational efficiency and competitiveness of a construction company. A dataset composed of 10,000 parametric building configurations, collected from end-to-end real-world activities in our partner company, was used to train and validate the ML models to perform multiple tasks. Among the 13 ML regression algorithms used, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Gradient Boosting, and XGBoost models appear to be the most suitable to estimate the building costs and the required resources with an accuracy of 99% within less than a second of the training time. The ANN models are also developed to identify available options of the building features under a given budget. The optimization problem under constraints is solved, helping clients determine the optimal building costs according to their preferences. Besides, the optimized building costs obtained by this study are 7% smaller than those of the actual data, hence to improve the company’s competitiveness. This study showcases that ML models can be efficiently used in the construction sector to optimize the workflow for cost savings and provide some practical implications for data-driven management.

Evaluation of the dynamic core of the PALM model system 6.0 in a neutrally stratified urban environment: comparison between LES and wind-tunnel experiments

Abstract. We demonstrate the capability of the PALM model system version 6.0 to simulate neutrally stratified urban boundary layers. Our simulation uses the real-world building configuration of the HafenCity area in Hamburg, Germany. Using PALM's virtual measurement module, we compare simulation results to wind-tunnel measurements of a downscaled replica of the study area. Wind-tunnel measurements of mean wind speed agree within 5 % on average while the wind direction deviates by approximately 4∘. Turbulence statistics similarly agree. However, larger differences between measurements and simulation arise in the vicinity of surfaces where building geometry is insufficiently resolved. We discuss how to minimize these differences by improving the grid layout and give tips for setup preparation. Also, we discuss how existing and upcoming features of PALM like the grid nesting and immersed boundary condition help improve the simulation results.

THE EFFECT OF SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL FACTORS ON OCCUPANTS’ BLIND USE BEHAVIORS IN MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

ABSTRACT Existing studies show that occupants’ behavior contribute to fluctuations in energy consumption of residential units within the same building configuration. Window blinds are one of the interior design elements that the occupants use to control indoor environmental conditions. The way that occupants adjust their blinds could affect the energy performance of buildings. Thus, the purpose of this research was to identify spatial and temporal explanatory variables that correlate with occupants’ use of the blinds and determine whether those variables relate to building design and surrounding sites. Data were collected by observing how occupants in apartment buildings located in a multifamily residential complex adjust their blinds. Descriptive statistics were used to define the effect of floor level, window orientation, day of observation, the hour of observation, and weather conditions on the blind status. In addition, a generalized linear mixed model was used to predict the effect of floor level and window orientation on the occupants’ adjustment of blinds. The results revealed that occupants’ use of the blinds correlated significantly with spatial factors, such as the apartment buildings’ floor level and windows’ orientation. Interesting blind use patterns were related to temporal factors, such as the day and hour of observation.

SEISMIC EVALUATION OF HIGH RISE BUILDING WITH VERTICAL IRREGULARITIES BY PUSHOVER ANALYSIS

During earthquake motion. The seismic behavior depends upon the strength, mass, and stiffness are distributed in both horizontal and vertical planes. the buildings structural damage was severe the frame is caused due to the discontinuity in the stiffness mass and strength between the alongside stories. The same type of discontinuity is vertical geometric irregularity which is due to the irregular building configuration in vertical plane so there is to know the seismic response of building modals in different structural irregularities. Non-linear static (pushover analysis) which is used for Investigation. The purpose of study doing nonlinear static (pushover analysis) by conventional design methodology G+12 High rise buildings this work shows seismic performance and behavior of building frame with and without vertical irregularity in terms of base shear, story shear, story displacement the performance point of all models are considered also found that irregularity in assessment of the structure decreases the performance level of building there is also reduces in deformation or displacement of the structure. all the models analyzed by using ETABS and design as per IS 456:200 and 1893:2016

Simulations of dispersion through an irregular urban building array

Following the release of a harmful substance within an urban environment, buildings and street canyons create complex flow regimes that affect dispersion and localized effluent concentrations. While some fast-response dispersion models can capture the effects caused by individual buildings, further research is required to refine urban characterizations such as plume channeling and spreading, and initial dispersion, especially within the presence of a nonhomogeneous array of structures. Field, laboratory, and modeling experiments that simulate urban or industrial releases are critical in advancing current dispersion models. This project leverages the configuration of buildings used in a full-scale, mock urban field study to examine the concentrations of a neutrally buoyant tracer in a series of wind tunnel and Embedded Large Eddy Simulation (ELES) experiments. The behavior, propagation, and magnitude of the plumes were examined and compared to identify microscale effects.After demonstrating excellent quantitative and qualitative comparisons between the wind tunnel and ELES via lateral and vertical concentration profiles, we show that a nonlinear least squares fit of the Gaussian plume equation well represents these profiles, even within the array of buildings and network of street canyons. The initial plume dispersion depended strongly on the structures immediately adjacent to the release, and consequently, the near-surface plume spread very rapidly in the first few street canyons downwind of the source. The ELES modeling showed that under slightly oblique incoming wind directions of 5° and 15°, an additional 5° and 14° off-axis channeling of the plume occurred at ground level, respectively. This indicates how building structures can cause considerable plume drift from the otherwise expected centerline axis, especially with greater wind obliquity. Additionally, AERMOD was used to represent the class of fast-running, Gaussian dispersion models to inform where these types of models may be usefully applied within urban areas or groups of buildings. Using an urban wind speed profile and other parameters that may be locally available after a release, AERMOD was shown to qualitatively represent the ground-level plume while somewhat underestimating peak concentrations. It also overestimated the lateral plume spread and was challenged in the very near-field to the source. Adding a turbulence profile from the ELES data into AERMOD's meteorological input improved model estimates of lateral plume spread and centerline concentrations, although peak concentration values were still underestimated in the far field. Finally, we offer some observations and suggestions for Gaussian dispersion modeling based on this mock urban modeling exercise.

Adaptable energy management system for smart buildings

This paper presents a novel adaptable energy management system (EMS) for smart buildings. In this framework we model the energy consumption of a living unit, and its energy exchanges with the surroundings. A unit is a well delimited space inside a building, for which the information on electrical consumption is known. We assume that the unit has no energy exchanges with its neighbors. Examples of units are a household, an office, a restaurant or a gym. We explicitly consider the impact of the outside environment and design features such as building orientation, automatic shading, and double façade. We formulate this problem as a nonlinear optimization model in which the living unit minimizes a performance function subject to the energy flows from and toward the unit as well as the building-specific features. It is solved using off-the-shelf solvers. We present computational experiments to validate the proposed approach, considering different objective functions and several building configurations. The experiments show that our approach enhances the unit's performance and also provides demand flexibility for the grid. We demonstrate that for heating a unit in Montreal, Canada, there are periods where the EMS alone can lower the electricity cost by up to 26% and the energy consumption by up to 14%. If the EMS is combined with smart design features, the electricity cost of heating can be lowered by up to 35%, the cost of cooling by up to 97%, and the energy consumption by up to 49%.

Effects of different wind directions on ventilation of surrounding areas of two generic building configurations in Hong Kong

This study investigated effects of incident wind angles on wind velocity distributions in wakes of two generic building configurations, namely, ‘T’- and ‘+’-shaped, and the air pressure distributions along their leeward walls by using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Results show that when the wind approaches laterally (90°) (vs. when the wind is direct (0°)), the downwind length and maximum bilateral width of the low-wind velocity zone in the wake of ‘T’-shaped building decrease by 11.5% and 37.9%, respectively. When the incident wind is oblique (45°) (vs. when it is direct), the length and width of this low-wind velocity zone in the wake of ‘+’-shaped building decrease by 15.0% and 30.9%, respectively. Furthermore, results show that the air pressure on the leeward walls of the ‘T’- and ‘+’-shaped buildings gradually decreases along with the building height. The resulting low-wind conditions on upper floors of buildings reduce the fresh air intake of their leeward units utilizing natural ventilation. It is particularly apparent in the case of direct approaching wind. Thus, the appropriate selection of building configurations and their orientations allows for the most effective use of wind to enhance ventilation in indoor and urban environments.

Seismic vulnerability assessment of low to mid-rise RC buildings addressing prevailing design and construction practices in the Northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent: A case study based approach

RC buildings with infilled masonry are very common in Northeast India and neighbouring countries like Nepal, along with open ground storey (OGS) buildings and bare framed buildings. In this region, due to the low financial capacity of the owners, most of the private buildings are constructed either with a consultation to local masons without any engineering input or by the engineers, mainly based on the thumb-rules. In such cases, design and construction quality (DCQ) and non-uniform distribution of the infill wall increase the damage level. Herein, an effort has been made to quantify the influence of DCQ, infill wall distribution, and their combined effect on seismic response. The vulnerability of low to mid-rise RC buildings is studied through fragility analysis using a simplistic nonlinear static analysis based method. The fragility curves show that inferior design and construction quality and the absence of masonry infill on the ground floor increases susceptibility to the manifold. However, the vulnerability of these RC buildings, including the ones with an open ground storey, can be decreased through well design and construction practices under controlled supervision. Thus, it may avoid collapse mainly for low seismic hazards that are often striking the Northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent and many other countries relatively more frequently than the very severe event. The overall observations that came out from the study may prove beneficial for selecting the suitable building configuration by design engineers, keeping a balance between safety and economy. The results obtained in the form of various curves and tables may be used for the preliminary design of new buildings and seismic risk assessment of existing buildings of such regions as well as of other areas with similar building typologies. Hence, the study may prove useful not only in the design offices, but the approach outlined in the study may be applied to various regions for vulnerability assessment, using the methodology having a fair compromise between rigour and accuracy. Finally, a large set of results generated following such a process may pave the way for refining design guidelines for performance-based design.