Environmental Design Guidelines Research Articles

Deriving the Types and Characteristics of Lost Children in South Korea Using the Sequential Association Rule.

The studies that examine the characteristics of lost children and identify the types and processes of children being lost are insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to establish the fundamental types and characteristics of lost children and develop a plan for their prevention. First, the common patterns of lost children were derived via the "sequential association rule" using the lost child case data from the previous studies. Next, the lost child types were derived by examining the patterns of lost children, focusing on the situation (conditions) before the child was lost and the causes. Additionally, a series of processes leading to children getting lost and being reunited with their guardians, according to the lost child type, were systematized. Finally, the causes and characteristics of lost children were derived for each type. The following types of lost children were derived: type I-when a child unexpectedly breaks away from the guardian and becomes lost; type II-when a child leaves after obtaining the guardian's permission but fails to find their way back to their guardian; and type III-when a guardian and child are separated by the operation of transportation. This study's findings can assist in the development of environmental design guidelines to prevent children from getting lost.

Developing circular building components

A building consists of building components, such as a kitchen, façade and roof. By replacing building components with more circular ones during new construction, maintenance and renovation, we can gradually create a circular built environment. In this dissertation, we develop and test 8 circular building components for housing renovation together with Dutch social housing associations and industry partners. Combining ‘Action Research’ and ‘Research through Design’ approaches, we generate knowledge on the development of feasible, circular building components. We present a design tool, assessment model, environmental design guidelines and identify key stakeholder choices. This research makes scientific contributions to circular design theories, management models for the built environment, and research methodology. We recommend 4 changes in practice to implement more circular building components.

Environmental design guidelines for circular building components based on LCA and MFA: Lessons from the circular kitchen and renovation façade

The transition towards a Circular Economy (CE) in the built environment is vital to reduce environmental impacts, resource consumption and waste generation. The built environment can be made circular by replacing building components with more circular ones. There are many circular design options for building components and knowledge about which options perform better – from an environmental perspective – is limited. Existing guidelines focussed on single components, single circular design options, applied different assessment methods and provide conflicting guidelines. Therefore, in this article, we develop environmental design guidelines by comparing multiple circular design options for two building components: a kitchen (short service life) and renovation façade (medium service life). First, we synthesize design variants based on distinct circular pathways, such as renewable-, non-virgin material use, and modularity for reuse. Second, we compare their environmental performance to a ‘business-as-usual’ variant through Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and a multi-cycle Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) including extensive sensitivity analysis on circular parameters. Analysing the 78 LCAs and MFAs, we derive 8 lessons learned on the environmental design of circular building components. We compare our findings to existing guidelines, including those for circular building structures (long service life). Amongst other lessons, we found components with a short service life benefit more from prioritizing circular design options to slow and close future cycles, whilst components with a longer service life benefit more from reducing resources and slowing loops on site. However, applying circular design options does not always result in a better environmental performance. Tipping-points were identified based on the number of use cycles, lifespans and the assessment methods applied.

Climate, buildings’ envelope design and energy patterns: improving energy performance of new buildings in Kuwait

PurposeThe two main contributing factors that control the overall buildings’ energy performance are the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system and the envelope design. Environmental design guidelines that consider these two factors aim to lower energy consumption. However, they are regional and climate-sensitive. This study aims to investigate how three main buildings’ envelope design variables (orientation, compactness and window to wall ratio) impact the overall building’s energy consumption within Kuwait’s regional and climate conditions.Design/methodology/approachThis study simulate the energy consumption of typically shaped buildings by varying their geometry between a square to a rectangular floor plan. This study analyse the associated energy usage and provide early-stage envelope design guidance specific to the country’s conditions, to make informed decisions towards environmentally conscious buildings.FindingsThe analysed envelope variables have the potential to reduce energy consumption by 40%, and the possibility to reduce HVAC system capacity by 30%. In contrast to the general guidance in literature and standards, the simulation results demonstrate that less compact building forms perform on occasions better than the most compact ones.Originality/valueThe objective of this paper is to quantify the energy consumption rates for buildings located within the Arabian Peninsula, an under-studied region with potentially high interest considering three main envelope design variables. The buildings’ yearly energy consumption patterns are unique and suggest different envelope design considerations, compared to other regions with different climate conditions. This emphasises the importance of regional guidelines for the different factors associated with energy and buildings’ environmental performance.

Environmental Design Guidelines for Circular Building Components: The Case of the Circular Building Structure

Transitioning to a circular built environment can reduce the environmental impacts, resource consumption and waste generation emanating from buildings. However, there are many options to design circular building components, and limited knowledge on which options lead to the best environmental performance. Few guidelines exist and they build on conventional environmental performance assessments that focus on single life cycles, whereas the circular economy (CE) focuses on a sequence of multiple use- and life cycles. In this article, environmental design guidelines for circular building components were developed in five steps. First, examples of circular variants of a building structure were synthesized. Second, the environmental performance of these variants was compared with a business-as-usual variant through Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) respectively. Circular parameters of these variants were tested using a scenario-specific approach. Third, from 24 LCAs and MFAs, a scorecard, rules-of-thumb and nine environmental design guidelines for designing circular building components were developed that provide guidance on which circular pathways and variants lead to the best environmental performance. For components with a long functional–technical lifespan, the following are promoted: resource efficiency, longer use through adaptable design, low-impact biomaterials and facilitating multiple cycles after and of use. Fourth, the design guidelines were evaluated by 49 experts from academia, industry and government in seven expert sessions. Further research is needed to validate the generalizability of the design guidelines. However, this research makes an important step in supporting the development of circular building components and, subsequently, the transition to a circular built environment.

Environmental design guidelines for residential NZEBs with liner tray construction

Liner tray, steel gauge, or cassette construction is a lightweight steel frame system (LSF) especially suited for low-rise buildings, which offers celerity and quality. It is a viable option for constructing affordable residential Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) in those areas where ‘craft-based’ house-building industries have proven unsustainable, as occurs in some countries of Southern Europe. From an environmental point of view, the continuous disposition of liner trays allows excellent adaptability to the microclimatic context and the particularities of the local site as well as the thermal homogeneity of the envelope. However, its lightweight can entail large thermal variations and overheating problems, especially in constructions with high thermal resistance. A careful design adapted to each location can help avoid these problems, but accurate energy calculations are not always feasible in detached house design. This paper studies the Proyectopía system's passive strategies, an innovative liner tray system made of extruded aluminum for sustainable, low-cost detached houses in Spain. Environmental design guidelines can be a powerful and suitable tool for addressing various house projects that share the same construction system. Several parameters with a substantial impact on the house energy demand, such as insulation thickness, window glazing type, window-to-wall ratio, solar shading, and thermal inertia, are analyzed in a house prototype. Designers can use these parametric study results to perform environmental assessments from the early stages of the design process.

Avaliação ambiental do sistema construtivo de alvenaria de blocos de solo-cimento considerando diferentes especificações de projeto

Este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar os potenciais impactos ambientais no ciclo de vida de diferentes especificações de projeto do sistema de alvenaria estrutural de blocos de solo-cimento. As alternativas avaliadas foram comparadas com a alvenaria estrutural de blocos cerâmicos e de concreto. Foi utilizada a metodologia de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV). Foram comparados diferentes tipos de processo de produção de blocos de solo-cimento, considerando um processo manual e outro mecanizado. Foram também comparados dois tipos de cimento, CP-II-E-40 e CP-V-ARI e diferentes tipos de revestimento utilizados em uma parede de blocos de solo-cimento. A alternativa de alvenaria com blocos de solo-cimento com processo manual e com cimento CP-II-E-40 foi a mais vantajosa. As alternativas de alvenaria de blocos de solo-cimento apresentaram menores impactos ambientais que a alvenaria estrutural de blocos cerâmicos e de concreto para a maioria dos casos avaliados principalmente quando o revestimento de resina acrílica é considerado, com diferenças de até 77% para a categoria de Potencial de Aquecimento Global. A pesquisa contribui por mostrar, de forma quantitativa, o desempenho ambiental de diferentes alternativas do sistema de alvenaria de blocos de solo-cimento, para o contexto brasileiro. Os resultados apresentados, especialmente as diretrizes ambientais de projeto, podem auxiliar projetistas e construtores desse sistema construtivo

Design guidelines for circular building components based on LCA and MFA: The case of the Circular Kitchen

Introduction. The building sector consumes 40% of resources globally, produces 40% of global waste and 33% of all emissions. The transition towards a Circular Economy (CE) in the built environment is vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as responsible consumption and production. The built environment can gradually be made circular by replacing the current ‘linear’ building components with circular ones during maintenance and renovation. However, there are many possible design alternatives for circular building components; knowledge on which variants perform best – from an environmental perspective – is lacking. Methods. In this article, we develop environmental design guidelines for circular building components. First, we synthesize design variants for an exemplary circular building component: the Circular Kitchen (CIK). Second, we compare the environmental performance of these variants and a ‘business-as-usual’ variant by applying a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Finally, from the results, we derive design guidelines. Results. We synthesized four design variants: (1) a kitchen made from bio-based, biodegradable materials, (2) a kitchen made from re-used materials, (3) a kitchen which optimises lifespans and materials, and (4) a modular kitchen in which components (with varying lifespans) are re-used by the manufacturer. From the LCA and MFA, we derived 7 design guidelines, which include: consider building components as a composite of sub-components, parts and materials with different and multiple use-, and life-cycles; match the materialisation of each part with the expected life cycle (merely substituting for re-used or low-impact materials does not provide the most circular design); facilitate various loops (e.g., repair, re-use, recycling) simultaneously. Conclusions. The presented design guidelines can support industry in developing circular building components and, through implementation of these components, support the creation of a circular built environment. Grant Support. This research received funding from the EIT Climate-KIC and AMS-institute.

The saliency of geographical landmarks for community navigation: A photovoice study with persons living with dementia

This study uses the photovoice method to explore how persons living with mild-to-moderate dementia perceive neighborhood landmarks and identify characteristics that render these landmarks salient for outdoor navigation. Previous research has highlighted the role of well-designed, stable geographical landmarks in improving the navigability of neighborhoods for persons living with dementia. However, the specific attributes that render landmarks salient have not yet been sufficiently explored, resulting in inadequate evidence-based environmental design guidelines for dementia-friendly communities. To address this gap, a photovoice study was conducted with five community-dwelling persons living with dementia and their care partners, as part of a dementia-friendly neighborhood walking program in the city of Seattle, USA. Photovoice facilitated the exploration of saliency of neighborhood landmarks from an emic perspective by (i) empowering persons living with dementia to identify and take photos of salient landmarks during the group walk and (ii) interpret and reflect on attributes that contributed to saliency using the photos as visual aids in a focus group discussion and survey questionnaire. Participants associated the saliency of landmarks with two groups of attributes: (i) visual distinctiveness, which encompassed physical aspects, such as size, shape, color, texture; and (ii) meaningfulness, which included subjective factors of personal and emotional significance that linked the landmarks to participants' pasts, passions, hobbies, and emotions related to having dementia. Findings suggest that outdoor landmarks should be designed for maximum legibility and noticeability, as well as familiarity, recognizability, and memorability. The evidence from this research also points to the likely positive effect of salient neighborhood landmarks on the community navigation of persons living with dementia.

USING PHOTOVOICE TO EXPLORE THE SALIENCY OF NEIGHBORHOOD LANDMARKS FOR PERSONS LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

This study demonstrates the potential of Photovoice, a participatory action research method involving participant-generated photo-elicitation, to explore how persons living with dementia (PLWDs) perceive neighborhood landmarks. Previous research has highlighted the role of well-designed, stable geographical landmarks in improving the navigability of neighborhoods for PLWDs. However, the specific attributes that render landmarks salient have not yet been sufficiently explored, resulting in inadequate evidence-based environmental design guidelines for dementia-friendly communities (DFCs). To address this gap, a Photovoice study was conducted with five community-dwelling PLWDs and their care partners, as part of a dementia-friendly neighborhood walking program in the city of Seattle, USA. Photovoice facilitated the exploration of saliency of neighborhood landmarks from an emic perspective by empowering PLWDs to identify and take photos of salient landmarks during the group walk and interpret and reflect on attributes that contributed to saliency using the photos as visual aids in a focus group discussion and survey questionnaire. PLWDs associated the saliency of landmarks not only with objective physical attributes, e.g., size, shape, color, texture, but also with subjective factors linked to their past, passions, hobbies, and emotions related to having dementia. Findings suggest that the design of outdoor landmarks should satisfy universal design principles, as well as aspects of familiarity, recognizability, and memorability, to ensure that the neighborhood physical environment provides navigational support to PLWDs. The study proposes using Photovoice to facilitate community engagement in the planning and design of DFCs and mobilize people’s lived experience to generate more robust dementia-friendly environmental design guidelines.

Analysis tool for bioclimatic design strategies in hot humid climates

Housing projects design in cities should be based on an understanding of the urban local climate; selection of fit-to-purpose thermal comfort models and implementation corresponding design guidelines and best practices. In this context, we developed an analysis tool for bioclimatic design recommendations for architects in Madagascar. The aim of this tool is to support the decision-making process of architects and urban planners by proposing environmental design guidelines for Antananarivo and Toamasina, the two largest cities on the island. Firstly, we performed a climate zoning of the island based on altitude, solar irradiation and dry bulb temperature. Secondly, we developed a bioclimatic analysis based on temperature and humidity levels. The results show that ASHRAE adaptive comfort model is the best model for both cities because it can tolerate higher humidity limits of up to 80% or more. The natural comfort potential varies from 22 in Antananarivo to 45% in Toamasina. Results can be used to create informative bioclimatic analysis visualisations to better assess climate and determine thermal comfort models for other cities in hot-humid climates. The capabilities of the tool allow architects and urban planners to better understand the climate and propose practical design guidance.

Characteristics of User's Behavior across Generations for space planing in General Hospital

This study is a basic research to suggest user-centered general hospital environmental design guidelines, which aims to analyze users behavior characteristics across generation in general hospital. For this purpose, this study constructed an analysis tool through the literature review with regard to generation and behavior characteristics in general hospital. Besides, an online survey regarding users behavior in general hospital was conducted targeting from 20s to 60s, 300 persons for each group, total 1,500 persons for about 3 weeks since September 1, 2016. The results of this study are as follows: (1) Based on the generation, there were significant differences in relevant categories of their visiting frequency, visiting purpose, visiting hour, transportation, companion, behavior during the wait and selection of a general hospital. (2) In all generation, they responded that they have visited once or twice per year. People in 20s and 30s responded that their visit for the hospital is to receive specific treatment, while other people in 40s, 50s and 60s visit the hospital majorly for routine check-ups. Therefore, it is imperative for a health check-up center to design an environmental plan that reflects the characteristics of elders in 40s, 50s and 60s. (3) People in 40s, 50s and 60s usually visit a general hospital in the mornings of weekdays, while generations in 20s and 30s responded that they mostly visit the hospital in the mornings of weekend. (4) When they visit a general hospital, people in their 20s are usually using public transportations, while people in their 30s to 60s are using their own vehicle. (5) People in their 20s majorly visited ‘lobby’. In older generations, they tend to visit ‘outpatient clinic’. Therefore, it is necessary to build an outpatient clinic environment that considers the elderly. (6) Patients majorly responded that they are using their cell phone, while waiting for their clinic call. In elder generations, they responded that they are more likely watching TVs, reading books/magazines or doing nothing. Therefore, it is essential to provide cell-phone related services and environmental supports. Visually attractive media can be utilized for this purpose.

Environmental design guidelines for digital fabrication

Digital fabrication represents an innovative technology with the potential of expanding the boundaries of architecture. The potential to fabricate elements directly from design information is transforming many design and production disciplines. In particular, 3D printing has become the key of modern product development. As the use of additive manufacturing grows, research into large-scale processes is beginning to reveal potential applications in construction.The combined methods of computational design and robotic fabrication have the well-demonstrated potential to create formal and structural advances in architecture. However, their potential contribution to the improvement of sustainability in construction must be evaluated. In this study, we identified environmental guidelines to be considered during the design of digitally fabricated architecture. The key parameters were extracted from the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three case studies.The environmental assessment performed indicated that the relative sustainability of the projects depended primarily on the building material production. Specifically, the impact of digital fabrication processes was negligible compared to the materials manufacturing process. Furthermore, the study highlighted the opportunities of integrating additional functions in structural elements with digital fabrication to reduce the overall environmental impact of these multi-functional elements. Finally, the analysis proved the potential of digital fabrication to reduce the amount of highly industrialized materials in a project, which are associated with high environmental impacts.

Neonatal Intensive Care Units Design: Implementation Strategies in South Africa

This study explored factors influencing the implementation of environmental design guidelines to facilitate neurodevelopmental supportive care in neonatal intensive care units in a South African public hospital and recommended implementation strategies. A qualitative design, explorative, descriptive and contextual in nature was used, utilizing the Model of Synactive Organization of Behavioral Development as a guiding framework. Data collection was conducted during four focus group interviews with 20 professional nurses working in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Thematic analyses were done using Tesch's eight-step approach. Three themes emerged: current practices regarding the best practice guidelines, reasons for not implementing best practice guidelines and recommendations to implement best practice guidelines. Available best practice guidelines were not implemented due to shortages of staff, poor maintenance plans, financial constraints and lack of resources. These aspects need to be addressed for best practice guidelines to be implemented and sustained to enhance preterm infants' neurodevelopmental outcomes.

The Effect of Passive Design Strategies on Thermal Performance of Female Secondary School Buildings during Warm Season in a Hot and Dry Climate

This paper describes a series of field studies and simulation analysis to improve the thermal performance of school buildings in the city of Tehran in Iran during warm season. The field studies used on-site measurement and questionnaire-based survey in the warm spring season in a typical female secondary school building. The on-site monitoring assessed the indoor air temperature and humidity levels of six classrooms while the occupants completed questionnaires covering their thermal sensations and thermal preferences. Moreover, thermal simulation analysis was also carried out to evaluate and improve the thermal performance of the classrooms based on the students’ thermal requirements and passive design strategies. In this study, the environmental design guidelines for female secondary school buildings were introduced for the hot and dry climate of Tehran, using passive design strategies. The study shows that the application of passive design strategies including south and south-east orientation, 10cm thermal insulation in wall and 5cm in the roof, and the combination of 30cm side fins and overhangs as a solar shading devices, as well as all-day ventilation strategy and the use of thermal mass materials with 25cm-30cm thickness, has considerable impact on indoor air temperatures in warm season in Tehran and keeps the indoor environment in an acceptable thermal condition. The results of the field studies also indicated that most of the occupants found their thermal environment not to be comfortable and the simulation results showed that passive design techniques had a significant influence on the indoor air temperature and can keep it in an acceptable range based on the female students’ thermal requirement. Therefore, in order to enhance the indoor environment and to increase the learning performance of the students, it is necessary to use the appropriate passive design strategies, which also reduce the need for mechanical systems and therefore reduce the energy loads of the building.

Long-term care for people with dementia: environmental design guidelines

A large and growing number of people with dementia are being cared for in long-term care. The empirical literature on the design of environments for people with dementia contains findings that can be helpful in the design of these environments. A schema developed by Marshall in 2001 provides a means of reviewing the literature against a set of recommendations. The aims of this paper are to assess the strength of the evidence for these recommendations and to identify those recommendations that could be used as the basis for guidelines to assist in the design of long term care facilities for people with dementia. The literature was searched for articles published after 1980, evaluating an intervention utilizing the physical environment, focused on the care of people with dementia and incorporating a control group, pre-test-post-test, cross sectional or survey design. A total of 156 articles were identified as relevant and subjected to an evaluation of their methodological strength. Of these, 57 articles were identified as being sufficiently strong to be reviewed. Designers may confidently use unobtrusive safety measures; vary ambience, size and shape of spaces; provide single rooms; maximize visual access; and control levels of stimulation. There is less agreement on the usefulness of signage, homelikeness, provision for engagement in ordinary activities, small size and the provision of outside space. There is sufficient evidence available to come to a consensus on guiding principles for the design of long term environments for people with dementia.

The Impact of Intersection Design on the Driving Performance of Adults in the Recovery Phase of a Turn

Driving, an instrumental activity of daily living, requires safe person-environment interactions. The effectiveness (safety) of four United States Federal Highway Administration intersection design guidelines in the recovery phase of a turn was tested on older and younger adults. Using kinematics measures from an instrumented vehicle, drivers negotiating improved and unimproved intersections were examined in Gainesville, Florida. The findings from a 2 × 2 repeated measures ANOVA (within-subject variable = intersection condition: improved versus unimproved; between-subject variable = age: young versus old) yield support for three manoeuvres: extended receiving lane, right-turn channelisation with acceleration lane and left-turn offset, but not for no acute turn angle. One interaction effect (age x intersection) existed and age effects (favouring older drivers) appeared for three manoeuvres, yet showed little practical significance, suggesting that these design guidelines benefit older and younger drivers alike. This study informs occupational therapists that enhancements in the environment have an impact on safer driving, particularly at urban intersections. A replication of the concept of this study, that is, testing intersection design guidelines in the United Kingdom, may generate valuable information on the plausibility of environmental design guidelines and their effects on the driving performance of older and younger adults.