Design Of Built Environment Research Articles

Factors affecting environmental sustainability of urban renewal projects

ABSTRACTUrban renewal programmes offer an opportunity to improve the environmental sustainability of urban areas by creating well-designed and well-constructed built environments. In this study, the contributions of built environment design elements to environmental sustainability were evaluated through a questionnaire survey with the participation of 323 people who previously worked in urban renewal projects. Implementing factor analysis, interrelated elements have been gathered under five factors: ‘transportation and accessibility’, ‘conservation of natural resources’, ‘built environment quality’, ‘supporting social life’ and ‘high-density usage’. To identify the importance weights of these factors, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was carried out with 40 academics and practitioners. Based on the results, ‘conservation of natural resources’ was found as the most important factor affecting the environmental sustainability of urban renewal projects. It is expected that the results of this study shall guide a wide range of urban renewal stakeholders, extending from designers to citizens, along the path of creating environmentally sustainable cities.

Human health: is it who you are or where you live?

Human health: is it who you are or where you live?

Case study: Open plan “closed” offices or closed plan “open” offices

In today’s built environment designers likes to blur the lines between categories and closed and open offices are no exception. Spaces are being built with high walls and doors but no ceilings. The occupants often call these “private” offices but how “private” are they? Are they open spaces or closed spaces, what are the expectations and how should we handle these spaces? Past experiences in these hybrid spaces have led me to question our measurement techniques. This case study will explore back to back measurements using the closed office method of ASTM E 336 vs the open plan method of ASTM E 1130 each calculated for Privacy Index (PI) in the same space and conditions.

Economic-Environmental Indicators to Support Investment Decisions: A Focus on the Buildings’ End-of-Life Stage

The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for supporting decision making in design activities; in case of new projects or retrofitting of existing buildings. A multidisciplinary approach is adopted; involving Real Estate Appraisal and Economic Evaluation of Project and Building Environmental Design. It is proposed a methodology for selecting the preferable solutions among technological options; considering both economic and environmental aspects; in terms of global performance. Assuming the principles of Life Cycle Thinking and Circular Economy focus is posed at the end-of-life stage. Attention is paid on disposal costs and residual value as relevant items enable to orient investment decisions. This is done through an approach for quantifying environmental indicators related to Life Cycle Assessment (Standard ISO 14040:2006); and economic indicators adopting the Life Cycle Costing (Standard ISO 15686:2008). The paper proposes a conjoint “economic-environmental indicator”. An application of Global Cost calculation is illustrated; including monetized environmental impacts (Embodied energy and Embodied carbon); disposal/dismantling costs and residual value. The result of the Global Cost calculation is expressed through a “synthetic economic-environmental indicator” in order to select; between two different technologies; the most viable solution for a multifunctional building glass façade project; in Northern Italy. The study demonstrates that the initial investment decisions depend on the design solutions; since the early stages; related to the whole building life cycle considering conjointly the construction-management phases and the end-of-life stage.

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE 1 : 2017

Sustainable Well-Being is broadly defined as the exploration of lasting happiness. It highlights the importance of a sustainable lifestyle that is environmentally friendly and socially advantageous. It requires us to pursue well-being in a much more holistic way and within the planetary boundaries.Towards the end of the last millennium, the word ‘sustainability’ was, and still is, the most used phrase with regards to all aspects of our livelihood, and even more so in the built environment field. This was when we understood that progress and environmental conservation are symbiotic – one is supposedly benefiting the other. Wellbeing, on the other hand, carries the notion of happiness, healthy and comfortable. Wellbeing has long been a much researched areas, although mainly in the sociological and psychological domains. Of late, it has increasingly becoming an important agenda in the built environment field as well.Acknowledging the importance of built environment in the pursuit of long lasting happiness, this issue of the Planning Malaysia Journal carries the theme of ‘Sustainable Well-Being in Architecture and Environmental Sciences’. This issue focuses on the design and building of living place which are harmonious and in sync with the environment needs and conservation.The contributions to the study of environmental sciences have come from diverse fields including architecture, town planning, transportation, engineering, legal matters, community development and psychology, and housing. Despite the diversity, each of the fields cannot be viewed as separate entities since they interweave in the broad framework of sustainable well-being. A broader yet explicit understanding of sustainable well-being from diverse research contexts would lead to better decisions, especially in the built environment designs and solutions.Finally, we believe that this issue of Planning Malaysia, can become the platform for experts and researchers to discuss on how sustainable well-being in the built environment can be realized. It is also hoped that the articles in this issue would be useful references for future studies related to the built environment and sustainable well-being.

Exploring planners’ and public health practitioners’ views on addressing obesity: lessons from local government in England

Obesity is a complex health and social issue globally. The 2013 restructuring of Public Health in England resulted in a move from within the National Health Service to local government. The aim of this research was to understand the views of individuals working in public health and those working in spatial planning within local government on their respective responsibilities for addressing obesity through spatial planning. Spatial planning measures include planning policy, development control and built environment design at different scales. Findings identified a range of barriers for planners to be engaging with outcomes that can help reduce obesity. These include having an insufficient understanding of the causes of obesity and the importance of addressing obesity through multiagency approaches. They also include what was seen as a fragmentation in the health system and conflicting priorities. Our findings indicate that planners could be better engaged in the obesity agenda through formal incentives and also soft approaches. Formal approaches include written responsibilities within planners’ job descriptions or regulations. Soft approaches include and aligning spatial and health priorities and providing planners with public health leadership roles.

Biophilic Design Applications: Putting Theory and Patterns into Built Environment Practice

<p>In 1984 E.O. Wilson (1984) introduced and popularized the <em>Biophilia</em> hypothesis defining <em>biophilia</em> as "the urge to affiliate with other forms of life" (Kellert & Wilson 1995: 416).<sup> </sup>Wilson’s <em>biophilia</em> hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctivebond between human beings and other living systems. More recently, in the USA, Browning <em>et al</em> (2014) have proposed ‘14 Patterns of Biophilic Design’ within a framework for linking the human biological sciences and nature to built environment design offering a series of tools for enriching design opportunities, and avenues for design applications as a way to effectively enhance the health and well-being of individuals and society. While <em>biophilia</em> is the theory, <em>biophilic design</em> as advocated by Kellert <em>et al</em> (2008) and Beatley (2010) internationally offers a sustainable design strategy that seeks to reconnect people with the ‘natural environment’. Overall, from what little research has been undertaken internationally in the last 10 years, there is a solid understanding as to the applied application of this theory, its principles and processes to built environment design and no research about to how to retrofit the existing urban fabric using this approach. This paper reviews the application of <em>biophilic design</em> in Australia, including the scope of design, health and wellbeing literature, the ‘14 Patterns of Biophilic Design’ and performative measures now unfolding, brings forward a new <em>Biophilic Design</em> Pattern, and considers the value the approach offers to built environment practice as well as to human and non-human occupants.</p>

Respiratory outcomes of ultrafine particulate matter (UFPM) as a surrogate measure of near-roadway exposures among bicyclists

BackgroundStudies have shown a consistent association between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and adverse health effects. In particular, exposure can be high for cyclists who travel near roadways. The objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between short-term exposure of near-road traffic emissions and acute changes in lung function among individuals who frequently bike in the Sacramento and Davis areas in California. Ultrafine particulate matter (UFPM) was used as a surrogate for near-roadway exposure in this study since the main source of this pollutant is from motor vehicle exhaust.MethodsThirty-two bicyclists were recruited and completed two rides on separate days during the study period of March-June, 2008. One ride was on a high traffic route paralleling a section of Interstate 80 (I-80)/Interstate Business 80 (I-80B), and a second one was on a low traffic route, such as bike paths away from major highways. The participant’s lung function was measured before and after each ride, and UFPM exposure was measured during the rides using a condensation particle counter (CPC).ResultsIn the final linear mixed-effect model using median UFPM concentrations as the main exposure, we observed that lung function change (post–ride minus baseline measurements) shifted in the negative direction. Lung function changed by 216 mL for FVC and 168 mL for FEV1, respectively, for an interquartile range (IQR: 12,225 to 36,833 number of particles/cm3) increase of UFPM concentration after adjusting for other covariates of age, sex, wind direction, and day of the week.ConclusionsThis study found significant associations between increased levels of UFPM concentrations as a proxy for near road traffic pollution, and decrements in lung function measurements. Our results are related to short-term exposures, and the long-term health effects of cycling near heavy traffic require further research. Our study suggests the need to reduce traffic pollution, particularly near roads. Cyclists should plan their route to reduce their exposure where possible and further research on built environment designs may help urban planners to reduce the potential health concerns of cyclists’ exposure to traffic-related air pollution.

The integrated design of building services by an equipped and eco-efficient module (MOTE2)

<p>The targets set out by European Directives concerning the energy savings in the construction sector refer both to building envelope and to its services. With regard to building services it is mandatory meeting requirements related to heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation.</p><p>Building services take up a variable space in the buildings that cannot be considered anymore negligible and they would always be fully integrated into buildings.</p><p>Equipped and Eco-efficient Technological Module (MOTE2) is a research project aimed at implementing the integration in a unique services cupboard of some building services: heating and cooling; domestic hot water; mechanical ventilation.</p><p>The project was organized according to four main phases. In phase 1 a set of rules was defined matching requirements related to the energy efficiency to environmental building design standards. During the phase 2 six building models were studied in order to size the corresponding building services according to scenario analysis set down for existing buildings. In phase 3 the project was focused on designing the assembly among services.</p><p>The cupboard design is like a Tetris® game through the planning of the best combination among services shape. Based on the drawings developed a first mock-up was built up and monitored. Finally, in phase 4 the paper deals with the MOTE2’s expected performances.</p><p>Outlook and some conclusions point out the future steps of the research activities.</p>

The etymology of a colourful design language: How do we determine what informs architect’s colour choices?

Abstract The development of materials and visualization technology is transforming the colour palettes of cities. As architects have significant roles in determining the appearance of buildings that contribute to city colourscapes, it might be expected that they have considerable colour knowledge. However, there is largely an absence of colour training in built environment education outside of interior design, meaning architects are likely making colour choices based on practical rather than theoretical knowledge. This prompts the question: what informs the architect’s colour choices? While colour has been studied in a broad range of disciplines, few studies have focussed on the built environment and even fewer on how and why built environment designers choose colours. This article explains the origins and development of a framework for understanding factors that influence architects’ uses of colour. The framework has informed a national survey in Australia to determine how personal and educational experiences have affected the use of colour.

Healthcare designers’ use of prescriptive and performance-based approaches

ABSTRACTIn the UK, healthcare built environment design is guided by a series of long-established design standards and guidance issued by the Department of Health. More recently, healthcare design focus has broadened to encompass new approaches, supported by large bodies of credible research evidence. It is therefore timely to rethink how healthcare design standards and guidance should be best expressed to suit ‘designerly ways’ of using evidence, to improve their use and effectiveness in practice. This research explored how designers use performance and prescriptive approaches during the healthcare design process. Three in-depth healthcare built environment case studies were used to explore how designers employed such approaches during the design of selected exemplar design elements. Results show that design elements in the pre and conceptual design phases significantly employed performance-based approaches, and due to project-unique circumstances, prescriptive solutions were often significantly modified based on performance criteria. For design elements in the detailed and technical design phases, there was a significant use of solutions based on prescriptive approaches, whilst performance-based criteria were used to evaluate design solutions. This research proposes a performance-based, specification-driven healthcare design with supplementary prescriptive specifications provided for optimum healthcare environment design.

Investigating the age of air in rural Indian kitchens for sustainable built-environment design

The “freshness” of indoor air quality is a determinant of health. In India, solid fuel burning for cooking in rural kitchens causes a considerable amount of household air pollution (HAP) leading to an adverse effect on health. The health effects of HAP are aggravated when polluted air takes a long time to be flushed out of the cooking area, which is directly related to the indoor ventilation rate. This study attempts to determine building parameters of rural kitchens in India, through a field survey instrument, that enable a reduction in the age of air without the introduction of any external driver such as improved cookstoves, or chimneys. The indoor airflow pattern and the age of air were determined through field survey and steady state RANS simulations of actual naturally ventilated rural kitchens. The generated local mean age of air profile of these kitchens were correlated with the built parameters like opening to wall ratio (OWR), aspect ratio, volume and slenderness ratio, to determine the critical dependencies of these parameters to the freshness of indoor air quality. This study showed that age of air reduced with higher OWR and height of the kitchens while it increased with larger aspect ratio or depth of the kitchens and volume. Based on the results this study identifies the critical building parameters that can enable sustainable design strategies without the introduction of clean fuel or improved cookstoves which may be unaffordable, culturally unacceptable, or inaccessible. The intention is to contribute in rational design decision making for creating sustainable rural habitat.

Solar cooling system using concentrating collectors for office buildings: A case study for Greece

On a European level there is intense research activity to broaden the applications of solar thermal systems beyond their established domains (hot water, space heating support) and to foster their participation in the energy maps of the EU-Member States. Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) systems are expected to play a key role in this effort, especially for achieving the medium and high temperatures needed, for electricity generation, for industrial applications but also for hybridized solar heating/cooling and desalination applications.This paper presents a proposal for implementation of a CST system in the building sector, based on a research carried out in the Laboratory of Environmental and Energy Efficient Design of Buildings and Settlements at the University of Thrace. Specifically, an integrated solar cooling system using parabolic trough solar collectors and double-effect chiller is discussed, used to cover the cooling needs of typical office building in Greece.As it was shown, the use of concentrating solar collectors leads to significantly higher output temperatures that can enable the use of two stage absorption chillers with a higher COP. Alternatively, when low or medium temperature heat is required, the use of CST systems takes less space to cope with it than traditional flat plate collectors. The combination of these parameters can contribute to removing key barriers associated with the broader diffusion of solar cooling technology, enhancing the potential to become more competitive to the conventional air conditioning technologies.

Standardization of green building technologies for environment design

The article describes the structure and field of standardization ISO / TC 205 “Building environment design”, provides examples of green building technologies. The main purpose of the article is to show the interaction between international ISO / TC 205 “Building environment design” and created in Russia in 2016 the Technical Committee of Standardization № 366 “Green technology of the build environment and green innovative products”. Both of these technical committees promote green building technologies for environment design, thereby deal with the negative impact on the environment and the reasons of global warming. Instead of buildings that attempt to suppress and overcome nature, why not design buildings that integrate with the environment, on every possible level? The international standardization work which ISO/TC 205 “Building environment design” performs seeks, in addition to lowering trade barriers for engineering design, to promote and facilitate the design of high performance buildings: higher performing as economic assets for their owners, higher performing as buildings that provide amenable indoor environment for their occupants, and higher performing with respect to resource utilization and environmental impact.

Materiality and Architecture: Potential Strategy for Achieving Sustainable Design

This study proposes that the impact of the built environment on the natural environment can be mediated by adopting a sustainable approach to building material selection and specification, particularly when articulated at the design stage of the building process. The aim is to identify the main drivers and barriers to sustainable material specification by built environment design professionals. This study carried out for Cyprus where attempts have been made to uncover the attitudes of Cypriot built environment design professionals towards the natural environment, identify the process employed in specifying building materials, and the extent to which they draw inspirations from the natural environment.

The Factors Affecting Collaborative Building Design

Collaboration is an important requisite in the multi-participant building design environment. The performance of a building as an end product is enabled via the collaborative efforts of project participants. The main objective of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the collaboration among the participants in the building design process. The related data is collected from the growing literature on collaborative design. Recent technological developments that serve a higher level of collaboration and the construction industry's efforts to improve building performance are also considered. A conceptual model is proposed to address the collaborative relationship between the participants of the building design process. The challenge is to enable collaboration by integrating the work performed by participants with diverse backgrounds, varying levels of expertise, and different perspectives. The implication of this research is that a good understanding of the factors that enhance collaboration between the parties involved in design not only enhances building performance, but also improves the competitiveness of building design firms.

Prospects for nature in proposals for urban growth

Purpose – Proposals for changing city-nature relationships are currently dominated by geographical approaches about urban form. They arguably lack a sufficient appreciation of design issues and opportunities. The knowledge and skill sets of urban designers and architects could improve the level of debate. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This discussion evaluates two opposing radical proposals for urban growth. These and most other proposals for future human settlements can be located on a densification-dispersal axis. They are reviewed in terms of their ability to address the fundamental social and ecological prerequisites of sustainability. Findings – Neither model of urban form is sustainable without a new kind of built environment design that can address rapidly depleting ecological carrying capacity and social equity. Current models of urban growth in green urbanism and design fields would not adequately protect or increase the remaining natural life support system, which should be the foundation for any sustainability plan. These problems need to be resolved by design which can entertain a much broader range of sustainability criteria than formulas. Research limitations/implications – Given the broad subject area, there is a diversity of opinion and issues that cannot be adequately represented in a short paper. Therefore, the spotlight is placed on the far ends of this (dispersal-densification) dualism. Originality/value – This densification-dispersal axis can be transcended by moving from current approaches that close off future options to ones that can expand future options by increasing the public estate and ecological base: the basic prerequisites of sustainability. This is arguably possible, but only with a new design paradigm.

Immersive Experiences of Building Physics Analysis to Improve Human Connection to Technical Data

Almost all applications of Building Physics are underscored by a desire to optimise amenity for the people that experience our designs. Despite this, the communication of Building Physics analysis is often conducted using scientific presentation methods. These media are inherently detached from the perspective of end users, leading to a disconnect between the technical analysis and the key driver. The virtualisation technologies adopted in this work are used to generate immersive environments that provide improved contextualisation of built environment design. Designers and stakeholders are able to experience Building Physics analysis from the perspective of end users, connecting the technical analysis to its key driver, occupant amenity.

Ambiente construído, saúde pública e políticas públicas: uma discussão à luz de perceções e experiências de idosos institucionalizados

O impacto do ambiente construído na saúde das populações há muito que é reconhecido. Com efeito, esta ligação remonta ao século XIX. Dado o aumento da esperança de vida, as políticas públicas começaram, mais recentemente, a dar particular atenção à maximização da saúde e das capacidades funcionais das pessoas idosas. A ideia consiste em considerar a população idosa não como um problema, mas, antes, como um desafio e como o resultado de um substancial desenvolvimento social, económico e territorial. Como tal, iniciativas do tipo cidades/comunidades amigas dos idosos ganharam protagonismo, reconhecendo-se por esta via o impacto que o desenho, os serviços e as amenidades produzem na saúde e no bem-estar das pessoas. Essas iniciativas, porém, tendem a negligenciar o importante papel que as instituições de apoio à terceira idade detêm na sociedade. É objetivo deste artigo perceber o impacto que o ambiente construído envolvente a essas instituições produz no comportamento dos seus utentes. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 88 pessoas idosas, com idade média de 75 anos, de 11 instituições localizadas no Distrito de Aveiro, Portugal, representando diferentes padrões geográficos. Foram, igualmente, entrevistadas algumas das pessoas que aí exercem a sua atividade profissional. Embora globalmente os utentes sintam-se satisfeitos com a localização da instituição, foram referidas inúmeras barreiras associadas ao desenho urbano. Os resultados alcançados permitem realçar a importância de se realizar estudos dessa natureza e, consequentemente, reforçar, ao nível das políticas públicas, a ligação da saúde pública com o ordenamento do território.

“Sustainability” Education by Sustainable School Design

In recent years, sustainability concept has become the common interest of numerous disciplines. The reason for this popularity is, to perform the sustainable development of societies. Easiness of forming a relationship with the word “sustainability” is because of its social, economic and environmental aspects. The term provides different perspectives to different areas. Today, in educational sciences, “environmental sustainability” is one of the main subjects that lesson programs include several studies about. In education system in Turkey, to teach “sustainability” concept, teachers uses traditional education methods mostly. To tell “what sustainability is” only by words is not enough for using the knowledge in the practice. Besides this, students learn much more by seeing real examples rather than hearing about it. In this context, this study aims to nominate “school buildings” as valuable learning environments for students. In other words, school buildings can be seen as 3D text books written by architects. Architecture discipline deals with environmental sustainability and defines various sustainability criteria. Environmental sustainability is related with built environment design and designing with the natural environment. In this study, sustainable school buildings had been analysed related with their design criteria and as a result an evaluation made about using architecture and its products as a concrete material for sustainability education.