Existing School Buildings Research Articles

Event-based assessment of seismic resilience in Mexican school buildings

This paper presents a methodology to quantify a proposed parameter defined as expected annual seismic resilience, which takes into account all possible events that affect a site of interest by following the next steps: (1) definition of seismic hazard, (2) definition of the exposure database, (3) computation of structural and human vulnerability, (4) estimation of seismic risk, (5) definition of rehabilitation strategies and (6) estimation of repairing times and required resources in the proposed rehabilitation process. In this study, consequential physical losses and indirect cost are not considered in the resilience computation. The methodology is applied to a case study of existing school buildings, located in Mexico City given its important seismic activity. The results are presented in annual resilience maps that will allow to graphically observe the distribution of resilient structures and use this information to take better decisions in disaster prevention and response. From this research it was found that a large percentage of the studied school buildings do not achieve an acceptable annual resilience value according to the rating proposed, which is important, since the seismic design codes do not explicitly consider resilience concepts. However, with the information of expected annual seismic resilience values in Mexico City, obtained in this research, it is possible to identify those buildings that require immediate attention associated to the lower resilience values so that they may be taken into consideration in the decision-making process of disaster prevention and response.

Contemporary Environmental Performance Rating Systems for Educational Buildings (Case Study: Colongeel primary school in Mansoura)

The school building is one of the most important elements of the educational process. It is an important factor in its success and increase the level of scientific performance of the students, whenever the school building is suitable and equipped with all the means of comfort, the positive effect will be on the whole educational process. and in the same context, there are several determinants of help to improve the environmental performance of the building and check adapted to the building with the surrounding environment without damaging the building or the environment with the convenience of individuals, which result in knowledge of the requirements the design and trying each side is interested in developing an ongoing basis. So it will deal to find the performance of global rating systems for sustainable educational buildings and also deal with the rating system of Egypt as the local system and clarifying each system and achievement credit of the system of those parameters and comparing these determinants in order to access to the determinants of improving the performance of the school in the context of specific and comprehensive, and then try to gain access to the methodology in the context of the most important credits affecting the performance of the building which can be applied to the existing school building to increase the sustainability of the school. The research will also include an applied example of an existing school building with proposed modifications and a determination of the sustainability ratio that is accessible to the school

Conversation-Based School Building Inspection Support System

A conversation-based system is proposed for supporting assessors in performing existing school building inspections. School building safety is a pressing issue; however, some difficulties in the overall process require solutions or improvements, including the complexity of building inspection tasks, the restrictions posed by the paperwork process, and the ineffectiveness of the management of existing school building inspections. In this study, we developed a conversation-based building inspection support system to reduce such problems, with the proposed system notifying and guiding assessors to complete building inspections, combined with a dashboard for managers to consume reports to determine whether further assessments or retrofits are required. The process of school building inspections was digitalized, with a chatbot implemented that features notifications either according to a routine inspection schedule or postseismic events, a conversation-based interface for guiding nonprofessional assessors, the integration of intuitive activation of inspections after receiving notifications, the use of multimedia to show damage directly without the possibility of mistakes, and data visualization for supporting managerial decision-making to enhance the quality and accuracy of budget allocation.

Building Condition Assessment (BCA) on school building in Sabah, Malaysia

The standard guideline for Building Condition Assessment (BCA) [7] has been introduced by Public Work Department of Malaysia to manage the government’s building in Malaysia especially in Peninsular Malaysia. Whereby, BCA has never been implemented in Public Work Department of Sabah. Since there is so many buildings need to be maintained especially existing school building, it is the right time to introduce a systematic assessment method for managing the maintenance work. Visual inspections for the selected building have been done with reference to Standard guideline for Building Condition Assessment (BCA) [7] by Public Work Department of Malaysia. Building Condition Assessment online system (BCA-OS) by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Forensic Centre was used to analyse the existing physical condition of the building in order to determine the rating of the buildings. By using this system, the building wil1 be rated 1 (good) to 5 (critical). Material testing will be conducted to building with rating 3, 4 and 5. This paper will discussed the results obtained from Building Condition Assessment online system (BCA-OS) and test result on 2 blocks of a school in Sabah. In this study it is found that Building Condition Assessment online system are convenient to use and useful to rate the actual physical condition of the existing building. The rating from BCA-OS was found to be really representing the actual condition observed from visual inspection.

Historical School Buildings. A Multi-Criteria Approach for Urban Sustainable Projects

It is recognized, in Europe and elsewhere, that there is a need to implement sustainable urban intervention policies based also on the recovery of existing public real estate assets. In Italy, the schools are a significant part of public property. At this time (2019), many buildings destined for teaching need to be redeveloped, both from a structural and plant engineering point of view, and with regard to the management of the spaces available for teaching and social activities. Although, there have been many attempts by the legislator to regulate the modus operandi in the school construction field, it is clear that there is a lack of a unique regulatory system in which the technical and functional-managerial aspects relating to the same school are considered together. On this basis, with this study a multi-criteria evaluation protocol to support intervention planning for the redevelopment of existing school buildings is proposed. The study defines an evaluation framework with which we can establish the design priorities to be carried out in accordance with the building features and community needs. The evaluation framework is tested on a renewal project regarding a school building located in the historic center of Rome (Italy).

Energy Retrofitting of School Buildings in UAE

The opportunities for energy savings by retrofitting of the existing school buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are significant because of their excessive energy consumption and space cooling demand. In this research, energy modeling and simulation are utilized with the use of Design Builder software to examine the influence of various retrofitting measures of air-conditioning (A/C) system and building envelope components on the energy use. Several combined measures are implemented and assessed to achieve the main goal of this research of selecting the best course of action to reduce cooling energy consumption for existing school buildings in the UAE. The results show that the intensity of the reduction in cooling energy requirement varies from one retrofitting set of measures to another. The used electricity can be reduced by 29% to provide the required cooling demand by replacing the existing air conditioning equipment with more energy-efficient and properly sized system. A reduction of 21.5% in the annual electricity consumption to provide the required cooling demand can be obtained by adding insulation to the building roof and exterior walls. Besides, a reduction in electricity consumption of 57% can be potentially achieved to provide the required cooling load by improving the thermal resistance of the existing school walls, roof, and windows combined with high-efficiency air conditioning (A/C) system.

Assessing seismic risk in typical Italian school buildings: From in-situ survey to loss estimation

The seismic assessment of existing school buildings is of paramount importance to protect the lives of occupants and manage post-earthquake response and recovery. The collapse of a primary school during the 2002 Molise earthquake in Southern Italy increased the awareness of the need to better understand the potential vulnerability of the existing Italian school building stock. To this end, a recent research project entitled “Progetto Scuole”, whose main objective was to assess the seismic risk of a number of representative school buildings, was carried out at the Eucentre Foundation, in collaboration with the University School for Advanced Studies IUSS, in Pavia, Italy. The results of this project and of the subsequent research conducted by the authors are discussed in this paper, starting with the compilation of a school building database, focusing on the structural typology, the geometrical configuration and the time of construction. Three schools, representative of the Italian school building stock, were then analysed in detail through advanced numerical models developed using information collected during in-situ inspections and calibrated with the results of ambient vibration measurements. Two site locations were chosen to perform probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and select hazard-consistent ground motion record sets adopting the seismicity model used for the calculation of the Italian national seismic hazard map currently in place. Expected annual loss was used as a performance parameter to quantify the seismic vulnerability of the school buildings. Furthermore, the results of the detailed loss estimation were compared with the outcome of the seismic risk classification guidelines, recently introduced in Italy, applied to these same buildings. Finally, this paper presents a preliminary extension of the results to estimate the seismic risk of school buildings of the same typologies if located throughout the Italian territory.

Influence of FE Modelling Approaches on Vulnerabilities of RC School Buildings and Proposal of a CFRP Retrofitting Intervention

Background: The vulnerability assessment of existing school buildings against earthquakes represents a priority concern for society. In recent years, several countries promote seismic rehabilitation projects of school buildings, including the allocation of funds to regions with high seismic hazard. Objective: This research aims to highlight some key role aspects related to difficulties encountered in the numerical modelling of RC structures hosting school activities. This work evaluates the seismic vulnerability of school buildings located in the municipality of Trecastelli (Marche, Central Italy) to quantify the effective influence of typical and specific seismic vulnerabilities detected on the global seismic behaviour of each building. The effectiveness of a possible Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) local strengthening intervention, for the case study, aimed to confine unconfined beam-column joints is also considered. Methods: Three different numerical models of a Reinforced Concrete (RC) school building are implemented with the lumped plasticity, the distributed plasticity (fibre) and the 3D Continuum Finite Element (FE) approaches. Nonlinear static (pushover) analyses are performed to assess the global seismic behaviour of the structure, and the limitations to represent the reality with different approaches. After the seismic vulnerability assessment of the case study, a CFRP retrofitting intervention is proposed to confine external beam-column joints. Results: The comparison of the numerical results of three models shows that the fibre model is the least suitable means to represent shear problems, while the lumped plasticity model is closer to reality than the previous one even if it does not take into account the concomitance of bending, shear and axial force and the interaction between them in the inelastic response. Of course, the 3D Continuum model is the most accurate representation to describe the complex and combined mechanisms developed in the joint panels. Nonlinear static (pushover) analyses carried out on unreinforced and reinforced structures of Continuum model demonstrate that the Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) strengthening improves the displacement capacity of the structure. Conclusion: This study has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of different modelling types. The meaningful information about mechanisms developed in joints given by the 3D Continuum FE model is useful to identify shortcomings of the design project and to conceive a retrofitting strengthening intervention. CFRP sheets externally bonded on beam-column joints may improve the seismic frame performances without a significant change of the structural stiffness, promoting a ductile failure mode with a higher displacement capacity than the unreinforced case.

Avoiding overheating in existing school buildings through optimized passive measures

ABSTRACTThe retrofitting strategies in European school buildings are usually focused on reducing the heating demand since it represents the major energy consumption. Nevertheless, the rise in outdoor temperatures shows that the risk of overheating during the summer is increasing. When planning such processes, decision-makers need to take into account the different building typologies, the effect of the potential measures in the future conditions and their costs. This study integrates these factors and provides specific guidance on the most appropriate measures to improve indoor thermal comfort in classrooms in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany. The simulations suggested that current overheating of the studied buildings represents up to 27% of the occupied time. The heavyweight buildings could prevent overheating by means of good ventilation, while lightweight buildings require more sun protection. With the appropriate natural ventilation strategy and with the help of ceiling fans, overheating can be avoided in most of the building types in the near future. In the case of lightweight buildings, overheating can be reduced to less than 10% of discomfort during occupied time; however, it would be required to significantly reduce the solar gains through technologies such as electrochromic glazing or a combination of other passive measures.

Assessing low energy school buildings using the new Building Bulletin 101

This paper reports an assessment of a school building design using the newly published Building Bulletin 101 2018. The requirements on thermal comfort and CO2 based indoor air quality from this new guidance document are very different from its earlier version published in 2006. Existing research reported that the new requirements are much tougher to meet compared with the previous version. The aim of this research is to examine whether design alternatives on an existing school building with 10 learning and teaching spaces can help in passing the new requirements using dynamic thermal simulation tool - IESVE. It is found that promoting ventilation, shading and night purging can all help mitigating overheating in the ten learning and teaching spaces evaluated. With the ‘as built’ condition, these learning and teaching spaces failed all three overheating criteria from the new BB101. Promoting ventilation can help some of the spaces pass the overheating occurrence criterion but not the overheating severity criteria. With added shading to block excessive solar gains, half of the evaluated spaces were able to pass the thermal comfort requirement. Boosting the night purging also helps to some extent in bridging the gap against the target requirements on overheating severity, however, there are still spaces which will not pass the comfort requirement. This may indicate that natural ventilation itself may not be able to provide thermal comfort for the given design. CO2 based indoor air quality requirements are less of an issue as higher CO2 concentrations always happen when the outdoor air temperature is low, boosting ventilation using automatic or manual control can easily resolve this. The research also highlights that one of the overheating criteria is much more difficult to meet, the appropriateness of this criterion is therefore in question. As the new BB101 was only launched very recently, it will be subject to further tests and evaluations in order to examine whether it fits for purpose.

Mevcut Okul Türü Binaların Deprem Güvenliğinin Pratik Bir Şeklide Belirlenmesi için Bir Yaklaşım: ATI

Bu çalışma kapsamında, mevcut okul türü binaların deprem güvenliğinin pratik şekilde belirlenmesi için bir yaklaşım önerilmiştir. Bu amaçla 4,6 ve 8 derslikli olmak üzere üç tip model bina kalıp planı seçilmiştir. Seçilen 3 tip kalıp planının her birinin her iki yönüne simetrik 4 adet betonarme perde yerleştirilerek perdeli çerçeveli sistemler oluşturulmuştur. Seçilen 3 tip kalıp planının her biri 2, 3, 4 ve 5 katlı olarak modellenmiş, böylece toplamda 12 adet tip okul binası oluşturulmuştur. Seçilen 12 adet model binanın her biri aşılma olasılığına göre hedeflenen minimum hedef performans seviyelerini sağlayana kadar betonarme perdeler her iki yönde 5’er cm artırılarak DBYBHY [1]’de öngörülen performans seviyesini sağlayan en küçük perde duvar boyutları her iki doğrultu için elde edilmiştir. Model bina çözümleri kullanılarak önerilen pratik yaklaşımın sınır değerleri elde edilmiştir. Önerilen yaklaşımın sınır değerlerin tutarlılığının tespiti için Isparta bölgesinde bulunan 70 adet çerçeveli ve perdeli çerçeveli okul binası temin edilmiş bu binaların doğrusal elastik olmayan değerlendirme yöntemi ile ayrıntılı çözümü yapılmıştır. Önerilen yaklaşım ile elde edilen sonuçlar, DBYBYH [1] esasları ile uyumlu olarak ayrıntılı yapılan çözüm sonuçları ile kıyaslanmıştır.

Refurbishment of UK school buildings: Challenges of improving energy performance using BIM

UK Schools are part of the existing buildings whose operational carbon must be reduced to meet the government target of reducing carbon emissions to 80% by 2050. State funding for refurbishment is the most feasible option using two routes: Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) which is restricted to improving the physical aspects of school facilities; and Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) aimed at energy/equipment retrofit measures. Although the use of BIM technology (underpinned by the government soft-landing (GSL) framework) together with the use of energy modelling/simulation tools have become integral to making buildings more energy efficient, they are constrained by lack of adoption. This study used primary and secondary data to investigate the effectiveness of contemporary BIM and energy simulation technologies in refurbishment of existing school buildings. Secondary data collected from 10 case studies of schools that benefitted from SEEF was supported by primary data from survey questionnaire of 126 professionals involved in refurbishment. Results showed that: (a) CIF and SEEF ought to operate in synergy due to the interaction of a building’s physical envelope with heat transfer and energy used by equipment and systems; (b) refurbishment professionals are not fully adopting BIM which in turn affects managing the buildings in their operational phase; and (c) some schools are not getting technical advice on how to optimise the funds they receive from SEEF leading to non-optimal investment. Recommendations provided include: extensive training on BIM and GSL to heads of schools; upskilling of professionals on using building pathology techniques that are compatible with BIM together with COBie and NBS Toolkit; advise government agencies to reconcile the purpose of CIF and SEEF for carbon reduction solution in schools.

변풍량 공조시스템의 환기량 제어 및 이코노마이저 운전에 따른 학교건물의 환기 기준 별 에너지 소비량 분석

The objective of this study was to analyze the energy consumption of domestic and foreign ventilation standards as applied to the operation methods of variable air volume system in existing school building. The methods of operation for variable air volume system include; demand-controlled ventilation system (DCV) and the economizer system. It was revealed that domestic standard used more cooling energy compared to ASHRAE standard in DCV. This is because domestic standard introduces more return air which is warmer than outdoor air enthalpy in semester. It was also revealed that the cooling energy consumption in economizer similar in both standards. This is because when the outdoor air condition at the set point of supply and room air are constant in the two standards, the outdoor air introduction rate is similar. Therefore, the domestic ventilation standard is expected to have an improved energy consumption and indoor air quality.

Rekonstrukcija i ekstenzija - OŠ "Svetozar Marković", Beograd

The paper shows the reconstruction and extension of the existing building of the "Svetozar Marković" Elementary School in Belgrade, designed by the "a2arhitektura" team of authors Dijana Adžemović-Anđelković and Vladimir Anđelković with their collaborators . The project began in 2007 with the reconstruction and adaptation of the school boiler room into a multi-purpose hall, for which the team of authors won the award in the category Interior at the 32nd Salon of Architecture in Belgrade in 2010, after which the reconstruction and extension of the existing school building followed within the Program of modernization of schools with the aim to improve the work conditions, namely with the aim to extend the existing capacities, in 2014. The architectural and urban planning concept of the extension is characterized by a careful superposition of the functions and forms of the existing and the newly designed part, while at the same time preserving its identity and achieving a new architectural value. The authors dedicated a special attention to the adjustment of the newly designed volume with the existing aesthetic and structural characteristics of the building aiming at achieving the unity of the function and form taking into account that the newly designed part of the building clearly indicates the contemporary architectural expression.

A proactive and resilient seismic risk mitigation strategy for existing school buildings

Different methods and procedures have been developed to define prioritisation strategies of retrofit interventions aimed at reducing the seismic risk of school buildings on a large territorial scale. However, these approaches fail to demonstrate how risk analysis has been used successfully to quantitatively assess and select the optimal risk management decision. This article proposes innovative and useful metrics to measure the potential costs and benefits related to the prioritisation of retrofit intervention and the resilience of the analysed school system by directly integrating engineering, organisational, socio-economic and political aspects in the realm of seismic resilience assessment. Based on probabilistic risk assessments considering the new vulnerability of the prioritised school buildings, these measures could predict the expected economic and functional losses associated with a disastrous seismic event, as well as the possible post-disaster recovery of the system. In order to help decision-makers in selecting the optimal mitigation strategy with a multidisciplinary and multidimensional perspective, different political scenarios, the relative prioritisations of interventions and their intervention options are also defined. The proposed framework is demonstrated in a complex case study of 1,825 public schools in the Lima metropolitan area, Peru. Policymakers, planners and engineering professionals could benefit from results.

Optimal seismic retrofitted RC column distribution for an existing school building

Seismic retrofit technology has been significantly developed to reduce building damage during earthquakes. However, earthquakes are unpredictable natural disasters that should be dealt with flexibly. Hence, the seismic retrofitting method should be independently studied. In this study, the minimum number and the location of seismic retrofitted reinforced concrete columns required for school buildings in service are derived through an optimization technique. A time-history dynamic analysis of the frame structure comprising columns and beams is conducted using a three-dimensional finite element model to obtain empirical results. The study subject is a school building, which is a three-story RC structure with non-seismic details consisting of 62 RC columns on each floor (i.e., a total of 186 columns). The optimization analysis showed that retrofitting only 60.2% of the columns could withstand a peak ground acceleration of 0.2 g applied at the shear critical regions at both column ends.

Towards a safe school. Case studies on seismic improvement in existing school buildings

The problem regarding seismic risk for school buildings has become increasingly important over the last years and national projects have been set underway to improve and adapt existing buildings to seismic risk. Many schools were built during historical periods when, even though foreseeing anti-seismic measures, were based on prerequisites different to those of today. It has become an urgent need to examine projects for a vast number of existing school buildings in relation to the important social role that they have always played.

Seismic assessment and loss estimation of existing school buildings in Italy

Extensive damage to school buildings has been observed during past earthquakes in Italy and there is a need to better understand their potential vulnerability. As part of a national project to assess seismic risk in Italian schools, a database was compiled in terms of characteristics such as school location and construction typology. This paper examines a number of these buildings considered to be a representative sample of the Italian school building population. To quantify their seismic vulnerability, the induced damage with respect to increased shaking intensity need to be quantified. This characterisation of the building vulnerability, in combination with the seismic hazard, allows more informed, risk-based decisions to be made using performance metrics such as expected annual loss (EAL). This article outlines a case study application quantifying the EAL and collapse safety for three school buildings representative of the Italian school building stock. Detailed numerical models were developed using information collected during in-situ inspections in order to accurately represent the dynamic response of the school structures. To estimate economic losses, a structural and non-structural element inventory was compiled using in-situ survey information. This case study application is conducted in a systematic fashion to clearly illustrate the various details required to implement more advanced seismic assessment studies. Finally, a comparison is made with the seismic classification guidelines recently introduced in Italy to provide further insight into how these can be used to identify existing buildings vulnerable to excessive damage and potential collapse during earthquakes.

Clearing the air on EU guidance projects for school buildings

ABSTRACT Professionals engaged in the design of new or retrofit of existing school buildings currently struggle to find comprehensive guidelines for achieving healthy and energy-efficient school environments. Recently, two major and independent research projects aimed at improving indoor environmental quality and energy performance of school buildings in Europe have been completed: SINPHONIE and School of the Future. Their guidelines reflect the distinct priorities and limited scope of each project. This paper compares for the first time and, as far as possible, synthesizes these outputs to facilitate their use in practice and research. Overall, SINPHONIE is most useful in addressing indoor environmental quality of schools in terms of the physical, chemical and microbiological stressors that impact and potentially affect human health. It aims to influence the future development of policy and regulations. By contrast, School of the Future presents a broader design-oriented approach based on best practice in four European countries. For the most part they complement each other in their recommendations; however, this review highlights several areas that require further clarification and research including links between indoor environmental quality and cognitive performance, the consequent appropriate level for the designed ventilation rate, and the role of adaptive thermal comfort in schools.

Renovation of a School Building: Energy Retrofit and Seismic Upgrade in a School Building in Motta Di Livenza

The main part of Italian building stock was built before the energy and seismic regulations, so most of buildings need comprehensive refurbishment to achieve the performance required by laws that are in force. This paper presents an experimental study for an energy and structural upgrade methodology, applied to an existing school building in the north-east of Italy. The methodology is based on the International Energy Agency–Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme (IEA–EBC) Annex 56 project guidelines. For the energy retrofit, a set of interventions is defined concerning the building envelope and systems. Among these interventions, the optimal cost is identified: this minimizes the energy demand and the CO2 emissions, and reduces the financial commitment. The analysis of the seismic retrofit is developed using innovative techniques of intervention and high-performance materials. The proposed interventions are evaluated in terms of efficacy and cost. The results show that it is possible to identify a comprehensive energy retrofit at optimal cost, thanks to high energy saving and subsidies. For the seismic retrofit, the intervention with the higher cost-effectiveness ratio is determined, but the related investment does not have a payback time. The union of the two retrofits permits the combination of benefits and has a payback time for both the interventions. It is possible to state that the cost of a combined intervention is lower than the costs of two different interventions; therefore, when a single retrofit is needed, the possibility of a combined intervention should be evaluated.