Residential Buildings In Shanghai Research Articles

Exploring the Impact of Facade Color Elements on Visual Comfort in Old Residential Buildings in Shanghai: Insights from Eye-Tracking Technology

Building façade color plays a key role in shaping urban image, enhancing urban vitality, and optimizing citizens’ living experience. Moreover, colors can influence people’s perception of space, but the multiple interrelationships between color elements and users’ color evaluation and visual perception have not yet been thoroughly studied. In order to explore the relationships between color elements and visual perception and subjective comfort, this study discusses the matching relationship between color and the comfort of a residential building façade from three levels of color hue, lightness, and saturation by combining eye movement technology and a subjective evaluation. Taking Anshan San Village in Shanghai as the research object, the relationship model between color elements, visual perception, and subjective comfort is established through correlation analysis, linear regression, and multifactor regression analysis, and the correlation between single elements and multiple elements is explored from multi-dimensional perspectives. It aims to assess the operability of eye movement data as a measure of the visual comfort with the residential building façade color through multiple indicators and to explore and establish a new correlation assessment framework between the three attributes of façade color and users’ visual comfort. The results show that (1) highly saturated façade colors significantly increase cognitive load and decrease color evaluation. (2) Brightness has a non-linear relationship with visual perception and subjective evaluation, either too high or too low a brightness value will cause visual fatigue and thus reduce the color evaluation, and when the brightness is maintained at 40–80%, there will be a better color experience. (3) Warm tones such as red, orange, and yellow can strengthen the color perception to enhance the color evaluation of the façade; among cold tones, cyan and purple can also strengthen the visual perception of the color of the façade to enhance the color evaluation. After validation, the proposed new color comfort assessment method is feasible and comprehensive, and we hope it can provide a reference for the planning of old residential buildings and communities in the future.

A Method for Assessing Flood Vulnerability Based on Vulnerability Curves and Online Data of Residential Buildings—A Case Study of Shanghai

Flood vulnerability is the key to understanding and assessing flood risk. However, analyzing flood vulnerability requires sophisticated data, which is usually not available in reality. With the widespread use of big data in cities today, it is possible to quickly obtain building parameters in cities on a large scale, thus offering the possibility to study the risk flooding poses to urban buildings. To fill this research gap, taking Shanghai as an example, this study developed a new research framework to assess urban vulnerability based on vulnerability curves and online data of residential buildings. First, detailed information about residential buildings was prepared via web crawlers. Second, the cleaned residential building information fed a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to classify the buildings into four flood vulnerability levels that represented the vulnerability curves of the four building types. Third, the buildings of different levels were given vulnerability scores by accumulating the depth–damage ratios across the possible range of flood depth. Further, combined with the unit price of houses, flood risk was assessed for residential buildings. The results showed that the F1-score for the classification of buildings was about 80%. The flood vulnerability scores were higher in both the urban center and the surrounding areas and lower between them. Since 1990, the majority of residential buildings in Shanghai have switched from masonry–concrete structures to steel–concrete structures, greatly reducing the vulnerability to floods. The risk assessment showed decreasing risk trend from the center outward, with the highest risk at the junction of the Huangpu, Jing’an and Xuhui districts. Therefore, this framework can not only identify the flood vulnerability patterns but also provide a clue for revealing the flood risk of residential buildings. With real estate data becoming increasingly accessible, this method can be widely applied to other cities to facilitate flood vulnerability and risk assessment.

The new model for evaluating indoor air quality based on childhood allergic and respiratory diseases in Shanghai

IntroductionIndoor environment has an important impact on human health, especially on children's health. However, the current assessment indicators are difficult to reflect the health-related indoor air quality (IAQ). MethodsBased on the field measurements in 454 residential buildings in Shanghai, this study investigates the associations between indoor pollutants and children's health by logistic regression analyses to determine the health-related pollutant indicators. The combination of grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight coefficient of pollutants. The index method based on the assigned weighted coefficient was then used to evaluate IAQ. ResultsA total of 23.4%, 22.3% and 25.4% families had the higher concentration of CO2, PM2.5 and PM10 than the limits in the indoor environmental quality standards, while only 0.8%, 0.7% and 1.3% of all the families had the concentration of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), formaldehyde and airborne fungi exceeding the standard. The correlation analyses showed that di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was significantly correlated with children's respiratory diseases (croup and wheeze). Therefore, DEHP was added as one of the targeted pollutants. The health-related IAQ assessments showed that the weighted coefficients from high to low were as follows: PM2.5 (0.149), PM10 (0.148), formaldehyde (0.147), airborne fungi (0.147), DEHP (0.146), CO2 (0.144) and TVOC (0.119). ConclusionThe evaluation results of the new indicator can more accurately reflect the IAQ than before. The suggested value of DEHP was introduced in the IAQ standard. The findings provide some reference for the evaluation of IAQ.

Research on the Rational Proportion of Housing Window in Shanghai Based on Ventilation Comfort

Taking the natural ventilation process of residential buildings in Shanghai in summer as research samples, this paper aims to obtain a reasonable range of window ratio by comparing the different scenario simulations by using Thsware VENT software. The research method was to simulate ventilation process of a room with rectangular windows in the same position in order to obtain the parameters of indoor wind environment under 12 window ratios circumstances. Through quantitative comparative analysis, the results showed that the ventilation parameters change regularly with the increase of the aspect ratio of windows. Moreover, the indoor natural ventilation comfort is best when the aspect ratio equals 2.0-2.76.

Flood risk dynamics and adaptation analyses for coastal cities based on internet big data and hydrology-hydrodynamic models

Climate change, sea-level rise, land subsidence, and rapid urbanization are likely to increase flood risk in low-lying coastal cities in the future, posing serious challenges to urban sustainability. To quantitatively assess the future trends of flood risks and to carry out effective adaptation measures are among the hot topics for flood risk management. A sound answer needs fine-scale data to support an integrative analysis of hydrology-hydrodynamic processes, socio-economic impacts, and adaptation measures. In this regard, this paper puts forward a set of multidisciplinary and comprehensive methods to address the frontier scientific issues. First, internet big data and machine learning methods were adopted to map the building footprint, height, and its economic values, providing a fine-scale spatial and economic information of elements at risk. The residential building footprint was mapped with an accuracy of 92.8%, and the housing price was derived via web crawler from different online real estate websites. Second, the hydrology-hydrodynamic models of TOMAWAC, TELEMAC and MIKE 1D/2D were integrated to simulate four storm-surge flooding scenarios. The scenarios are based on the real Typhoon event TC9711 on August 18, 1997, whereby the wind, wave, tide, 1D flood, and 2D flood processes are simulated and flood scenarios of four different return periods are extrapolated. Especially, for future scenarios in 2050, sea level rise and land subsidence are also considered. Third, the expected annual damage (EAD) is estimated via risk analysis technique with combination of flood maps in the four return periods and the fine-scale exposure data. Finally, a cost-benefit analysis was done to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two flood adaptation measures, i.e., dry flood-proofing and wet flood-proofing measures, for residential buildings. Taking Shanghai as an example, the above methods were applied to comprehensively assess the storm-caused flood risk of residential buildings, its future trends to 2050, and the costs and benefits of two adaptation measures. The results show that: (1) Sea-level rise and land subsidence will significantly exacerbate the flood risks in Shanghai. (2) Under the three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5, RCP8.5 and RCP8.5 High-end), the area of exposed residential buildings in Shanghai by 2050 may reach 31−49 km2 (4%–6% of total building area) for a 1/200-year storm flood event and 180–206 km2 (14%–16%) for a 1/5000-year event. (3) The EAD of residential buildings in 2017 is 440 million CNY (65.4 million USD), which can increase 1.6–2.0 times and reach to CNY 700 million–900 million (104.0 million–133.8 million USD) in 2050. (4) The implementation of both dry and wet flood-proofing measures could potentially reduce the EAD by 76%–79% and 88%–90%, respectively. Both measures are considerably cost-effective: the net present values of dry and wet flood-proofing measures are 2.84 billion–5.53 billion CNY (0.4 billion–0.8 billion USD) and 5.85 billion–9.94 billion CNY (0.9 billion–1.5 billion USD), and the benefit/cost ratios are 1.9–2.4 and 7.9–9.8 respectively. This indicates that the cost-effectiveness of dry flood-proofing measures is less than that of wet measure. Our findings can provide both scientific understanding and effective adaptation measures for mitigating the future flood risk in Shanghai. These multidisciplinary methods could also be applied to assess flood risk and adaptation strategies in other coastal cities.

Study of the color characteristics of residential buildings in Shanghai

AbstractIn 2018, Shanghai launched a campaign to renovate the façade of old residential areas. With the renovation of the façade of these residential buildings, problems such as chaotic colors, dull colors, and strongly conflicting colors of walls have increasingly occurred. In this article, the color data of building samples were obtained by field investigation and the color attribute grading evaluation of residential buildings was carried out by introducing evaluation factors; thus, the evaluation results of these buildings were finally obtained. Based on the analysis of the quantity and proportion of each color attribute at different evaluation levels, the color characteristics of residential buildings in Shanghai were finally summarized. Overall, Shanghai residential buildings are “warm colored” in hue, “bright” in lightness, and “partial white” in chromaticness. The research results provide theoretical support for the forward‐looking and scientific nature of color planning for residential buildings in the future and can serve as a reference for the selection of the main colors of building walls.

Dynamic material flow and stock analysis of residential buildings by integrating rural–urban land transition: A case of Shanghai

In rapidly developing countries, such as China, considerable quantities of construction materials have been mobilized with the fast expansion of urban areas. The rural to urban land use transition, especially the upgrade and redevelopment of original rural areas, is a noted driver of material flows. This rural–urban land transition should be incorporated into material flow and stock analyses to provide a more accurate analysis. In this study, a dynamic material flow and stock model that integrates the historical rural–urban land transition was developed to explore the quantity of material stocks and demolition waste from residential buildings in Shanghai—the largest megacity in China from 1950 to 2100. Our results show that the material stocks from residential buildings in Shanghai increased 41-fold from 1950 to 2010, about 957 MMT (million metric tons), and is estimated to be saturated around 2040. Material stocks have experienced asynchronized growth in rural areas, central urban areas, and rural–urban land transition zones (RULT zones) in Shanghai. Until 2040, the RULT zones in Shanghai will be the largest material repository (62%), followed by central urban areas (20%), and rural areas (18%). The amount of demolition waste, which accounted for 10 MMT in 2010, is expected to peak at 29 MMT in 2060s. This suggests the need for a deliberate investment plan to increase waste treatment capacity. In addition, the dominant component of demolition waste will shift from brick to concrete after 2020s. The RULT zones will contribute two-thirds of demolition waste to Shanghai until the 2060s. If we do not consider the reality of the physical status of buildings in RULT zones, the demolition waste will be underestimated by the maximum of 57% in 2003 in urban areas. The key findings on the trend of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generation and the significant contribution of RULT zones can be used as a reference for the strategic planning of treatment facilities. This research framework can be also used to estimate the amount of C&D waste in other fast-developing cities in China and other countries.

Comfort and energy performance analysis of a heritage residential building in Shanghai

Along with its rapid growth in economy, the protection of heritage buildings has recently gained importance and awareness in China. This paper investigates the energy performance of a heritage building (Wang’s House) in Shanghai, as well as the thermal comfort of the users, using dynamic thermal simulations. The analysis showed that heating accounts as the highest energy demand, followed by cooling and lighting. The resulting study will help the authors to identify various sustainable strategies to improve users comfort as well as reduce the energy demand of heritage buildings in China.

Passive design optimization of newly-built residential buildings in Shanghai for improving indoor thermal comfort while reducing building energy demand

The objective of this paper is to optimize the passive design of newly-built residential buildings in hot summer and cold winter region of China for improving indoor thermal comfort while reducing building energy demand. In this respect, this paper investigates the performance of a representative apartment building in the city of Shanghai and evaluates the optimum solutions by using a developed optimization approach, which includes three major steps of 1) setting the model for multi-objective optimization, 2) sensitivity analysis for reducing the dimension of input variables, and 3) multi-objective optimization by using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) coupled with the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), among which a novel indicator for evaluating the annual indoor thermal comfort of residential buildings of Shanghai named Comfort Time Ratio (CTR) is defined based on the modification of Szokolay’s theory in terms of bioclimatic analysis, and the impacts of passive design variables on the indoor thermal comfort and building energy demand in terms of different directions are comprehensively investigated. Results of the multi-objective optimization indicate that the residential buildings of Shanghai have a great potential in comfort-improvement and energy-saving. A series of novel optimal passive design tactics for residential buildings in Shanghai are derived accordingly which could be easily understood and conveniently carried out by the architects in practice.

Field Investigation of Collapse of a 13-Story High-Rise Residential Building in Shanghai

AbstractIn 2009, a 13-story residential building founded on lightly reinforced prestressed high-strength concrete (PHC) pipe piles in Shanghai collapsed completely during the excavation of an adjac...

Discussion on heating strategies in winter of residential buildings in Shanghai aiming at ultra-low energy target

Ultra-low-energy buildings in China are still in the early stage of development. In the guide documents of the 13th plan of five-year national development published by Science and Technology Ministry, an energy consumption limit of 15kWh/m2 for heating, cooling and ventilation throughout the year was pointed out for residential buildings in hot summer and cold winter region. In this paper, current situation of winter heating in Shanghai was investigated, including analysis of heating energy consumption of more than 40,000 households, a large number of questionnaires about heating status, and the actual indoor heating environment monitoring. This paper also investigated the indoor ventilation environment under real living conditions, taking a typical residence in Shanghai as the research subject via continuous field measurements. The indoor CO2 concentration, air temperature and relative humidity were monitored and two behavior-related parameters, the electricity consumption of air conditioner and the open/closed state of the window/door were recorded from summer to spring. Based on the investigation, the questionnaires and the monitored data for winter heating, heating strategies in winter for residential buildings in Shanghai will be discussed, from the perspective of gap analysis.

Wind tunnel tests of inter-flat pollutant transmission characteristics in a rectangular multi-storey residential building, part A: Effect of wind direction

The inter-flat dispersion of hazardous air pollutants in residential built environment has become a growing concern, especially in crowed urban areas. The purpose of present study is to investigate the wind induced air pollutant transmission and cross contamination routes in typical buildings. In this paper, a series of experiments was carried out in a boundary layer wind tunnel using a 1:30 scaled model that represented the typical configuration of rectangular multi-storey residential buildings in Shanghai. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was employed as tracer gas in the wind tunnel tests. The conditions under two ventilation modes, i.e. single-sided natural ventilation and cross natural ventilation, were compared. The tracer gas concentration distributions under four approaching wind angles were monitored and analyzed. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method was adopted to assist in analyzing airflow patterns. The experiment results elucidated that in the two ventilation scenarios, both of the vertical and horizontal inter-flat airborne transmission could proceed. The wind direction played a key role on the pollutant concentration distribution. Compared with the single-sided ventilation mode, cross ventilation could weaken the air pollutant dispersion along the vertical direction when the contamination source was on the windward or on the leeward unit. When the wind blowing parallelly to the source unit window, namely the source room was on the sideward, cross ventilation would not suppress the vertical transport on one hand, but reinforce the horizontal transmission on the other hand. The study is helpful for the analysis of infection risk of respiratory diseases in the residential buildings.

Applicability Study on a Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Net-Zero Energy House in Shanghai

Governments around the world are establishing technological routes and tactics for low/zero-energy buildings to reduce emissions and energy use. This paper describes a hybrid renewable energy system developed for a net-zero energy low-rise residential building located in Shanghai, China. This hybrid renewable energy system consists of a water-based photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) collector and a ground water-source heat pump (GWSHP). The hybrid system is designed to produce heating, cooling and electricity during both winter and summer by using solar energy and ground surface water energy respectively. Firstly, field tests on the PVT collector and GWSHP were carried out to obtain their thermal performance, and then analytical models for the PVT collector and performance curve of the GWSHP were developed and validated by the experimental data. In addition, the balance between annual energy production and consumption was estimated to evaluate the applicability of this system for the on-grid net-zero energy residential building in Shanghai. It is shown that the detached house with the PVT-GWSHP system can provide 109.3% of total requirements for heating, cooling and electricity, and has potentials to realize the net-zero energy target.

RETRACTED: Design Transformation for the Sustainability of High-Rise Residential Buildings

Abstract The design of high-rise residential buildings in Shanghai has been changing in recent years. This transformation encompassed the changes in: building shape, floor plan composition, the number of apartments on each floor, the functionality of each apartment and living habits. Gianfranco Caniggia's architectural composition and building typology methodology was used to study Shanghai's architectural transformation. The author has found the following trends: 1. Shanghai's high-rise residential buildings are increasingly following the trend of combined apartment buildings that leads to high economic benefit; 2. Auxiliary area, shared between apartments, are accounting for larger portion of a typical floor plan (additional 12-18% of external auxiliary area). Understanding the causes and effects of this transformation in design will provide valuable lessons for other developing metropolitans in China and other countries in the region.

Simulation and Feasibility Analysis of PCM Based Passive Cooling Technique in Residential House

A passive cooling system combining the phase change materials (PCMs) and night ventilation is modelled with Energy Plus for residential buildings in Shanghai. By simulating the main parameters such as property of PCMs and ventilation rate that affect the system design, an initial scheme is given out and the feasibility is proved with a little sacrifice of the comfortable level of the indoor environment. The indoor air temperature is simulated to fluctuate below 28°C for most of the days, which is the upper level for human body comfort.

Numerical investigation of the failure of a building in Shanghai, China

The overturning failure of a 13 storey residential building in Shanghai, China, has been investigated by plane strain finite element analysis (FEA). The results of the FEA indicate that ultimate failure of the building was probably initiated by the formation of tensile cracking in the reinforced concrete piles located under the side of the building adjacent to an excavation. This eventually led to complete structural failure of the piles located along the excavation side, which probably caused further settlement of the building, leading eventually to a toppling failure resulting in overturning of the entire building. Excessive tensile stress in the piles was probably caused by the combination of excavation of soil at one side of the building and the temporary dumping of the excavated soil on the opposite side of the building. It is likely that the effect of temporary dumping of the excavated soil adjacent to the building was either not considered or not properly taken into account in the foundation design nor the construction operations. A simple but important lesson to be draw from this failure is the need for engineers who design foundations in soft soil regions to consider not only the final loading conditions, but also any temporary and transient loading conditions during the construction process.

Analysis on the Effect of Fixed Shading over External Window on Energy Consumption and Efficiency of Residential Building in Shanghai

The building energy consumption simulation software DeST is used to analyze the effects of fixed shading over external window on energy consumption and efficiency, on the base of a residential building in Shanghai. The simulation results show that the fixed shading over south window has little effect on the overall energy saving of residential building. For east and west external window, if window area is not very large and its shading performance is better, the effect of fixed shading installation on energy saving is not obvious. On the contrary, if its area is large and its shading performance is ordinary, the effect is remarkable. Furthermore, when room ventilation capacity is poor, the effect of energy saving by fixed shading installation is more prominent.

Transformation on the Design for Sustainable of High-Rise Residential Buildings – The Case Study of Shanghai Combined Apartment Building

In the recent years, the design for high-rise residential buildings in Shanghai has been changing in floor plan. It is the transformation in the shape of the house from residential tower-shaped buildings into combined apartment buildings; the transformation in constitution of floor plan, the number of apartment in each floor; the transformation in area and function of each apartment and even in living habits. Studies of the transformation in shape mentioned above were carried out by the morphology methodology. Combined apartment buildings in Shanghai combined together leads to high economic benefit, and the number of floors is up to 34 floors. Auxiliary area which is shared equally to each apartment, accounts for an approximately large portion of a typical floor plan. Each apartment in Shanghai must be added 12-18% of external auxiliary area. The cause and effect of the transformation in the design for high-rise apartment buildings are valuable experiences for other developing metropolitans in China, so as other countries in region.

Integrated assessment of combined cooling heating and power systems under different design and management options for residential buildings in Shanghai

As a well-known technique for rational use of energy, the combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system is paid more and more attention in building energy conservation activities. In this paper, the performances of typical CCHP systems are investigated for a high-rise residential building, which is experiencing rapid expansion in China. Based on the building's energy consumption, four types of CCHP technologies have been assumed following three design and management modes, namely, heat tracking mode, electricity tracking mode and energy island mode. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the performance of the assumed CCHP systems, besides the separated energy, economic and environmental assessments, an integrated assessment framework is proposed. According to the simulation results, gas engine and fuel cell based CCHP systems are feasible options from the energy and environmental viewpoints, but at the cost of poor economic performance. From an integrated viewpoint, the gas engine system is the most attractive option if economic performance is taken into account; otherwise the fuel cell system is the best choice. In addition, the selection of proper design and management mode is of vital importance for the adoption of the CCHP system.

Height and Construction Costs of Residential High-Rise Buildings in Shanghai

A widely recognized theme of construction economics suggests that the cost of construction per square meter increases as building height rises. However, over a number of years, research conducted regarding the height and cost issue has established a classic relationship between the two factors which can be represented by a U-shaped curve. This paper describes the study of the height-cost relationship of high-rise residential buildings in Shanghai in terms of the total construction cost and elemental costs while considering the context and commonality of buildings. This research was developed as an extension of the previous work, which examined data for buildings in Hong Kong. Initial findings indicate that the curves illustrating the relationships between height and cost of residential buildings in Shanghai and Hong Kong exhibit different profiles. The dissimilarities indicate that different sets of criteria should be applied in the judgment of height that affects cost in different locations. In terms of elemental costs, the findings suggest that there are differences in the way these costs react to changes in the building height.