Residential Units Research Articles

Numerical investigation of different building configurations for improving outdoor spatial ventilation conditions in strip-type residential neighbourhoods

Understanding the influence of building configurations on spatial wind flows is essential for architects to optimize urban ventilation in the design process. However, the design changes in urban form are abundant and many detailed design variations were not examined. This study aims to explore the potential of spatial forms to improve wind conditions in strip-type residential neighbourhoods. Several specific building design variations were investigated using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. The ventilation performance indicators including spatial averaged wind velocity (<V>), purging flow rate (PFR), and net escape velocity (NEV) were adopted to quantify the effects of design changes on spatial ventilation efficiency of overall and local residential spaces. The results show that the buildings with staggers of residential units could have a noticeable impact on the overall residential space, especially when the wind direction is inclined or parallel to the corridor space between the strip buildings. The PFR and < V > values of the residential space can be reduced by 19% and 18%. Building length variation and square setting can be beneficial to the ventilation conditions of the local residential spaces.

The past and future of non-residential-to-residential conversions in New York City

Concerns over rising office vacancy rates and falling office building property values in many urban areas have increased the pressure on cities and developers to consider converting underused office space to residential use. To aid in current and future conversations surrounding the feasibility of conversion, we look to the recent past. In doing so, we provide an account of conversion and redevelopment activity in New York City over the past decade to uncover associated structural and locational characteristics. We find that office-to-residential conversions contributed the greatest share of residential rental units of all non-residential conversions from 2010 to 2020, with nearly 5900 units created. However, there is suggestive evidence that more recent obsolete office buildings generate significantly fewer units as compared to office conversions of the 1990s. We additionally model the probability of conversion and redevelopment. We find that hotels have the highest conversion probability, followed by loft, retail, industrial, and office. In general, relatively taller, narrower, older buildings with diminished value are more likely to be converted.

Socio-cultural transformations in modernity and household patterns: a study on local traditions housing and the impact and evolution of vernacular architecture in Yazd, Iran

The study investigates the impact of vernacular architecture in Yazd, Iran, focusing on traditional housing and its influence on the socio-physical aspects of homes. The central challenge lies in balancing cultural heritage preservation with the need for modern housing that promotes environmental sustainability and social well-being. Employing a qualitative approach, the study compares four historical houses to four modern homes in Yazd city. Its novelty lies in highlighting the importance of incorporating traditional elements into new developments. The research offers practical recommendations for achieving compatibility between house form and lifestyle, designing spaces for communication and social contact, and integrating cultural continuity with change. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of considering architectural elements and environmental conditions during residential unit design and planning. The study reveals the negative effects of modernization on residential transformation, particularly in historical areas where rapid construction neglects cultural heritage. It recommends incorporating traditional architectural elements while adapting to current needs to achieve sustainable urban living. This contribution to the discourse on urban development provides nuanced insights into the complex dynamics shaping residential landscapes in the modern era. The study's findings suggest that traditional houses offer essential benefits often missing in modern homes, such as improved well-being, privacy, stability, and a stronger sense of community. This can lead to feelings of alienation, physical discontinuity, and socio-economic inequality in modern developments. The study concludes by recommending a reevaluation of housing dynamics and emphasizes the need for further research comparing traditional and modern houses.

Boundary Effects in the Diffusion of New Products on Cartesian Networks

The Role of Boundaries in the Spreading of Solar Peer effects by neighbors play a key role in the spreading of residential solar. Thus, people are more likely to install a solar system on their roof if some of their neighbors have already done so. Because people who live near the municipality boundary have fewer neighbors, does this imply that they are less likely to adopt solar? In “Boundary Effects in the Diffusion of New Products on Cartesian Networks,” Fibich, Levin, and Gillingham analyze this problem analytically using the Bass model on two-dimensional networks and empirically using data on installations of solar systems. They show that boundaries have a significant impact on the adoption of residential units near the municipality boundary. Their effect on the aggregate adoption in the municipality, however, is negligible.

Moving to green technologies: acceptance and perception of architectural solar photovoltaic technology for residential buildings

ABSTRACT Among the renewable technologies, solar photovoltaic (PV) is widely regarded as promising in the Middle-East region. However, the adoption rate of PV technology remains limited in Jordan. The effective shift to solar energy necessitates social acceptance. Therefore, this study examines the public perception and degree of acceptance of PV in residential units. A survey that explored the relevant factors in terms of knowledge, concern, familiarity, satisfaction, attitude, and willingness was conducted. Four hundred and twenty responses were returned. The statistical analysis using SPSS included Cronbach's alpha test, normality testing, and correlation analysis. The analysis shows that average acceptance levels exist for the PV experience. Only 53.5% were familiar with PV. More people (56.4%) claimed to know about PV, and 62.2% were interested. Under half of the respondents were satisfied with PV. Most people had heard of PV, although only 32.6% considered their knowledge excellent. Observations of PV were communal. However, only 25% installed PV systems in their residences. Performance was the top PV priority, followed by environment, prices, and aesthetics. Solar panel installation intentions were highest on rooftops and lowest on BIPV. Also, it was found that socioeconomic and demographic profiles affect residents’ PV adoption. These variables can also moderate the relationship between relevant factors and PV perception. The study contributes to understanding the public's preference for PV applications. This perspective enhances PV awareness and adoption in residential units. This study highlights insights for architects, decision-makers, and governmental authorities on the requirements to support PV applications on the policy front.

GENESIS OF RECREATIONAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE UKRAINIAN CARPATHIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The article examines the phenomena of the emergence and spontaneous evolution of a new type of recreational facilities for the Ukrainian Carpathians region – multi-format recreational settlements that combine private rental residential units with their partial functioning, in the form of rental recreational housing, in the structure of a management company. The prerequisite for the emergence of this type of recreational facilities was the construction of a large ski complex in Bukovel. Accommodation in this complex offered both traditional hotels and comfortable single-family cottages. And these cottages turned out to be the most popular among vacationers and it were they that became a clear example for residents of surrounding villages and towns, who quickly adapted their own surroundings “for tourists.” After russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014, a significant number of the Ukrainian population redirected their holidays to the Carpathian region. The summer holiday season in the mountains has become as widespread and crowded as the winter season. Consequently, recreational facilities in the Ukrainian Carpathians over the course of 1- 2 years were transformed from single-season to year-round establishments, and the summer season surpassed the traditional winter season in terms of profitability. The global Covid 19 pandemic with strict long-term quarantine, psychological stress, and total remote work became the next strong impetus for popularizing the idea of owning a single-family cottage in the environmentally friendly, safe Carpathians. At that time, quarantined Europe and open Ukraine, a visa-free regime and the opening of a number of low-cost airlines to the Gulf countries also resulted in the appearance of a huge number of tourists from the Arab world in the Carpathians.The desire to own a single-family cottage in the Carpathians grew stronger after the large-scale russian invasion in February 2022, as all the delights of the Carpathians added to the feeling of safety from bombings and missile attacks. The response to this demand was the offer of private estates, apart-hotels, small cottage communities, and entire recreational settlements with developed internal infrastructure. The owner of such a building in a recreational settlement can live in it all the time. However, during absence, the management company of a recreational settlement has the right to rent out its building to third parties under the terms of a preliminary agreement with its owner. Thus, this property passively generates income for the owner during the period when he and his family are in another place. Technical issues of maintaining or repairing a building, providing energy resources, developing the territory, landscaping, etc. provided by the management company. Taking this into account, investing capital in exactly this type of real estate in the Ukrainian Carpathians is quite promising and relevant in our time.

Airport noise assessment and mitigation: A simple and flexible methodology

Airport noise assessment and mitigation have been recognized as major challenges in the current civil aviation context. This paper aims to provide a general, simple, and flexible methodology to approximate airport noise-influenced zones and quantify the social cost of noise pollution. The proposed methodology performs this assessment without the need for specific software, monitoring stations, and sophisticated data. Airport noise-influenced zones are estimated by relying on publicly available aircraft certification data, while the social cost of such estimation is computed by taking into account the distribution of residential units located within zones affected by noise. We present an application of this method to a group of Italian and Spanish airports, as well as possible beneficial policy interventions in terms of minimization of noise impact on the population living in the airport neighborhoods. In addition, possible mitigation policies are presented in the form of noise surcharges applied to different aircraft categories.

Space performance assessment of traditional houses in Akre

ABSTRACT The complex natural and geological structure of cities affects buildings’ spatial structure in terms of the forms of spatial configuration adopted in the design. Spatial structure affects buildings’ space performance in several aspects, such as privacy and accessibility, which are the most significant indicators of residential houses’ functional performance. Akre, a treasured, historical city in Iraqi Kurdistan, is characterised by a complex and distinct geological nature, and its residential part contains numerous traditional houses that deserve analysis. This study employed both a qualitative approach – via case study plan preparations and photographic documentation – and a quantitative approach, utilising space syntax tools. The results were analysed with the statistical program SPSS and show three types of spatial configuration in the residential part (linear, central and cluster); each type has a different and effective impact on the achievement of space performance in terms of privacy and accessibility. The study concludes that the linear type represents the most private typology, followed by the cluster and then the central type. The centralised typology is the most connected and accessible to different spaces within the residential unit, followed by the cluster type and the linear type, with a significant difference.

Households in Transition: Persistence and Change of Dwellings in the City of Old Dongola (Sudan, 14th–17th Century)

The period between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries in Old Dongola, Sudan, marks a significant political and religious transition. The Makurian kingdom collapsed, and in the sixteenth century, the city became subordinate to the Funj Sultanate. Simultaneously, domestic architecture exhibited a high level of uniformity, with urban space dominated by two-room houses clustered in compounds with a shared courtyard. In these transformative conditions, the seeming persistence of household requires explanation. This paper examines residues of human actions, applying a multielemental analysis of domestic floors of four house compounds dated from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. It allowed us to understand domestic space in intensive terms, as created by everyday domestic activities. The analysis of macro- and micro-residues resulted in the identification of various ways particular households engaged with domestic space. In this study, the role of heterogeneous domestic space played in the persistence and changeability of households was discussed, particularly how the striated residential units coded relations of dwellers, while the smooth open spaces had creative potential. Lastly, it is proposed that the temporality of households did not align with the temporality of the political changes in the city.

Discrepancies of Functional Requirements of Façade Opening System between Real-Life Public and Built Environment Experts Focusing on Thermal Comfort and Ventilation

A survey was conducted to analyze the discrepancies of the functional requirements of the façade system in residential units among 605 of the real-life public and 73 experts. Personal and housing information, resident life patterns, public façade usage behavior, and functional requirements were collected from the respondents. Both the public and experts recognized insulation as the main function of façade opening systems. More than 85% of the public and experts opened windows for ventilation, but ventilation was ranked 3rd amongst the public and 4th amongst experts in the main functions list of façade systems. The public cited the inflow of fine dust as the main reason for dissatisfaction with opening windows. In contrast, the experts cited a decrease in thermal comfort due to the inflow of external moisture as the reason for dissatisfaction with opening windows. The results showed that discrepancies exist between the public and experts’ perceptions of the main function of housing façade systems. Analyzing the common points and differences between the public and experts’ perception can help in developing façade system design and control technology.

Multi-objective optimization for generative morphological design using energy and comfort models with a practical design of new rural community in China

In recent years, the development of new rural communities has emerged as a pivotal new trend in china, aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and residential comfort in rural regions. This study introduces a multi-objective optimization design framework for the morphological design of residential area, with a focus on performance objectives such as building energy use intensity, summer thermal comfort, and winter thermal comfort. A case study of a new rural community design project in Hongnan Village, Yancheng City, was conducted. Utilizing the Rhino-Grasshopper parametric platform, this study undertook parametric modeling, performance simulation, and multi-objective optimization to receive the Pareto-optimal solutions. ParetoResults indicate that in the Pareto-optimal morphology scheme for the Hongnan Village community, open spaces are predominantly located on the upwind side with respect to the prevailing summer winds of the site. The number of duplex houses is often 28, and the building orientations are predominantly aligned at 23°, mirroring the direction of the surrounding structures. There is a significant correlation between residential unit configuration, building spacing, and energy use intensity, with correlation coefficients of 0.53 and −0.43, respectively. This study would like to offer valuable insights into the energy-efficient design of new rural communities, thereby contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and habitable rural living environment.

Identifying Deficiencies in Children's Residential Care in Finland: Inspectors' Views on Working With Information

ABSTRACTAbusive and illegal practices in residential care are a recognised issue in child welfare internationally; thus, the question of how these institutions are supervised is important. However, children's residential care is complex by nature, making its supervision a challenging task. This article examines residential care supervision by looking at the ‘knowledge work’ that two central legality supervisors in Finland—the Parliamentary Ombudsman and Regional State Administrative Agencies—conduct when inspecting children's residential homes. Here, ‘knowledge work’ refers to the process of working with information to identify deficiencies in care. Eleven interviews and 16 inspection reports are analysed with a focus on the nature of the information that these supervisors gather when inspecting residential units and how they evaluate the significance and reliability of the information. The results show that to complete their institutional task, the inspectors gather information from various sources, including documents and interviews with children. The significance of the information is then assessed by comparing it with legislation and the supervisory mandate, and its reliability is verified by considering the diverse information sources as a whole collection of information. The results suggest that how well ‘knowledge work’ is conducted highly affects the impact of supervision.

Utilizing periodic boundary conditions to save computational resources for assessing building natural ventilation in urban areas

For the first time in literature, we innovatively conducted CFD simulations with periodic boundary conditions to predict coupled indoor-outdoor airflows for a full-scale 3D six-floor residential building unit in urban areas with uniformly building clusters. A few influencing parameters on building ventilation performance are comprehensively analyzed, including the impacts of the surrounding buildings, wind incident angle (θ), external opening designs, cross or single-sided ventilation modes, and indoor facilities. Ventilation evaluation is contingent on factors including air change rate per hour (ACH), the corresponding ACH of purging flow rate (ACHPFR), and age of air (τ).Results show that the efficiency of natural ventilation on each floor differs from previous research conclusions after considering the impacts of surrounding buildings. Single-sided ventilation is significantly less effective than cross-ventilation in all scenarios. Most cross-ventilation cases have one-order greater ACH and ACHPFR values compared to those with single-sided ventilation. The window-to-wall ratio on the windward and leeward sides can affect the natural ventilation rate of the corresponding rooms. A large leeward opening helps to increase the ventilation rate, especially for the rooms on the upper floor, but it decreases the ventilation for the rooms near the ground. Indoor furniture has an insignificant impact on outdoor airflow and natural ventilation efficiency.

A Thematic Review on Factors Influencing Property Overhang in Residential Properties in Malaysia

Unsold residential units more than nine months after launch are known as an overhang. Numerous factors influencing property overhang have been discovered. Hence, this paper adopts a thematic review based on the factors influencing property overhang from 2014 to 2023. The approach of this paper involved a comprehensive review paper on factors influencing property overhang and analysis using thematic review. The findings revealed several themes in factors influencing property overhang based on the pattern highlighted in the literature. The outcomes are expected to benefit the direction of future research and to assist the future solutions in property overhang in Malaysia.

Property Stigma and Overhang Units: SEM-PLS Analysis of Clio2 Residence, Putrajaya

Property stigma encompasses characteristics, features, social values, or events related to land and buildings that generate negative perceptions of a property or neighborhood. This stigma significantly contributes to the overhang of residential units in Malaysia. This study aims to develop a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) model to analyze the impact of stigmatized property dimensions on Clio2 Residence, an overhang strata residential scheme in Putrajaya. The findings indicate that both external and internal stigmas are significant factors leading to unsold property units in Clio2 Residence.

Factors affecting the housing prices in the metropolis of Tehran

Purpose This study aims to investigate the spatial distribution of housing prices and identify the affecting factors (independent variable) on the cost of residential units (dependent variable). Design/methodology/approach The method of the present study is descriptive-analytical and has an applied purpose. The used statistical population in this study is the residential units’ price in Tehran in 2021. For this purpose, the average per square meter of residential units in the city neighborhoods was entered in the geographical information system. Two techniques of ordinary least squares regression and geographically weighted regression have been used to analyze housing prices and modeling. Then, the results of the ordinary least squares regression and geographically weighted regression models were compared by using the housing price interpolation map predicted in each model and the accurate housing price interpolation map. Findings Based on the results, the ordinary least squares regression model has poorly modeled housing prices in the study area. The results of the geographically weighted regression model show that the variables (access rate to sports fields, distance from gas station and water station) have a direct and significant effect. Still, the variable (distance from fault) has a non-significant impact on increasing housing prices at a city level. In addition, to identify the affecting variables of housing prices, the results confirm the desirability of the geographically weighted regression technique in terms of accuracy compared to the ordinary least squares regression technique in explaining housing prices. The results of this study indicate that the housing prices in Tehran are affected by the access level to urban services and facilities. Originality/value Identifying factors affecting housing prices helps create sustainable housing in Tehran. Building sustainable housing represents spending less energy during the construction process together with the utilization phase, which ultimately provides housing at an acceptable price for all income deciles. In housing construction, the more you consider the sustainable housing principles, the more sustainable housing you provide and you take a step toward sustainable development. Therefore, sustainable housing is an important planning factor for local authorities and developers. As a result, it is necessary to institutionalize an integrated vision based on the concepts of sustainable development in the field of housing in the Tehran metropolis.

A Feasibility Analysis of Energy Retrofit Initiatives Aimed at the Existing Property Assets Decarbonisation

In light of the growing demand for sustainability in the construction sector and real estate market, the European Community (EC) has recently begun incentivizing renovations of private and public European buildings. This aligns with the EC’s aim to reduce harmful emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and to achieve complete decarbonization of buildings, i.e., zero harmful emissions in this sector, by 2050. Given this framework, this study aims to verify the financial viability associated with the construction of “green” buildings, as well as the associated monetary benefits related to the efficient nature of these buildings and the resulting reduction in energy consumption. Lastly, an investigation is conducted to determine the economic feasibility of energy retrofit initiatives on existing building assets by comparing the required costs to retrofit against the potential increase in market value of a retrofitted residential unit. Along with assessing the undisputed environmental advantages for the community and all building users, this research aims to assess the financial and economic feasibility of sustainable construction initiatives, providing insight into how best to pursue the EC’s aims.

ENHANCING USER EXPERIENCE IN INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE THROUGH BIOPHILIC DESIGN: A CASE STUDY OF URBAN RESIDENTIAL SPACES

This study aims to investigate how applying biophilic design principles to interior architecture—especially in urban residential contexts—can improve the user experience while accounting for the influence of different user profiles. It has been demonstrated that using natural components and patterns in constructed settings has a good influence on people's health and sense of connection to the natural world. The impact of numerous biophilic design elements on occupant well-being, productivity, and emotional connection to their living environments will be thoroughly examined. These include natural light, vegetation, water features and natural materials. University faculty and their families are the sole residents of Kayseri Nuh Naci Yazgan University Faculty Residences in Turkey a unique urban living community. Located at the corner of the university, this space offers individualized accommodation alternatives, creates a close-knit community and provides a distinctive living environment that meets faculty members' academic needs by guaranteeing easy access to educational resources. 54 residential units are participating in the study. Respondents are academic staff members that reside and work in the residences of Nuh Naci Yazgan University. The study centers on their housing experiences and they are its primary subjects. Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered using a combination of in-depth observations, questionnaires and interviews in addition to random sampling. The study closes a crucial knowledge gap regarding the application of biophilic design in urban settings, given the current state of growing urbanization. This study is significant because it may help design more environmentally friendly and psychologically stimulating urban living environments. The results of this study can help architects, designers and urban planners create healthier and more user-centered urban places, which will ultimately improve the quality of life in urban settings, by examining how biophilic design affects user experiences. Using a case study methodology, the study was focused on NNYU Residences as a particular urban living environments as its study subjects. Observations, surveys and interviews was used to gather both qualitative and quantitative data to investigate users' opinions about the integration of biophilic design elements in their surroundings. This study has multiple main objectives. It seeks to comprehend how consumers interpret biophilic design elements, evaluate how the design affects inhabitants' well-being, investigate sustainability issues and offer useful advice for designers and architects. According to this study, biophilic design enhances sustainability and user satisfaction in urban residential environments. This has significant ramifications for urban planners and architects. Nonetheless, the case-study methodology and possibility for participant bias are two of the study's shortcomings. Also, because interior architecture is the study's primary focus, related bioinspired fields are not included. To learn more about these topics and how they contribute to biophilic design in interior products, future studies should investigate them.

A Comparative Study on Discrepancies in Residential Building Energy Performance Certification in a Mediterranean Context

Energy Performance Certification (EPC) systems are pivotal in addressing the global energy challenge, particularly in the building sector. This study evaluates the efficacy of the EPC offered by the Simplified Building Energy Model interface designed to indicate compliance with the Cypriot building regulations, widely known as iSBEM-Cy Version 3.4a, by examining a typical residential unit in Cyprus. Data on construction features and electromechanical systems were collected, and actual monthly electricity and oil bills were analyzed to determine the total primary energy consumption. Various factors were considered, including energy efficiency and operational parameters for heating, cooling, lighting, auxiliary systems, and domestic hot water. The building energy performance was simulated using iSBEM-Cy, allowing for comparison with real-world energy consumption. Notable discrepancies were observed, particularly in cooling, with deviations reaching 377.4%. Conversely, domestic hot water consumption exhibited minimal variance at 7%, while heating and lighting showed moderate discrepancies (24.3% and −113.9%, respectively). This study underscores the need for rigorous evaluations to shape effective EPC and provides insights into building energy performance in Mediterranean Cyprus. This research contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable construction practices by aligning simulation results with real-world energy consumption.

Predicting Real Estate Prices Using Machine Learning in Abu Dhabi

Traditionally, real estate prices were determined based on demand and supply. As the real estate market was unregulated and underdeveloped, brokers and real estate builders had an upper hand in determining the unit prices of residential houses in Abu Dhabi. A pricing gap was eventually noticed. This was a challenge. There is a delay in updating the real estate websites and portal information. Therefore, the need for accurate forecasting of prices has become urgent. With a variety of use case scenarios for machine learning concepts, this paper is dedicated to using the concepts of machine learning to predict the real estate prices of Aldar in the Abu Dhabi region, which comprises 511 residential units, 15 retail shops, and one community center. Decision tree, random forest, support vector machines, and K-nearest neighbors (KNN) algorithms were used to identify which one is better for forecasting these real estate prices. Comparing the generated models, the random forest is the best-performing model, followed by support vector regression, and the decision tree model is the least-performing model.