Typical Building Research Articles

Heritage Regeneration Models for Traditional Courtyard Houses in a Northern Chinese City (Jinan) in the Context of Urban Renewal

The fundamental disputes in urban heritage regeneration stem from variations in power dynamics and inherent value systems among stakeholders. Addressing conflicts and power differentials involving governmental bodies, market forces, community residents, experts, and scholars is crucial for fostering sustainable urban heritage development. Recently, these contradictions have grown more pronounced as China’s urbanization has transitioned from rapid expansion to a phase focused on existing urban assets. In the present research, the typical traditional courtyard-style residential buildings in Jinan, a historic city in northern China, were selected as the object of study. These houses often suffer from problems such as outdated infrastructure and low living conditions and have become difficult to adapt to contemporary urban life. A case study approach was employed focusing on a representative courtyard house to develop models for renewing and regenerating urban heritage, specifically tailored to traditional courtyard houses. The aim was to address conflicts and power disparities among urban heritage stakeholders through diverse mechanisms. Methodologically, the research integrates historical study and field investigation, participatory analysis, and policy analysis. Primary data sources include field surveys, historical research, oral interviews, and drone aerial photography. Models were constructed in the present study—namely, the heritage self-renewal, heritage revitalization, and heritage transformation models—for traditional courtyard houses. These models were designed to foster sustainable urban heritage development through collaborative efforts across various stakeholders and administrative levels. They will optimize the renewal mechanism of urban heritage, thus providing diversity and multiple possibilities for the preservation and reuse of architectural heritage in China. They aim to realize comprehensive urban heritage values, including vitality, health, efficiency, and equity, while accommodating the interests of diverse stakeholders.

Carbon emission reduction model for sewage heat recovery and utilization in a northern Chinese city

The reduction of carbon emissions from buildings has become crucial in the context of global warming. Sewage heat is gradually becoming valued as a clean energy source; however, its efficient use remains to be studied. This study explored the potential of sewage heat recovery in reducing carbon emissions in an urban built environment and proposed a carbon emission reduction model for sewage heat recovery and utilization. The relationship between various sizes of sub-catchments and different types of heat use buildings was evaluated using detailed geographic and demographic data. The results of this study suggest that the strategic placement of recovery systems can minimize carbon emissions. For instance, when the proportion of residential buildings in an urban sewage pipe network sub-catchment area exceeds 60 %, retail and office buildings are the most ideal heat recovery subjects, achieving carbon reduction rates greater than 0.6. However, when the proportion of residential buildings in a sub-catchment was <30 %, retail buildings showed better results than those of office buildings. Through the proposed method and its application, retail buildings should be considered first in terms of urban sewage heat recovery and utilization, followed by office buildings. The combined simulations and scenario analyses in this study provide a reference for enhancing the sustainability of urban heating practices using underutilized sewage heat.

Developing simplified metamodels for assessing urban park cooling effect on the thermal behavior of the residential buildings: A case study in Nantes, France during a heat wave

The objective of this research is twofold. First, it aims to evaluate the impact of an urban park on the thermal behavior of residential buildings. Second, it focuses on developing and validating metamodels for predicting the cooling needs and summer thermal comfort of three types of residential buildings: single-family houses (Low-rise), small collective housing (Mid-rise), and large collective housing (High-rise). The metamodels are created through regression analysis, using a set of dynamic thermal simulations conducted with TRNSYS software. The number of dynamic simulations is efficiently reduced using the design of experiments method, and the accuracy of the metamodels is further validated through additional simulations. This study was conducted considering the climate weather conditions of the city of Nantes, France. The results demonstrate that an urban park can achieve a maximum reduction of 12.53 % in cooling needs and a 12.50 % maximum reduction in degree hours of discomfort, particularly when the building is protected from solar radiation. Furthermore, developed metamodels show high accuracy with regression coefficients over 0.96. This study aimed to create a decision support tool for local government departments to optimize urban cooling, improve thermal comfort, and reduce cooling loads in buildings by guiding the design of parks and their surrounding built environment.

Research on the Deformation Control Measures during the Construction Period of Super High-Rise Buildings with an Asymmetric Plan

Based on the Guangzhou Business Center project, a typical super high-rise building with an asymmetric plan, taking the construction speed, closure time of mega braces and belt trusses as influencing factors, a parametric analysis on its lateral and vertical deformations, as well as the maximum stress of key structural members was conducted. The analysis results indicated that the construction speed had a relatively small impact on the deformation and the maximum stress of key members. However, synchronous closure of belt truss compared with the delayed closure would result in smaller horizontal and vertical deformation differences, as well as the stress of belt truss. Meanwhile, the closure timing of the mega braces had little influence on the vertical deformation difference and the stress of belt truss. And the earlier the closure, the smaller the horizontal drift ratio, the greater the maximum stress of the mega braces. Further, deformation control measurements were brought forward. On the one hand, FEM simulation was carried out according to the above construction suggestions. On the other hand, real-time monitoring was also used. Finally, by comparing both results, proposed construction deformation control measures and simulation methods were verified.

An annual result of outdoor and indoor PM 2.5 analysis in two different building types in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Air pollution has been a significant environmental and public health concern in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, for many years. The city experiences severe air pollution, particularly during the winter months. This study investigated the annual trends of outdoor and indoor PM2.5 concentrations at two neighboring sites in Ulaanbaatar: an office and a household, using low-cost sensors. Both locations exhibited similar fluctuations in outdoor PM2.5 concentrations over time, with ambient PM2.5 levels beginning to rise in October and declining in April. During the mid-term of the heating season (November to February), hourly averaged PM2.5 concentrations were exceptionally high, with peak pollution events exceeding ~ 1000µg/m3. Notably, PM2.5 concentrations were elevated during this heating season period. Time-activity patterns showed a decrease in PM2.5 concentrations during the periods of 06:00-08:00 and 14:00-18:00. Furthermore, the study found that the indoor environment could remain safe when windows were well-sealed, even under severe outdoor pollution conditions. Overall, this study provided accurate insights into the annual patterns of PM2.5 concentrations and demonstrated their fluctuations during the heating season when pollution levels were particularly high. The findings offer valuable recommendations for individuals to consider when going outside and for taking actions to improve indoor air quality in Ulaanbaatar.

Egress Safety for STUDIO Residential Buildings

In recent years, the number of studio residential buildings has increased significantly in Korea, as well as in many other countries, due to changes in living patterns. In Korea especially, there have been many fire accidents in studio residential buildings, which have caused a huge number of casualties and property damages, because the buildings were not adequately equipped for firefighting. In this study, the egress safety of a typical studio residential building in Korea is analyzed. Fire simulations were performed with variables of the fire location and the capacity of the smoke exhaust system to estimate the available safe egress time (ASET); egress simulations were also performed with the variable of egress delay time, and the required safe egress time (RSET) was determined. Then, the egress safety was evaluated, and the criteria for egress safety evaluation were proposed based on the simulation results. A studio residential building with a floor plan different from the prototype was used to validate the proposed egress safety criteria. Finally, a simple evaluation model is presented to estimate the required safe egress time (RSET) without simulation and to examine the impact of bottlenecks.

The 3D plan analysis under progressive collapse for RC buildings through demand capacity ratio (DC) for three levels of damage

The progressive collapse presents a sudden load may cause initial failure in local parts at the frame which could lead to sequence reactions in the elements of the structure. A building of seven storeys was chosen to designed under gravity load according ACI 318 Code. This building is analyzed under progressive collapse condition for two columns damage cases; edge damage, corner damage. The building needs to be loaded as specified according (GSA) General Services Administration requirements through linear static analysis. The results of linear analysis show the variation in ((DC)) demand capacity ratio for the columns. The aspects of damage action in this study regarding section size and damage cases with 100% damage column loss (full damage), 60% damage (0.6 section size), 80% damage (0.8 section size). A GSA guideline to typical building with (DC) values bigger than 1.5 refer to critical potential damage conditions at the columns of the frame. It can be seen of the results the effect of size reduction for the building. This effect is clear to be decreased along distance from any plan. The((DC)) for columns which exceeded 1.5 value which show risky damage condition could actually happened that present serious threat possibility specially for nominated columns C22, C29 and C23 at plans A and B which show middle columns at lower position of the building.

Harnessing machine learning algorithms to unveil energy efficiency investment archetypes

Increasing transparency about the performance of different projects is crucial to reducing the heterogeneity in the energy efficiency services market, thereby upscaling investments. In this context, machine learning algorithms could assist in identifying and analyzing energy efficiency project archetypes, although this field has so far been explored with a limited view in the literature. This paper aims to address this gap by identifying energy efficiency investment families and the determinant factors of the classification scheme, using machine learning. In this effort, it hinges on a wide range of indicators from implemented projects around Europe and the USA, including investment profitability, initial investment, risk of failure, intervention type, life measure, region of implementation and building type. The analysis employs two clustering approaches, namely Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) and K-means, determining the number of clusters based on the Silhouette index and total within–cluster sum of squares. The results indicate that energy efficiency investments can be classified into three categories: (i) “junk investments”, characterized by low–profitability (IRR∼10%), moderate risk, and extended horizons; (ii) “safe profitability”, distinguished by high profitability (IRR∼30%) and minimal risk; and (iii) “high stakes”, described by exceptionally high profitability (IRR∼40%), coupled with a substantial risk. Next to profitability and risk of failure, also energy efficiency intervention and building type (sector) emerge among the most influential factors in the classification scheme. Feature importance shows a significant sensitivity to the chosen classification model.

Pollution of the environment and building interiors during asbestos removal as a result of lack of negative pressure in the working areas

The paper presents examples of the consequences of the lack of negative pressure in the work zone during asbestos removal. The asbestos fibre concentrations generated in those work zones were relatively low. This was due to the leakage in barriers restricting the work zone. Therefore the asbestos content in the outside air, near the renovated rooms was increasing. In the cases discussed, these works resulted in short-term pollution of the building's outdoor air to a depth of up to 15 m. Such contamination can cover the entire interior of the building. This may lead to long-term retention of asbestos fibre in the facility, despite the completion of asbestos removal. For example, non-friable asbestos-cement sheets removal in those work conditions increased indoor air by contamination up to 3000 f/m3 (outside the work zone). In the case of removing friable asbestos inside the building type “LIPSK”, indoor air contamination locally was up 21,000–51,000 f/m3, and outside the work zone to 18,000–28,900 f/m3. These values are above the average concentration of asbestos fibres in the same type of buildings (< 300–400 f/m3) in regular use.

The indoor thermal environment performance of various air-conditioning system configurations and airflow modes in a large space museum building

Optimizing air distribution in site museums is crucial for the long-term protection of heritage sites and the thermal comfort of visitors and staff. This study examined a site museum, analyzing the traditional suspended ceiling air-conditioning system and proposing a more rational renovation. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulations, the study evaluated the effects of both systems on site protection and thermal comfort. The results indicated that the retrofit scheme could significantly reduce the indoor air velocity and temperature with the same air supply parameters, which would improve human thermal comfort and also reduce the negative impact of temperature and wind speed on the site. Additionally, the retrofit scheme cut air-conditioning energy consumption by 40% and reduced initial investment costs for a unit with a rated airflow of 62,000 m³/h. The optimization of the air-conditioning system ends was also carefully considered, resulting in a safer and easier installation and maintenance process, as well as enhancing the visual appeal of the museum’s interior. The proposed retrofit scheme can provide a reference for the design of air-conditioning systems in similar types of buildings.

Research on a zero water consumption operation model and feasibility for office buildings

ABSTRACT According to Taiwan's government policy on net zero emissions by 2050, building designs are moving toward zero energy and zero water consumption to achieve these goals. Among these goals, establishing an independent water cycle within building systems is a primary objective. The present study examined office buildings as the research subject due to their crucial water usage characteristics, which can serve as a reference for other building types. We developed a water-use estimation model by conducting a literature review and data collection from existing green office building cases in Taiwan. The methods involved calculating the median annual water consumption per unit building area and discussing the current water-saving design status and water-saving rate. The findings indicate a median water-saving rate of 53%, which is far short of the goal of achieving a zero water building. This finding is primarily attributed to the infrequent use of water compensation in building designs. The feasibility of a zero water building is validated and determines its crucial operation. Consequently, design engineers can employ this methodology to compute water conservation rates for their designs, aiming for the construction of a zero water consumption building.

Molecular Investigation of the Self-Assembly Mechanism Underlying Polydopamine Coatings: The Synergistic Effect of Typical Building Blocks Acting on Interfacial Adhesion.

Polydopamine (PDA) is well known as a mussel-inspired adhesive material composed of oligomeric heteropolymers. However, the conventional eumelanin-like structural assumption of PDA seems deficient in explaining its interfacial adhesion. To determine the decisive mechanism of PDA coating formation, experiments and simulations were performed in this study. 5,6-Dihydroxyindole (DHI), the signature building block of eumelanin, was introduced as the control group. Various typical building blocks in PDA were quantified by physicochemical characterizations, and the polar-group-dominated interfacial interaction was evaluated by classic molecular dynamics and metadynamics methods. Aminoethyl has been proven to be the key functional group inducing the adsorption of PDA on the hydroxylated silica substrates, while DHI shows limited adhesion to the substrate due to the absence of aminoethyl as the catechol-indole structure of DHI exhibits poor affinity to the silica surface. Pyrrole carboxylic acid, as an oxidative product detected from PDA/DHI, is unfavorable for its adhesion to silica substrates. Overall, the coating formation and self-aggregating precipitation of PDA are two competitive aminoethyl-consuming paths; thus, the in situ oxidative coupling of dopamine is indispensable for the PDA coating preparation. The collected PDA precipitates can no longer present satisfactory coating forming behavior, resulting from a shortage of aminoethyl moieties.

A Special Equation between Visual Lightness and the Luxurious Impression of Interior Architecture through the New Classic

This research examines the application of the new classic contemporary style in interior architecture, focusing on achieving luxury and visual lightness. The study highlights the historical evolution of the new classic style and its relevance to modern interior design, emphasizing its suitability for contemporary settings. It addresses challenges such as higher costs, modern lifestyle constraints, and technological limitations. The research also seeks to dispel the misconception that the new classic style is inflexible and heavily reliant on aesthetic richness alone. To explore these themes, various methods were employed, including data collection and evaluation, observation, quantitative analysis, and psychophysical methods. These approaches allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the new classic style's adaptability across different building types, spaces, and cultural contexts. The study also examined the psychological and emotional impacts of this style on occupants. The research resulted in a practical designed for interior designers and enthusiasts, offering guidelines for effectively incorporating the new classic style in contemporary designs. This aims to help balance luxury with visual lightness in various settings, particularly in modern tourist destinations and the hotel industry, providing a detailed approach for applying this style in diverse interior spaces

How Not to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Unbalanced Focus on Energy Efficiency in Germany’s Building Rehabilitation Policies

Germany needs to reduce CO2 emissions from space heating in its old buildings to net zero by 2045 to fulfil its climate goals. However, direct CO2 reduction measures in existing buildings receive relatively little subsidy support from the federal government’s German Development Bank, compared to generous subsidies for energy efficiency measures. This interdisciplinary paper evaluates this phenomenon by comparing costs and CO2 abatement effects of ever higher energy efficiency measures, alongside the costs of direct CO2 reduction through heat pumps and onsite photovoltaics. It uses a set of carefully selected reports on the costs and benefits of renovation to a range of energy efficiency standards in three common types of multi-apartment buildings in Germany, updating these for 2024 construction, energy, and finance costs. The cost of the CO2 saved is extremely high with energy efficiency measures and absurdly high with the highest energy efficiency standards, up to 20 times the cost of CO2 abatement through other means, such as offsite renewables. This reduces markedly with onsite CO2 reduction measures. This paper sets this analysis in the context of asking what social, cultural, and discursive factors extol energy efficiency so highly that policy tends to thwart its own stated goal of deeply reducing CO2 emissions.

An Investigation into Building Functional Failures in Akure South Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria

Functional failures and faults are regular occurrences in buildings and construction industries. The rate of building collapse in Nigeria has increased dramatically over the last decade and shows no signs of abating which has led to massive losses causing loss of physical properties, destruction of movable properties, injury, and loss of life. Beyond this, building collapse always has far-reaching economic, financial, psychological, and sociological implications. This study reported the causes of functional failures of buildings in Akure South Local Government Area, Nigeria. As a result, this study aimed to investigate the causes of functional failures in buildings and their impact on the quality and functionality of a building to build a theoretical framework that can help address the functional failures in buildings. The study utilized a questionnaire-based survey in the Akure South Local Government area. Data was collected from residents occupying the buildings. Information obtained includes the type of building and the current physical condition of the houses they live in, and 90 responses were collected and analyzed. The analysis identified six factors of functional failures in buildings investigated; damp 30%, cracks 50%, poor plumbing 45%, poor electrical wiring 35%, roofing defects 25% and Inadequate maintenance 70% and four causes of building failures; poor construction materials 32.7%, human errors 20.7%, natural disasters 12.4%, and a combination of the three factors 34.2%. Based on the findings, the results showed that the combination of the three factors was the most significant cause of building functional failures in the Akure South LGA, while natural disasters were the least significant cause. To mitigate the functional failures in buildings, it is important to enforce stringent regulations and standards by involving Governmental bodies (architectural Engineers and structural Engineers) to check building drawings and structural analysis report properly and correctly before design approvals, conduct regular inspections and internal audits, to help detect and rectify errors and maintaining standards throughout the construction process in order to enhance the quality, safety, and resilience of buildings, ensuring their functionality and longevity.

Two years of data monitoring of all-CO2 retail stores within the MultiPACK project

This paper presents the results of a 24-month field monitoring of CO2 transcritical units designed to satisfy all the thermal needs of food retail stores, namely refrigeration, heating and cooling. The units, adopting state-of the art technologies, such as two phase ejectors and parallel compression, are developed within the H2020 project MultiPACK. The monitored supermarkets are located in Italy, in two different climatic areas, featuring different heating and cooling demands for indoor comfort, as well as diverse building type and display cabinets mix. Long lasting measurements allow for evaluation of energy and efficiency related KPIs, together with operational indicators. These figures are relevant for benchmarking with traditional solutions.

Field Assessment of Fundamental Periods for Typical RC Buildings in Port Said Using Ambient Testing.

Field Assessment of Fundamental Periods for Typical RC Buildings in Port Said Using Ambient Testing.

Research on the framework and meteorological parameter optimization method of dynamic heating load prediction model for heat-exchange stations

Heat-exchange station is the key mid-link between heat source and heat users in district heating system, playing a role in distributing heat and regulating supply and demand. Accurate load prediction at the level of heat-exchange stations and then regulating the heat supply is the important step to optimize district heating system. Based on real and limited data, the framework of heat-exchange station load prediction method is established in this study, which includes 5 procedures ‘data preprocessing method, input variable selection, solar radiation substitution, prediction model establishment and model transplantation application’. The sliding box plot method was proposed for data preprocessing, and the effects of data preprocessing under the widths of 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 96 h and 120 h were compared, with 48 h as the optimal sliding window width. Support Vector Regression (SVR) algorithm was used to establish a heating load prediction model for heat-exchange station in residential buildings. And parameter substitution was made for solar radiation data that cannot be obtained in weather forecasts. High accuracy was obtained with a MAPE of 5.80 % and RMSE of 0.18 GJ. The above model was transplanted and applied in three other heat-exchange stations of different building types. The MAPEs were 5.51 %, 7.79 % and 6.54 %, with corresponding RMSEs of 0.017 GJ, 0.04 GJ and 0.04 GJ, respectively, which all achieved good prediction results. The research results provide certain technical support for the operation and regulation of district heating systems.

Quantifying and Rating the Energy Resilience Performance of Buildings Integrated with Renewables in the Nordics under Typical and Extreme Climatic Conditions

The future buildings and society need to be resilient. This article aims to propose a novel concept of the energy resilience framework and implement a color-based rating system to quantify and rate the energy resilience performance of buildings in Nordic climates. The objective is to conduct a comparative analysis between old (1970s) and new (2020s) single-family buildings integrated with renewable energy sources and storage, assessing their energy resilience performance for heating during power outages, under extreme and typical climatic conditions. The study utilizes dynamic simulation of the buildings and renewable energy systems, conducting parametric studies to calculate proposed resilience indicators and rate their resilience performance, employing both passive and active methods. The total costs of the design variables are also calculated for economic evaluation. Given the complexities arising from climate change, the article uses a simplified method to synthesize regional climate to consider extreme climate change impacts on energy resilience performance. For the old building lacking PV, the robustness duration increased from 1 h to 3 h, and the degree of disruption (DoD) varied from 0.545 to 0.3 in extreme cold to warm climate scenarios, with the higher DoD number indicating worse performance. The impact of the season within the same climate scenario is also evident, as the habitability and robustness durations increased during spring compared to winter. The resilience improved with PV and battery. The new building showed that the robustness duration increased from 3 to 15 h, habitability durations increased, and the DoD varied from 0.496 to 0.22 from extreme cold to warm climates without renewables and storage. With the integration of PV and battery, the new building was able to achieve a lower DoD and better performance with lower PV and battery capacity, compared to the old building. Furthermore, utilizing the color grading method (red to green), optimal technical solutions and corresponding design variables were identified for each building type and climate scenario that could support decision-making. The total cost of the optimal solutions varied, as new buildings required lower costs to reach optimal performance. However, for optimal resilience performance during extreme cold climate scenarios, higher costs are required for each building type. The proposed resilience framework, indicators, color grading system, and costing could potentially support improvements in building regulations, ensuring the development of optimally resilient buildings, particularly in the face of extreme climatic conditions.

An experimental case study of escooter fire in a four-story building

Driven by the necessity to understand the fire and smoke dispersion characteristics of electric bicycle (escooter) fires and their effects on residents’ safety in rural houses, this study was conducted to perform full-scale fire experiments in a village house in Hainan, People’s Republic of China. The tested building is a typical multi-story building representative of rural houses in southern China. It is found that an escooter fire grows rapidly once its lithium-ion battery is overcharged to ignite. Inside the stairwell where the escooters are parked, a significant increase in temperature over 60°C across all floors is observed and the maximum temperature reaches up to 800°C on the first floor. Furthermore, the propagation of smoke is fast, reaching the upper floors within 5 minutes and filling the entire building within 7 minutes. Due to stack effect, carbon monoxide concentration is the highest on the fourth floor, notably higher than the other floors. Closing the doors of rooms where occupants are typically present is found to effectively block heat and smoke transfer. Thus, in case an escooter’s lithium-ion battery undergoes explosion combustion, it is better that residents stay in rooms by closing or even sealing the doors, waiting for help during most of the fire period. However, in case the lithium-ion battery has not been burning, there still are chances for evacuation or putting out the flame.