Author Archives: admin
How Do Occupants Perceive the Building Performance of Award-Winning Schools in the UK
School design can contribute to reducing carbon emissions and raising environmental awareness among the next generation. A good school environment can have positive effects on occupant behaviour, mood and working productivity, etc. This paper selected three RIBA award-winning schools as … Continue reading
Exploring the first European residential project receiving the ‘outstanding’ BREEAM certificate
The importance of demonstration projects in the process towards more sustainable building is endorsed. It is noticed that performances on sustainability of these projects are rarely proven by leading and widely used multi criteria assessment and rating tools. This research focuses on … Continue reading
From zero-energy building to zero-energy neighbourhood: urban form and mobility matter
“Zero-Energy” Building (ZEB) is arousing more and more interest internationally, both in policies aiming at a more sustainable built environment (such as the European Directive PEB that will require, for example, all new buildings to be “nearly Zero-Energy” Buildings (nZEB) by 2020) … Continue reading
Totora: A sustainable Insulation Material for the Andean Parts of Peru
In the Andean areas of Peru (above 12,000 feet 3,657 meters) altitude) rural communities are characterized by extreme poverty, precarious roads, and dwellings without heating systems nor the most common types of conventional construction materials that might provide thermal protection. … Continue reading
Reanalysing the ASHRAE RP-884 Database to Determine Thermal Comfort Criteria for Naturally Ventilated Buildings in Hot-Humid Climate
The main goal of this study is to determine a suitable set of thermal comfort criteria for naturally ventilated buildings in hot-humid climate by reanalysing the ASHRAE RP-884 database. The results reveal that the regression coefficient in the adaptive algorithm for naturally … Continue reading
Building Management for a Good Indoor Climate and Low Energy Use: How much coordination is needed between facility manager and technical manager?
In the Netherlands and most European countries it is usually not the Facility Manager who is in charge of the indoor climate and energy use of a building. This task is usually delegated to a technical service manager or sup-plier. … Continue reading
Analysis of Seasonal Differences in Microclimate Formed in a Local Small City of Paddy Field Areas – A new approach using airborne remote sensing and CFD simulation
This paper examines the relationship between the seasonal land cover change and microclimate formed in a local small city of paddy field areas in Japan using airborne remote sensing data and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation. The land cover maps … Continue reading
An Interactive Performance-Based Expert System for Daylighting Design
Architects are increasingly using digital tools during the design process, particularly as they approach complex problems such as designing for successful daylighting performance. However, while simulation tools may provide the designer with valuable information, they do not necessarily guide the … Continue reading
Outdoor Thermal Comfort in the Hot Arid Climate : The effect of socio-economic background and cultural différences
Climate-sensitive open spaces within cities may benefit the three dimensions of sustainability, affecting economical, social and environmental factors. Aiming to improve microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can enable people to spend more time outdoors, with the potential to influence the … Continue reading
Architectural Pride and Environmental Prejudice: The effect of personal status, historical value, and indoor décor on occupants indoor environmental quality in offices
This paper reports on an important yet unexplored area of indoor comfort studies, the relationship between historical attributes of buildings, personal values, and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of office spaces. For this study we employed a comparative case study design … Continue reading