Search results for: buildings sustainability

Authors: Maryam Davodi-Far

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Although sustainability offers a vision to preserve the earth’s resources while sustaining life on earth, there tends to be injustice and disparity in how resources are allocated across the globe. As such, the question that arises is whom will sustainability benefit? Will the rich grow richer and the poor become worse off? Is there a way to find balance between sustainability and still implement and achieve success with distributive justice theories? One of the facets of justice is distributive justice; the idea of balancing benefits and costs associated with the way in which we disseminate and consume goods. Social justice relies on how the cost and burdens of our resource allocation can be done reasonably and equitably and spread across a number of societies, and within each society spread across diverse groups and communities. In the end, the question is how to interact with the environment and diverse communities of today and of those communities of the future.

Keywords: consumerism, sustainability, sustainable development, social justice, social equity, distributive justice

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Authors: João P. E. De Souza, Rob Dekkers

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Whereas lean product development aims at maximising customer value whilst optimising product and process design, the question arises whether this approach includes sustainability. A systematic literature review reveals that methods associated with this conceptualisation of product development are suitable for including sustainability, but that the criteria for the triple-bottom line need to be included when using these methods; this is particularly the case for social aspects. Thus, the main finding is that not new methods should be developed, but that existing methods should be more inclusive towards all aspects of sustainability and product life-cycle thinking.

Keywords: lean product development, product life-cycle, sustainability, systematic literature review, triple bottom-line

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Authors: Narayan Gurung, Fawu Wang, Ranjan Kumar Dahal

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Nepal is highly prone to earthquakes and has witnessed at least one major earthquake in 80 to 90 years interval. The Gorkha earthquake, that measured 7.8 RS in magnitude and struck Nepal on 25th April 2015, after 81 years since Mw 8.3 Nepal Bihar earthquake in 1934, was the largest earthquake after Mw 8.3 Nepal Bihar earthquake. In this paper, an attempt has been made to highlight the lessons learnt from the MwW 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake. Several types of damage patterns in buildings were observed for reinforced concrete buildings, as well as for unreinforced masonry and adobe houses in the earthquake of 25 April 2015. Many field visits in the affected areas were conducted, and thus, associated failure and damage patterns were identified and analyzed. Damage patterns in non-engineered buildings, middle and high-rise buildings, commercial complexes, administrative buildings, schools and other critical facilities are also included from the affected districts. For most buildings, the construction and structural deficiencies have been identified as the major causes of failure; however, topography, local soil amplification, foundation settlement, liquefaction associated damages and buildings built in hazard-prone areas were also significantly observed for the failure or damages to buildings and hence are reported. Finally, the lessons learnt from Mw 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake are presented in order to mitigate impacts of future earthquakes in Nepal.

Keywords: Gorkha earthquake, reinforced concrete structure, Nepal, lesson learnt

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Authors: Mahsa Karimpour, Martin Belusko, Ke Xing, Frank Bruno

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Traditionally the embodied energy of design choices which reduce operational energy were assumed to have a negligible impact on the life cycle energy of buildings. However with new buildings having considerably lower operational energy, the significance of embodied energy increases. A life cycle assessment of a population of house designs was conducted in a mild and mixed climate zone. It was determined not only that embodied energy dominates life cycle energy, but that the impact on embodied of design choices was of equal significance to the impact on operational energy.

Keywords: building life cycle energy, embodied energy, energy design measures, low energy buildings

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Authors: Venkatesh Kumar, Kasun Hewage, Rehan Sadiq

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Residential buildings consume significant amounts of energy and produce a large amount of emissions and waste. However, there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH). Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy, operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena Impact estimator software respectively. The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings, the relationship between the energy use and the environmental impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while, HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements for SDH is found to be a significant component among the four types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects between the buildings.

Keywords: building simulation, environmental impacts, life cycle assessment, life cycle energy analysis, residential buildings

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Authors: Nadine Yehya, Chantal Maatouk

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Low energy buildings have been developed to achieve global climate commitments in reducing energy consumption. They comprise energy efficient buildings, zero energy buildings, positive buildings and passive house buildings. The reduced energy demands in Low Energy buildings call for advanced building energy modeling that focuses on studying active building systems such as heating, cooling and ventilation, improvement of systems performances, and development of control systems. Modeling and building simulation have expanded to cover different modeling approach i.e.: detailed physical model, dynamic empirical models, and hybrid approaches, which are adopted by various simulation tools. This paper uses DesignBuilder with EnergyPlus simulation engine in order to; First, study the impact of efficiency measures on building energy behavior by comparing Low energy residential model to a conventional one in Beirut-Lebanon. Second, choose the appropriate energy systems for the studied case characterized by an important cooling demand. Third, study dynamic modeling of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system in EnergyPlus that is chosen due to its advantages over other systems and its availability in the Lebanese market. Finally, simulation of different energy systems models with different modeling approaches is necessary to confront the different modeling approaches and to investigate the interaction between energy systems and building envelope that affects the total energy consumption of Low Energy buildings.

Keywords: physical model, variable refrigerant flow heat pump, dynamic modeling, EnergyPlus, the modeling approach

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Authors: Hossein Arfaeinia, Azam Nadali, Zahra Asadgol, Mohammad Fahiminia

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Indoor and outdoor particulate matters (PM) were monitored in 20 residential buildings in a two-part study. In part I, the levels of indoor and outdoor PM₁₀, PM₂.₅ and PM₁ was measured using real time GRIMM dust monitors. In part II, the effect of negative air ions (NAIs) method was investigated on the reduction of indoor concentration of PM in these residential buildings. Hourly average concentration and standard deviation (SD) of PM₁₀ in indoor and outdoor at residential buildings were 90.1 ± 33.5 and 63.5 ± 27.4 µg/ m3, respectively. Indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM₂.₅ in residential buildings were 49.5 ± 18.2 and 39.4± 18.1 µg/ m3 and for PM₁ the concentrations were 6.5 ± 10.1and 4.3 ± 7.7 µg/ m3, respectively. Indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios and concentrations of all size fractions of PM were strongly correlated with wind speed and temperature whereas a good relationship was not observed between humidity and I/O ratios of PM. We estimated that nearly 71.47 % of PM₁₀, 79.86 % of PM₂.₅ and of 61.25 % of PM₁ in indoor of residential buildings can be removed by negative air ions.

Keywords: particle matter (PM), indoor air, negative air ions (NAIs), residential building

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Authors: Jalalludin Abdul Malek, Zurinah Tahir

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When the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) was launched in 1995, it became the catalyst for the implementation of the intelligent city concept, an area that covers about 15 x 50 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The concept of intelligent city means that the city has an advanced infrastructure and infostructure such as information technology, advanced telecommunication systems, electronic technology and mechanical technology to be utilized for the development of urban elements such as industries, health, services, transportation and communications. For example, the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur has also many intelligent buildings developed by the private sector such as the KLCC Tower to implement the intelligent city concept. Consequently, the intelligent buildings in the Golden Triangle can be linked directly to the Putrajaya Intelligent City and Cyberjaya Intelligent City within the confines of the MSC. However, the reality of the situation is that there are not many intelligent buildings within the Golden Triangle Kuala Lumpur scope which can be considered of high-standard intelligent buildings as referred to by the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) building standard. This increases the need to implement the real ‘intelligent city’ concept. This paper aims to show the strengths and weaknesses of the intelligent buildings in the Golden Triangle by taking into account aspects of 'intelligence' in the areas of technology and infrastructure of buildings.

Keywords: intelligent city concepts, intelligent building, Golden Triangle, Kuala Lumpur

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Authors: Pennapa Palapin

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This study aimed to examine the management and development of forest tourism Kamchanoad. Ban Dung, Udon Thani sustainability. Data were collected by means of qualitative research including in-depth interviews, semi-structured, and then the data were summarized and discussed in accordance with the objectives. And make a presentation in the form of lectures. The target population for the study consisted of 16 people, including representatives from government agencies, community leaders and the community. The results showed that Guidelines for the Management and Development of Forest Tourism Kamchanoad include management of buildings and infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, toilets. Other developments are the establishment of a service center that provides information and resources to facilitate tourists.; nature trails and informative signage to educate visitors on the path to the jungle Kamchanoad; forest activities for tourists who are interested only in occasional educational activities such as vegetation, etc.; disseminating information on various aspects of tourism through various channels in both Thailand and English, as well as a website to encourage community involvement in the planning and management of tourism together with the care and preservation of natural resources and preserving the local cultural tourist area of Kamchanoad.

Keywords: guidelines for the management and development, forest tourism, Kamchanoad, sustainability

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Authors: P. Brinks, O. Kornadt, R. Oly

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This research focuses on the optimization of glazed surfaces and the assessment of possible solar gains in industrial buildings. Existing window rating methods for single windows were evaluated and a new method for a simple analysis of energy gains and losses by single windows was introduced. Furthermore extensive transient building simulations were carried out to appraise the performance of low cost polycarbonate multi-cell sheets in interaction with typical buildings for industrial applications. Mainly, energy-saving potential was determined by optimizing the orientation and area of such glazing systems in dependency on their thermal qualities. Moreover the impact on critical aspects such as summer overheating and daylight illumination was considered to ensure the user comfort and avoid additional energy demand for lighting or cooling. Hereby the simulated heating demand could be reduced by up to 1/3 compared to traditional architecture of industrial halls using mainly skylights.

Keywords: solar architecture, Passive Solar Building Design, glazing, Low-Energy Buildings, industrial buildings

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Authors: Raziyeh Teimouri, Sadasivam Karuppannan, Alpana Sivam, Ning Gu

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Urban Green Space (UGS) is one of the most critical components of urban systems to create sustainable cities. UGS has valuable social benefits that closely correlate with people's life quality. Studying social sustainability factors that can be achieved by green spaces is required for optimal UGS planning to increase urban social sustainability. This paper aims to identify key factors that enhance urban social sustainability through UGS planning. To reach the goal of the study international experts’ survey has been conducted. According to the results of the survey analysis, factors of proper distribution, links to public transportation, walkable access, sense of place, social interactions, public education, safety and security, walkability and cyclability, physical activity and recreational facilities, suitability for all ages, disabled people, women, and children are among the key factors that should consider in UGS planning programs to promote urban social sustainability.

Keywords: UGS, planning, social sustainability, key factors

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Authors: Tim D. Sass

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The experience of engineers and architects practicing today is typically limited to current building code requirements and modern construction methods and materials. However, many cities have a mix of new and old buildings with many buildings constructed over one hundred years ago when building codes and construction methods were much different. When a brick building sustains damage, a structural engineer is often hired to determine the cause of damage as well as determine the necessary repairs. Forensic studies of dozens of brick buildings shows an appreciation of historical building methods and materials is needed to correctly identify the cause of damage and design an appropriate repair. Damage on an older, brick building can be mistakenly attributed to storms or seismic events when the real source of the damage is deficient original construction. Assessing and remediating damaged brickwork on older brick buildings requires an understanding of the original construction, an understanding of older repair methods, and, an understanding of current building code requirements.

Keywords: brick, damage, deterioration, facade

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Authors: Ehsan Sadie

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Today, after devastating earthquakes and many deaths due to the destruction of residential buildings, the scientific community has attracted the attention of the existing structures to strengthen and standardize construction. Due to the fact that the existing buildings are sometimes constructed without sufficient knowledge of the correct design, and even the buildings built according to the old standards today need to be reinforced due to changes in some provisions of the regulations. The location of some countries in the seismic zone has always caused a lot of human and economic damage throughout history, and attention to the strengthening of buildings, important facilities, and vital arteries is the result of this situation. Engineers' efforts to design earthquake-resistant buildings began when decades had passed since the development of design criteria and ensuring the safety of buildings against loads. New methods, mass reduction, reducing the weight of the building, use of moving structures to deal with earthquakes, as well as the use of new technologies in this field, including the use of dampers, composites in the reinforcement of structures are discussed, and appropriate solutions have been provided in each of the fields.

Keywords: brace, concrete structure, damper, earthquake, FRP reinforcement, lightweight material, retrofitting, seismic isolator, shear wall, steel structure

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Authors: MinHee Chung, BoYeob Lee, Yuri Kim, Eon Ku Rhee

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With an increase in the interest in the energy conservation for buildings, and the emergence of many methods and easily-understandable approaches to it, energy conservation has now become the public’s main interest, as compared to in the past when it was only focused upon by experts. This study aims to help the occupants of a building to understand the energy efficiency and consumption of the building by providing them information on the building’s energy efficiency through a mobile application. The energy performance assessment models are proposed on the basis of the actual energy usage and building characteristics such as the architectural scheme and the building equipment. The university buildings in Korea are used as a case to demonstrate the mobile application.

Keywords: energy consumption, energy performance assessment, mobile application, university buildings

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Authors: Carmela Cucuzzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin

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Eco-architecture today is being assessed and judged increasingly on the basis of its environmental performance and its dedication to urgent stakes of sustainability. Architects have responded to environmental imperatives in novel ways since the 1960s. In the last two decades, however, different forms of eco-architecture practices have emerged that seem to be as dedicated to the issues of sustainability, as to their ability to 'communicate' their ecological features. The hypothesis is that some contemporary eco-architecture has been developing a characteristic 'explanatory discourse', of which it is possible to identify in buildings around the world. Some eco-architecture practices do not simply demonstrate their alignment with pressing ecological issues, rather, these buildings seem to be also driven by the urgent need to explain their ‘greenness’. The design aims specifically to teach visitors of the eco-qualities. These types of architectural practices are referred to in this paper as eco-didactic. The aim of this paper is to identify and assess this distinctive form of environmental architecture practice that aims to teach. These buildings constitute an entirely new form of design practice that places eco-messages squarely in the public realm. These eco-messages appear to have a variety of purposes: (i) to raise awareness of unsustainable quotidian habits, (ii) to become means of behavioral change, (iii) to publicly announce their responsibility through the designed eco-features, or (iv) to engage the patrons of the building into some form of sustainable interaction. To do this, a comprehensive review of Canadian eco-architecture is conducted since 1998. Their potential eco-didactic aspects are analysed through a lens of three vectors: (1) cognitive visitor experience: between the desire to inform and the poetics of form (are parts of the design dedicated to inform the visitors of the environmental aspects?); (2) formal architectural qualities: between the visibility and the invisibility of environmental features (are these eco-features clearly visible by the visitors?); and (3) communicative method for delivering eco-message: this transmission of knowledge is accomplished somewhere between consensus and dissensus as a method for disseminating the eco-message (do visitors question the eco-features or are they accepted by visitors as features that are environmental?). These architectural forms distinguish themselves in their crossing of disciplines, specifically, architecture, environmental design, and art. They also differ from other architectural practices in terms of how they aim to mobilize different publics within various urban landscapes The diversity of such buildings, from how and what they aim to communicate, to the audience they wish to engage, are all key parameters to better understand their means of knowledge transfer. Cases from the major cities across Canada are analysed, aiming to illustrate this increasing worldwide phenomenon.

Keywords: eco-architecture, public awareness, community engagement, didacticism, communication

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Authors: Yathreb Sabsaby

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Energy efficiency retrofitting of existing buildings was long ignored by public authorities who favored energy efficiency policies in new buildings, which are easier to implement. Indeed, retrofitting is more complex and difficult to organize because of the extreme diversity in existing buildings, administrative situations and occupation. Energy efficiency retrofitting of existing buildings has now become indispensable in all economies—even emerging countries—given the constraints imposed by energy security and climate change, and because it represents considerable potential energy savings. Addressing energy efficiency in the existing building stock has been acknowledged as one of the most critical yet challenging aspects of reducing our environmental footprint on the ecosystem. Tripoli, Lebanon chosen as case study area is a typical Mediterranean metropolis in the North Lebanon, where multifamily residential buildings are all around the city. This generally implies that the density of energy demand is extremely high, even the renewable energy facilities are involved, they can just play as a minor energy provider at the current technology level in the single family house. It seems only the low energy design for buildings can be made possible, not the zero energy certainly in developing country. This study reviews the latest research and experience and provides recommendations for deep energy retrofits that aim to save more than 50% of the energy used in a typical Tripoli apartment building.

Keywords: energy-efficiency, existing building, multifamily residential building, retrofit

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Authors: Derradji A., Ben El Mamoun M., Zakaria E., Charadi I. Anrur

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The issue of dilapidated buildings represents a significant opportunity for constructive and beneficial interventions in Morocco. Faced with challenges associated with aging constructions and rapid urbanization, the country is committed to developing innovative strategies aimed at revitalizing urban areas and enhancing the sustainability of infrastructure, thereby ensuring citizens' safety. Through targeted investments in the renovation and modernization of existing buildings, Morocco aims to stimulate job creation, boost the local economy, and improve the quality of life for residents. Additionally, the integration of sustainable construction standards and the strengthening of regulations will promote resilient and environmentally friendly urban development. In this proactive perspective, LABOTEST has been commissioned by the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRUR) to conduct an in-depth study. This study focuses on the technical expertise of 1800 buildings identified as dilapidated in the prefectures of Rabat and Skhirat-Témara following an initial clearance operation. The primary objective of this initiative is to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis of these buildings and define the necessary interventions to eliminate potential risks while ensuring appropriate treatment. The article presents the adopted intervention methodology, taking into account the social dimensions involved, as well as the results of the technical expertise. These results include the classification of buildings according to their degree of urgency and recommendations for appropriate conservatory measures. Additionally, different pathologies are identified and accompanied by specific treatment proposals for each type of building. Since this study, the adopted approach has been generalized to the entire territory of Morocco. LABOTEST has been solicited by other cities such as Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Ouazzane, Azilal, Bejaad, and Demnate. This extension of the initiative demonstrates Morocco's commitment to addressing urban challenges in a proactive and inclusive manner. These efforts also illustrate the endeavors undertaken to transform urban challenges into opportunities for sustainable development and socio-economic progress for the entire population.

Keywords: building, dilapidated, rehabilitation, Morocco

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Authors: Subham Kharel, Sudha Ravindranath, A. Vidya, B. Chandrasekaran, K. Ganesha Raj, T. Shesadri

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Digitization of urban features is a tedious and time-consuming process when done manually. In addition to this problem, Indian cities have complex habitat patterns and convoluted clustering patterns, which make it even more difficult to map features. This paper makes an attempt to classify urban objects in the satellite image using object-oriented classification techniques in which various classes such as vegetation, water bodies, buildings, and shadows adjacent to the buildings were mapped semi-automatically. Building layer obtained as a result of object-oriented classification along with already available building layers was used. The main focus, however, lay in the extraction of high-rise buildings using spatial technology, digital image processing, and modeling, which would otherwise be a very difficult task to carry out manually. Results indicated a considerable rise in the total number of buildings in the city. High-rise buildings were successfully mapped using satellite imagery, spatial technology along with logical reasoning and mathematical considerations. The results clearly depict the ability of Remote Sensing and GIS to solve complex problems in urban scenarios like studying urban sprawl and identification of more complex features in an urban area like high-rise buildings and multi-dwelling units. Object-Oriented Technique has been proven to be effective and has yielded an overall efficiency of 80 percent in the classification of high-rise buildings.

Keywords: object oriented classification, shadow extraction, high-rise buildings, satellite imagery, spatial technology

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Authors: Albert Acheampong, Tamer Elshandidy

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We investigate the extent to which sustainability disclosure from the narrative section of European banks’ annual reports improves analyst forecast accuracy. We capture sustainability disclosure using a machine learning approach and use forecast error to proxy analyst forecast accuracy. Our results suggest that sustainability disclosure significantly improves analyst forecast accuracy by reducing the forecast error. In a further analysis, we also find that the induction of Directive 2014/95/European Union (EU) is associated with increased disclosure content, which then reduces forecast error. Collectively, our results suggest that sustainability disclosure improves forecast accuracy, and the induction of the new EU directive strengthens this improvement. These results hold after several further and robustness analyses. Our findings have implications for market participants and policymakers.

Keywords: sustainability disclosure, machine learning, analyst forecast accuracy, forecast error, European banks, EU directive

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Authors: Nur Bella Octoria Bella, Ayomi Dita Rarasati

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DKI Jakarta is Indonesia's capital city with the 10th highest congestion rate in the world based on the 2019 traffic index. Other than that based on World Air Quality Report in 2019 showed DKI Jakarta's air pollutant concentrate 49.4 µg and the 5th highest air pollutant in the world. In the urban city nowadays, the mobility rate is high enough and the efficiency for sustainability assessment in transport infrastructure development is needed. This efficiency is the important key for sustainable infrastructure development. DKI Jakarta is nowadays in the process of constructing the railway infrastructure to support the transportation system. The problems appearing are the railway infrastructure networks and the service in DKI Jakarta already planned based on sustainability factors or not. Therefore, the aim of this research is to make the evaluation of railways infrastructure networks performance and services in DKI Jakarta regards on the railway sustainability key factors. Further, this evaluation will be used to make the railway sustainability assessment framework and to offer some of the alternative solutions to improve railway transportation sustainability in DKI Jakarta. Firstly a very detailed literature review of papers that have focused on railway sustainability factors and their improvements of railway sustainability, published in the scientific journal in the period 2011 until 2021. Regarding the sustainability factors from the literature review, further, it is used to assess the current condition of railway infrastructure in DKI Jakarta. The evaluation will be using a Likert rate questionnaire and directed to the transportation railway expert and the passenger. Furthermore, the mapping and evaluation rate based on the sustainability factors will be compared to the effect factors using the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). This research offers the network's performance and service rate impact on the sustainability aspect and the passenger willingness for using the rail public transportation in DKI Jakarta.

Keywords: transportation sustainability, railway transportation, sustainability, DKI Jakarta

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Authors: Ingy Ibrahim El-Darwish, Neveen Youssef Azmy

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The endowment of a healthy environment can be implemented by endorsing sustainable fundamentals. Design of sustainable buildings through recycling of waste, can reduce health problems, provide good environments and contribute to the aesthetically pleasing entourage. Such environments can help in providing energy-saving alternatives to consolidate the principles of sustainability. The poor community awareness and the absence of laws and legislation in Egypt for waste management specifically in residential areas have led to an inability to provide an integrated system for waste management in urban and rural areas. Many problems and environmental challenges face the Egyptian urban environments. From these problems, is the lack of a cohesive vision for waste collection and recycling for energy-saving. The second problem is the lack public awareness of the short term and long term vision of waste management. Bad practices have adversely affected the efficiency of environmental management systems due to lack of urban legislations that codify collection and recycling of residential communities in Egyptian urban environments. Hence, this research tries to address residents on waste management matters to facilitate legislative process on waste collection and classification within residential units and outside them in a preparation phase for recycling in the Egyptian urban environments. In order to achieve this goal, one of the Egyptian communities has been addressed, analyzed and studied. Waste collection, classification, separation and access to recycling places in the urban city are proposed in preparation for a legislation ruling and regulating the process. Hence, sustainable principles are to be achieved.

Keywords: recycling, residential buildings, sustainability, waste

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Authors: Negar Sartipzadeh

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The historic buildings are generally the ones which have been built by materials like brick, mud, stone, and wood. Some phenomena such as severe earthquakes can be tremendously detrimental to the structures, imposing serious effects and losses on such structures. Hence, it matters a lot to ascertain safety and reliability of the structures under such circumstances. It has been asserted that the major reason for the collapse of Unreinforced Masonry (URM) in various earthquakes is the incapability of resisting the forces and vice versa because such URMs are meant for the gravity load and they fail to withstand the shear forces inside the plate and the bending forces outside the plate. For this reason, restrengthening such structures is a key factor in lowering the seismic loss in developing countries. Seismic reinforcement of the historic buildings with regard to their cultural value on one hand, and exhaustion and damage of many of the structural elements on the other hand, have brought in restricting factors which necessitate the seismic reinforcement methods meant for such buildings to be maximally safe, non-destructive, effective, and non-obvious. Henceforth, it is pinpointed that making use of diverse technologies such as active controlling, Energy dampers, and seismic separators besides the current popular methods would be justifiable for such buildings, notwithstanding their high imposed costs.

Keywords: masonry buildings, seismic reinforcement, Unreinforced Masonry (URM), earthquake

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Authors: András Horkai, Attila Talamon, Viktória Sugár

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There is an urgent need nowadays to reduce energy demand and the current level of greenhouse gas emission and use renewable energy sources increase in energy efficiency. On the other hand, the European Union (EU) countries are largely dependent on energy imports and are vulnerable to disruption in energy supply, which may, in turn, threaten the functioning of their current economic structure. Residential buildings represent a significant part of the energy consumption of the building stock. Only a small part of the building stock is exchanged every year, thus it is essential to increase the energy efficiency of the existing buildings. Present paper focuses on the buildings built with industrialized technology only, and their opportunities in the boundaries of nearly zero-energy regulation. Current paper shows the emergence of panel construction method, and past and present of the ‘panel’ problem in Hungary with a short outlook to Europe. The study shows as well as the possibilities for meeting the nearly zero and cost optimized requirements for residential buildings by analyzing the renovation scenarios of an existing residential typology.

Keywords: Budapest, energy consumption, industrialized technology, nearly zero-energy buildings

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Authors: Rishabh Agrawal, S. C. Kaushik, T. S. Bhatti

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In order to reduce energy consumption for sustainable development, continuous energy consumption tracking of building energy systems are essential. In this paper an assessment study has been done to identify the energy consumption & energy conservation potential for commercial buildings sector in Karnataka state, India. There are a total of 326 commercial buildings in the state of Karnataka who has qualified as designated consumers (i.e., having a Contract Demand ≥ 600 KVA), was consider for the study. It has estimated that the annual electricity sale to commercial sector is 3.62 Billion Units (BU) in alone Karnataka State, India, which is an account for 9.57 % of the total electricity sold. The commercial sector constitutes Government & private establishments, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, educational institutions, malls etc. Total 326 commercial buildings in the state accounting for annual energy consumption of 1295.72 Million Units (MU) which works out to about 35% of the sectoral consumption. The annual energy savings potential for 326 commercial buildings is assessed to be 0.25 BU.

Keywords: commercial buildings, connected load, energy conservation studies, energy savings, energy efficiency, energy conservation strategy, energy efficiency, thermal energy, HVAC system

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Authors: A. Esra İdemen, Sinan M. Şener, Emrah Acar

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The technological paradigm of the disaster management field, especially in the case of governmental intervention strategies, is generally based on rapid and flexible accommodation solutions. From various technical solution patterns used to address the immediate housing needs of disaster victims, the adaptive re-use of existing buildings can be considered to be both low-cost and practical. However, there is a scarcity of analytical methods to screen, select and adapt buildings to help decision makers in cases of emergency. Following an extensive literature review, this paper aims to highlight key points and problem areas associated with the adaptive re-use of buildings within the disaster management context. In other disciplines such as real estate management, the adaptive re-use potential (ARP) of existing buildings is typically based on the prioritization of a set of technical and non-technical criteria which are then weighted to arrive at an economically viable investment decision. After a disaster, however, the assessment of the ARP of buildings requires consideration of different/additional layers of analysis which stem from general disaster management principles and the peculiarities of different types of disasters, as well as of their victims. In this paper, a discussion of the development of an adaptive re-use potential (ARP) assessment model is presented. It is thought that governmental and non-governmental decision makers who are required to take quick decisions to accommodate displaced masses following disasters are likely to benefit from the implementation of such a model.

Keywords: adaptive re-use of buildings, disaster management, temporary housing, assessment model

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Authors: M. Hakan Arslan, I. Hakkı Erkan

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Overstrength factor is an important parameter of load reduction factor. In this research, the overstrength factor (Ω) of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings and the parameters of Ω in TEC-2016 draft version have been explored. For this aim, 48 RC buildings have been modeled according to the current seismic code TEC-2007 and Turkish Building Code-500-2000 criteria. After modelling step, nonlinear static pushover analyses have been applied to these buildings by using TEC-2007 Section 7. After the nonlinear pushover analyses, capacity curves (lateral load-lateral top displacement curves) have been plotted for 48 RC buildings. Using capacity curves, overstrength factors (Ω) have been derived for each building. The obtained overstrength factor (Ω) values have been compared with TEC-2016 values for related building types, and the results have been interpreted. According to the obtained values from the study, overstrength factor (Ω) given in TEC-2016 draft code is found quite suitable.

Keywords: reinforced concrete buildings, overstrength factor, earthquake, static pushover analysis

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Authors: Maryam Solgi, Behzad Shahmohammadi, Morteza Raissi Dehkordi

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One of the main steps for seismic retrofitting of buildings is to determine the vulnerability of structures. While current procedures for evaluating existing buildings are complicated, and there is no limitation between short, middle-high, and tall buildings. This research utilizes a simplified method for assessing structures, which is adequate for existing reinforced concrete buildings. To approach this aim, Simple Lateral Mechanisms Analysis (SLaMA) procedure proposed by NZSEE (New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering) has been carried out. In this study, three RC moment-resisting frame buildings are determined. First, these buildings have been evaluated by inelastic static procedure (Pushover) based on acceptance criteria. Then, Park-Ang Damage Index is determined for the whole members of each building by Inelastic Time History Analysis. Next, the Simple Lateral Mechanisms Analysis procedure, a hand method, is carried out to define the capacity of structures. Ultimately, existing procedures are compared with Peak Ground Acceleration caused to fail (PGAfail). The results of this comparison emphasize that the Pushover procedure and SLaMA method define a greater value of PGAfail than the Park-Ang Damage model.

Keywords: peak ground acceleration caused to fail, reinforced concrete moment-frame buildings, seismic vulnerability analysis, simple lateral mechanisms analysis

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Authors: Miguel José Oliveira, Fátima Farinha, Elisa M. J. da Silva, Rui Lança, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Cátia Miguel

Abstract:

The Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism (OBSERVE) will be a valuable tool to assess the sustainability of this region. The OBSERVE tool is designed to provide data and maintain an up-to-date, consistent set of indicators defined to describe the region on the environmental, sociocultural, economic and institutional domains. This ongoing two-year project has the active participation of the Algarve’s stakeholders, since they were consulted and asked to participate in the discussion for the indicators proposal. The environmental and sociocultural indicators chosen must indicate the characteristics of the region and should be in alignment with other global systems used to monitor the sustainability. This paper presents a review of sustainability indicators systems that support the first proposal for the environmental and sociocultural indicators. Others constraints are discussed, namely the existing data and the data available in digital platforms in a format suitable for automatic importation to the platform of OBSERVE. It is intended that OBSERVE will be a valuable tool to assess the sustainability of the region of Algarve.

Keywords: Algarve, development, environmental indicators, observatory, sociocultural indicators, sustainability, tourism

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Authors: V. Naciti, L. Pulejo, F. Cesaroni

Abstract:

This study empirically analyzes whether the composition of the board of directors (BoD) enhances sustainability performance, in order to understand how the BoD contribute to the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their businesses. Hypotheses are developed based on the agency theory and stakeholder theory. Using a system generalized method of the moment (SGMM) two-step estimator, with data from Sustainalytics and Compustat databases for 362 firms in six regions, we find that firms with more diversity on the board and a separation of chair and CEO roles have higher sustainability performance. Moreover, our findings provide that a higher number of independent directors is negatively associated with sustainability performance. This study contributes to the literature on corporate governance and the firm’s performance by demonstrating that the composition of the board of directors contributes to a better sustainability performance: by the implementation of a particular corporate governance mechanism, it is possible to integrate SDGs in the corporate strategy.

Keywords: sustainable development goals, corporate governance, board of directors, sustainability performance

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Authors: Barbara Eschen Danielsen, Morten Niels Baxter, Per Sieverts Nielsen

Abstract:

Europe is currently in an energy and climate crisis, which requires more sustainable solutions than what has been used to before. Europe uses 40% of its energy in buildings so there has come a significant focus on trying to find and commit to new initiatives to reduce energy consumption in buildings. The European Union has introduced a building standard in 2021 to be upheld by 2030. This new building standard requires a significant reduction of CO2 emissions from both privately and publicly owned buildings. The overall aim is to achieve a zero-emission building stock by 2050. EU is revising the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) as part of the “Fit for 55” package. It was adopted on March 14, 2023. The new directive’s main goal is to renovate the least energy-efficient homes in Europe. There will be a cost for the home owner with a renovation project, but there will also be an improvement in energy efficiency and, therefore, a cost reduction. After the implementation of the EU directive, many homeowners will have to focus their attention on how to make the most effective energy renovations of their homes. The new EU directive will affect almost one million Danish homes (30%), as they do not meet the newly implemented requirements for energy efficiency. The problem for this one mio homeowners is that it is not easy to decide which renovation project they should consider. The houses are build differently and there are many possible solutions. The main focus of this paper is to identify the most impactful solutions and evaluate their impact and evaluating them with a criteria based sustainability indicator framework. The result of the analysis give each homeowner an insight in the various renovation options, including both advantages and disadvantages with the aim of avoiding unnecessary costs and errors while minimizing their CO2 footprint. Given that the new EU directive impacts a significant number of home owners and their homes both in Denmark and the rest of the European Union it is crucial to clarify which renovations have the most environmental impact and most cost effective. We have evaluated the 10 most impactful solutions and evaluated their impact in an indicator framework which includes 9 indicators and covers economic, environmental as well as social factors. We have packaged the result of the analysis in three packages, the most cost effective (short term), the most cost effective (long-term) and the most sustainable. The results of the study secure transparency and thereby provides homeowners with a tool to help their decision-making. The analysis is based on mostly qualitative indicators, but it will be possible to evaluate most of the indicators quantitively in a future study.

Keywords: energy efficiency, building renovation, renovation solutions, building energy performance criteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 75