bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resilience of coastal cities with accumulating climate-change coupled threats; depends on the cooperation of government, experts and the citizens
Authors: Sanders Fred C , Oliveira Ana Cláudia de
Published: November 2020

Most cities in the world are coastal cities, especially facing accumulating climate-change coupled threats. These cities are precisely the ones that are growing the fastest, what makes this development a risk for millions of people in our world. These accumulating threats happen when seawater-level rise, clustered heavy rainfall, and meltwater river-level rise fall occur simultaneously. Within the H2020 Marie Curie ‘SOS Climate Waterfront’ 2019-2021 research program, researchers exchanged between coastal cities in Europe to explore whether they are aware of the need for resilience, and how the resilience in these cities is structured systematically. Aiming for the accelerated adjustment of the research methodology, the situation of three EU islands was examined as a sidekick. Thereby Actions/Actors-diagram is developed as a tool. The conclusions are: this diagram helps to make the positions of actors clear, helps to clarify which measures are being worked on, and can help to identify any obstacles to work on resilience. In relation to the situation on the three islands, the diagram also helped to clarify the reason for the blockade. It has been concluded that for this type of research it is important to first properly visualize the local situation, and to make extra efforts to talk to many experts and make extra additions to interview citizens connected to community initiatives.
Upscaling the housing renovation market through far-reaching industrialization
Authors: Decorte Y , Steeman M , Krämer U B , Struck C , Lange K , Zander B , Haan A de
Published: November 2020

The European existing building stock contributes to 40% of the total energy use and 36% of the CO2 emissions. To deal with the climate crisis, European climate and energy objectives were defined. By 2050, CO2 emissions should be cut to 80-95% compared to 1990 and all buildings must be energy-neutral. The North-Sea Region alone consists of 22 million outdated dwellings built between 1950 and 1985 that are in high need of renovation. Nowadays, the renovation industry applies mainly manual on-site renovation techniques, resulting in a low renovation pace, relatively high labour costs and a long duration. To tackle the urgent need for rapid renovations, six countries of the North-Sea Region collaborate to upscale the current renovation process in the Interreg project INDU-ZERO “Industrialization of house renovations toward energy-neutral”. The project focuses on modular prefabricated renovation packages with fully integrated HVAC technologies to arrive at energy-neutral dwellings. The project researches the possibilities of far-reaching automated and industrialized production processes. A smart factory blueprint will be designed to speed up the renovation pace to a target of 15,000 renovation packages per year per factory while cutting the current price with 50%. This contribution focusses on three main topics: material use, operational energy use and transport. Firstly, the reasoning behind the renovation package design is explained. Next, the packages are adopted on an archetype dwelling to document the thermal performance before and after renovation. Finally, the associated logistics are studied. To summarize each individual research in a blanket result, the environmental impact is determined and compared to the non-renovated dwelling.
Robust and resilient renovation solutions in different climate change scenarios
Authors: Galimshina Alina , Moustapha Maliki , Hollberg Alexander , Padey Pierryves , Lasvaux Sébastien , Sudret Bruno , Habert Guillaume
Published: November 2020

Building renovation is currently urgent in order to decrease the energy consumption of a building stock. In order to achieve robust renovation scenarios, uncertainty quantification is needed. Climate change scenarios are important factors and need to be included in the analysis. In this paper, three climate change scenarios are applied probabilistically for a renovation scenario using dimensionality reduction techniques and further uncertainty propagation. The results show that RCP2.6 provides more robust results and saves on average 2. 105 CHF and 2. 105kgCO2eq. in a building life cycle comparing to RCP 8.5. The analysis under climate change is also compared to the probabilistic calculations under current climate and the results show the underestimation of both costs and environmental impacts when climate change is not included. It can also be clearly seen that even under the best case of RCP 2.6, building renovation is urgently needed to decrease the environmental impacts and costs.
Are high-rise residential buildings rising to future weather scenarios?
Authors: Wegertseder-Martínez P , Piderit-Moreno Beatriz
Published: November 2020

Evaluating the energy and thermal performance of existing buildings during their lifetime brings about uncertainty, since there is strong evidence suggesting that climate change (CC) will affect indoor environment quality. CC has been reflected, among other phenomena, in a temperature rise that is necessarily related to the indoor temperature of buildings. Recognizing possible future climate scenarios and their possible effects will allow improving the resilience of existing buildings.

Today’s buildings are sources of high energy demand. In the case of Chile, an ordinary house, due to its poor thermal performance, requires between 40% and 60% of its energy consumption for heating or cooling, depending on the location. On the other hand, a constructive phenomenon has been seen in Latin American cities over the last three decades, where city centres are densified with high-rise residential buildings. These are characterized by very small apartments, which affect indoor environment quality, solar gains, ventilation, etc. Thus, the proposal of this paper is to evaluate this residential typology. The aim of this research is to prospectively study the effects produced by CC on the energy-thermal performance of high-rise residential buildings, using an exploratory research, in three different thermal zones of Chile through to 2080. The analysis consists in comparing the performance of the same case built in three cities, using the Design Builder software for dynamic simulations. The results show a temperature increase that affects apartments in different ways. In the northernmost city, Iquique, the heating demand would disappear in 60 years; in Santiago, it will be reduced by half and in the south, while in Puerto Montt, it will represent only 62% of current demand; however, the cooling demand will increase in all cases. While hours within the comfort range will increase in the southernmost cities, in the northernmost and central cities, the risk of overheating will increase significantly This provides great challenges in terms of improving thermal comfort for the coming years, incorporating possible CC impacts into housing design to prevent negative results, such as overheating.
Design for Dematerialisation: examining an approach for reducing the life cycle energy requirements of residential buildings
Authors: Skillington Katie , Crawford Robert H
Published: November 2020

Responsible for significant energy demand and emissions, the building sector has an opportunity to contribute to global sustainability efforts. In creating resilient and sustainable human settlements, alternative design approaches that address life cycle energy requirements are needed. Design for Dematerialisation is one such approach that aims to lower life cycle energy requirements by reducing material and resource inputs. Yet, despite its conceptual simplicity, the application of the approach within the building sector and its effect on life cycle energy demand is poorly understood. This study seeks to briefly outline the approach from the perspective of the building sector and examine the effect of dematerialisation actions on the life cycle energy requirements of a multi-residential building in Melbourne, Australia. This study demonstrates that while an effect is observed – most notably in recurrent embodied energy – a partial rebound effect exists. Savings from the reduction of key materials and components are partially negated by the energy intensity of alternative materials introduced, and/or additional elements required to maintain the building’s fitness-for-purpose. The assessment highlights the need for designers to address energy performance holistically, by taking into account the effect of actions on multiple life cycle stages concurrently. By employing this considered approach, dematerialisation has the potential to be an accessible strategy for designers tasked with creating sustainable, resilient urban settlements.
Austrian GHG emission targets for new buildings and major renovations: an exploratory study
Authors: Hoxha E , Röck M , Truger B , Steininger K , Passer A
Published: November 2020

To avoid uncontrollable and uncompensated effects of climate change, within the ratification of the Paris Agreement, 197 countries including Austria have committed to limit their emissions of greenhouse gases to hold the warming below 2°C. Achievement of this objective will oblige Austrian society to stay within a carbon budget of 1000 Mt CO2eq until 2050. Due to the long-life span of buildings as well as their high contribution and reduction potentials regarding embodied and operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specific environmental benchmarks are required for new buildings and major renovations. The evaluation of environmental targets presented in this paper follows a methodology combining top-down and bottom-up approaches. First, GHG emissions and reduction targets are calculated for the emission intensity of the Austrian energy mix with the help of top-down decomposition. Second, a hybrid top-down-bottom-up approach is applied as a basis for establishing GHG emission targets on building level. The embodied and operational impacts of Austrian building stock and from construction of new buildings are evaluated. Following on from this and using the Austrian carbon budget, the reduction targets are set at building level based on the hypothesis for 2050. This paper present and exploratory study and can be presented as a basis for definition of GHG targets.
CartujaQanat: Recovering the street life in a climate changing world. Bioclimatic lattices and confinement of air in exterior conditions
Authors: Marcos A , Tenorio J A , Guerrero M C , Pavón M C , Sánchez-Ramos J , Álvarez S
Published: November 2020

CartujaQanat represents the necessity to rethink the way our cities are conceived as time passes by and the world evolves. Current and future needs demand up-to-date solutions that combine the knowledge obtained from experience and tradition with innovative research. Cities have the responsibility to contribute to a better environment for their inhabitants while minimizing resource consumption. Passive techniques and bioclimatic solutions have significant benefits for the health and well-being of humans, making them ideal when properly adapted to their suitable climates. Keeping this in mind, CartujaQanat pursues the creation of open-air spaces that provide a comfortable environment in hot and dry weather conditions with minimal negative impacts. Strategies developed for the project utilize water as a heat transfer fluid in open and closed systems to enable the acclimatization of exterior spaces. The project includes the use of physical barriers in the form of bioclimatic lattices that act as a solar screen, enabling natural ventilation and providing a certain level of confinement to the air. These effects are enhanced with the hygrothermal capabilities of water, which is incorporated for direct and indirect evaporative cooling as well as thermally activated elements.
Temporary urban environments - framework conditions and solutions for sustainable short-term pop-up living systems
Authors: Bertino G , Fischer T , Österreicher D
Published: November 2020

In a constantly changing world, cities are becoming a focal point for housing in times of social and political crisis. Subsequently, the need for temporary living systems, particularly in urban environments, is expected to increase significantly. To address these urgent demands, it is important to find affordable, flexible, sustainable and reusable concepts, easy to construct and rapid to implement, that can fulfil a range of requirements in order to be sustainable from an environmental, economic and social perspective. In an interdisciplinary research project innovative and sustainable models for pop-up living systems in urban environments are developed. Methods from urban planning, architecture and building systems technologies are interlinked to resource related disciplines such as energy optimization, green technologies, waste management, water supply, wastewater treatment and social and political sciences. Diverse modelling approaches are integrated into a cross-disciplinary approach to provide potential scenarios for pop-up environments. This paper describes the required framework conditions and presents potential solutions for temporary environments for specific scenarios, aiming at delivering answers to the question of how temporary housing can rapidly fulfil short-term living needs in a sustainable and integrative manner.
Developing a heating and cooling demand prediction model for residential buildings in the cold climate zone of China
Authors: Li J , Yang W , Fang T
Published: November 2020

The performance-oriented design method requires that architects should have the ability to calculate the energy performance of the design solutions and improve the design scheme accordingly. However, energy simulation is complex and time-consuming, which hinders architects to perform the optimization.

The study aims to deduce a forecasting model and develop a simple tool for the energy demand of high-rise residential buildings in the cold climate zone of China. Firstly, a representative of residential building in cold climate zone was selected as the prototype. Then sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify significant variables. Finally, Multiple Linear Regression and Multilayer Perceptron methods were used to obtain the prediction models. The tool, based on statistical analysis and without modelling interface, is easy to assist architects to calculate the heating and cooling demand at schematic design stage.
Evaluating Regional Strategies towards a Circular Economy in the Built Environment
Authors: Zabek M , Wirth M , Hildebrand L
Published: November 2020

In particular relation to the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development goal No. 12 (“responsible production and consumption”), the implementation of a circular economy into the building industry has special potentials. More circular flows of material and information can simultaneously decrease resource extraction, fossil energy consumption and environmental pollution, while allowing new business models. However, this chance still remains largely neglected by decision makers. In order to transform this situation, it is necessary to understand and re-weave the entire value chain – requiring new collaborations between various stakeholder groups. In a three-year project that was dedicated to setting up a strategy for the implementation of circularity in the building sector within a region in Germany, stakeholders were involved to work towards circular value creation beyond waste management. The project proceeded in three dimensions: 1) Action-oriented networking and strategy making, 2) Conceptualizations and implementation steps for a pilot location that makes high-value products from building waste, 3) Identification of action items and project initiations. Based on a stakeholder analysis, this paper reflects upon the entire process, with a focus on qualitative information flows. The paper concludes with a critical view regarding the stakeholder network method of the project and its efficiency in implementing the circular economy on a regional scale.
Mapping the spatial distribution of the effects of urban traffic congestion: methodological exploration using web based services
Authors: Cohen Jonathan , Gil Jorge
Published: November 2020

Sustainable transport systems are a necessary requirement to achieve efficient economic performance, enhance urban quality of life and diminish environmental costs. Congestion, a negative externality of mobility, is responsible for urban pollution, inefficiency and has adverse effects over individuals facing this problem. For these reasons, transport and city planning agencies have developed interests in defining and measuring transportation congestion. Although, different definitions and metrics have been used, congestion measurements are found aggregated at a city level or for particular road segments. This study proposes a methodology that produces information from a web traffic service to map traffic congestion within an urban area. The method is simple and generalizable enough to be adopted in different urban areas. This paper presents the analysis of four European cities (Amsertdam, Glasgow, Goteborg and Lisbon) and show that the conclusions are consistent with the results obtained from internationally recognized organizations such as INRIX and TomTom.
Screening for hazardous chemical content in certified buildings: a comparison of Nordic certification systems
Authors: Lewis Martha
Published: November 2020

Construction products contributing to the chemical pollution can be problematic in all life-cycle phases of a product, prompting the question: are building certification systems supporting the reduction of substances of very high concern? This paper looks at major certification systems in use in Nordic countries: LEED, BREEAM-UK, -SE, -NO, and DGNB and their scope of chemical screening of building products, to assess whether the EU’s Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) are effectively screened in sustainable building projects. Of EU’s SVHCs documented in building materials, as evidenced by usage data in the Nordic Substance database, what percentage are effectively curtailed or prohibited in certified building projects? There are great variations in how a building certification system addresses the use of hazardous chemicals in building products. Chemical screening in certification systems is not comprehensive and existing screening in many cases is not aimed at the hazardous chemicals, which are actually in use in the European building industry. To address the burgeoning chemical pollution, the industry requires transformation to focus on elimination of hazardous chemicals in building products. Certification systems need to support this with screening that is more relevant, in short a screening that targets the most pernicious, as well as the most prevalent SVHCs found in the building industry in an approach that entails is a realistic work process for building industry consultants. Building products must have content declarations to provide the transparency necessary for this evaluation, allowing consultants as well as manufacturers to increase awareness of problematic substances and focus on healthier alternatives.
Internal thermal environment and futureproofing of a newly built, naturally ventilated UK school
Authors: Stephen J , Bourikas L , Teli D , Bahaj A S , Congreve R
Published: November 2020

Research indicates that school children have lower comfort levels than adults and this exacerbates the challenge of tackling the risks of summer overheating in schools without resorting to air conditioning. UN SDG 13 calls for climate action to strengthen the resilience of our cities and reduce the impact of climate change. In this work, a modern, naturally ventilated school in Southampton, UK was used to evaluate single, “hard”, passive retrofit measures and “soft”, building management solutions that could increase the wellbeing of students and reduce current and future demand for cooling. The school was selected as it represents the current standardised design guidance for schools released in 2012 by the Department of Education (DfE). The research presents air temperature observations collected during the summer of 2015. Dynamic thermal modelling was undertaken to evaluate passive retrofit and “soft” solutions to reduce the overheating risk. The model was validated with temperature data collected from the school classrooms. The results indicate that (a) such school buildings have high likelihood of overheating, based on children’s comfort temperatures and (b) passive retrofits focused on shading and ventilation could help to reduce the classroom temperature when required. It is recommended that “soft” adaptive solutions will prove effective to reduce future air conditioning demand, but this will require a radical change in established practices. Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will require to rethink and redesign urban living and city infrastructures.
Indoor air pollutants, comfort parameters and their interactions in the context of sustainable development of the built environment
Authors: Vasile Vasilica , Ion Mihaela , Dima Alina
Published: November 2020

In the frame of the 2030 Agenda, adopted also by Romania, Good Health and Well-being for people is the third of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) settled by the United Nations General Assembly. Because human health concerns are in the core of the mission of sustainability, health and sustainable development are strongly interlinked. Numerous worldwide studies specify that many health problems are associated with the air pollutants and their interactions with comfort parameters. Therefore, the approaches towards more sustainable buildings or construction products must take into consideration potential human exposure to pollutants and associated health effects. Our studies were conducted in various type of spaces -offices, residential and educational, by the monitoring of the pollutants’ concentrations and the comfort parameters. Regarding to the CO2 concentration, it was observed that the recorded average values were between 888 and 1668ppm, in offices, between 1053 and 1389 ppm, in residential, and between 1720 and 4302ppm, in educational spaces, in all cases above the limit of 800ppm. The average values of CO concentration varied between 0.35 and 3.90 ppm, under the limit of 50 ppm. It was observed that the temperature and relative humidity have a determinant influence on the level of monitored pollutants.
Hierarchical Structure Analysis on Health Determinants of Living Environment Defining Social Capital
Authors: Miyazaki Emiri , Ando Shintaro
Published: November 2020

In Japan, healthcare and nursing care expenses for the elderly are increasing year by year, and extending healthy life expectancy is therefore desirable. Social capital (SC) is a measure of the degree of social interaction and has been gaming attention as a health-related Previous studies have shown that few people have poor subjective health in areas with good SC scores. Thus, a living environment that fosters SC might facilitate the improvement and maintenance of health status. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of living, environment, such as facilities and community outreach efforts, on nursing care risk as mediated by SC. A questionnaire survey was carried out for 3 weeks from September to October 201S.Panicipants were adults in three elementary’ school districts in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture. Japan Survey contents included SC, neighborhood environment, residential environment, and health status. A total of 7,220 questionnaires were distributed, And 2,053 were correctly completed (valid response rate = 28.4%). Of respondents over 65 years of age, 26.8% were at high risk of needing long-term care. Logistic regression analysis was performed to clarify the relationship between SC and the risk of requiring long-term care / support and The relationship between SC and living environment. The analysis model considered factors including age. sex. educational attainment, and length of residence in the area. The odds ratio (OR) of requiring long-term care for low SC compared with high SC was 1.91 (p <0.01). and the OR of requiring long-term care for living environment factors ranged from 1.6 to 2.0 (p <0.01). Finally, path analysis was performed. The determination coefficient for the risk of long-term care was 0.19. In summary, it became clear that among the factors of the living environment, the place of residence of the facility’ affects the SC, either directly or through community components.
Estimation of the health effects and economic benefits of an improved residential environment
Authors: Kamata T , Kawakubo S , Murakami S , Ikaga T , Nozawa S
Published: November 2020

Costs are a barrier to improving residential environments during new construction and renovation. Previous research suggests that improving residential environments may contribute to improved health. If such health effects are quantified and recognized as economic benefits (lower medical costs and income from absenteeism), increased investment in residential improvements can be expected. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the benefits of improving health through improvement of residential environments considering individual and household attributes. The effects of residential environment improvements were quantified at the individual and household levels. Data were collected via nationwide surveys of more than 45,000 residents in 15,000 households in Japan. Health status was compared between good and poor residential environments. Results showed that an improved residential environment contributed to reducing the likelihood of the onset of cardiovascular, allergic and other diseases. The annual economic benefit of improving the thermal insulation of windows for a man living alone was 7,000 JPY for example. This study contributes to promoting residents’ health by quantifying the economic benefits of the health effects of good-quality residential environments, which then contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 11.
‘Do It Yourself’ and ‘digital fabrication’ for new way of founding life
Authors: Parisi N
Published: November 2020

In architecture, ‘Do It Your Self’ has always been a prerogative of those who need to build a home or a place dedicated to a life necessity with few resources. Even today, as in the past, self-construction is applied in very poor contexts and is implemented using traditional techniques and technologies. Today, however, the new dimension of Digital Fabrication offers a completely new scenario in architecture, including the world of ‘Do It Your Self’. Machines and robots can enhance the possibilities available to those who want to get involved in it. Several companies innovate production processes by connecting the construction traditions of the past with new digital technologies. Young communities in search of self-determination feel the need to be personally involved in the regeneration and foundation of their living environment. Thus, the designer becomes a technical process consultant in the production and an animator of the community that builds its own architecture. Through four examples applied in the four editions of the International Summer Academy ‘Self Made Architecture’, the FabLab team of the Polytechnic University of Bari proposes a new approach to lead the new urban and peri-urban communities to found again their own places of life. The latest experimentation concerns the fourth edition still in the planning phase focused on the application of additive printing in architecture through the use of a mixture of raw earth. This technological advancement can represent a major resource to root the ‘Do It Yourself’ approach in the processes of Self-determination of local communities. This project results from the collaboration of the FabLab Poliba group with the development and research department of WASP, an Italian leading company in 3D printing, and from the scientific collaboration between the Polytechnic University of Bari and the Faculty of Architecture of Damascus.
Disruptive Innovation. A redesigned strategy for building and managing sustainable communities: the Walas approach
Authors: Iuliis Manila De
Published: November 2020

The extreme complexity of urban contexts, the dilemma of the unpredictability of rapid change, and the increasing loss of self-orientation are just some of the challenges mankind faces in the Anthropocene era. To cope with it, no isolated action or usual strategy can help. Disruption is required. Social inequalities, degradation of urban areas, and poverty are just some of the aspects of urban fragmentation that, together with the ongoing exploitation of environmental resources, have led to an emergency that we cannot ignore any longer. To reconnect the threads and to guide cities towards a sustainable future we need to abandon traditional approaches and change our reference point.

Method. This paper focuses on disruptive innovation as necessary to redesign a strategy that will help cities survive the Anthropocene era by providing an example of good practice in urban regeneration and community redevelopment: the Walas approach. By introducing disruptive, gradual, flexible business models, through the combination of social and technological innovation, the paper demonstrates that it is concretely possible to reconnect cities to citizens, to build inclusive, vibrant and safe communities in these uncertain times.

Results. The implementation and application of a disruptive urban regeneration approach to projects have enabled World of Walas to achieve satisfactory results in Europe where degraded urban areas have been turned into vibrant, inclusive and safe communities.

Conclusions. Sustainable communities can be achieved only through collaboration, dialogue, and the imperative combination of the private and the public sectors. Starting with the redefinition of priorities, using a gradual, disruptive and holistic approach, the regeneration of degraded urban areas can become the turning-point for the sustainable development of cities.
The Hub of Hope: Realising an Evacuation Hub at Pula Village, Philippines (Practitioner paper)
Authors: Lee Sharon , Lee HY , Chan KY
Published: November 2020

A group of Arupians formed a collaboration with Hong Kong-based NGO in contributing to the less privileged East Asia community at Pula Village, Philippines. There is an urgent need for a safe space during the severe typhoons throughout the year. The village currently do not have access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities. The Hub of Hope is birthed in response to those needs. Apart from meeting the basic physiological needs by providing a shelter, safe drinking water and proper sanitation facilities to improve hyenine and cleanliness, the Hub is the village’s central space for social happenings. Hosting activities such as weddings, schooling and medical treatment. It is an incubator promoting health, well-being and self-actualisation, contributing to SDG Goal 3 and 6. Humancentric approach to research and design was taken to best suit the local culture, ways of life and demographic. With site survey on geological and existing housing conditions; interviews with villagers; analysis and research on local construction methodology and locally sourced building materials. The Hub adopt a modular design using local materials and maximising the use of local skills and traditional crafts. Passive designs were adopted, using CFD analysis to maximise natural ventilation performance, shading and fenestration to optimise solar heat gain and daylighting performance. Off-grid renewable energy system is also integrated into the Hub for resilience purposes. As the design can be easily replicated by the villagers, the Hub opens the opportunity for villagers to use the same method in building for themselves resilient homes against adverse weather of the region. Creating a self-sustainable solution for the community in line with SDG Goal 11. Eventually, the Hub can serve solely as a community centre. This Hub of Hope is a catalyse, opening opportunities to improve the quality of life and inspiring hope for the community.
Renovation rate as a tool towards achieving SDGs 11 and 13
Authors: Gepts B , Nuyts E , Verbeeck G
Published: November 2020

The building stock being a huge energy consumer, is an important sector for SDG 11 on sustainable cities and SDG 13 on climate action. Therefore, retrofitting the existing buildings is a priority for most EU countries. Long term goals for the energy performance of buildings are premised. However, to be able to monitor the progress and feasibility to achieve the goals in 2050, knowledge of the actual renovation rate is indispensable. Since years an overall renovation rate of 1% for the EU is communicated. This number is withheld in several countries to stimulate retrofitting (Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands). However, it is not clear how this renovation rate reflects the actual renovation rate and the actual energy savings because accurate knowledge on this is lacking in most countries. This paper focusses on elaborating our knowledge of the renovation rate by analysing its definition and providing a possible, more accurate calculation method. A literature study shows that there is no commonly used definition of ‘renovation rate’ in the EU. Instead different approaches are being used, often depending on available data. A case study for Flanders, Belgium reconstructs the communicated renovation rate of 0.7% to 1% by means of a database of the renovation activity of approximately 6000 homeowners (2012-2018). The used survey concept shows that the actual renovation rate exceeds 1% and is able to provide extra insights on the energy renovation depth in Flanders. In a next step this could be extended to calculate the actual energy savings due to renovations. As this survey concept can easily be adopted in other EU countries, it could form the base of an aligned monitoring of the progress towards a sustainable built environment.
A framework for the study of householders’ engagement with low-carbon energy demand practices in dwellings with grid-connected photovoltaic energy systems
Authors: Goycoolea Juan P. Fernandez , Zapata-Lancaster Gabriela , Whitman Christopher
Published: November 2020

Introduction:
This paper introduces a framework to assess householders’ interaction with grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems in domestic buildings, in an attempt to research the question To what extent the engagement of occupants in energy demand management practices is relevant for the operational CO

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emissions reductions in dwellings with on-grid PV systems? The focus is placed on identifying the engagement with low-carbon operation practices and its relevance for final CO2 emissions from electricity consumption. Specifically, PV electricity Self-consumption and energy conservation practices are studied. To this extent, the research builds on i) the energy services approach and ii) the social practices approach to domestic energy demand. The context of owner-occupied houses which have been retrofitted with PV installations in South Wales, UK is taken as an example.
Methods:
After a brief conceptual review on domestic energy demand, a mixed-methods framework for the study of householders’ engagement with low-carbon energy demand practices is presented, comprising three key aspects: a) the conditions for the practices to occur, b) frequency with which householders enact the practices, and c) the estimation of final operational CO2 emissions performance.
Results:
As part of ongoing research work, a framework to study households’ engagement with low-carbon energy demand practices in buildings with grid-connected PV technology is proposed; focusing on the obtention of a socio-technical lecture to complement other sources of in-use assessment data.
Conclusions:
Besides single case-studies, the framework has potential applications in recognising and grouping households’ engagement profiles. In this way, it is suggested that the framework might facilitate the analysis when extensive assessments are needed; such as in public policy evaluation or demand response studies.
Grant Support:
This work is funded by CONICYT PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS CHILE/2018 - 72180375.
Big-data driven building retrofitting: An integrated Support Vector Machines and Fuzzy C-means clustering method
Authors: Lu Weizhuo , Feng Kailun
Published: November 2020

It has become a mainstream to use physical models to quantify expected energy savings from alternative retrofit methods and technologies. However, they are not suitable for predicting energy use of buildings when detailed and specified input parameters are unavailable. The overall purpose of the research is to support the stakeholders in taking decisions on refurbishments options when not all of physical information is available, in order to achieve the Swedish Energy Agency’s measurements of near-zero energy buildings. The research will transfer big data from Swedish Energy Performance Certificates for building retrofitting. A Support Vector Machines and Fuzzy C-means clustering (SVM-FCM) integrated machine learning algorithm is used directly to extract the case-specific knowledge from EPC big data regarding building characteristics and energy saving of retrofit measures. It enables to prioritize retrofit measures and compute their expected energy savings for buildings. This proposed data driven method is an attempt of taking advantage of big data for practical building retrofit selection.
The Influence of the Regional Revitalization Policy on Taiwan’s Land Planning_Taking Pingtung County Township as an Example
Authors: Chang Kuei-Feng , Chou Po-Cheng
Published: November 2020

Taiwan’s population estimate report released in August 2018 shows that the population will decrease by over 1/4 by 2065, and the proportion of the elderly population in the total population will increase to 41.2%. In addition, in terms of population distribution, the urban population accounted for 69.2% of the total in 2017 and will exceed 70% by 2065, thus, the problem of uneven regional population distribution will become more severe. Moreover, as the young and strong labor force flock in large cities, the rural industrial labor force is insufficient, and the gap between urban and rural areas is widening. Therefore, the Executive Yuan set 2019 in Taiwan as the first year of local revitalization as a land development strategy to address population loss, recreate local employment opportunities, and revitalize the local industrial economy. In this context, Taiwan began promoting the Land Planning Law in 2016, which aims to cope with climate change, ensure land safety, conserve the natural environment and cultural assets, promote rational allocation of resources and industries, and pursue sustainable development. However, the priority areas for local revitalization are mostly remote and vulnerable areas, such as agricultural, hillside, and forest lands. Land use laws and regulations have many restrictions and lack flexibility in use, which is not conducive to attracting industries or population return. Thus, this study chose Pingtung County as a case study to explore the related factors of land use under the promotion of local industrial development, and provide strategic direction for Taiwan’s township land planning.
Strategies for Commissioning Processes to Ensure Sustainable Building Performance
Authors: Kjerulf L. , Jensen P.A.
Published: November 2020

Building commissioning has developed over the last decades starting in the US as a quality insurance methodology, but it has increasingly been applied in other countries, including Denmark where this study was undertaken. The purpose of the paper is to investigate, how commissioning can be applied – not only during the building process but also during building operation, and to develop recommendations for strategies concerning implementation of commissioning processes to ensure sustainable building performance for both new and existing buildings. The study included a number of expert interviews as well as a case study of a Facilities Management (FM) organisation and one of their new office and laboratory buildings recently occupied. The case study included both quantitative investigations of energy consumptions and qualitative investigations based on documents and interviews. The research shows that commissioning has great potential to improve the sustainable performance of buildings, but it is important for FM organisations to develop strategies for their commissioning processes for the whole building life cycle. For new buildings, it is important to have particular commissioning processes in place for trouble shooting in the period from contractors handing over the building until a steady operation is established, but an ongoing commissioning process is also important to ensure continuous sustainable performance. The paper has implications for researchers by paving the way for a new field of research focusing on how to ensure sustainable building performance by implementing commissioning processes during the whole life cycle of buildings. It also has practical implications by providing specific recommendations for building clients and FM organisation concerning strategies for commissioning process that can ensure sustainable building performance and support SDG 11 and 12.
Measuring Success of Water Reservoir Project by Using Delphi and Priority Evaluation Method
Authors: Ismail H N
Published: November 2020

Traditionally project success has been defined in terms of the time, cost and quality. Extending the traditional triangle to include other factor of stakeholders and end-user provide a more complete view of project success. The aim of the study is to determine the factors that can be used to assess water reservoir project success. The factors for project success in from previous study have been identified and then, narrowly to determine the critical success factors by evaluating the appropriateness of the factors. Delphi method has been applied and a one day seminar has been conducted with a group of expert who involved in construction of water reservoir project in a water company agency. An initial questionnaire has been asked during the seminar through brainstorming and discussion session to identify potential success factors. Following from the seminar, a questionnaire survey was distributed to the participant for the purpose to establish the level of important of the factors. From the feedback of thirty (30) expert opinion and fourteen (14) returned expert surveys, refined seven (7) clusters of project success factors were identified: Clear Realistic Objectives; Quality Factor; Time Factor; Cost Factor; Deliverable; Legacy System; and Safety, Health and Environment. A template for measuring project success has been produced base on Priority Evaluation Method. At the end, five (5) actual projects in the water company agency have been used to show the application of the measuring project success template specifically for the water reservoir project. It has been used to determine the successfulness of each project. It shows that the main factor of an unsuccessful water reservoir project in this case are because of unclear realistic objectives, deliverable issue and time factor.
The co-evolution of business models and public policies in transitions - A system dynamics perspective
Authors: Kliem D. , Hügel K. , Scheidegger A.
Published: November 2020

The role of the construction and building sector as parts of national metabolism is prominent in national sustainability agendas. Growing building stocks require continuous input of concrete, containing natural resources, such as gravel and cement. The output of construction demolition waste and excavation materials constitutes a major material flow that is either recovered or disposed. This study simulates the dynamic interactions between the gravel sector and its governing public policies. We find that public policies and business strategies co-evolve towards lock-ins, creating barriers in the mineral construction material industry towards sustainable production and consumption practices. We find that the low-price elasticity of mineral construction materials requires nation-wide policy interventions to reduce the demand for land and improve material efficiency. Thereby, a significant contribution to SDG 11 and SDG 12 is possible.
Form follows availability: The reuse revolution
Authors: Josefsson Taleen Astrid , Thuvander Liane
Published: November 2020

This study links construction-related overuse of resources to design strategies that enable architects to reuse building and waste materials. The strategies are applied in a design proposal in a local Swedish context. Stakeholders and material systems have been mapped applying a systems approach; sixteen interviews with different experts have been conducted; and a methodology for finding and evaluating materials suitable for reuse has been created. Based on that, a building design proposal employing circular design transformed into the concept “Form follows availability” has been developed, taking into account locally available materials, the lifetime of the building and specified materials, and resilience against changing functions, cultural perceptions, and climatic conditions. Results show that it is difficult to design a building solely with reused materials when confined to the existing system. Still, it generates realistic design strategies demonstrating that material reuse is both possible and desirable. To facilitate material reuse at scale, transformation of architectural education, improved material testing and documentation, and supporting logistics are required. The benefits - reduced waste, increased cultural value, attractive aesthetics - argue for architects, clients, and contractors alike to employ material reuse as an effective means to reduce the building industry’s negative impact on the environment.
Design guidelines for circular building components based on LCA and MFA: The case of the Circular Kitchen
Authors: Stijn A Van , Eberhardt L C M , Wouterszoon Jansen B , Meijer A
Published: November 2020

Introduction. The building sector consumes 40% of resources globally, produces 40% of global waste and 33% of all emissions. The transition towards a Circular Economy (CE) in the built environment is vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as responsible consumption and production. The built environment can gradually be made circular by replacing the current ‘linear’ building components with circular ones during maintenance and renovation. However, there are many possible design alternatives for circular building components; knowledge on which variants perform best – from an environmental perspective – is lacking. Methods. In this article, we develop environmental design guidelines for circular building components. First, we synthesize design variants for an exemplary circular building component: the Circular Kitchen (CIK). Second, we compare the environmental performance of these variants and a ‘business-as-usual’ variant by applying a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Finally, from the results, we derive design guidelines.

Results. We synthesized four design variants: (1) a kitchen made from bio-based, biodegradable materials, (2) a kitchen made from re-used materials, (3) a kitchen which optimises lifespans and materials, and (4) a modular kitchen in which components (with varying lifespans) are re-used by the manufacturer. From the LCA and MFA, we derived 7 design guidelines, which include: consider building components as a composite of sub-components, parts and materials with different and multiple use-, and life-cycles; match the materialisation of each part with the expected life cycle (merely substituting for re-used or low-impact materials does not provide the most circular design); facilitate various loops (e.g., repair, re-use, recycling) simultaneously.

Conclusions. The presented design guidelines can support industry in developing circular building components and, through implementation of these components, support the creation of a circular built environment.

Grant Support. This research received funding from the EIT Climate-KIC and AMS-institute.