Year: 2006

ABSTRACT: Although architecture tends to be thought of primarily in aesthetic terms, it is in fact pervaded by profoundly ethical concerns. I outline the fledgling field of architecture ethics, proceed to outline the basic structure of ethics (i.e., the architecture of ethics, if you like), and then consider how the main approaches to ethics might…

ABSTRACT: In the face of overwhelming evidence that human activity is adversely influencing the ecological balance of the earth, and that the built environment and transport account for more than half of the World’s energy consumption, and solid and gaseous waste – it is incumbent on those designing our shared future environments to do so…

ABSTRACT: The BCA’s increasing residential thermal performance requirements and their methods of assessment have sparked considerable investigation into the comparative performance of light weight timber framed and high mass concrete floors. This has overshadowed the potential to improve the thermal performance of other parts of conventionally built timber framed buildings. In developing the designs for…

ABSTRACT: In the current developer-driven residential building market, there are perceived difficulties in the use of a timber platform flooring system in cool temperate climates. This is evident in the requirements of the Deemed To Satisfy provisions of the Building Code of Australia. The University of Tasmania has been working with a developer to inform…

ABSTRACT: To date government programmes to reduce household energy consumption have focussed on improving the thermal performance of the building envelope. This strategy has been underpinned by the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). This software assumes certain temperature settings for the heating and cooling devices, and the hours of their operation. This paper describes…

ABSTRACT: Ratings tools have emerged to help classify the ‘greenness’ of a building. These ratings tools assess the energy use or environmental impact of the building and the rating is then used to communicate the building’s predicted environmental performance to target owners and tenants. This paper performs a due diligence analysis on a case study…

ABSTRACT: In warm-humid climates, such as coastal northern Australia there is a tradition of open-air life style, with houses having no sharp boundary between inside and outside. Houses have been designed for full cross-ventilation. However, the recent proliferation of air conditioning changes this life style and dramatically increases energy consumption. It would be highly desirable…

ABSTRACT: In response to Hornsby Shire Council’s desire to promote sustainable building technology, CSIRO has developed an innovative combined power, heating and desiccant cooling (trigeneration) system which has been installed at the Hornsby Central Library. The system uses exhaust from a 60kW micro-turbine to directly regenerate a desiccant wheel, enabling fresh air dehumidification and both…

ABSTRACT: Comfort has become synonymous with the consumption of applied energy. As global concern about the environment increases (e.g. consumption of scarce and diminishing energy resources), it is timely to look into the relationship between comfort practices in the built environment engendered by comfort standards and building energy use, particularly in office buildings. This paper…

ABSTRACT: One of the challenges for architectural science in changing climates is to provide information on the types of buildings and urban form which are better adapted to a more efficient use of energy. This is particularly relevant when most of this energy is derived from finite supplies of fossil fuels. The energy consumed by…

ABSTRACT: Post occupancy evaluations of buildings are noted for their ability to provide vital feedback regarding a building’s performance in use. In addition to obtaining physical measurements of thermal performance and energy consumption, it is crucial to obtain feedback on user experience and satisfaction with the building environment to gain a true picture of the…

ABSTRACT: A recent study tour of tropical resorts in several countries in the Pacific region revealed ambivalent attitudes to air-conditioning amongst resort operators. Whilst conscious of detrimental implications for the environment, economics and even operational aspects of using mechanical devices to provide indoor comfort to visitors, many of them claimed to be driven by market…

ABSTRACT: Aiming to minimize fossil fuel use and environmental impacts caused by buildings, thermal design is one of the most effective approaches to achieve ecological architecture. For any given region, building designs have to follow the principles of ecological architecture. In this context, under the poor conditions of China’s Loess Plateau region, the limitation in…

ABSTRACT: Contemporary architecture of non-domestic buildings in Venezuela has introduced inappropriate design and technology criteria for the warm-humid climate because of the ineffective regulations. As a result these buildings are responsible for high energy use and high costs. These results represent a first exploration for developing a method to evaluate the envelope design strategies for…

ABSTRACT: Traditional houses in the Southeast Asia can be addressed as a ‘house society’ referring to Levi-Strauss’s concept and at the same time, by looking through Olgyay’s design approach, they can be seen as a ‘climatic designed’ building. The Indonesian traditional houses can be recognized in the same way. The concept of cosmology and the…

ABSTRACT: The paper is an attempt to demonstrate the quality of new housing systems by illustrating examples and explaining the principles which make them successful. The paper illustrates case studies at Edgewater Estate (Maribyrnong) by Delfin/Lend Lease, City Edge Housing at Eastern Road in South Melbourne, the Mixed House Development on Cole Street in Williamstown,…

ABSTRACT: International Standard ISO 13370 “Thermal performance of buildings — Heat transfer via the ground — Calculation methods” provides a method to calculate the R-value of a suspended floor. The method is a modification of a methodology first published in the CIBSE Environmental Design Guide A -1998. The thermal network that forms the basis of…

ABSTRACT: The processes of modernization and globalization unfolding throughout South-East Asia reveal a concerted push to use masonry construction technologies in the housing market. This is in part due to desires to engage with imported ideologies but pragmatic issues such as the effects of deforestation make this trend all the more apparent. This paper critiques…

ABSTRACT: The importance of sub-floor ventilation as long been appreciated to prevent the deterioration of the timber structure of suspended floors. In mid-1999 the Building Code introduced amendment 5 to include uniform ventilation requirements of sub-floor spaces of Class 1 and 10 buildings based on climatic conditions. This amendment was based on work by Cole…

ABSTRACT: This paper evaluates the effect of increased water prices to the wider economy on the Australian construction industry. This research explores the uncertain effects of future water policy on the construction industry by depicting the consequences of possible scenarios. The effect increased water prices on the cost of construction was determined by initially calculating…

ABSTRACT: The research develops a visual building plumbing management system (VBPMS) for effective system maintenance and supervision. The study combines a geographic information system (GIS) and a virtual reality (VR) program to manage and inspect a building plumbing system. The GIS uses point cloud retrieved from a 3D scanner as raw data to record plumbing…

ABSTRACT: This paper describes research into situated analogy-making and its application to digital design assistants. It is claimed that computational design support systems that provide designers with conceptually distant but contextually appropriate information can assist in designers with the synthesis of creative designs. This claim is supported by an example application of situated analogy-making to…