Year: 2009

This paper discusses two different approaches to teaching design and their modes of delivery and reflects upon their successes and failures. Two small groups of third year design students have been given projects focussing on incorporation of daylighting to architectural design in studios having different design themes. In association with the curriculum, the themes were…

In a recent interview, Bruno Latour, one of the founding progenitors of ANT (Actor Network Theory) and champion of Science and Technology Studies stated emphatically that the German philosopher, Peter Sloterdijk, “is the thinker of architecture”, (New Geographies, 0,3). By the use of the definite article it seems that we are to understand that Sloterdijk…

Increasingly, the linear, instrumentalist and culturally hegemonic character of dominant sustainability discourse is under critique, with the term accruing new or expanded associations that challenge the its future-oriented, temporally stable, and ontologically determinate history. In Australia, these shifts take in a recognition that indigenous Australian understandings of and relationships with the environment profoundly challenge the…

The Building Code of Australia (BCA) energy-efficiency regulations for houses provide deemed-to-satisfy acceptable construction solutions, and verification using computer simulation software approved by the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). From 1st May 2009 only second generation software is referenced in the BCA. In 2006 NatHERS introduced a substantially upgraded “second generation software” package AccuRate…

Continuous measurement of internal and external environmental parameters is critical to our understanding of how buildings perform. Yet, the quantity and variety of time-series data can be quite overwhelming as well as onerous to decipher and present. In addition to this, is the fact that several of the collected data are useless in their raw…

Environmental decision making during the building design process has typically focused on improvements to operational efficiencies. Improvements to thermal performance and efficiency of appliances and systems within buildings both aim to reduce resource consumption and environmental impacts associated with the operation of buildings. Significant reductions in building energy and water consumption are possible; however often…

Sustainable design is now a growing trend within various fields. However the most common response to sustainable design continues to be ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘economic’ designs while social factors incorporating users’ design satisfaction and connectivity with place have been currently downplayed. Although measuring users satisfaction has been one of the popular areas of inquiry for housing…

The proposition that knowledge and skills of sustainable design can be developed in primary school children through their engagement in an on-going and real design and build project at their school is supported by the results. A major contributor is determined to be the participatory and community-focused approach that has been embedded into the project….

The study of the embodied energy of construction materials has developed considerably over the past decade and the design of sustainable buildings often considers the use of materials with low embodied energy. In addition, the estimation of embodied energy has contributed to research into the overall energy consumption of buildings. This paper views embodied energy…

This paper presents preliminary findings from a retrospective analysis of energy efficiency actions undertaken in eleven large commercial office buildings between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2008. The sample buildings were selected from a single portfolio that accounts for five percent of Australia’s commercial office accommodation. Collectively they represent 1.4 percent of the entire…

This paper presents preliminary findings of a study into the impact and effectiveness of Personal Ventilation (PV) in open plan offices. PV is a generic descriptor for desk- or workstation-mounted air-conditioning registers that deliver conditioned air directly to the breathing zone of office workers. PV systems have the potential to improve occupant comfort by increasing…

The aim of this research is to quantify the pressures that are applied to the building envelope during washing. This study includes evaluation of a garden hose, as well as small and medium size water blasters typically used by a homeowner. Normal Maintenance of a building is mandatory for all building owners, and is one…

A common assumption in 20th century design analysis and critique is that the visual qualities of a domestic structure are, in some way, a reflection of the siting of the house, its orientation and program. The first two of these, siting and orientation, are associated with environmental conditions and the supposition that architect-designed houses possess…

This study uses high performance heavily glazed façades (developed by architects and engineers) for a real commercial building to examine the relationship between COMFEN’s early design lessons (single-zone simulations) and the detailed design lessons (multi-zone simulations) derived from use of Energy Plus. The hypothesis tested is that the COMFEN-based decisions which are derived from computer…

The floating house in Tempe Lake is one of the Buginese’s traditional settlements in South Sulawesi. However, the characteristic of Tempe Lake is a cistern lake, causing the lake’s water to overflow during the rainy season and dry out during the dry season. The extreme climate condition, inconsistent wind direction and waves cause constant movement…

Housing reconstruction in Aceh after the 2004 Tsunami typically followed the ubiquitous ‘bungalow’ model constructed from industrial products such as brick and concrete. The adoption of such materials extended the trend away from the use of organic building materials of traditional housing. On the other hand, after the 2006 Yogyakarta Earthquake, many aid agencies built…

One thousand prefabricated buildings were imported in a systematic manner by the New Zealand Government from Europe and erected in the Titahi Bay area of Wellington and the Tamaki area of Auckland New Zealand. These kitset buildings, manufactured in both England and Austria, were shipped to New Zealand and put together on site in New…

Contemporary concerns for improving environmental performance in buildings have led to an increased interest in natural ventilation either on its own (NV) or in combination with air-conditioning (mixed mode – MM) as an alternative to traditional HVAC systems. HVAC systems are widely used because they avoid many of the problems encountered with NV or MM…

Thermal comfort has developed along two distinct models: deterministic and adaptive. We investigate the validity of these models against the increasingly urgent call to reduce building energy consumption. The air-conditioned office, predicated on the deterministic thermal comfort model, expends about 50% of its energy on air-conditioning. In a resource-constrained world, while acknowledging the need for…

The paper argues that in order to achieve effective greenhouse gas mitigation targets and adoption of existing commercial buildings to climate change effects, a methodology for retrofitting is needed, largely based on bioclimatic design as it promotes low energy building operations. An initial work is presented on implementing this approach involving four types of activity;…

The market is an essential component of urban form. Contemporary shopping malls can benefit from the inherent efficiencies of traditional markets. This paper addresses the development of sustainable models of market typologies based on a specific case study, the Bazaar of Tabriz in Iran. As one of the biggest historical covered markets in the world…

The development of mass-produced environmentally-benign housing is one of the critical factors in the transition to global sustainability. Such housing will need to be constructed from renewable and/or recycled materials, be conditioned using minimal or no non-renewable energy, and be affordable. The universal need for such built environment resource stewardship is urgent. In developing countries,…

This paper is motivated by environmental degradation which happens in China due to the intensive new urban development. Although more planning and design proposals are titled with “sustainable”, few have yet, it appears succeeded. “Design for Eco-services” is an emerging theory about sustainable urban development, in which Janis Birkeland argues that, “net positive development” can…

he Energy Efficiency provisions, within the Building Code of Australia, have created many new challenges for architects and building designers. Prior to these provisions, general environmental design principles and ‘rules of thumb’ were used to design environmentally conscious dwellings. As the greenhouse agenda has advanced, the architect and building designer are now faced with understanding…