 Environmental design of buildings;  Thermal comfort & Energy efficiency in hot climates;  Natural ventilation as a passive cooling strategy;  Buildings’ monitoring; and  Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling and simulation.

Understanding Biodiversity with Socio-Cultural & Environmental Aspects. 30 April 2011

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

This paper discusses on some concepts and new ideas related to the high biological diversity in Malaysia. This may be... more This paper discusses on some concepts and new ideas related to the high biological diversity in Malaysia. This may be known as integrative biological diversity.

Energy Efficiency in Architectural Designs in the Indus Valley Civilization: Lessons learnt for new designing

by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Co-authored with Shreyas Panambur and Sat Ghosh

The Indus Valley civilization flourished between 2750-1900 B.C. We present a case study for Lothal, an extension of... more The Indus Valley civilization flourished between 2750-1900 B.C. We present a case study for Lothal, an extension of the Indus Valley civilization currently located in the state of Gujarat in India. Their double storied buildings were clustered around geometrical grids comprising of three divisions, including a citadel, a middle town and a lower town. An on-site visit revealed that the buildings were suitably oriented for maximum solar gains. The standardised stone blocks used had thermal transmissivities (“U” values in today’s architectural parlance) that retained indoor coolth substantially. The rectangular building forms ensured the presence of active and passive zones even then.

As Mechanical engineers, we have used Autodesk Ecotect Analysis to calculate Daylight Factors, Solar Radiation and Water Usage. We have explored quantitatively the fascinating world of light and shadows, coolth and warmth, and obtained answers for the following questions:

1. Were the orientation and the clustering perfect in the city of Lothal?

2. Can these architectural designs prevail with some modifications in today’s times?

After all, modernists believe that vernacular architecture can also be sustainable.

3. How feasible is it to use engineered eco-fabrics in modern settlements (keeping in mind the versatility of traditional fabrics)?

In this paper we shall present a prototype of a new proposed city called “The Sanctuary” housing 40,000 inhabitants (possibly the population in Lothal in 2500 B.C.). Our analysis shows how architectural structures adapt to driving rain, the ingress of winds and a glaring sun. Ecotect calculations elucidate contrasting patterns of energy use in residential areas of Lothal vis-à-vis the dwellings in The Sanctuary. To our knowledge, this is a first study exploring energy efficiency in Lothal.

Simulation in the service of design–asking the right questions

by Michael Donn

A Comparative Study in the Architectural Design of Low Energy Apartments For Two Climates: New Zealand and Reunion Island

by Michael Donn

Study of two devices for passive exhaust ventilation in a warm, sub-humid climate. / Estudio de dos dispositivos de ventilación por extracción pasiva en un clima cálido sub-húmedo

by Adolfo Gomez Amador

Document written in Spanish by Marcos Eduardo González Trevizo, Adolfo Gómez Amador y Carlos Escobar del Pozo

It is well known that to unfavorable living conditions in warm sub-humid, appropriate architectural design strategies... more It is well known that to unfavorable living conditions in warm sub-humid, appropriate architectural design strategies provide less stress physiological conditions inside the buildings. Among these strategies cross-ventilation is one of the most efficient. Due to the mass production of housing, Its practice seem as impossible because to high air tightness of its architectural envelopes, however, has been used very little use of architectural coverings in order to produce ventilation.
Historically in arid climates, thermal conditions of extreme oscillation led to the use of the magnitudes of wind and solar radiation to take advantage of ventilation devices for hundreds of years.
On the one hand, the wind towers induce fresh air into the spaces, while the wet and thereby improve the living conditions inside While solar chimneys, used in a similar way a power plant, its operation based on the thermo siphon effect to move warm air outwards.
Despite operating based on different principles, both devices must its mechanical power to the generation of low pressure zones caused by the phenomenon of convection.
This study presents the theoretical approach of a design methodology of both a wind tower of four flat concentrators four sided, and a flat plate solar chimney . Both designed according to the venturi effect and thermo siphon, respectively.
This is done through the use of environmental testing chambers that simulate the minimum living space authorized in the city of Colima, This study obtained empirical results to analytically estimate potential flow patterns; In turn a witness chamber is used to determine the effectiveness of both devices; the ultimate goal is to establish a correlation between the volume flow rate achieved and the improvement in the thermal behavior inside the enclosure.

Es bien sabido que ante las condiciones de habitabilidad desfavorables en climas cálidos sub-húmedos, las adecuadas estrategias de diseño arquitectónico brindan condiciones de menor desgaste fisiológico al interior de las edificaciones; la ventilación cruzada es dentro de ellas, una de las más eficientes y usadas en la arquitectura vernácula, sin embargo, el acelerado crecimiento de la vivienda masiva, imposibilita su generación debido a la alta hermeticidad de sus envolventes arquitectónicas, no obstante, el uso de las cubiertas arquitectónicas para generar ventilación, es un campo de limitada explotación. Históricamente en climas áridos, las condiciones térmicas de oscilación extrema motivaron el aprovechamiento de magnitudes de viento y radiación solar para caracterizar dispositivos de ventilación a lo largo de cientos de años. Por un lado las torres de viento inducen al interior de los espacios aire fresco para posteriormente humedecerlo y mejorar las condiciones higrotérmicas de habitabilidad interior, mientras que las chimeneas solares, usadas a manera de planta de poder, basan su funcionamiento en el efecto termosifón para desplazar aire caliente hacia el exterior. A pesar de operar a base de distintos principios, ambas deben su potencia mecánica a la generación de zonas de baja presión originadas por el fenómeno de la convección.
El presente estudio presenta la aproximación teórica de una metodología de diseño tanto de una torre de viento de cuatro planos concentradores a cuatro vistas (four-sided) y una chimenea solar de placa colectora plana, diseñados según el efecto del tubo de Venturi.

APLICAÇÃO DE SIMULAÇÃO COMPUTACIONAL NO PROJETO PADRÃO DE CRECHE

by Doris Kowaltowski

Examine The Interaction Of Traditional Iranian Architecture Principles From The Form, Orientation And Symmetry To The Solar Energy

by mahdi soheyli fard

Mahdi Akhtar Kavan : Assistant Professor, Architecture and Art College, University of Kashan , m_kavan@iust.ac.ir
Asghar Mohammad Moradi : Professor, School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science and Technology , m_moradi@iust.ac.ir
Mahdi Soheili Fard: B.Sc. Student, Architecture College, University of Qom , soheili@stu.qom.ac.ir

Selection of active air samplers

by Tim Sandle

A study of a new type of swab for the environmental monitoring of isolators and cleanrooms (the heipha ICR-Swab)

by Tim Sandle

Evaluation of two different types of contact plates for microbiological environmental monitoring

by Tim Sandle

ESTUDO DO CLIMA DE CAMPINAS: A DIFICULDADE DE CARACTERIZAÇÃO E PROPOSIÇÃO DE RECOMENDAÇÕES DE PROJETO PARA CLIMAS …

by Doris Kowaltowski

Aspectos de conforto ambiental, escritórios de arquitetura e projetos de escolas.

by Doris Kowaltowski

Melhoria do conforto ambiental em edificações escolares municipais de Campinas-SP.

by Doris Kowaltowski

APLICATIVO PARA CÁLCULO DAS PROPRIEDADES TÉRMICAS DE ALVENARIAS

by Doris Kowaltowski

Sustainability through biomimicry: Urban solutions inspired by nature

by Maria Rosália Guerreiro

Biomimicry means the imitation of life. The term arises from the combination of the Greek roots bios, life, with... more Biomimicry means the imitation of life. The term arises from the combination of the Greek roots bios, life, with mimikos, imitation. Biomimicry is a new science and design discipline that studies nature’s models and then emulates these forms, process, systems, and strategies to solve the problems of our time. The core idea is that nature is creative and sustainable by necessity and it can be used as an ecological standard to judge the sustainability of our innovations. After 3.8 billion years of evolution and bottom-up design brilliance, Nature has the key to solve many of the problems we are grappling with because it has learned what works and what lasts.
This research is about the scientific understanding of the concept of "life" in urban space and its main purpose is to explain the underlying order that is present in self-organized structures. Until now architecture has been especially interested in models of pure rationally; informal cities were without any interest. Today this perspective is changing as we look more deeply into Nature.
We realize that more our built environment functions like the natural world, more sustainable it is. Therefore, this paper intends to speculate about the existence of patterns of self-organization in nature and in cities. The methodology adopted is the process of abduction or hypothesis, which is a kind of scientific inference not purely abstract or inductive. It is above all a process that involves an aesthetic and holistic vision of the world which allows applying a certain knowledge domain into another different domain. It is a mere suggestion of something that can be explained by the assumption that there are some general rules which govern the entire universe.

Experimental investigation of the air flow and indoor carbon dioxide concentration in classrooms with intermittent natural ventilation

by Niki Gaitani

Sistema Informatizado de Gerenciamento do Ambiente Escolar (SIGAE) como Instrumento à Melhoria do Conforto Ambiental

by Doris Kowaltowski

Teaching Children about Aspects of Comfort in the Built Environment

by Doris Kowaltowski

Mutualism, Eco-Design, Political Ecology, Climate Change Talk given to the 'Design after the Gift Symposium' Parsons, The New School for Social Research, New York, April 1st 2011

by Damian White

Talk given to the Design after the Gift Symposium at the New School, Parsons. An attempt to think about the gift,... more Talk given to the Design after the Gift Symposium at the New School, Parsons. An attempt to think about the gift, mutualism, political ecology, Bookchin, Colin Ward, eco-design, humanism after post-humanism and post apocalytic modes of eco-design. All work in progress but comments (+/-) more than welcome.

Simulation of Thermal Comfort of a Residential House

by Nazri Kamsah

Masine Md. Tap, Haslinda Mohamed Kamar, Abdul Kadir Marsono, Nazri Kamsah and Khairul Amry Mohd Salimin
IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 8, Issue 4, July 2011
ISSN (Online): 1694-0814
www.IJCSI.org

In hot and humid climates thermal comfort can become a problem to the occupants of many residential buildings... more In hot and humid climates thermal comfort can become a problem to the occupants of many residential buildings especially when they are not equipped with air-conditioning system. This paper presents outcomes of an ongoing research work to investigate thermal comfort level in a naturally ventilated residential house in Malaysia using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. Actual measurements of the temperature distribution, relative humidity and air flow pattern were conducted. CFD simulations on the model of the house allow us to visualize the temperature distribution and air flow pattern and velocity in the house. The thermal comfort in the house was found to be well outside the limits specified by ASHRAE standards. CFD simulation was used to investigate the effects of using a ceiling fan installed in the middle of the hall section and rotating at 150 RPM. It was found that the fan produced swirling flow pattern in the hall section resulting in a more uniform temperature distribution inside the house. However, there is no significant improvement in the thermal comfort level in the house. Results of CFD simulations also show that the use of small extractor fans installed on the front and back walls has no significant effects on the thermal comfort level in the house.  Although the mechanical ventilation devices did not help improve the thermal comfort in the house being studied, the CFD simulation results can be used by building designers and engineers to further improved the level of thermal comfort in residential houses in hot and humid climates that are naturally ventilated.