Regional hospitals in humid tropical climate - Guidelines for sustainable design

Developing countries are facing numerous challenges in the process of providing adequate health care to often deprived and diminished social groups. Being a country made up of a mainland territory and five islands in Gulf of Guinea, almost entirely covered by tropical rainforest, with poor road infrastructure, Equatorial Guinea is a showcase of various obstructions in developing effective health care system. The paper explores guidelines for creation of model regional hospital, commissioned by Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, with the aim of achieving high level of replicability through minor program and site-specific adjustments. The demonstrated strategies are applied on a local hospital designed to provide all basic types of health services while retaining a high level of technical independence. The architectural concept was formulated aiming to maximize the use of natural ventilation, daylight and rainwater management, leaving the operation block, laboratory and intensive care unit practically the only parts of the structure that would need mechanical air conditioning. The potential and effectiveness of use of photovoltaic units in enhancing hospital's resilience through on-site energy production was explored. The structure was designed having in mind local climate, culture and customs, thus offering a possibility of strong integration with local community. The building technology was thought over to enable efficient and cost-effective construction and proper resilience for tropical rainforest environment. The result is a structure providing for contemporary, high quality medical service, interpreting local climatic and cultural contextual premises through modern architectural expression

Optimization of refurbishment measures for residential buildings in order to improve energy efficiency

Преиспитујући делатност архитектуре и урбанизма у контексту премиса одрживог развоја, током последње две деценије формирано је становиште да постојећи грађевински фонд заправо представља својеврсни створени ресурс који, заједно са корпусом знања и достигнућа остављамо у наслеђе будућим генерацијама. Када изграђене објекте посматрамо на овај начин, неминовно се отварају питања везана за њихову рационалну експлоатацију: како их користимо, како их можемо прилагодити реалним потребама, како им можемо продужити животни век. Највећи део грађевинског фонда представљају стамбене зграде чијом адаптацијом можемо квалитативно унапредити не само стамбене јединице унутар њих, већ и целокупно створено урбано окружење. Енергетске перформансе данас представљају једну од кључних ставки када желимо да проценимо еколошке карактеристике зграде, било да се ради о новопројектованим или постојећим објектима, те је у фокусу овог рада побољшање енергетске ефикасности зграда вишепородичног становања. На основу темељне анализе постојећег грађевинског фонда, за непосредан предмет рада усвојен је сегмент изграђен у периоду од 1960. до 1990. године, када је изграђен највећи део стамбених зграда, уз типолошку и технолошку разноврсност каква раније није била присутна на нашем подручју и која је, током последњих неколико деценија, готово у потпуности ишчезла из станоградње...Redebining the scope of architecture and urban planning in context of sustainable development during the last two decades, the building fond is now considered to be a man-­‐made resource, that we leave as a legacy for the future generations. When buildings are seen as a resource, numerous questions rise regarding their rational exploitation: how can we use them, how can we adjust them to our contemporary needs, how to extend their lifespan. Housing has a major share in the building fund, thus adaptation of this sector holds huge potential for upgrading not just the dwelling units themselves, but our built environment in general. Energy performance is the key issue in ecological evaluation of buildings, so this work was focused on improving the energy efbiciency of multifamily housing. After the extensive analyses of Serbian building fond, the portion of housing stock constructed between 1960 and 1990 was singled-­‐out as the most productive period, with unprecedented variety in architectural types and construction technologies that has practically vanished from building practice during the last decades. In order to provide for wider scope of individual improvement measures than the one presented in National Typology of Residential Buildings in Serbia, a critical analysis of key thermal envelope elements was carried out. The cases when generic, model improvements can be applied were identibied, while for certain case-­‐specibic options, alternative solutions were proposed and analysed..

Optimization of refurbishment measures for residential buildings in order to improve energy efficiency

Преиспитујући делатност архитектуре и урбанизма у контексту премиса одрживог развоја, током последње две деценије формирано је становиште да постојећи грађевински фонд заправо представља својеврсни створени ресурс који, заједно са корпусом знања и достигнућа остављамо у наслеђе будућим генерацијама. Када изграђене објекте посматрамо на овај начин, неминовно се отварају питања везана за њихову рационалну експлоатацију: како их користимо, како их можемо прилагодити реалним потребама, како им можемо продужити животни век. Највећи део грађевинског фонда представљају стамбене зграде чијом адаптацијом можемо квалитативно унапредити не само стамбене јединице унутар њих, већ и целокупно створено урбано окружење. Енергетске перформансе данас представљају једну од кључних ставки када желимо да проценимо еколошке карактеристике зграде, било да се ради о новопројектованим или постојећим објектима, те је у фокусу овог рада побољшање енергетске ефикасности зграда вишепородичног становања. На основу темељне анализе постојећег грађевинског фонда, за непосредан предмет рада усвојен је сегмент изграђен у периоду од 1960. до 1990. године, када је изграђен највећи део стамбених зграда, уз типолошку и технолошку разноврсност каква раније није била присутна на нашем подручју и која је, током последњих неколико деценија, готово у потпуности ишчезла из станоградње...Redebining the scope of architecture and urban planning in context of sustainable development during the last two decades, the building fond is now considered to be a man-­‐made resource, that we leave as a legacy for the future generations. When buildings are seen as a resource, numerous questions rise regarding their rational exploitation: how can we use them, how can we adjust them to our contemporary needs, how to extend their lifespan. Housing has a major share in the building fund, thus adaptation of this sector holds huge potential for upgrading not just the dwelling units themselves, but our built environment in general. Energy performance is the key issue in ecological evaluation of buildings, so this work was focused on improving the energy efbiciency of multifamily housing. After the extensive analyses of Serbian building fond, the portion of housing stock constructed between 1960 and 1990 was singled-­‐out as the most productive period, with unprecedented variety in architectural types and construction technologies that has practically vanished from building practice during the last decades. In order to provide for wider scope of individual improvement measures than the one presented in National Typology of Residential Buildings in Serbia, a critical analysis of key thermal envelope elements was carried out. The cases when generic, model improvements can be applied were identibied, while for certain case-­‐specibic options, alternative solutions were proposed and analysed..

Оптимизација мера обнове стамбених зграда у циљу побољшања енергетске ефикасности

Redebining the scope of architecture and urban planning in context of sustainable development during the last two decades, the building fond is now considered to be a man-­‐made resource, that we leave as a legacy for the future generations. When buildings are seen as a resource, numerous questions rise regarding their rational exploitation: how can we use them, how can we adjust them to our contemporary needs, how to extend their lifespan. Housing has a major share in the building fund, thus adaptation of this sector holds huge potential for upgrading not just the dwelling units themselves, but our built environment in general. Energy performance is the key issue in ecological evaluation of buildings, so this work was focused on improving the energy efbiciency of multifamily housing. After the extensive analyses of Serbian building fond, the portion of housing stock constructed between 1960 and 1990 was singled-­‐out as the most productive period, with unprecedented variety in architectural types and construction technologies that has practically vanished from building practice during the last decades. In order to provide for wider scope of individual improvement measures than the one presented in National Typology of Residential Buildings in Serbia, a critical analysis of key thermal envelope elements was carried out. The cases when generic, model improvements can be applied were identibied, while for certain case-­‐specibic options, alternative solutions were proposed and analysed...Преиспитујући делатност архитектуре и урбанизма у контексту премиса одрживог развоја, током последње две деценије формирано је становиште да постојећи грађевински фонд заправо представља својеврсни створени ресурс који, заједно са корпусом знања и достигнућа остављамо у наслеђе будућим генерацијама. Када изграђене објекте посматрамо на овај начин, неминовно се отварају питања везана за њихову рационалну експлоатацију: како их користимо, како их можемо прилагодити реалним потребама, како им можемо продужити животни век. Највећи део грађевинског фонда представљају стамбене зграде чијом адаптацијом можемо квалитативно унапредити не само стамбене јединице унутар њих, већ и целокупно створено урбано окружење. Енергетске перформансе данас представљају једну од кључних ставки када желимо да проценимо еколошке карактеристике зграде, било да се ради о новопројектованим или постојећим објектима, те је у фокусу овог рада побољшање енергетске ефикасности зграда вишепородичног становања. На основу темељне анализе постојећег грађевинског фонда, за непосредан предмет рада усвојен је сегмент изграђен у периоду од 1960. до 1990. године, када је изграђен највећи део стамбених зграда, уз типолошку и технолошку разноврсност каква раније није била присутна на нашем подручју и која је, током последњих неколико деценија, готово у потпуности ишчезла из станоградње..

Optimization of refurbishment measures for residential buildings in order to improve energy efficiency

Преиспитујући делатност архитектуре и урбанизма у контексту премиса одрживог развоја, током последње две деценије формирано је становиште да постојећи грађевински фонд заправо представља својеврсни створени ресурс који, заједно са корпусом знања и достигнућа остављамо у наслеђе будућим генерацијама. Када изграђене објекте посматрамо на овај начин, неминовно се отварају питања везана за њихову рационалну експлоатацију: како их користимо, како их можемо прилагодити реалним потребама, како им можемо продужити животни век. Највећи део грађевинског фонда представљају стамбене зграде чијом адаптацијом можемо квалитативно унапредити не само стамбене јединице унутар њих, већ и целокупно створено урбано окружење. Енергетске перформансе данас представљају једну од кључних ставки када желимо да проценимо еколошке карактеристике зграде, било да се ради о новопројектованим или постојећим објектима, те је у фокусу овог рада побољшање енергетске ефикасности зграда вишепородичног становања. На основу темељне анализе постојећег грађевинског фонда, за непосредан предмет рада усвојен је сегмент изграђен у периоду од 1960. до 1990. године, када је изграђен највећи део стамбених зграда, уз типолошку и технолошку разноврсност каква раније није била присутна на нашем подручју и која је, током последњих неколико деценија, готово у потпуности ишчезла из станоградње...Redebining the scope of architecture and urban planning in context of sustainable development during the last two decades, the building fond is now considered to be a man-­‐made resource, that we leave as a legacy for the future generations. When buildings are seen as a resource, numerous questions rise regarding their rational exploitation: how can we use them, how can we adjust them to our contemporary needs, how to extend their lifespan. Housing has a major share in the building fund, thus adaptation of this sector holds huge potential for upgrading not just the dwelling units themselves, but our built environment in general. Energy performance is the key issue in ecological evaluation of buildings, so this work was focused on improving the energy efbiciency of multifamily housing. After the extensive analyses of Serbian building fond, the portion of housing stock constructed between 1960 and 1990 was singled-­‐out as the most productive period, with unprecedented variety in architectural types and construction technologies that has practically vanished from building practice during the last decades. In order to provide for wider scope of individual improvement measures than the one presented in National Typology of Residential Buildings in Serbia, a critical analysis of key thermal envelope elements was carried out. The cases when generic, model improvements can be applied were identibied, while for certain case-­‐specibic options, alternative solutions were proposed and analysed..

Improving energy efficiency of kindergartens in Serbia: challenges and potentials

Kindergartens are probably the very first public buildings we actively use in our lives. Therefore, they can be considered as the physical structures that are providing for the very important educational and social function. Additionally, they can also be considered as the specific learning tool for future generations where they can encounter the ideas of green and energy-efficient buildings. One of the results of the research project “Energy efficiency in public buildings” has been formulated through the development of Serbian National Typology of Kindergartens which was conceived as a specific tool that can be used for improving this portion of building stock. The paper presents the methodology for identification of typical kindergarten buildings, covering various construction periods, building sizes and illustrates the type of analysis performed for model representatives. The potential for energy upgrades covering physical structure, installed technological systems, as well as expected impact on energy performance, has been estimated. The study presents results based on the analysis of the data derived from the National Typology, stressing out that energy retrofits of large and medium-sized kindergartens built during the 1970s and 1980s should be the primary focus of refurbishment activities. Accounting for almost 60% of total buildings and 69.59% of heated area, they are responsible for 75.97% of energy demands. Estimated energy savings of more than 60% indicate the effectiveness of their retrofit. The paper also presents the potential uses of National Typology as a retrofit tool on various scales, from single-building considerations to a strategic approach at the national level

Potentials for improving energy performance of multifamily housing blocks connected to the district heating system

Developments conceived following the principles of Athens Charter were typical form of urban answer to the post-war housing shortage and during the decades of intense construction activity that followed. In city of Belgrade, multifamily housing in open city blocks built between 1961 and 1990 account for about 40% of current housing stock. The current ownership and operation of these housing blocks derive from their socialist legacy: home-owners rights relate only to the buildings, excluding any open spaces, even the ones immediately along the building’s perimeter. On the other hand, heating is supplied by district heating system. Management of open spaces as well as provision of district heating are subordinates to local municipality (the city of Belgrade). Energy efficiency related refurbishment options for these developments that would engage both the home-owners and the public companies may be the key for bringing ever-needed modernization, prolonged lifespan and a sustainable way of using this portion of housing stock. By applying simple architectural measures, energy demand for heating of these buildings can be reduced by 30-78%, which opens a pathway for effective use of renewable energy sources. Unlike solar energy, which can be managed at building level, geothermal energy can be exploited only at the district level due to the ownership rights. The presented research explores the effectiveness of using geo-thermal energy at a district level coupled with systematic approach to building refurbishment, taking the advantage of the repetitive use of the same building design and the formal and practical relations with local authorities