278 research outputs found
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Creative and productive workplaces: a review
The built environment affects our well-being and this in turn influences our effectiveness in the workplace. Poor environments contribute to absenteeism and to people not working as well as they might. This is an enormous cost to the nation. High-quality environmental design is an investment, as occupants are healthier, staff-retention rates are higher, productivity is higher and sustainability ideals are more likely to be met. Workplaces reflect the culture of companies and are places that are not just functional and convenient but give the occupant a wholesome experience in terms of body and spirit
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What is an intelligent building? Analysis of recent interpretations from an international perspective
In recent years, the notion of intelligent buildings (IBs) has become increasingly popular due to their potentials for deploying design initiatives and emerging technologies towards maximized occupants’ comfort and well-being with sustainable design.
However, various definitions, interpretations, and implications regarding the essence of IBs exist. Various key performance indicators of IBs have been proposed in different contexts. This study explores the notion of IBs and presents an analysis of their main constituents. Through a comparison of these constituents in different contexts, this study aims to extract the common features of IBs leading to an evolved definition which could be useful as a reference framework for design, evaluation, and development of future IBs. Findings also scrutinize the long run benefits of IBs, while demonstrating the constraints and challenges of the current international interpretations
Human factors in the design of sustainable built environments
Scientific research provides convincing evidence that climate change is having significant impacts on many aspects of life. In the built-environment domain, regulatory requirements are pushing the challenges of environmental, economic, and social sustainability at the core of the professional agenda, although the aims of carbon reduction and energy conservation are frequently given a priority over occupants' comfort, well-being, and satisfaction. While most practitioners declare to embrace sustainability as a driver of their professional approach, a general lack of integrated creative and technical skills hinders the design of buildings centred on articulate and comprehensive sustainability goals, encompassing, other than energy criteria, also human-centred and ethical values founded on competent and informed consideration of the requirements of the site, the programme, and the occupants. Built environments are designed by humans to host a range of human activities. In response, this article aims to endorse a sustainable approach to design founded on the knowledge arising from scholarly and evidence-based research, exploring principles and criteria for the creation and operation of human habitats that can respond to energy and legislative demands, mitigate their environmental impacts, and adapt to new climate scenarios, while elevating the quality of experience and delight to those occupying them
Measurements of CO2 levels in a classroom and its effect on the performance of the students
This paper will describe the effects of high CO2 concentration on the thermal comfort and academic performance of students during winter and summer in a large occupied lecture room.
An experimental method including objective measurements of air quality monitoring and building physical measurements was used with subjective measurements combined with academic performance and thermal comfort questionnaire.
The results show average performances for a sixty percent attendance rate per class at approximately 48%-62%. The maximum daily average CO2 levels for the sample was 2,714 parts per million (ppm). This is much higher than the 1,500 ppm daily requirements. The condition of the lecture room during the summer period, based on a five point Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) scale of subjective responses of the students were found to be slightly hot, slightly humid, slightly stuffy, slightly bright and slightly noisy.
A computer model produced daily ventilation rates ranging from 0.25 – 0.93 litres per second per person. This is also much lower than the required minimum background ventilation rates of 3 litres per second per person
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Reliability in the whole life cycle of building systems
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to show that reliability analysis and its implementation will lead to an improved whole life performance of the building systems, and hence their life cycle costs (LCC).
Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses reliability impacts on the whole life cycle of building systems, and reviews the up-to-date approaches adopted in UK construction, based on questionnaires designed to investigate the use of reliability within the industry.
Findings – Approaches to reliability design and maintainability design have been introduced from the operating environment level, system structural level and component level, and a scheduled maintenance logic tree is modified based on the model developed by Pride. Different stages of the whole life cycle of building services systems, reliability-associated factors should be considered to ensure the system's whole life performance. It is suggested that data analysis should be applied in reliability design, maintainability design, and maintenance policy development.
Originality/value – The paper presents important factors in different stages of the whole life cycle of the systems, and reliability and maintainability design approaches which can be helpful for building services system designers. The survey from the questionnaires provides the designers with understanding of key impacting factors
Nurturing lifelong learning in communities through the National University of Lesotho: prospects and challenges
This paper analyses one aspect of a pan-African action research project called ITMUA (Implementing the Third Mission of Universities in Africa). This particular paper draws on the data from that project to explore the National University of Lesotho’s contribution to lifelong learning in its communities. It provides background information on the ITMUA initiative and analyses interview and focus group responses to two case studies in terms of their contribution to lifelong learning. It uses, as its analytical framework, a modified version of Mbigi’s African perspective on the four De Lors’ ‘pillars’, by adding a fifth pillar, courtesy of Torres. The paper argues that community engagement is a two-way process between universities and their wider constituencies with opportunities for mutual lifelong learning. But there are also challenges of understanding and process which must be addressed if the full range of these lifelong learning pillars is to be accommodated within African contexts. The paper provides an introduction to the history of community engagement in Africa as a university mission, followed by a brief discussion of lifelong learning within African perspectives. After describing the particular context of Lesotho, the concept of community service and community engagement in contemporary African contexts introduces the action research project and the case studies. The final part of the paper presents and discusses the research findings
A Review of Quantitative Approaches to Intelligent Building Assessment
This paper provides a review of the assessment methods of intelligent buildings (IBs). Based on a review of rating method currently used for building assessment, 6 rating systems for IB assessment are compared according to assessment clusters such as Architecture, Engineering, Environment, Economics, Management, and Sociology. The 6 IB rating systems include the AIIB method developed by the Asian Institute of Intelligent Buildings (AIIB), Hong Kong, China; the BRE method developed by the Building Research Establishment Ltd., UK; CABA method developed by the Continental Automated Building Association (CABA), Canada & USA; the IBSK method developed by the Intelligent Building Society of Korea (IBSK), Korea; the SCC method developed by the Shanghai Construction Council (SCC), China; and the TIBA method developed by the Architecture and Building Research Institute, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan, China. Although the AIIB method is identified as the most comprehensive assessment system, its four weaknesses are explained. The paper concludes that an innovative building approach using analytic network process will bring advantages to IB assessment
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Carbon brainprint - An estimate of the intellectual contribution of research institutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
This is the accepted manuscript of a paper published in Process Safety and Environmental Protection (Chatterton J, et al., Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2015, 96, 74-81, doi:10.1016/j.psep.2015.04.008). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2015.04.008Research and innovation have considerable, currently unquantified potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by, for example, increasing energy efficiency. Furthermore, the process of knowledge transfer in itself can have a significant impact on reducing emissions, by promoting awareness and behavioural change. The concept of the ‘carbon brainprint’ was proposed to convey the intellectual contribution of higher education institutions to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by other parties through research and teaching/training activities. This paper describes an investigation of the feasibility of quantifying the carbon brainprint, through six case studies. The potential brainprint of higher education institutes is shown to be significant: up to 500 kt CO2e/year for one project. The most difficult aspect is attributing the brainprint among multiple participants in joint projects.The Carbon Brainprint project was supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) under its Leading Sustainable Development in Higher Education programme, with support for case studies from Santander Universities. HEFCE, Research Councils UK and the Carbon Trust were members of the Steering Committee, which provided guidance, but did not direct the research. The Carbon Trust also advised on best practice in carbon footprinting.
We are grateful to the many university staff at Cranfield, Cambridge and Reading Universities who shared their work with us so enthusiastically.
We also thank the external partners and clients for the projects on which these case studies are based: Rolls-Royce plc, the ETI NOVA consortium, IGD, the Environment Agency, Esso, Repsol YPF, Carnego Systems Ltd. and Newera Controls Ltd
A Casebase of Intelligent Buildings for E-learning Systems
This paper presents the conceptual description of a knowledge base for teaching and learning the programme of MSc Intelligent Buildings, which is being developed at the University of Reading and being developed into a global Master degree program. The knowledge base aims to support currently used e-learning tools such as Blackboard, and to make a knowledge engine to facilitate other relevant research into intelligent buildings. A pilot knowledge base is introduced to demonstrate the usability and acceptability of the knowledge base, which is designed according to a standard classification of intelligent buildings and a generic knowledge format to regulate case collection and reuse in teaching and learning. This paper initially covers undetermined issues such as case-based teaching and learning in intelligent buildings related programs
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