Application of sunspaces in fostering energy efficiency and economical viability of residential buildings in Serbia

Residential building sector in Serbia has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Large scale projects have given way to individual, private initiative resulting in smaller interventions rarely exceeding one lot. For this reason architectural concepts, building types, scopes and construction technology have been marginalized and fallen under the influence of market mechanisms and stringent local planning procedures. New regulations on energy efficiency have risen the standards for thermal insulation therefore increasing the thickness of building enclosure. This actually means that construction costs are increased and net built area, therefore expected profit, reduced. In order to provide the viable ground for both implementation of new regulations and economic benefits for investors, authors of energy efficiency regulations in Serbia have noted a whole set of solar systems, among which sunspaces that would not count as a part of gross area, provided that they contribute to the increase of energy performance of the building. This paper describes the case of a typical residential new construction in Belgrade that has applied the prescribed solutions and became the first building that has obtained the building permit by applying a sunspace as an efficient strategy for energy saving.This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: Ignjatović, Dušan, Milica Jovanović Popović, and Jasna Kavran. 2015. ‘Application of Sunspaces in Fostering Energy Efficiency and Economical Viability of Residential Buildings in Serbia’. Energy and Buildings, Renewable Energy Sources and Healthy Buildings, 98 (July): 3–9. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.02.049

Daylight utilization potentials of highly glazed individual office spaces in Belgrade climate condition

Office buildings have high standards for lighting requirements, which greatly contribute to high lighting energy consumption. Daylight utilization is one of the means to reduce it. The goal of this paper is to evaluate daylight utilization potentials in Belgrade climate in order to generate initial design guideline for highly glazed small, individual office spaces. Daylight availability and its lighting energy implications are analyzed using computer simulation tool DIVA for Rhino. Selected individual office space is modelled as a narrow rectangular space, sidelit and highly glazed. Parametric analysis was carried out for: four different glazing ratios (50, 60, 70, and 85%), four glazing types with different visible transmittance properties (80, 72, 62, and 54%), and four different major orientations. Since this analysis is evaluating daylight utilization potentials, no shades or external obstructions were considered. The major results of this study indicate high potential for daylight utilization in office buildings in Belgrade. Daylight utilization in single offices is reaching its maximum in model with 70% window-to-wall ratio for all office orientations except north orientation, where daylight utilization is reaching its maximum at maximum window-to-wall ratio. Also, north orientated spaces have highest benefits from utilization of useful diffuse daylight. Direct sunlight and size and shape of facade aperture above working plane are determining factors for utilization of daylight in office spaces

METHODOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING - ANALYSIS OF THREE METHODOLOGICAL MODELS IN THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE

Architecture reflect itself since Vitruvius, but it is difficult to define its epistemological base, so interpretations are sometimes developed in other disciplines. Thinking architecture is about reflection and extension of architectural concepts, cultural practices, and interrelated areas of art, philosophy, politics, etc. Methods of research and interpretation of architectural phenomena and actions belong to different sciences. Incompleteness of understanding is obvious, and it points us toward a paradigm of complex thinking. Understanding the art, including architectural themes and the phenomenon, is originated in the history of art and aesthetics. Although psychology and philosophy in the world of phenomena, carry over as a scientific discipline, we do not fully reveal the character of space and the kind of phenomena in it. Contemporary theoretical field of architecture is largely a product of postmodern architectural thought. This paper examines the position from which to build a modern architectural phenomenological opinion through three methodological models - creative, emotional and rational. This research should contribute to the way of understanding contemporary architectural phenomenon, with the intention of providing a general level of credibility and understanding in order to open the possibility of methodological application for a specific job or field

Strategy for national definition of nearly zero energy buildings

Due to very intensive energy rehabilitation and retrofitting process of buildings in the past decade, EU countries reduced energy spent in buildings from 50% to less than 40% of total energy production. At the same time, at the moment, buildings account for around 36% of CO2 emission. The recast Directive on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD 2010) stipulates that by 2020 all new buildings in European Union shell reach nearly zero- energy levels (nZEB). At the same time, public buildings should reach this goal till 2018. Introducing the new obligations for public buildings (from 2019 on) and other buildings (from 2021 on) to become nearly zero-energy buildings. This Directive does not give very precise definition of nZEB. According to this directive nZEB is:" building that has a very high energy performance... The nearly zero or very low amount of energy required should, to a very significant extent, be covered by energy from renewable sources, including renewable energy produced onsite or nearby". Accepting the differences in climate, building heritage, socio-technical levels of development, Directive does not prescribe the common methodology for implementation strategy and calculation methods, giving the opportunity to each country to define its own criteria and model. Serbia, as the candidate country, started the process of harmonization with EU regulations in the field of energy efficiency by introducing the Law on rational use of energy (2013) and in the field of buildings by introducing the Law on planning and construction (2009) and Regulations on energy performance of buildings and energy certification of buildings (2011) and in the future time has to prepare its own goals, definition of nZEB and strategies of accomplishing them. In the paper, principles for Serbian nZEB definition are elaborated taking into account national specifics: ����� existing building stock whose characteristics are elaborated in National building topology, ����� climate diversity, ����� economic potential, ����� renewable energy source

Daylight utilisation potentials of highly glazed individual office spaces in Belgrade climate condition

Office buildings have high standards for lighting requirements, which greatly contribute to high lighting energy consumption. Daylight utilization is one of the means to reduce it. The goal of this paper is to evaluate daylight utilization potentials in Belgrade climate in order to generate initial design guideline for highly glazed small, individual office spaces. Daylight availability and its lighting energy implications are analyzed using computer simulation tool DIVA for Rhino. Selected individual office space is modelled as a narrow rectangular space, sidelit and highly glazed. Parametric analysis was carried out for: four different glazing ratios (50, 60, 70, and 85%), four glazing types with different visible transmittance properties (80, 72, 62, and 54%), and four different major orientations. Since this analysis is evaluating daylight utilization potentials, no shades or external obstructions were considered. The major results of this study indicate high potential for daylight utilization in office buildings in Belgrade. Daylight utilization in single offices is reaching its maximum in model with 70% window-to-wall ratio for all office orientations except north orientation, where daylight utilization is reaching its maximum at maximum window-to-wall ratio. Also, north orientated spaces have highest benefits from utilization of useful diffuse daylight. Direct sunlight and size and shape of façade aperture above working plane are determining factors for utilization of daylight in office spaces

Extensive Biomechanical Analysis of Passenger Locomotion in Airbus A320

Every human working activity is related to adequate workloadand therefore also stress. The workloads of people workingin different working postures form a wide but still insufficientlystudied biomechanical and ergonomic field. Carrying, liftingand manipulating freight often results in relatively high loads,and in case of the need for increased frequency of such procedures,the result is an exhausting dynamic strain of the humanbody. The loads that can occur during human activities are inthe majority of cases related to their extremely non-ergonomicworking position. It has been determined that the working posturesof the human body are supported by the action of the musclesystem on the human locomotoric chain. Non-ergonomicposture of human body is harmful, especially in case when it isforced or when it is in the field of suboptimal condition. Highloads affect directly the human safety, and in case of longer exposureof the body to the action of such loads, the possibility formore permanent organism damages of organism may occur

Metro stanice linije 1 (faza 1) beogradskog metroa [1. nagrada]

Koncept -- Kombinovani pristup -- Unifikacija/Autentičnost Glavni pristup koncipiranju dizajna i oblikovanja metro stanica bio je pristup stvaranja novog brenda koji će biti autentičan i prepoznatljiv, ali u svemu dostupan i prijatan korisniku. Dizajn je jednostavan, čistih linija i formi, izvedenih iz istorijskog konteksta kao i materijala iz prirode. Uz dodatak savremenih tehnologija koje olakšavaju kretanje i korišćenje svih zona, ostvarena je ekonomičnost u realizaciji, kao i ekonomičnost i ušteda vremena. Svaka od stanica prepoznatljiva je kao obeležje lokacije na kojoj se nalazi, dok se korišćeni elementi interponiraju i sistematski uklapaju medjusobno na svakoj od stanica, što čini koncept i prepoznatljiv brend Metro Beograd. Unifikacija je jedna od osnovnih karakteristika, kao i racionalizacija i lakoća eksploatacije. Gradski kontekst i okruženje, projektovanje objekta sa dodatnim sadržajima, kao i formiranje paviljona ili nadstrešnice, glavni je izazov u kreiranju autentičnosti svake stanice. Ovi karakteristični prostori, bilo da su objekti ili nadstrešnice, orjentisani su tako da su pristupi omogućeni iz zona sa najvećom frekvencijom kretanja i uočljivi sa svih pozicija trga. Pristup je omogućen i osobama sa invaliditetom, podjednako kao i svim ostalim korisnicima, što daje dodatni akcenat na važnost signalizacije stanica, koja je obuhvaćena ovim konkursnim rešenjem. Ventilacioni i drugi šahtovi nalaze se u okviru javnih zelenih površina, ali ne ugrožavaju nivo dizajna niti bezbednost korisnika prostora, obogaćeni su vegetacijom i doprinose skladu celokupnog načina uredjenja partera i zelenih površina. Značajno je napomenuti da ovakvim rešenjem i karakterom koje stvaraju, doprinose očuvanju veoma značajnih postojećih kulturno-istorijskih vrednosti. Kako je i naglašeno u raspisu konkursa, dizajn metro stanica može postati tematski nosilac stila javnog prostora kome pripada. U okviru predloženog rešenja pažljivo su planirani pristupi, kao i parterno rešenje. Zelenilo je dominantno, dok su planirane i pristupne trase pogodne za boravak i kretanje osoba sa otežanim kretanjem, osoba sa invaliditetom, starijim građanima, kao i roditelja sa malom ili decom u kolicima. Takodje, omogućen je u velikoj meri i lak pristup biciklistima, kao i njihovo parkiralište. Keywords