Climate Change Effect on Building Performance: A Case Study in New York

The evidences of the influence of climate change (CC) in most of the key sectors of human activities are frequently reported by the news and media with increasing concern. The building sector, and particularly energy use in the residential sector, represents a crucial field of investigation as demonstrated by specific scientific literature. The paper reports a study on building energy consumption and the related effect on indoor thermal comfort considering the impacts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2018 report about temperature increase projection. The research includes a case study in New York City, assuming three different scenarios. The outcomes evidence a decrease in energy demand for heating and an increase in energy demand for cooling, with a relevant shift due to the summer period temperature variations. The challenge of the last decades for sustainable design was to increase insulation for improving thermal behavior, highly reducing the energy demand during winter time, however, the projections over the next decades suggest that the summer regime will represent a future and major challenge in order to reduce overheating and ensure comfortable (or at least acceptable) living conditions inside buildings. The growing request of energy for cooling is generating increasing pressure on the supply system with peaks in the case of extreme events that lead to the grid collapse and to massive blackouts in several cities. This is usually tackled by strengthening the energy infrastructure, however, the users\u2019 behavior and lifestyle will strongly influence the system capacity in stress conditions. This study focuses on the understanding of these phenomena and particularly on the relevance of the users\u2019 perception of indoor comfort, assuming the IPCC projections as the basis for a future scenario

Exploring Energy Literacy in Italian Social Housing: A Survey of Inhabitants Preparing the Ground for Climate Transition

A low level of energy literacy can hamper the adoption of climate-responsive solutions in the built environment. This is often the case of social housing neighborhoods, where the implementation of improvement measures such as those from the EU Recovery Plan (PNRR in Italy) may become difficult because of the specific socio-cultural and economic criticalities. Here, inhabitants are more prone to misinformation as well as energy poverty. Therefore, understanding the level of knowledge and willingness to implement certain design actions at both site and building levels is of utmost importance to make the transition as effective and just as needed. The article presents a pilot survey conducted in two Italian social housing neighborhoods to assess residents’ understanding and preparedness to implement climate-responsive strategies, as well as literacy gaps about energy transition and related public fundings. This can prepare the ground for developing effective solutions to improve the livability of the built environment based on local needs and features that can be combined synergistically with financial incentives. The survey results are discussed, in addition to the upscaling potential

Environmental impacts of waterproof membranes with respect to their radon resistance

Gas radon is the main source of ionising radiation for humans and the second most common cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoke. Radon is present in the ground, and its concentration differs between different soils according to parameters such as permeability and mineral composition. As radon mainly penetrates buildings through cracks and fractures at the foundation level, this area requires research focus. This study aims to assess the contribution of environmental embodied impacts of ten macro-categories of membranes that are installed to protect buildings against radon. This study aims to evaluate membranes because they are one of the cheapest and easiest radon level-reducing solutions for both new and existing buildings. The data used in the comparison were obtained from environmental product declarations (EPDs) downloaded from open-access databases. The environmental embodied impacts were calculated for the A1–A3 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) stages and compared with each other in relation to one square meter and radon resistance, which are the parameters that highlight the performance of a membrane in terms of effectiveness for protection against radon. Finally, a comparison of the performance of the radon-proofing solutions with their environmental embodied impacts was conducted using the CML2001 methodology. The results of this investigation enable, for the first time, the selection of the most efficient and environmentally friendly radon-proof membrane at the design stage. Through this analysis (combining performance and environmental impacts), we found that polymeric membranes, such as HDPE and LDPE membranes, were the best options for achieving radon resistance in the range of 100–150 Ms/m in terms of environmental impacts, whereas the PVC membrane displayed the highest values of embodied impacts

Proceedings of EAEE WG15 Summer Workshop

The Summer Workshop of the European Association of Earthquake Engineering (EAEE) Working Group 15 (WG15) was intended to provide a forum for the ad hoc assembly of knowledge to produce State-of-the-Art papers for dissemination at the European level. Based on the reported activities of the WG15 members and their collaborators, visions have been developed based on promising integrated techniques for environmental refurbishment and seismic retrofitting. The state-of-the-art results collected have been compared with the outcomes from each WG sub-group and will be used to develop a technical position paper for the scientific community, practitioners, and policymakers. The position paper will provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art results, identify key gaps in the current research, and make recommendations for future research and policy decisions. The contribution of the experts will ensure that the position paper is based on current evidence and best practices. More than 30 experts have contributed their work to the workshop. This was ultimately successful in creating an understanding of the current research conducted in different seismic-prone regions, as well as potential areas of future development. The proceedings include the presentations and final discussion from the workshop

Redesign strategies for regeneration of the Red Hook neighborhood in New York City

Questo progetto di tesi si occupa della riqualificazione di un comparto di edilizia sociale compreso all’interno del quartiere di Brooklyn. L’area insiste a sud sulla sponda del East River con un consistente impianto portuale dismesso nel tempo in favore di collegamenti marittimi che permettono di accedere all’area di Brooklyn in questione, producendo un’intensificazione dell’interesse immobiliare nei confronti di questa zona che invece nasce per sua vocazione con un profilo estremamente popolare. La riqualificazione segue un approccio tipicamente americano fortemente orientato ad incoraggiare l’ingresso di capitali privati per finanziare l’intera operazione di rigenerazione. È stato quindi redatto un business plan con l’ipotesi dei costi di costruzione. Il volume di addizione in copertura è pertanto funzionale al raggiungimento della sostenibilità economica dell'intervento mettendo a mercato nuovi alloggi. Il progetto di rigenerazione che la tesi intende mettere in campo trae anche le proprie basi da una riflessione che la città di New York sta mettendo in atto circa la resilienza delle proprie strutture, infrastrutture e tessuto urbano nei confronti di eventi estremi effetto dei cambiamenti climatici. Onde evitare l’allagamento e l’indisponibilità energetica, il progetto assume delle misure essenziali che vengono sperimentate in un’area campione all’interno del comparto, che essendo vasto ma modularmente ripetuto, consente di testare varie soluzioni che possono essere replicate nel comparto stesso e successivamente anche in altre porzioni della città. Nella logica di individuare una metodica che possa rappresentare un pilota per qualità dei risultati conseguibili e tracciabilità delle azioni che producono gli impatti desiderati, il progetto decide di adeguare la propria metrica di valutazione dei risultati a quella proposta dal LEED, per l’attribuzione di un punteggio secondo alcuni parametri per valutare la sostenibilità dell’intervento

Sustainability and Resilience in Building Design: Discussion on Two Case Studies

Designing sustainable and, at the same moment, resilient buildings is a necessity to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, these two building design approaches-sustainability and resilience-are usually treated separately. Typically, resilience-improving strategies are placed only after a disruptive event and not at the design stage. It is clear that there is a substantial intersection between sustainability and resilience and this manuscript aims to determine more precisely the commonalities and contradictions seen in building design sustainable and resilient approaches as crucial elements for improving their cooperation in buildings. To accomplish this, the authors qualitatively analysed two case studies-respectively claiming to be sustainable and resilient-to understand if a sustainable building can also be considered resilient and vice versa. This paper is addressed to the private and public sectors that have a decisive role in building design and are determined to take tangible steps to influence decision-making and resilience-based solutions already at the design phase. In conclusion, once the commonalities of resilience and sustainability are highlighted, a building designed as sustainable or resilient will be in line with both long-term perspectives

Exploring the Common Ground of Sustainability and Resilience in the Building Sector: A Systematic Literature Review and Analysis of Building Rating Systems

Over the last ten years, due to the increase in frequency and severity of climate change effects, resilience in buildings has become a growing topic in the current global discussion on climate change adaptation. Designing both sustainable and resilient constructions would help to face such effects; however, sustainability and resilience in design have been mostly treated separately so far. Since sustainability has been considered more than resilience, paying deeper attention to the latter is indispensable to reducing building vulnerability. The purpose of this article is to examine the commonalities between the sustainability and resilience of buildings using two different approaches: (i) a systematic literature review, taking into consideration a 10-year period for selecting records, and (ii) an analysis of five green building rating systems and five resilience rating systems and guidelines selected according to their popularity and number of certified buildings. There is an overlap in some indicators between the two domains at the building level, as shown by the results from both paths. These aspects could assist in considering sustainability and resilience from the very beginning of the design process. This will ensure that buildings may be designed more effectively by considering and enhancing the synergies between the two domains. This paper targets potential stakeholders who may be interested in including such an integrated implementation in their designs

2354 How municipalities should approach the transformation of public spaces

Public spaces are the living rooms of cities, accessible to everyone without any restrictions. Public spaces are the calling card of the city; they are where the community comes together. Their design either enables or complicates community life. From a visitor's point of view, public spaces are the first things to be noticed and encountered in a city. Due to various circumstances, public spaces sometimes fail to meet the abovementioned features or do not fulfil them to the degree they should. Thus, the presented methodology guidelines may help small cities representatives who do not have the professional or personnel capacity to deal with public spaces through planning, preparation and contracting the public spaces studies, which leads to a quality assessment of public spaces. The guidelines also include tips for improving public spaces, recommended practices for public participation in planning the transformation of public areas, and a site assessment form for a non-expert's perspective

A comparative cradle-to-grave life cycle approach for addressing construction design choices: An applicative case study for a residential tower in Aalborg, Denmark

Energy demand reduction targets and sustainable design paradigms are fueling the search for more and more effective design solutions in the building sector, and new technologies and construction systems are being presented. However, each design solution has its own consequences for the environmental impact of the building. The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be profitably adopted for supporting the decision-making process. This paper reports a comparative methodology developed to analyse the impacts of alternative structural solutions for timber-based high-rise structures. Embodied, operational, and end-of-life environmental impacts based on two structural frame types, a reinforced concrete (RC) structure and cross-laminated timber (CLT) are explored. Two main inputs are used for performing a comprehensive cradle-to-grave LCA for the whole building: the bill of quantities from a Revit BIM model and the energy demand from DesignStudio. Then, an LCA is performed using the One Click LCA tool for a service life of 50 years and 12 impact categories. The environmental impacts of building materials are based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) directly embedded in the tool. The method is then applied to a case study in Aalborg, Denmark. Results indicate that the total emissions for the considered case study are 9.6 kg- CO2 eq./m2/y for the CLT structure against 10.8 kg- CO2 eq./m2/y for the RC structure. The production stage of building materials, including building systems and installations, accounts for around 55% of the total emissions, while energy use (B6 phase) during the in-use stage of the building recorded a lower environmental impact (45%). The outcomes confirm that the opportunity to base the discussion on alternative design options on more objective and data-based elements to support the different positions which already involve a wide range of architectural, functional and financial criteria. This is of great relevance in achieving balanced and informed decisions which do not simply follow green-labelled ideas but are grounded on evidence-based considerations

1327 Sustainability and resilience in building design: Discussion on two case studies

Designing sustainable and, at the same moment, resilient buildings is a necessity to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, these two building design approaches - sustainability and resilience - are usually treated separately. Typically, resilience-improving strategies are placed only after a disruptive event and not at the design stage. It is clear that there is a substantial intersection between sustainability and resilience and this manuscript aims to determine more precisely the commonalities and contradictions seen in building design sustainable and resilient approaches as crucial elements for improving their cooperation in buildings. To accomplish this, the authors qualitatively analysed two case studies - respectively claiming to be sustainable and resilient - to understand if a sustainable building can also be considered resilient and vice versa. This paper is addressed to the private and public sectors that have a decisive role in building design and are determined to take tangible steps to influence decision-making and resilience-based solutions already at the design phase. In conclusion, once the commonalities of resilience and sustainability are highlighted, a building designed as sustainable or resilient will be in line with both long-term perspectives