Evolving Optimal Sun-Shading Building Façades

This research investigates the evolutionary design of building façades, optimally shaped for a given climate. This study applies evolutionary methods to optimally design sun-shades (covering windows on building façades). Ideally, sun-shades will maximally block direct sunlight but minimize window coverage, thus allowing unobstructed views out of the window and maximizing ambient natural lighting inside

Assembling sustainable ideas: The construction process of the proposal SMLsystem at the Solar Decathlon Europe 2012

[EN] The innovation of the construction process in SMLsystem lies in an evolution of the way of thinking the sustainable architecture. The key is that SMLsystem proposal is not constructed but is assembled. This way, it is designed with prefabricated and industrialized elements which allow themselves to connect as in a plug and play process in order to reduce the risks and save time and costs consequently. About that, the study and design of the junction has been another interesting issue to solve the assembly of the modules, focusing on factors like the isolation and the rainwater always present. In addition this proposal shows a new way in the use of wood as a structural material, as a building enclosure and as a dynamic system of solar protection, all of them as a result of the combination of various premises inherent to the concept of the project like the respect for the environment, recycling or sustainability and, of course, with an absolute integration with the architectural design. This way, the complete development of SMLsystem has had the capacity of defining a global project which reflects the primal ideas: design, sustainability, modularity, flexibility and prefabrication. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The research reflected in this paper has been possible thanks to the support of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University and of many companies who have contributed to the realization of housing SMLsystem. This effort and commitment to research are translated into a competitive, quality teaching and research staff improvement and also as a result to the University advance.Serra Soriano, B.; Verdejo Gimeno, P.; Diaz Segura, AL.; Meri De La Maza, RM. (2014). Assembling sustainable ideas: The construction process of the proposal SMLsystem at the Solar Decathlon Europe 2012. Energy and Buildings. 83:186-194. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.03.075S1861948

The sensitivity of binocular rivalry to changes in the nondominant stimulus

The nature of rivalry suppression was investigated by examining the effects of changing one of the rivalling stimuli at the beginning of its phases of suppression. The stimulus was an obliquelyoriented grating whose phase, spatial frequency and contrast could be changed without altering its mean luminance. Such changes were found to disturb the course of rivalry and, more specifically, to cause the reappearance of the stimulus within 20 msec. Suppression is thus shown to be selective and not to render the subject insensitive to all classes of stimulus change

A case-based methodology for investigating urban comfort through interpretive research and microclimate analysis in post-earthquake Christchurch, New Zealand

This paper explores how an interpretive case-based research strategy can reveal new empirical and theoretical insights into microclimate design. Innovative fieldwork in Christchurch, New Zealand investigated the nature and social meanings of urban comfort in a city with a seasonal climate featuring microclimatic variability, and with a physical landscape undergoing rapid change following a series of major earthquakes. Ethnographic methods were combined with microclimate measurements in four Christchurch-based case study locations to identify ways in which people adjust their cultural and lifestyle values and expectations to the actual microclimatic conditions. The field investigation had to capture data relevant to the microclimatic variability and be suitable for rapidly changing urban settings. Results suggest this integrative methodology successfully adapts to challenging physical contexts, and is able to provide a coherent body of evidence. Important insights revealed through this methodology may not have become apparent if only conventional microclimate methods were used

Energetic and exergetic design evaluations of a building block based on a hybrid solar envelope method

To achieve sustainable development, there needs to be a focus on decreasing use of non-renewable energy sources and greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, many studies focus on the strong relationship between energy and the environment. This study aimed to introduce the exergy analysis method into the urban planning field to find out the amount of exergy, rather than energy, that can be conserved in a building block when a solar envelope-based design is applied. In addition to the known energy-efficient design parameters, a criterion for the solar envelop method is integrated into a single method. This hybrid method includes taking into account the requirements for orientation, spacing, landscaping, and building form, as well as the building height properties as proposed in the solar envelop method. The solar envelop method depends on understanding the changing position of the sun throughout the day and year. If this dynamic behavior can be a factor in the design of an urban area, environmental friendliness, sustainability, and reduced energy consumption can comprehensively be achieved in cities