Reacondicionamiento térmico en Temuco-Padre Las Casas, Chile: Una ciudad declarada saturada por contaminación aérea

Chile’s central valley has a Mediterranean climate characterized by cold winters and hot summers. As a direct result of the thermally inadequate housing stock, coupled with the inefficient and contaminating burning of poor quality wood for heating and cooking, almost all of the cities located in this region have been declared saturated by airborne pollution PM10. In 2007 the Chilean government introduced thermal building regulations for new residential properties; however their low requirements have been criticized at both a national and international level. Some private and public residential projects have attempted to improve their energy efficiency, however 63% of the 5.7 million Chilean dwellings were built prior to the implementation of the Thermal Building Regulations and therefore the thermal reconditioning of the existing housing stock is an important element in the fight against airborne pollution. The Chilean city of TemucoPadre Las Casas was declared a zone saturated by airborne pollution PM10 in 2005 and PM2.5 in 2013. As part of its Plan for Atmospheric Decontamination (PDA), the government implemented a subsidy for the reconditioning of social housing within the framework of the pre-existing program, the PPPF of the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (MINVIU). The objective of this paper is to present the post occupancy evaluation of reconditioned dwellings that have benefited from this subsidy and compares them with an unconditioned house and an apartment in a building where the developer has identified energy efficiency as a selling point in the cities property market. The measurements show good results but at the same time highlight the areas 2 where further improvements could be made

Post occupancy evaluation and user behaviour as the basis of the design of energy efficient dwellings for Temuco-Padre Las Casas, a city declared saturated by airborne pollution

The cities of Chile’s Central Valley face a serious problem regarding airborne pollution with many already declared saturated in terms of PM10. This pollution is directly related to the thermally inadequate housing stock and the use of inefficient wood burning appliances. This paper presents the initial stages of research for the project "Environmentally Efficient Dwellings: Design Guide for the Construction and Management of Sustainable Mixed Use Residential Buildings for Southern Central Chile." To gain an understanding of the current situation, post occupancy evaluation and a study of occupants’ behaviour was undertaken of dwellings in the city of Temuco, a city declared saturated by airborne pollution PM10 and PM2.5. This evaluation helps to build a picture of the reality of daily life both in winter and summer months, a picture that will enable the resulting guide to closely fit the needs and realities of the population of Chile’s Central Valley

The mixed use residential building: A solution for Mediterranean Chilean cities declared saturated in terms of airborne Pollution

In Chile the architectural design of all types of residential developments, and their related services, occurs with no significant consideration of sustainability, energy efficiency or environmental comfort. This lack of consideration not only results in low standards of habitability, connectivity, social integration and health problems but also in the associated ever increasing operational costs, where the greatest impact is felt by the lowest strata. These problems are compounded in Chile's central valley, a climatic region with cold winters and hot summers, where many cities have been declared saturated in terms of airborne pollution. This contamination is a direct result of the thermally inadequate housing stock, intensive use of poor quality wood for heating and the use of inefficient stoves. The study of the mixed use residential building typology presented in this paper incorporates the assessment of sustainable design at every scale from urban placement to construction details and building management. Although there exists sufficient international theoretical knowledge, and national political will, architects are faced by timeframes too tight to apply and validate these theories. Further research is therefore required to provide a prototype applicable to the Chilean reality upon which Chilean architects and society can build

The Mixed Use Residential Building: A building block for the cities declared saturated by air pollution in Chile's Mediterranean Climate

This paper presents an analysis of the problem faced by the cities of Chile’s central valley and a study of the current international and Chilean situation of a specific building typology: the mixed use residential development. Chile’s central valley has a Mediterranean climate characterized by cold winters and hot summers. Almost all of the cities located in this region have been declared saturated by airborne pollution PM10 directly resulting from thermally inadequate housing stock and the inefficient burning of poor quality wood for heating and cooking. Through their emphasis on single function zoning and mono-functional modernist planning, the Chilean planning instruments lead to increased journey times and a reliance on the private car for daily transport, adding to the airborne pollution. In 2007 the Chilean government introduced thermal building regulations for residential properties; however their low requirements have been criticized at both a national and international level. Some private and public residential projects have attempted to improve their energy efficiency but to date these projects have focused on the single family dwelling, a housing typology inherently inefficient due to its high surface to volume ratio and its implied land use. The sustainable mixed use residential building offers the opportunity to provide efficient housing, workplaces and basic services in the same built form thereby reducing unnecessary journeys and promoting community cohesion. The international case studies show that there exist the necessary technologies and theoretical knowledge, whilst the review of the national situation concludes that although there exists interest and political will, developers are unwilling to innovate and take a risk on an as yet unproved market. Time is therefore required to allow research and the testing of a business plan for a prototype of a building block for a sustainable future for Chile’s contaminated cities