Climate Sensitive Design

Climate-sensitive design is the approach to architectural design which is routed in the understanding of specific climate conditions and its impacts on building design. Primarily it is related to issues of achieving human comfort in buildings through building design that is aligned with local climate conditions. It is similar to terms climate responsive design, bio-climatic design, or design with climate, last referring to the seminal book of Victor Olgyay (1963, Princeton University Press). This design approach today is considered a basis for energy-efficient, green or sustainable design. It is also deeply connected to studies of vernacular architecture as part of the built heritage, since vernacular architecture is always climate sensitive and offers lessons for contemporary reinterpretation. It may appear strange to even highlight the importance of education on climate-sensitive design, since it should be the basis for any design, but too many decades of uniform design solutions across different climates gave poor results in terms of energy efficiency and quality of buildings, so it is necessary to emphasize the importance of these issues

Energy rehabilitation and certification of existing buildings – case study

Course covers theoretical principles of energy rehabilitation process – its basic principles, levels of refurbishment, possibilities and constraints. Analysis of the selected building for the case study covers its urban layout and architectural, constructive, technological and material features in order to determine constraints and potentials in the refurbishment process. As input for energy calculations/simulations a detailed 3D model is required, where modelling principles are being practiced. Detail energy performance calculations in available software is done and energy class of the building is determined. Design of refurbishment scenarios with variant solutions analysis and calculations for verification

Heat flux measurements in diagnosis of defects on thermal envelope: a case study

Measurements of heat fl ux in order to determine characteristics of thermal envelope have been widely used in performance testing and verifi cation of building quality when it comes to new buildings. They are also used for determining thermal performance characteristics of existing building’s thermal envelope components of unknown structure. Through these measurements U value of building envelopes is determined and compared to the one estimated by calculations. This paper presents a case study of an analysis of defects present in the façade wall of an existing building in order to determine its thermal performance characteristics and improvement possibilities. Several spots were measures and respective U values have been determined based on the measures heat fl ux and temperature values. The results show the infl uence of numerous parameters on façade wall thermal performance, such as moisture content, shading, usage regime etc. The conclusions driven based on these analyses determined the proposed energy rehabilitation and refurbishment measures. Since the analysed building represents one of the typical buildings in residential building stock in Serbia and in the region, these conclusions can serve as valuable information for similar cases

Report Serbia: Influence of national policies on the Sustainability of Heritage from the architectural and urban design perspective

When discussing urban policies that tackle the question of sustainability in relation to urban heritage, it is crucial to highlight identified duality. On the one hand - Serbia follows the contemporary paradigms and perspectives concerning sustainability in planning and urban development, as evidenced by the publication of specific strategic documents, planning laws, and chapters in planning documents. On the other hand, laws in the heritage domain are often obsolete, since the current Law dates from 1995 with a minimal change adopted in 2011. Consequently, in recent years, efforts have been made to identify various problematic segments of this law that partially disable the sustainability of heritage but also neglects specific types of heritage. These endeavours can be followed in the draft documents produced in the sector of culture and specifically by departments related to the heritage, which have not yet been adopted

Building technologies towards achieving sustainable heritage

Various aspects of building technologies are integrated into contemporary design approaches in sustainable heritage treatment. From the basic analysis of buildings, starting from applied materials and structural characteristics to the complex design interventions and their impact on future building performance, strategies, and tools related to technological issues are constantly being developed. These tools are used throughout the design process and serve for testing and validation of various concepts. On the other hand, many strategies and approaches integrate technological issues in the core steps of building design, starting from the initial concepts. Usually used as an adjective for the word design (environmentally responsive, energy conscious, climate- sensitive, carbon neutral, etc.) these numerous concepts carry an added value, which contributes to the qualities of environmental protection and/or comfort issues. While these diverse tendencies should be encouraged, there is also a raising need for all those values to become integral to the design process. This approach is being encouraged by legislation, and to a larger extent by market uptake (through labelling), but still, all the mentioned values are too often being regarded as an added feature, relying on technological solutions. Mapping the overlaps in the different approaches and actions which all have a similar technological background is the first step in defining a common methodology for sustainable heritage treatment

Methodology for Residential Building Stock Refurbishment Planning—Development of Local Building Typologies

This paper presents the methodology for the implementation of building typology principles as a tool for the strategic planning of residential building stock energy retrofits on a municipal level in Serbia. Research was conducted under the IEE EPISCOPE (Intelligent Energy Europe EPISCOPE/ TABULA project) project with the aim of developing an adequate tool for creating building stock energy retrofit management strategies on a local level. An approach that envisions the diversity and uneven spatial distribution of building stock in smaller scale municipalities and includes statistically relevant sampling of all relevant building types was developed and tested in the pilot project that focused on the city of Vršac. Two options for local typology development were formulated: a top-down approach, which relies on the data from the national typology or other available databases by reducing them to the local level, and a bottom-up approach, which represents a new data gathering and processing method. Both approaches were tested in the pilot project and the results are compared in this paper. From the conclusions of these analyses, a common methodology for the development of local building typologies has been defined. It can be used in the strategic planning of building stock, whether for the purpose of developing local energy action plans (LEAPs) or other purposes internationally

Energy Refurbishment of Serbian School Building Stock- A Typology Tool Methodology Development

Energy refurbishment of school buildings is a priority regarding both energy consumption in buildings and improving comfort conditions for sensitive young occupants. During 2016–18, a group of teachers and associates from the Faculty of Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering from the University in Belgrade participated in the project “Energy efficiency in public buildings” in cooperation with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture and Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia. During 2016 and 2017, a comprehensive survey and database of public buildings were conducted by the local community. The focus of the research was the facilities of children’s institutions, and detailed data were collected to determine the current building stock conditions, energy consumption, and possible improvements. This paper presents the methodology of the project based on defining the typology of buildings, determining the representatives of the characteristic periods of construction, and analyzing their energy performance. Five possible scenarios were considered: designed condition, existing state, and three levels of a building improvement. The main goal of this project was to ascertain the entire fund for school buildings, indicate the potential for energy savings of this type of public building at the national level, and use this as a starting point for developing strategic decisions and further energy efficiency policies. This paper presents the complete results of the research on school buildings in Serbia, their energy performance, and possible energy savings. Key findings show that a great majority of schools are in a poor state in terms of their energy efficiency, but at the same time, there is a large potential for improvement of building envelope, HVAC, and lighting systems, which can cut the current energy need for heating to up to 80%.Енергетска реконструкција школских зграда представља приоритет како са становишта потрошње енергије тако и са становишта побољшања услова комфора младих генерација које у њима бораве. Током 2016-18 године група наставника и сарадника са Архитектонског, Машинског и Електротехничког факултета у Беогаду учествовала је у пројекту “Енергетска ефикасност јавних зграда” који је рађен у сарадњи ГИЗ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Универзитет у Београду – Архитектонски факултет и Министарство рударства и енергетике Републике Србије. За потребе пројекта током 2016. и 2017. године спроведен је попис јавних зграда од стране локалне заједнице према упитницима који су формирали истраживачи на пројекту а који је управо дефинисао све неопходне информације о зградама, као полазиште за рад на пројекту. У фокусу истраживања били су објекти дечијих установа: школских и предшколских и за њих су прикупљени детаљни подаци како би се утврдило стање зграда, потрошња енергије и сагледала могућа унапређења. У раду је приказана методологија пројекта базирана на типологији зграда где су утврђени репрезенти карактеристичних периода грађења и на њима је вршена анализа енергетских перформанси. Разматрано је пет могућих сценарија: пројектовано стање, затечено стање и три нивоа унапређења и на тај начин сагледане су могуће енергетске уштеде укупног фонда зграда дечијих установа. Основни циљ овог пројекта је био да се истражи целокупни фонд школских зграда, укаже на потенцијал за уштеду енергије ове врсте јавних зграда на националном нивоу и то постави као полазна основа за доношење стратешких одлука и генералне политике енергетске ефикасности. У овом раду су представљени комплетни резултати истраживања школских зграда у Србији, њихових енергетских перформанси и могућих уштеда енергије. Резултати показују да је већина школа у јако лошем стању у погледу њихове енергетске ефикасности, али истовремено постоји велики потенцијал за побољшање омотача зграда, као и система грејања и система осветљења, што може смањити потрошњу енергије и до 80%

Typology of school gyms in the Republic of Serbia

Процес истраживања сегмента фискултурних сала резултирао је формирањем одговарајуће типологије, при чему су анализиране могућности унапређења енергетских перформанси не само грађевинских елемената и склопова, већ термотехничких и електроенергетских система. Утврђени типови и резултати прорачуна енергетских перформанси и могућности унапређења индикативни су за доношење закључака о могућим стратегијама и приступима обнови у појединачним случајевима. Типологија фиксултурних сала може се, у одређеним случајевима, довести у релацију са постојећом националном типологијом школа, чиме се закључци спроведених анализа могу користити као елементи јединствене стратегије енергетске санације и обнове целокупног сегмента школских зграда.The study process of segments of gyms resulted in the formation of the appropriate typology, including the analysis of possibilities for improvement of energy performance of not only construction elements and assemblies, but also of HVAC and electrical power systems. The identified types and results of the calculation of energy performance and potential for improvement are indicative for coming to conclusions on the possible strategies and approached to rehabilitation in individual cases. The typology of gyms may, in certain cases, be brought into correlation with the existing national typology of schools, thus allowing for the conclusions of implemented analyses to be used as elements of a uniform strategy of energy retrofitting and rehabilitation of the entire segment of school buildingsBook available: [https://raf.arh.bg.ac.rs/bitstream/handle/123456789/844/bitstream_2369.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Challenges in Residential Building Construction: Energy-Efficient Prefabricated Lightweight Timber-frame Houses

The need for residential building construction is globally increasing, and the energy efficiency of houses and the ecological footprint they leave behind are becoming increasingly relevant issues. The need to reduce energy consumption for heating is one of the major requirements in residential building construction in Serbia. To address that issue, it is important to choose appropriate building materials that are highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. This paper presents the possibilities of using energy-efficient, prefabricated, lightweight timber-frame houses. Wood is a renewable building material of natural origin, abundant in Serbia. The paper discusses the energy efficiency of both construction systems and their environmental impact. The paper aims to investigate the advantages and limitations of prefabricated lightweight timber-frame construction compared to traditional masonry construction, which is still the predominant system in residential building construction in Serbia nowadays