Convergence and interoperability of BIM with passive design principles

The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is a parametric modelling spreadsheet for building energy performance designed initially for the certification of buildings that meet passivhaus and EnerPHit refurbishment standards. However there is also a growing use of PHPP as a design stage tool to test strategic options for new build, hybrid and refurbishment development projects. As passive design principles follow a fabric-first approach to achieve a whole-house energy performance, the concept design stages are critical to success as decisions are made regarding orientation and heat-loss parameters arising out of the building geometry. In this context, PHPP is a trusted calculation tool that is comprehensive in the scope of factors and variables included to make it one of the most scientifically superior tools available. Its practical value is reinforced from a series of comparative studies which have undertaken triangulation in design stage energy assessments and PHPP has proved to be more accurate and more cost effective in practice than other standard modelling tools and methodologies such as IES and SAP. Where building information modelling (BIM) is a combination of geometric or spatial data generally found within a 3D architectural model and a connected document management system (DMS), PHPP data has largely been limited to the latter as one of the main instances in architecture and design modeling with a bias towards non-geometric data. This has changed with the introduction of designPH as an add-on tool for SketchUp and the BIM enabling in the recent versions of SketchUp. The paper is a case study in the practical application of the designPH tool for two separate UK based domestic design projects; one new build and one refurbishment; and the practical issues of interoperability with PHPP and BIM enabled software. The case studies review (1) the potential benefits of improved accuracy and quality control that address the technical performance gap between ‘design’ and ‘as-built’ standards; (2) the requirements regarding data collection, specifically the level of definition / detail (LoD) of data needed to describe the geometry and attributes of the existing structure and input climate data; (3) the technical limitations around ICT and software skills. Recommendations are made on the value of a simplified and integrated BIM workflow to benefit passive design projects. Critically the projects explore BIM interoperability using the addition of an energy domain to the IFC schema based on the input requirements for PHPP to make it more compatible with 3D modelling packages and achieve better integration between mathematical / parametric modelling of the energy performance and the building geometry

Generation Objects, Icons, Architecture and Collections: Object lessons from the work of Douglas Coupland

In a complex and rapidly changing world, Douglas Coupland has recorded, described and narrated his way around multiple different creative disciplines. The dominant theme of his works appears to be related to ‘accelerated culture’ and the increasing rate of change, which is itself clearly within the post-modern tradition (Forshaw, 2000) of culturally self-referencing, concentration, exaggeration and ironically reinventing ideas. His writing and his artwork have always been full of slogans and references to this sort of popular culture, or more accurately, popular consumer culture. However, in addition to these zeitgeist references are the appearance of artefacts and objects throughout his work that are representative of this type of consumerism

Necessary Steps: A Bereavement Support Program for Children and Their Families

A manual for running grief support groups for children

Visualising urban energy use: the use of LiDAR and remote sensing data in urban energy planning

This paper explores the potential for using remotely sensed data from a combination of commercial and open-sources, to improve the functionality, accuracy of energy-use calculations and visualisation of carbon emissions. We present a study demonstrating the use of LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data and aerial imagery for a mixed-use inner urban area within the North East of England and how this can improve the quality of input data for modelling standardised energy uses and carbon emissions. We explore the scope of possible input data for both (1) building geometry and (2) building physics models from these sources. We explain the significance of improved data accuracy for the assessment of heat-loss parameters, orientation, and shading and renewable energy micro-generation. We also highlight the limitations around the sole use of remotely sensed data and how these concerns can be partially addressed through combinations with (1) open-source property data, such as age, occupancy, tenure and (2) existing stakeholder data sets, including building services and measured performance. We set out some of the technical challenges; addressed through data approximation (considering data quality and metadata protocols) and a combination of automated or manual processing; in the use, adaptation, and transferability of this data. We elucidate how the output can be visualised and be supported by many of industry-standard CAD, GIS, and BIM software applications hence, broadening the scope for realworld applications. We demonstrate the support of commercial interest and potential drawing evidence from primary market research regarding the principal applications, functionality, and output. In summary, we conclude on the benefits in the use of remotely sensed data for improved accuracy in energy use and carbon emission calculations, the need for semantic integration of mixed data sources and the importance of output visualisation

Implications of open access data for low cost KPIs measuring energy efficiency

In response to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) most EU member states have established a national energy calculation methodology to measure the energy performance of buildings. The EPBD came into effect on 4th January 2003. Its principal objective is to promote the improvement of the energy performance of buildings through cost-effective measures. To achieve this it is obviously necessary to have a way of measuring and comparing the energy performance of buildings. Each of the European countries has developed a different methodology, tailoring them to the specific characteristics of their country. In the UK the chosen standard was SAP. One common feature of all of these methodologies is that they principally attempt to perform a detailed energy calculation for the house concerned. Doing this requires that considerable quantities of detailed information regarding the house are gathered. When such information can be gathered with minimal effort, such as for new build housing, these approaches are attractive. However problems arise when assessing large numbers of existing housing. In such cases the basic process of visiting the properties to gather the required data consumes considerable amounts of time and effort. In practice the effect of this is that large numbers of existing houses are not assigned a rating. This problem is especially prevalent in the UK, where housing stock turnover is low. This brings into question the suitability of detailed energy assessments as key performance indicators (KPIs) for rating the energy efficiency of existing housing. Recent developments in ICT, and especially the rapid improvement in the availability and quality of freely available street level photography, offer a potential approach which avoids these problems. Namely they have made feasible the idea that it might be possible to assign energy efficiency ratings to houses without ever visiting them in person. While it is clearly not possible to fully replicate the calculation of the traditional energy efficiency related KPIs in this manner, much of the data traditionally gathered by visits can be derived using these data sources. In addition, the potential cost and time savings derived from avoiding visits are very considerable, thus strongly motivating the development and testing of such KPI’s. In this paper we present a discussion of this including which of the features relevant to measuring the energy efficiency of houses can be measured using such remote data, which can’t and the implications of this for the design of KPIs for measuring energy efficiency. We ground this discussion with reference to an example of a KPI derived from simplifying the British standard SAP, which can be calculated purely using freely accessible open access data. This KPI has been tested against the results of traditional manual SAP visits and the results derived from the two found to be closely aligned

Prevalence of secondary care multimorbidity in mid-life and its association with premature mortality in a large longitudinal cohort study

Objectives Multimorbidity is the coexistence of two or more health conditions in an individual. Multimorbidity in younger adults is increasingly recognised as an important challenge. We assessed the prevalence of secondary care multimorbidity in mid-life and its association with premature mortality over 15 years of follow-up, in the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (ACONF) cohort. Method A prospective cohort study using linked electronic health and mortality records. Scottish ACONF participants were linked to their Scottish Morbidity Record hospital episode data and mortality records. Multimorbidity was defined as two or more conditions and was assessed using healthcare records in 2001 when the participants were aged between 45 and 51 years. The association between multimorbidity and mortality over 15 years of follow-up (to ages 60–66 years) was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression. There was also adjustment for key covariates: age, gender, social class at birth, intelligence at age 7, secondary school type, educational attainment, alcohol, smoking, body mass index and adult social class. Results Of 9625 participants (51% males), 3% had multimorbidity. The death rate per 1000 person-years was 28.4 (95% CI 23.2 to 34.8) in those with multimorbidity and 5.7 (95% CI 5.3 to 6.1) in those without. In relation to the reference group of those with no multimorbidity, those with multimorbidity had a mortality HR of 4.5 (95% CI 3.4 to 6.0) over 15 years and this association remained when fully adjusted for the covariates (HR 2.5 (95% CI 1.5 to 4.0)). Conclusion Multimorbidity prevalence was 3% in mid-life when measured using secondary care administrative data. Multimorbidity in mid-life was associated with premature mortality

Common Language of Sustainability for Built Environment Professionals—The Quintuple Helix Model for Higher Education

One of the repeating themes around the provision of the knowledge and skills needed for delivering sustainable communities is the idea of a “common language” for all built environment professionals. This suggestion has been repeated regularly with each new political and professional review within and between different sectors responsible for the delivery of sustainable communities. There have been multiple efforts to address academic limitations, industry fragmentation and promote more interdisciplinary working and sector collaboration. This research explored the role of skills for sustainable communities, particularly within the higher education (HE) sector, and the responses to support the development of a “common language of sustainability” that can be shared between different sectors, professional disciplines and stakeholders. As an interdisciplinary group of academics and practitioners working with the HE sector in the North East of England, we evaluate the progression of sector collaboration to develop a quintuple helix model for HE. We use this as a suitable framework for systematically “mapping” out the mixed sector (academic, public, business, community and environmental organisations) inputs and influences into a representative sample of HE degree modules that are delivered from foundation and undergraduate to postgraduate levels, including examples of part-time and distance-learning modules. We developed a cascade of models which demonstrate increasing levels of collaboration and their potential positive impact on the effectiveness of education on sustainable communities. The methodological assessments of modules were followed by semi-structured group reflective analysis undertaken through a series of online workshops (recorded during the Covid19 lockdown) to set out a collective understanding of the generic skills needed for the delivery of sustainable communities. These generic skills for sustainable communities are presented as a pedagogical progression model of teaching activities and learning outcomes applied to the levels within HE. We propose sustainability education principles and progressions with the hope that they can have an impact on the design or review of current degree modules and programmes. The paper informs future sustainability research to be grounded in holism and systems thinking; better understanding of values, ethics, influencing and political impact; and procedural authenticity