La docencia de Construcción en el Máster Habilitante en Arquitectura: un reto hacia la profesión

La presente comunicación se desarrolla como parte del Programa de Formación e Innovación Docente del Profesorado 2018. Se propone el Ciclo de Mejora Docente (CMD) en la asignatura de Construcción e Instalaciones perteneciente al Máster Habilitante en Arquitectura de la Universidad de Sevilla. En el marco de la docencia de un máster habilitante, la asignatura presenta fundamentalmente un carácter práctico y de habilitación profesional. Esto requiere introducir no ya nuevos contenidos o conceptos, sino su aplicación específica en el campo de la profesión, ejemplificado en el desarrollo de un proyecto de ejecución que el alumno lleva cabo a lo largo del curso, el Proyecto Fin de Carrera (PFC) del estudiante, equivalente al Trabajo Fin de Máster en otras titulaciones. Durante el diseño del CMD propuesto, se integra la relación entre los contenidos esenciales que debe conocer el estudiante, la realidad en las empresas del sector de la construcción y la toma de decisiones e implementación de recursos en el desarrollo de su proyecto durante las sesiones en el aula. El diseño propuesto ha supuesto un importante avance en esta integración, lo que ha llevado a considerar el éxito en esta primera convocatoria

La docencia de Construcción en el Máster Habilitante en Arquitectura: un reto hacia la profesión

La presente comunicación se desarrolla como parte del Programa de Formación e Innovación Docente del Profesorado 2018. Se propone el Ciclo de Mejora Docente (CMD) en la asignatura de Construcción e Instalaciones perteneciente al Máster Habilitante en Arquitectura de la Universidad de Sevilla. En el marco de la docencia de un máster habilitante, la asignatura presenta fundamentalmente un carácter práctico y de habilitación profesional. Esto requiere introducir no ya nuevos contenidos o conceptos, sino su aplicación específica en el campo de la profesión, ejemplificado en el desarrollo de un proyecto de ejecución que el alumno lleva cabo a lo largo del curso, el Proyecto Fin de Carrera (PFC) del estudiante, equivalente al Trabajo Fin de Máster en otras titulaciones. Durante el diseño del CMD propuesto, se integra la relación entre los contenidos esenciales que debe conocer el estudiante, la realidad en las empresas del sector de la construcción y la toma de decisiones e implementación de recursos en el desarrollo de su proyecto durante las sesiones en el aula. El diseño propuesto ha supuesto un importante avance en esta integración, lo que ha llevado a considerar el éxito en esta primera convocatoria

A New Affordable Masonry System Based on Unfired Clay Sandwich Panel

Nowadays, construction is one of the main sectors that produces waste and consume more materials and energy, so there is a growing need for alternative construction technologies that allow us to modify this situation. In this context, this paper presents the development of an innovative proposal for an industrialized outdoor enclosure. This solution is based on a constructive system with prefabricated insulated sandwich panels, produced on the basis of a new eco-efficient composite material, based on raw stabilized clay. In this way, it is possible, prioritize environmental issues to significantly reduce the environmental impact generated during the manufacture of the piece. The use in the construction of buildings material such as stabilized raw clay can be an alternative to achieve buildings of nearly zero energy consumption. They are known both from a thermal comfort and ability to regulate temperature and humidity, as well as being materials that contain much less embodied energy. This study is a comparative analysis of building systems, as well, as a serie of selected patent systems and copyrighted materials. On the other hand, it also analyzes their enforcement against the values established by the Spanish building code

Ultrasonic, Molecular and Mechanical Testing Diagnostics in Natural Fibre Reinforced, Polymer-Stabilized Earth Blocks

The aim of this research study was to evaluate the influence of utilising natural polymers as a form of soil stabilization, in order to assess their potential for use in building applications. Mixtures were stabilized with a natural polymer (alginate) and reinforced with wool fibres in order to improve the overall compressive and flexural strength of a series of composite materials. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and mechanical strength testing techniques were then used to measure the porous properties of the manufactured natural polymer-soil composites, which were formed into earth blocks. Mechanical tests were carried out for three different clays which showed that the polymer increased the mechanical resistance of the samples to varying degrees, depending on the plasticity index of each soil. Variation in soil grain size distributions and Atterberg limits were assessed and chemical compositions were studied and compared. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) techniques were all used in conjunction with qualitative identification of the aggregates. Ultrasonic wave propagation was found to be a useful technique for assisting in the determination of soil shrinkage characteristics and fibre-soil adherence capacity and UPV results correlated well with the measured mechanical properties

Exploring the Interplay between CAD and FreeFem++ as an Energy Decision-Making Tool for Architectural Design

The energy modelling software tools commonly used for architectural purposes do not allow a straightforward real-time implementation within the architectural design programs. In addition, the surrounding exterior spaces of the building, including the inner courtyards, hardly present a specific treatment distinguishing these spaces from the general external temperature in the thermal simulations. This is a clear disadvantage when it comes to streamlining the design process in relation to the whole-building energy optimization. In this context, the present study aims to demonstrate the advantages of the FreeFem++ open source program for performing simulations in architectural environments. These simulations include microclimate tests that describe the interactions between a building architecture and its local exterior. The great potential of this mathematical tool can be realized through its complete system integration within CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software such as SketchUp or AutoCAD. In order to establish the suitability of FreeFem++ for the performance of simulations, the most widely employed energy simulation tools able to consider a proposed architectural geometry in a specific environment are compared. On the basis of this analysis, it can be concluded that FreeFem++ is the only program displaying the best features for the thermal performance simulation of these specific outdoor spaces, excluding the currently unavailable easy interaction with architectural drawing programs. The main contribution of this research is, in fact, the enhancement of FreeFem++ usability by proposing a simple intuitive method for the creation of building geometries and their respective meshing (pre-processing). FreeFem++ is also considered a tool for data analysis (post-processing) able to help engineers and architects with building energy-efficiency-related tasks

On the Influence of Shade in Improving Thermal Comfort in Courtyards

This study analyzes the thermal performance of courtyards in traditional buildings in the city center of Córdoba (South of Spain), one of them displaying a shading component, to determine the influence of this precise element. The courtyards have been monitored simultaneously during a summer period when temperatures during the day reached over 45 °C. The obtained data was contrasted, and we confirmed that the shading element provided an improvement of the thermal performance of the courtyard which doubled the thermal leap between outdoor and inside the courtyard temperatures when the shading element was installed, in comparison to the courtyard without shade. Therefore, the tempering effect of courtyards can be significantly improved by means of using these simple elements

Use of Natural-Fiber Bio-Composites in Construction versus Traditional Solutions: Operational and Embodied Energy Assessment

During the last decades natural polymers have become more and more frequent to replace traditional inorganic stabilizers in building materials. The purpose of this research is to establish a comparison between the most conventional building material solutions for load-bearing walls and a type of biomaterial. This comparison will focus on load-bearing walls as used in a widespread type of twentieth century dwelling construction in Europe and still used in developing countries nowadays. To carry out this analysis, the structural and thermal insulation characteristics of different construction solutions are balanced. The tool used for this evaluation is the life cycle assessment throughout the whole lifespan of these buildings. This research aims to examine the environmental performance of each material assessed: fired clay brick masonry walls (BW), concrete block masonry walls (CW), and stabilized soil block masonry walls (SW) stabilized with natural fibers and alginates. These conventional and new materials are evaluated from the point of view of both operational and embodied energy

A ferrocement patent for emergency housing: the technological hut

This article focuses on the comparison between the Spanish architects de La Hoz (Madrid,1924) and José María García de Paredes (Seville, 1924) projects for ‘ultra-cheap’ housing in Cordoba,how it evolved from a British patent named Ctesiphon, and the study of some of existing building serected following this construction system. The aim of this article is to stablish the evolution of the system from the original patent into a new possibility for low-income social housing. This system was used to erect new developments in the 1950s that would relocate people living in huts during thedictatorship era in Spain, thus new “technological huts” were proposed and erected. The research process includes an analysis of the documents and literature available of the patent and the projects themselves, and in situ tests (infrared thermography and samples extraction) will allow to establish the relation between its original inventor, the dissemination of his works in publications from thatera, and the Spanish company that subsequently, as a concession of the original patent, introduced that system in Spanish architecture. Analysis of the original patent document allows to study the primitive system as it was invented and for what uses it was conceived. Thus, such a methodology supports an establishment of the technical innovations achieved in order to adapt the system to the Andalusian environment at that time and its use for housin

Parametric Study of Thermodynamics in the Mediterranean Courtyard as a Tool for the Design of Eco-Efficient Buildings

Traditionally, people in the Mediterranean region knew that the temperatures in their courtyards were cooler in summer than outside temperature. This paper provides a quantitative study on the usefulness of Mediterranean courtyards as passive energy saving systems. This work is based on the creation of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical model developed using the open source Freefem++ language. In this work, first the numerical model is tested using simplified-shape courtyards which have been previously studied both physically under controlled parameters, and mathematically through numerical simulations. We also study the most appropriate depth ratio for a courtyard, based on these simplified shapes, depending on the climate. Secondly, we apply the numerical model in a real geometry, the Monte Málaga hotel. We compare the numerical results with the monitored data of the temperature in the courtyard of the hotel. The numerical model takes into account precomputed solar radiation in the walls of the courtyard, the predominant wind and buoyancy effects

Adaptive comfort criteria in transitional spaces: a proposal for outdoor comfort

Urban Heat Island (UHI) as a combined consequence of global warming and the cities diameter increase, continues to be technological challenges today. Different passive strategies related to the buildings and cities architecture design imply energy demand reduction achieving. Architectural elements such as courtyards become extraordinarily significant as passive cooling systems. The research aims to establish patterns and values of adaptive comfort in transition spaces, reflected in the thermal regulation capacity of these buildings thanks to the morphology of the courtyards, contributing also to possible state strategies for action in favor of reducing the effects of climate change