Bioclimatism in Architecture : an evolutionary perspective

peer reviewedFundamentals of vernacular architecture have been used in bioclimatic architecture which has gradually become the inspiration of various movements in contemporary architecture. The study points out that the development of bioclimatism in architecture has followed the pattern of a natural evolutionary process in which “natural selection” is likely motivated by several factors, including resources and environment problems, and driven by different mechanisms including novel building design concepts and methods, new standards and codes, discoveries in building science and construction costs. This study is an effort aimed to clarify the evolution process of the bioclimatic approach in architecture over time and its influences on contemporary movements in architecture. The paper shows also that the evolutionary theory generated new scientific tools able to improve building design thanks to simulation-based optimization methods applied to building performances. Finally, this study investigates new motivations in the era of climate change whose effects are expected to introduce more challenges as well as more trends towards a sustainable built environment through the new concept of Eco-adaptive architecture

Perspectives pour une transition durable des territoires périurbains.

peer reviewedL’article traite de la transition durable des territoires périurbains. Deux leviers d’action sont mobilisés à cette fin: (1) la forme urbaine et (2) la mobilité. Trois types de scénarios centrés sur une évolution du stock bâti existant sont modélisés et évalués (la rénovation énergétique, la densification et la démolition/reconstruction) de façon à répondre à deux questions : « comment intervenir dans les quartiers périurbains existants? » et « où intervenir? ». Ces simulations montrent que le renouvellement périurbain par densification des quartiers les mieux localisés permet de dépasser le clivage traditionnel entre les modèles de la « ville compacte » et de la « ville diffuse », en offrant de véritables opportunités pour la transition durable des territoires périurbains existants. Ces résultats théoriques, et appréhendés du seul point de vue énergétique, sont ensuite recadrés dans un contexte plus large pour mettre en évidence les opportunités, les limitations, les contraintes et la faisabilité de ces scénarios.SOlutions for Low Energy Neighbourhood

Retrofitting the suburbs: Insulation, density, urban form and location

The effects of urban sprawl have been well documented, particularly regarding energy consumption. Suburban neighbourhoods are known to be energy inefficient and urban sprawl is considered as a major issue for sustainable development. To improve the energy efficiency of existing suburban urban fabrics is a major challenge that must be addressed to favour a sustainability transition of our built environment. In this context, this paper aims at investigating several scenarios that could be developed to improve the sustainability of existing suburban neighbourhoods: three main types of scenarios (building insulation, density, and urban form) and twelve sub-scenarios, which are focused on the possible evolution of the existing suburban building stocks, are proposed. Quantitative methods developed in previous research are used to assess and compare building and transportation energy consumption of a representative suburban case study. This application aims at investigating two main research questions: (1) "how to intervene in suburban neighbourhoods?" and (2) «where to intervene?" The main results of this application, which are focused on energy efficiency, are then studied in a larger framework to highlight their opportunities and constraints. The main findings of the paper are that, beyond the traditional polarisation of the debates on the energy efficiency of our built environment between the “compact” and the “sprawled” city, a new pragmatic paradigm, which is focused on the smooth densification of existing suburban neighbourhoods, can make them evolve towards greater sustainability.Solutions for Low Energy Neighbourhood

Net Zero Energy Buildings and Low Carbon Emission, a Case of Study of Madagascar Island

The buildings respecting the concept “Net Zero energy” are becoming more and more flowering in the world these last years. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the different possibilities of implementation of buildings with Net zero energy and low environmental impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa. The proposed building is 80% made of local materials with low carbon emissions and especially at lower cost. The optimization and modeling of the building is carried out by the Design Builder software, which is a world-renowned software in the field of optimization of comfort, cost, carbon reduction, etc. By fixing the insulation thickness up to 11 cm, cooling and heating energy are found equal to zero during the different operating seasons in this residential building. The results show that the optimal solution to consider a net zero energy building in Antananarivo city requires an additional expense estimated at 40% of the cost of buildings more conventional encountered in the island. This will save $475 each year starting in 2030, with 99% reduction in the CO2 release. The choice of local materials with low conductivity, low emissions, and low cost, has a significant impact on the implementation of a sustainable building, and more adapted to climate change concept

Une mobilité résidentielle durable est-elle possible? Pratique de déplacements, modèles urbains et choix de localisation de populations résidentes en Wallonie.

peer reviewe

Entwicklung eines Bildersets zur Forschung an Szenen-Konsistenzeffekten

Für Studien mit natürlichen, realitätsnahen Bildern wird ein möglichst standardisiertes und umfangreiches Set an Stimulusmaterial benötigt. Ein solches zu konstruieren und zu untersuchen, war das Ziel dieser Diplomarbeit. Dazu wurde ein Set mit Bildern erstellt, in denen sowohl passende, konsistente Objekte, als auch unpassende, inkonsistente Objekte abgebildet waren. Es wurde darauf geachtet, dass die Objekte direkt im Bild positioniert und nicht nachträglich eingearbeitet wurden. Auf die Abbildung von menschlichen Handlungen und Gesichtern wurde verzichtet. Die Bilder wurden in einem Experiment von Versuchspersonen ausführlich in Bezug auf Erregung, Valenz und emotionale Gesichtspunkte bewertet. Die Objekte und Szenen wurden außerdem benannt und hinsichtlich ihrer Stimmigkeit beurteilt. Unabhängig von der Bewertung der Versuchspersonen wurden auch die strukturellen Eigenschaften der Bilder analysiert. Es wurden Salienzkarten der Bilder angefertigt und untersucht, ob es Unterschiede zwischen den Bildern mit den konsistenten Objekten und den Bildern mit den inkonsistenten Objekten gibt. Die genauen Daten befinden sich im Anhang B der Druckversion als Excel Datei auf CD gebrannt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen signifikante Unterschiede zwischen konsistenten und inkonsistenten Bildern bei allen Variablen, außer bei Valenz. Die Versuchspersonen empfanden also inkonsistente Bilder nicht positiver oder negativer als konsistente Bilder. Die Bewertungen der Versuchspersonen bestätigten auch die gute Zusammensetzung der Objekte und Szenen. Bilder mit inkonsistenten Objekten wurden von ihnen als wenig passend empfunden, Bilder mit konsistenten Objekten als passend. Durch die freie Benennung der Szenen und Objekte und die Zusammenfassung der Wörter zu Kategorien wurde ein Koeffizient berechnet, der als Maß für die Reliabilität der Labels zu verstehen ist. Mit der Untersuchung der physikalischen Eigenschaften der Bilder konnte ausgeschlossen werden, dass sich die konsistenten Bilder in Bezug auf Größe, Salienz und Lage der Objekte von den inkonsistenten Bildern unterscheiden

Development of an urban typology to assess residential environmental performance at the city scale

peer reviewedIn this research, a typology of urban blocks is drawn up for the urban area of Liege. This typology of urban blocks is organized into a set of themes according to various environmental parameters. This paper presents the energy part of this typology on the residential building stock of Liege, which includes four topics: residential buildings energy consumption; transport energy consumption of residents; development potentialities of public transport and development potentialities of energy networks. The proposed typology was elaborated through the use of GIS tools combined with a statistical treatment of several specific criteria at the urban block scale. For each class of this typology, a representative block is selected for further energy simulations in order to model residential energy use related to buildings, transport and energy networks at the city scale. The methodology developed in this paper is adapted to urban, suburban and rural zones. It can thus be adapted and/or reproduced on many other territories in Belgium but also in Europe or even further

Urban Sprawl and Travel Energy Consumption: the Case of the Walloon Region of Belgium

peer reviewedIn the actual context of growing interests in environmental issues, reducing energy consumption in the transport sector, which represents 27% of final energy in the Walloon region of Belgium, appears as an important policy target. Although it is often argued that more compact urban forms would significantly reduce transport energy consumption, urban sprawl is a concern in a large part of the regional territory. Moreover, assessment tools dedicated to transport energy consumption are lacking. In this context, the paper first presents a quantitative method developed to assess the transport system in the Walloon region of Belgium. Statistical data available at the neighbourhood scale and characteristics of cars and public vehicles are used to predict transport needs and assess energy consumption as far as home-to-work and home-to-school travels are concerned. Three index are presented and mapped (the energy performance index, the modal share and the mean distance travelled) to investigate the interdependences between spatial planning, urban sprawl and travel energy consumption in the Walloon region of Belgium. Three complementary scales are used: the “municipality” scale allows to highlight the general structure of the territory whereas the “former municipality” and the “census block” scales (the smallest geographical unit in which data are available in Belgium) highlight more detailed phenomenon. The evolution of the performance index between 1991 and 2001 and the difference in energy performance between home-to-work and home-to-school travels are also presented. Our main findings are presented and highlight that urban planning acts upon travel energy consumption. We show particularly that main cities present low energy consumption. However, a local scale approach is useful to highlight the existence of secondary suburban and rural cores presenting low transport energy consumption. In this respect, distance from home to destination is paramount while the mode of transport used has a lower impact.Suburban Areas Favoring Energy efficiency (SAFE

Les projets SUN et SOLEN : Soutenir la régénération durable des quartiers.

SUN (Sustainable Urban Neighbourhoods) et SOLEN (SOlutions for Low Energy Neighbourhoods

Evaluation of bioclimatic potential, energy consumption, CO2-emission, and life cycle cost of a residential building located in Sub-Saharan Africa; a case study of eight countries

peer reviewedNowadays, one of the current concerns of the United Nations and the European Union is to offer more reliable mechanisms aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions on a building scale. The new required recommendations can be applied to all countries of the world. The main objective of this study is to evaluate, analyse and compare the indoor air condition (comfort rate and CO2 concentration), and energy consumption, prevailing in a family building built in eight cities (Douala, Kinshasa, Abidjan, Lagos, Pretoria, Dakar, Antananarivo and Addis Ababa), located in eight countries (Cameroon, DRC, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar and Ethiopia) in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, this study assesses the total cost of the life cycle of a new building over a period of 50 years in each country. Parameter simulations and optimizations are carried out over three periods (current, 2030 and 2050) with Design Builder software renowned in this area. The results showed that the comfort potential is around 10–21% higher in the residential buildings located at altitude compare to those ones in coastal regions. The thermal comfort range is found between 20 ◦C and 29 ◦C in these different cities. The preferred thermal environment in altitude regions, where it makes cold, should be “slightly warm”, corresponding to around 1 ◦C above the neutral temperature, in order to satisfy the majority of the building occupant. In addition, the preferred thermal environment in coastal regions, where it makes warm, should be “slightly cold”, corresponding to around 1 ◦C below the neutral temperature, in order to satisfy the majority of the occupants of the building. Finally, the building’s Life cycle cost (LCC) ranges between 25% and 35% for construction cost; from 30%to 40%, for operation cost; between 2% and 3% for maintenance cost; between 9% and 15% for energy cost on the whole LCC in Sub-Saharan-Africa