Environmental Design Commons^™

Developing A Workflow To Integrate Tree Inventory Data Into Urban Energy Models, Farzad Hashemi, Breanna L. Marmur, Ulrike Passe, Janette R. Thompson

Farzad Hashemi

Building energy simulation is of considerable interest and benefit for architects, engineers, and urban planners. Only recently has it become possible to develop integrated energy models for clusters of buildings in urban areas. Simulating energy consumption of the built environment on a relatively large scale (e.g., such as a neighborhood) will be necessary to obtain more reliable results, since building energy parameters are influenced by characteristics of the nearby environment. Therefore, the construction of a 3-D model of urban built areas with detail of the near-building environment should enhance simulation approaches and provide more accurate results. This paper describes the …

The Impact Of Trees On Passive Survivability During Extreme Heat Events In Warm And Humid Regions, Ulrike Passe, Janette R. Thompson, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Boshun Gao, Breanna L. Marmur

Breanna L. Marmur

Communities are increasingly affected by excessive heat. The likelihood of extreme heat events is predicted to increase in the Midwest region of the United States. By mid-century (2036–2065), one year out of 10 is projected to have a 5-day period that is 13°F warmer than a comparable earlier period (1976–2005). The frequency of high humidity/dew point days (“extra moist tropical air mass days,” MT++ synoptic climate classification system) has also increased significantly during a similar period (1975–2010) and between 2010 and 2014 included 8 of 26 heat events. This impact is exacerbated by the fact that many residences in low-income …

Lost Spaces As Hidden Assets: A Refection On A Current Campus Design Issue, Torina Wilson, Amir Hajrasouliha

Amir Hajrasouliha

Designing For A Driverless Future In Downtown San Luis Obispo, Amir Hajrasouliha, Crp 512 Students

Amir Hajrasouliha

Thermoelectric Materials In Exterior Walls: Experimental Study On Using Smart Facades For Heating And Cooling In High-Performance Buildings, Ajla Aksamija, Zlatan Aksamija, Christopher H. Counihan, Dylan Brown, Meenakshi Upadhyaya

Ajla Aksamija

Experimental Study On Integration Of Thermoelectric Materials In Exterior Walls For Heating And Cooling In High-Performance Buildings, Ajla Aksamija, Zlatan Aksamija, Christopher H. Counihan, Dylan Brown, Meenakshi Upadhyaya

Zlatan Aksamija

Thermoelectric Materials In Exterior Walls: Experimental Study On Using Smart Facades For Heating And Cooling In High-Performance Buildings, Ajla Aksamija, Zlatan Aksamija, Christopher H. Counihan, Dylan Brown, Meenakshi Upadhyaya

Zlatan Aksamija

Experimental Study On Integration Of Thermoelectric Materials In Exterior Walls For Heating And Cooling In High-Performance Buildings, Ajla Aksamija, Zlatan Aksamija, Christopher H. Counihan, Dylan Brown, Meenakshi Upadhyaya

Ajla Aksamija

Thermal, Energy And Daylight Analysis Of Different Types Of Double Skin Façades In Various Climates, Ajla Aksamija

Ajla Aksamija

Architectural Education And Accreditation In The People’S Republic Of China, Gregory S. Palermo

Gregory Palermo

The following comments were made at the plenary meeting concluding the 1994 accreditation visits conducted by the PRC National Board on Architectural Accreditation (NBAA), under the auspices of the Architectural Society of China (ASC), and the Ministry of Construction (MOC). Four architecture programs first accredited by the NBAA in 1991 had midterm revisits: Tsinghua in Beijing; Tongji in Shanghai; Tianjin University; and South East University in Nanjing. Four were visited for initial accreditation: Chongqing Jianzhu University; South China Polytechnical in Guangzhou; Harbin and Xi’an Universities.

A Period Examination Through Contemporary Energy Analysis Of Kevin Roche’S Fine Arts Center At University Of Massachusetts-Amherst, L Carl Fiocchi Jr

L. Carl Fiocchi

Studies of buildings belonging to a subset of Modernist architecture, Brutalism, have included discussions pertaining to social and architectural history, critical reception, tectonic form and geometry inspirations, material property selections, period technology limitations, and migration of public perceptions. Evaluations of Brutalist buildings’ energy related performances have been restricted to anecdotal observations with particular focus on the building type’s poor thermal performance, a result of the preferred construction method, i.e. monolithic reinforced concrete used as structure, interior finish and exterior finish. A valid criticism, but one that served to dismiss discussion that the possibility of other positive design strategies limiting energy …

Effects Of Reverberation And Noise On Speech Comprehension By Native And Non-Native English-Speaking Listeners, Z. Ellen Peng, Lily M. Wang, Siu-Kit Lau, Adam M. Steinbach

Lily M Wang

Previous studies have demonstrated the negative impact of adverse signal-to-noise-ratios on non-native English-speaking listeners' performance on speech recognition using recall tasks, as well as implied that comprehension skills were more impaired than recognition skills under reverberation and noise. The authors have themselves previously conducted a pilot study on three native and three non-native Englishspeaking listeners to examine the effects of reverberation and noise using speech comprehension tasks. Those results suggested that speech comprehension performance is worse under longer reverberation times (RT), and that a longer RT is more detrimental to speech comprehension by non-native listeners than native listeners. This paper …

How Tonality And Loudness Of Noise Relate To Annoyance And Task Performance” Noise Control Eng. J. 65(2), 71-82., Joonhee Lee, Jennifer M. Francis, Lily M. Wang

Lily M Wang

Audible tones in noise generated by building mechanical equipment can be a leading cause of complaints from occupants. A number of metrics have been developed to quantify prominence of a tone, but previous work has shown that the impact of a certain tonality appears to vary with the level of the broadband noise signal. More work on how tonal signals of varying tonality, tone frequency and broadband noise levels relate to annoyance and task performance is needed. This paper investigates such relationships between current noise metrics, annoyance and task performance under assorted tonal noise conditions through subjective testing. Participants rated …

Acoustic Tweets And Blogs: Using Social Media In An Undergraduate Acoustics Course, Lily M. Wang

Lily M Wang

Each fall, the author teaches an undergraduate architectural acoustics course to around 40 third-year architectural engineering students at the University of Nebraska. Beginning in 2011, a social media component was introduced to explore the use of this technology and how it may supplement the students' learning experience. Students were given an opportunity to receive extra credit by using Twitter and/or blogging about course material using a set hashtag (#AE3300) or through the course website. Results were positive, and the author will discuss pros and cons that she has experienced in adding this social media component. Suggestions for future implementations and …

A Need For Evidence-Based And Multidisciplinary Research To Study The Effects Of The Interaction Of School Environmental Conditions On Student Achievement, Josephine Lau, Lily M. Wang, Clarence Waters, James A. Bovaird

Lily M Wang

With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Healthy Schools initiative, a research team from the University of Nebraska– Lincoln (UNL) is currently working on establishing how environmental conditions in K-12 school buildings impact student scholastic achievement. The objectives of the research project are: (1) to study comprehensively the impacts of a wide set of indoor environmental factors (including indoor air quality, thermal, lighting and acoustic conditions) on student achievement; (2) to investigate how these environmental conditions interact with each other to impact student achievement; (3) to rank order the environmental variables in terms of their relative impact on …

Thermal And Energy Performance Of Double Skin Facades In Different Climate Types, Ajla Aksamija

Ajla Aksamija

Double-Skin Facades And Daylight Simulations: Comparative Study Of Facade Typologies And Effects On Natural Light In Different Climates, Ajla Aksamija

Ajla Aksamija

The Multiple Limas: Urban Design At The Periphery, Marwan Ghandour

Marwan Ghandour

No abstract provided.

Campus Does Matter: The Relationship Of Student Retention And Degree Attainment To Campus Design, Amir Hajrasouliha, Reid Ewing

Amir Hajrasouliha

No abstract provided.

A Wellness District For The City Of Ventura, Vicente Del Rio, Amir Hajrasouliha

Amir Hajrasouliha

Australia's First 6-Star Green Education Building: Design And Performance, Jim Smith, George Earl

Jim Smith

Bond University's Mirvac School of Sustainable Development is one where planning, property, project management, construction management and quantity surveying are integrated in a school of the urban environment in the context of sustainable development. The School is the first designated institute to fully integrate environmental, urban planning, property development, quantity surveying, construction management and facilities management disciplines with the practical issues of managing economic and social viability with societal expectations.The goal was to blend together these three aspects: ecological sustainability – indoor environment quality, transport, water, materials, emissions, land use and ecology - closely linked to economic and social sustainability.The …

Biography, Julie Elaine N. Irish

Julie Elaine Irish

Shared Spatial Regulating In Sharing-Economy Districts, Michael N. Widener

Michael N. Widener

Technology, coupled with present economic conditions and the interest of younger Americans in sustainability, is enabling a climate favorable to collaborative consumption. More individuals will be engaged over time in this “sharing economy” because underemployment of the middle class, and a majority of all non- or under-skilled workers, is a chronic condition eluding public sector solution. This new resources “lending” and social networking culture assures ongoing introductions of sharing producers and consumers to each other and into residential neighborhoods. The results will include increased traffic trips, overtaxed curbside parking spaces, additional ambient noise and stress upon electric and other utility …

Umass Amherst Campus Green Building Resources, Ludmilla D. Pavlova-Gillham

Ludmilla D Pavlova

UMass Amherst is a STARS Gold institution that has received numerous awards for its sustainability efforts in higher education. To celebrate the physical elements of the campus sustainability achievements, and to inform campus staff, faculty and students how to support green building projects, Campus Planning and Design & Construction sponsored a presentation to the campus community on Campus Green Building Resources: LEED and Beyond. Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Senior Campus Planner reviews the commitment UMass Amherst has made to sustainable design and construction and the range of sustainability/LEED resources available to campus staff, faculty and students as they work on planning, designing …

Umass Amherst Green Building Guidelines 2013, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Ted Mendoza, Ezra Small, Patricia O'Flaherty, Nariman Mostafavi, Mohamed Farzinmoghadam, Somayeh Tabatabaee Pozveh

Ludmilla D Pavlova

Facilities & Campus Services, Sustainable UMass and Campus Planning support sustainability and energy conservation initiatives by providing in-house resources to campus staff as well as designers and contractors working with the University. The UMass Amherst Green Building Guidelines provide a framework for approaching new construction and major renovation projects at UMass Amherst that are undergoing LEED certification by focusing the conversation on green building aspects that are most important to the campus. They are intended to be the beginning of a dynamic conversation between designers, environmental consultants and constructors, university stakeholders, and users of new high performance buildings.

Nest Building In Captive Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla, Kristen E. Lukas, Tara S. Stoinski, Kyle Burks, Rebecca Snyder, Sarah Bexell, Terry L. Maple

Sarah M. Bexell, PhD

Although various aspects of gorilla nest building have been described in wild populations, nest-building behavior of captive gorillas has not been subject to much scientific review. We observed nest building in 17 gorillas during three periods: summer baseline, winter baseline, and winter treatment, in which the amount of available nesting material was doubled. We conducted observations exclusively in the indoor holding area in the hour following evening departure of animal care staff. During baseline, gorillas engaged in nest-building on 3.1% of scans and were on a constructed nest on 27.9% of scans. Overall, gorillas spent significantly more time on elevated …

Smart Cities: Environmental Aspects And Opportunities, Marcus R. Wigan

Marcus R Wigan

More Than One Way To Think About Urban Streets, John I. Gilderbloom, William W. Riggs

William W. Riggs

This op-ed discusses research into the differences between one-way and two-way street design, and how two-way streets are associated with fewer traffic accidents, less crime and abandonments, and increased housing prices.

The Light Cube: Employing The Measurable And The Immeasurable To Address Constrained Sites, Caryn Brause, Naomi Darling

Caryn Brause

Light has the power to define space, to create presence, and to deeply affect our spirit. Sunlight connects a place to its location with respect to the solar system and its unique coordinates on earth. Through light, the passage of time is revealed in a perpetually dynamic play of color, intensity, and movement.

The environmental imperative to address climate change through a reduction of fossil fuel use has renewed interest in the quantifiable aspects of daylighting in building. This can be challenging in urban sites where key contributors to daylighting such as building orientation, form, and floor depths may be …

The Cost Versus Price For Parking Spaces At Major Employment Centers: Findings From Uc Berkeley, Tudela-Rivadeneyra, Manish Shirgaokar, Elizabeth Deakin Aldo, Manish Shirgoakar, Elizabeth A. Deakin, William W. Riggs

William W. Riggs

In dense urban areas, surface parking often poses an opportunity cost, and reuse of the land for urban development with parking relocated to a multistory structure may be an attractive option. This paper analyzes the cost of replacing surface parking with a parking structure and finds that it may be equally cost effective to pursue travel demand management strategies. The paper analyzes what it costs to build a parking space in a multi-story structure (garage) using US average data as well as data from a substantially higher-cost case, the University of California, Berkeley. The Berkeley case illustrates how replacement of …