Environmental Design Commons^™

Net Zero Residential Design For Solar Calpoly, Bryce Reiko Willis

Master's Theses

The Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed Team Solar Cal Poly from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as a competitor in the 2015 Solar Decathlon in February 2014. The Solar Decathlon is a biennial collegiate competition to construct a net-zero home and operate it for a week of “normal use”. Solar Cal Poly needed assistance with passive and active HVAC systems for the design, and thermal load models. The competition will take place in Irvine, CA [33.67⁰, 117.82⁰ W] from September 27 – October 3, 2015. After the completion, a potential final location for the house will be Santa …

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

Towards A Collective Spatial Form:An Analysis Of Achill’S Deserted Village, Noel Brady

Conference papers

This paper examines an earlier study by Bob Kingston and along with onsite observations develops an environmental theory behind the particular siting and location of the deserted village in Achill, Ireland. The paper relies on the survey conducted by Kingston in the first instance but then by translating the material into a different format has concluded on statistically significant evidence of willful and careful planning and design in the construction of the houses.

Green Infrastructure Performance In Stormwater Quality, Hailey Wall

Research on Capitol Hill

No abstract provided.

Sensible Air To Air Heat Recovery Strategies In A Passive House, Santiago Martin Rodriguez-Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

Due to rising energy costs and concerns about global climate change, high performance buildings are more in demand than ever before. With roughly 20% of the total energy consumption in the United States being devoted to residential use, this sector represents a significant opportunity for future savings. There are many guidelines and standards for reducing building energy consumption. One of the most stringent is the Passive House Standard. The standard requires that that air infiltration is less than or equal to 0.6 air changes per hour at a 50 Pascal pressure difference (ACH 50), annual heating energy is less than …

Ua12/13 2015 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability, Christian Ryan-Downing

Sustainability Publications and Resources

2015 was a great year for WKU Sustainability, marked by significant new initiatives, special recognitions, and continued progress in advancing sustainability in the way Hilltoppers live, learn, and work. This report highlights the sustainability accomplishments of WKU students, faculty, staff, the Office of Sustainability, and the campus community in 2015.

Establishing A Framework For The Recognition Of Local Arboricultural Practitioners, Paul Yuen King Chan

Faculty of Design & Environment (THEi)

No abstract provided.

Air Change Rate Vs Airflow Pathway: Bioaerosol Containment And Removal In Patient Rooms, Kevin R. Grosskopf

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Recent studies have shown that higher air change rates may have the unintended consequence of creating turbulent airflows that entrain high concentrations of infectious particles within the breathing zone, and possibly, breakdown pressure relationships necessary to contain the spread of infectious particles to other clinical spaces.

Use Of Fiber-Reinforced Cements In Masonry Construction And Structural Rehabilitation, Ece Erdogmus

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The use of fiber reinforcement in traditional concrete mixes has been extensively studied and has been slowly finding its regular use in practice. In contrast, opportunities for the use of fibers in masonry applications and structural rehabilitation projects (masonry and concrete structures) have not been as deeply investigated, where the base matrix may be a weaker cementitious mixture. This paper will summarize the findings of the author’s research over the past 10 years in these particular applications of fiber reinforced cements (FRC). For masonry, considering both mortar and mortar-unit bond characteristics, a 0.5% volume fraction of micro fibers in type …

M.Sc. Sustainable Development Group Project On The Environmental Design And Management Of Darndale Park., Daniel Blanchfield, Andrea Culjak, Meadhbh Ní Lochlainn, Orla Gilleece, Lin Zhao, Niall Thomas, John Lucey, Zainab Mansary

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

Northside Partnership Healthy Communities Pilot Area Walkability Audit, Lin Zhao, Meadhbh Ní Lochlainn

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Predictive Functional Controller, Fadi Alsaleem, Arvind Rao

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A controller device and a method for controlling a system that utilizes an adaptive mechanism to self-learn the system char acteristics and incorporates this adaptive self-learning ability to predict a control parameter correctly to provide precise control of a system component.

An Adaptive Photovoltaic Topology To Overcome Shading Effect In Pv Systems, Mohamed Amer Chaaban, Lana El Chaar, Mahmoud Alahmad

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Shading in photovoltaic systems can cause many undesired effects.When shading occurs, the power generated from the PV system is much less than nominal power, increasing the electrical mismatching losses between PV system components. Active research to address this power loss focuses on static and adaptive systems.This paper addresses an adaptive system solution and proposes a new method to adaptively overcome losses due to shading during low radiation conditions. In addition, a statistical analysis for choosing the most feasible and efficient configuration for the system size is presented. The proposed system has been validated under shade conditions in a simulation and …

Building Envelope And Interior Grading Systems And Methods, Fadi Mohammad Alsaleem

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A difference module determines differences between an out door ambient temperature and an indoor temperature, deter mines a first average of the differences, and determines a second average of the differences. A storing module stores a first data point, the first data point including the first average and a first total run time of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, and stores a second data point, the second data point including the second average and a second total run time of the HVAC system. A fitting module fits a line to the first and second data points. An …

Rapid Urbanization And The Informational Metacity In China, David Grahame Shane

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

An informational revolution created a new awareness of recent rapid global urbanization, with China providing a clear case study. Big data and global statistics created a governmental model ofan informational Metacity exemplified by China's Shanghai Expo, but this model has unintended consequences. Some consequences such as mass tourism are global in character with Chinese characteristics. Others such as the conversion of old factory Danwei and urban villages are local and specifically Chinese. The scale and speed of China's urbanization and the Shanghai Expo provides a special laboratory for the study of the development of multi-scalar and mixed-use in a context …

Smart City: A Case Of Seoul, Myounggu Kang

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Smart City is a city that efficiently and effectively solves its challenges in advancing the quality of life and work of its citizens by adequately making use of the best available technologies, which are mainlyinfrastructure technology in the early stages of urbanization and information technology for everyday use. In addition, it is also argued that a city requires not only technology but also new regulations to become a smart city. With new technology and rules Smart City successfully achieves prosperity and sustainability. This paper briefly reviews what defines a smart city and discusses the case of Seoul.This paper discusses two …

Urban Spatial Development To Mitigate Urban Heat Island Effectin The Inner Area Of Bangkok, Jittisak Thammapornpilas

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

An urban heat island is one of the factors that cause a climate change to become more critical. Bangkok is one of the mega cities in the world in which urban areas have been affected by the urban heatisland, especially the inner area of Bangkok and its CBD. The survey data from a satellite confirmed the hypothesis of the affected area in the inner zone of Bangkok. From the study it has been found that the urban heat island problem in the urban area of Bangkok was developed by the augmentation of its physical surroundings of all the man-made construction. …

.Flt.Cn, Timothy Jachna

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

This paper presents a near-future scenario for urban China, derived through application of scenario planning techniques to extrapolate components of a possible urban future, based on analysis ofrecent and current digitally-mediated urban spatial practice in Chinese cities. The scenario provides a framework for exploring the interplay of top-down modes of control and bottom-up "performance" in the digital city; the co-forming relationship between urban spatial practices and the appropriation of digital communications networks for social and spatial experimentation; and the culturally and socially conditioned roles that digital technologies play in the formation and evolution of urban morphology and urban societies.

White Building: Smart City, Pen Sereypagna

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

This article examines a single purpose building known as the "White Building" that has the acquired complexity as a microcosm of an Asian Smart City due to its adaptability from being a well-planned,minimal housing unit in the well-known 1960s Bassac waterfront district, to becoming an art-based, community, mixed - use building.

Bhutanese Dwellings: Sustaining The State Of Wellbeing-Ness, Waricha Wongphyat

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Although Gross National Happiness (GNH) is acclaimed as the Bhutanese overarching goal of development, the country's pursuit of modernization and urbanization has inevitably brought about adecline in vitality of traditional communities and indigenous dwellings. This paper aims to explore how to sustain the state of wellbeing-ness of the Bhutanese dwellings in the evolving context. Considering the abundance of natural and cultural landscape vis-à-vis the deficiency of human resource and skill in agriculture, Shari village is selected as the case study representing the nationwide concerns. Based on field surveys, interviews and documents provided by the DCHS, this paper proposes the smart …