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Special Issue: Experimental Green Strategies: Redefining Ecological Design Research
... Adaptive building envelope technologies are also being developed to mimic the channels produced by plant roots in order to disperse water and slow down flow through the urban environment [101,102]. There are also an increasing range of materials which mimic the way roots and root hairs draw water through the soil and into the plant, transport water passively through the stem, and release water through evaporation. ...
... Roots absorb water by utilising negative hydrostatic pressure driven by transpiration to move water from soil to air. In much the same way, materials that wick water are at the centre of new developments to the collection and storage of water upon the building envelope and the controlled irrigation of on-building plants [11,102]. Such materials have the ability to expand to store water, and take advantage of water potential gradients to evenly distribute water for irrigation or to draw water passively to a collection point. ...
Urban planning is a vital process in determining the functionality of future cities. It is predicted that at least two thirds of the world?s citizens will reside in towns and cities by the middle of this century, up from one third in the middle of the previous century. Not only is it essential to provide space for work and dwelling, but also for their well-being. Well-being is inextricably linked with the surrounding environment, and natural landscapes have a potent positive effect. For this reason, the inclusion and management of urban green infrastructure has become a topic of increasing scientific interest. Elements of this infrastructure, including green roofs and fa?ades are of growing importance to operators in each stage of the planning, design and construction process in urban areas. Currently, there is a strong recognition that ?green is good?. Despite the positive recognition of urban greenery, and the concerted efforts to include more of it in cities, greater scientific attention is needed to better understand its role in the urban environment. For example, many solutions are cleverly engineered without giving sufficient consideration to the biology of the vegetation that is used. This review contends that whilst ?green is good? is a positive mantra to promote the inclusion of urban greenery, there is a significant opportunity to increase the contribution of plant science to the process of urban planning through both green infrastructure, and biomimicry. Keywords: biomimicry; plants; architecture; future cities; urban planning
... Biomimicry Design Spiral[7]. ...
Nature has experienced so many adjustments throughout its life cycle, such as evolutions, climate change, and natural selection, and it still manages to exist today. Therefore, it will be an excellent example to be imitated into a product or process since it is most likely sustainable and comply human needs. Imitating nature’s process, design, or system is called Biomimicry Approach. In this research, researchers develop a new design for Velcro. Velcro is a fastener that consists of 2 parts: hook and loop. Both parts are made of nylon thread and will be fastened together. Current Velcro products are not durable because of the design and also materials. It can be easily wrinkled and damage the fabric it is glued. This study aims to develop Velcro design to have a sustainable design using the technical steps in each biomimicry design spiral methodology stage. Researchers used Biomimicry Approach to find the best development for the Velcro product and generate a conceptual design for Velcro. The natural model used in the conceptual design was a Lentinula edodes (shitake mushroom). The design assessment indicator used were von mises stress, safety factory, and displacement. The results showed that the development design of Velcro with the Biomimicry Design Spiral Approach was acceptable and safe.
... The questions of space-planning methods of forming the power-efficient and poweractive residential and public buildings and the analysis of the issues of using nonconventional power sources are touched upon in the works [8][9][10][11]; the application of energy modeling in designing buildings in [12][13][14]. The issues of energy-efficiency of high-rise buildings are dealt with in the publications [15,16]. The organization of environmentally-friendly low-rise residential construction at the territory of Russia and its regional aspects is considered in [17][18][19]; the surface shape of relocatable buildings as the means to improve their efficiency is researched in [20]. ...
The adaptation of methodological peculiarities of the functioning of general-system principles, acting in comprehensive architectural systems (demoecosystems) to the projects, meeting the energy-saving criterion (power-saving, power-active, environmentally-friendly and hi-tech buildings), allows concretizing with regard to projects under study the system regularities, based on the principles of compactness (least action) and structure invariance. The power-saving and compactness of a space-planning solution are the cornerstone of forming the power-saving, power-active, environmentally-friendly and hi-tech buildings with any number of storeys. The article presents the calculations of the external envelope compactness for one-, two- and three-storeyed buildings of various plan forms, comparable in the floor surface area criterion. Apart from meeting the criterion of external envelope compactness, the architectural and space-planning solution of a building should meet the optimal functional, economical, compositional and ecological criteria. Among the methods of analyzing architectural solutions the special attention in the article is paid to the system method of transit area, noted for its considerable practical exactness and promptness, which allows performing the quality evaluation of designed projects of different levels of complexity. In the design process with the use of BEM-packages and on the basis of BIM-modeling of buildings, which should meet first of all the requirements of energy-efficiency, it is reasonable to substantiate the compactness of the outward shape of buildings by calculating the efficiency criterion of architectural and space-planning solutions of a building, reflecting its functional properties (consumer properties) and based on the system principle of compactness.
... There are products that exhibits more dramatically changes, from a rigid material to a very elastic state as the temperature increases and then back to rigid again as cooled down. There also exist shape memory polymers, which also have thermocromathic properties, as the temperature changes it does not only change shape but also colour [15]. Photosensitive memory polymers are another example of a type of polymer that changes shape when exposed to a external stimuli. ...
The skin of buildings represents the first level of communication between construction, man and environment. In this relationship, the concept of communication acquires different values, because it can be applied both to the architectural field in relation to the shape, and to the perceptive and communicative sphere, aimed to transmission of messages or even to the interaction of the architectural envelope with the user and the environment. This brings us back to the energy and sustainability aspects, since the primary role as a separation and filter layer of the building façades is that of shielding. The solution with a kinetic façade constitutes not only a possibility of climatic mediation between outside and inside, guaranteeing ventilation and protection from solar radiation, but allows to redesign the aesthetic, communicative and perceptive appearance of a building. The contribution focuses on the communicative and perceptive potential of the façades and the ongoing experimentations of the new smart materials applied to these.
... In recent years new optimisation methods that utilise Building Information Modelling (BIM) to study a range of sustainabilityrelated problems have been introduced, ranging from environmental impacts assessment [56] , waste management [57,58] , design guidance on environmental issues [59][60][61][62][63] and carbon policy analysis on building stocks [64] . Moreover, BIM has been extensively used as a platform to improve the project team's capabilities to coordinate and monitor the design and construction works and to manage the operation of the building [65] . ...
The implications of optimised structural designs in the life cycle carbon performance of buildings have been systematically overlooked in previous studies. The paper addresses this common limitation offering an integrated sustainable structural analysis at building level. To achieve this, a BIM-embedded approach was established utilising embodied carbon metrics and results from heuristic structural optimisation. A real building scenario was used to test the proposed approach in the context of multi-storey reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. Results show how the building life cycle performance is affected by the use of structurally optimised designs. The structural floors in particular, not only cover the largest proportion of the embodied carbon in the structure but they are also responsible for a large proportion of the carbon emissions of the tested building elements. The results obtained in this paper justified the need for more comprehensive efforts in the design optimisation of RC floors. Overall, it is suggested that the unclear interpretation of the optimisation outputs would result in the selection of structural designs that could compromise the buildings carbon performance.
... According to the definition given by Terri Peters, the eco-friendly architecture combines technological, cultural, systemic and user-oriented strategies [4]. It is at the same time also the smart architecture that can use the power of new technologies and tools not only for the optimisation of structures relative to their surroundings, but also for the improvement of social and cultural programmes. ...
The concept of smart city that has emerged as a response to the growing problems to which the world has been exposed over the last fifty years implies a set of multidisciplinary measures, ideas and policies oriented towards encouraging the development of human and technological resources of urban areas and their interaction aiming at enabling sustainable development and improving the quality of life of its population. All structures of different city systems in a smart city react in a clear and simple way through contemporary technologies and design. High technologies have for a long time influenced a new understanding of the role of architects and urban planners in the formation of the smart city concept. The paper highlights the problems that have led to a widely accepted concept of smart city, such as climate change, increasingly aggressive urbanization, excessive use of all resources, etc. The paper explains the role of architectural and urban planning profession in creating a smart city. Modelling of key systems of urban development requires the architects and urban planners to have new knowledge in different fields, as well as an interactive and creative approach to solving the set tasks. The philosophy of the profession is changing and new fields of activity are opening up, this being a challenge, but also an obligation to master the fields and skills on which the profession has not had influence so far. The architects and urban planners in teams formed in cities throughout the world for the purpose of conceiving this concept are losing the leading position in the processes of design and design management and are becoming equal amongst equals (in infrastructure system designs, amongst construction and traffic engineers, economists, sociologists, ecologists, programmers, city managers, management structures, equipment manufacturers, but also amongst city dwellers who are also becoming actively involved in this process, etc.). On the other hand, the development of new technologies has a positive influence on architecture and urbanism, particularly concerning the rational energy consumption and the use of renewable energy sources. Energy efficient buildings contribute to reducing the CO2 emissions, thus having significant positive effect on climate change. How to reconcile different interests and make the development of new technologies became a part of sustainable development is today one of the most important challenges in the profession, but also in the society as a whole.
... However, there is a research activity that is beginning to develop new tools, which implement BIM in order to address a range of sustainability-related concerns. The concerns addressed by such tools include: the assessment of environmental impacts (Lu, Wu, & Hsiung, 2009), consideration of waste management issues (O'Reilly, 2012;Rajendran & Gomez, 2012), guidance to designers on environmental issues (Zeng, 2012;Rekola, Mäkeläinen, & Häkkinen, 2012;Firoz & Rao, 2012;Park, Park, Kim, & Kim, 2012;Peters, 2012) and a response to a government strategy for carbon reductions in both current and future building stock (McAuley, Hore, & West, 2012). ...
The present dissertation investigates the potential to reduce the environmental impacts of
structural systems though a more efficient use of materials. The main objective of this study is to explore
and to develop a holistic and integrated methodology that utilises Building Information Modelling’s (BIM)
capabilities combined with structural analysis and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as well as with a two-staged
structural optimisation solver that achieves efficient and environmentally responsible steel design solutions.
The implemented workflow utilises Autodesk Revit - BIM, Tally - LCA and Autodesk Robot - Structural
Analysis. RobOpt is the plug-in that has been established using the Application Programming Interface
(API) of Robot and the .NET framework of C♯, and it inherits several structural functionalities based on
Robot Finite Element Method (FEM) engine. The proposed RobOpt application can be accessed via a
graphic user interface within the Robot software. The operations that can be executed are: geometric
definition, support assignment, load cases classification, standard and custom steel sections’ selection,
structural analysis, Eurocode verification/optimisation and constraint genetic algorithm optimisation. A
novel characteristic of the application is the development of an integrated visualisation tool, which allows
the user to graphically summarise the results from the obtained structural analysis.
The developed BIM optimisation methodology could be utilised as a design tool to inform early
stage structural design solutions. In this dissertation, a case study that focuses on a prototypical steel framed
structural system under certain loads has been explored. Four input parameters of the I-section have been
explored: web thickness, flange thickness, section’s width and depth. For the verified design configuration
and by customising the steel I-beams, the developed optimal solution is one that minimises the total weight
of the structure without compromising its structural performance by maximising the efficiency of the tested
structural system. The resulting bespoke I-section from the genetic algorithm optimisation demonstrates
that significant savings – up to 21% – can be achieved in the tested structure’s overall weight and in all
tested TRACI environmental indicators – Global Warming Potential (GWP), Ozone Depletion Potential
(ODP), Acidification Potential (AP) and Eutrophication Potential (EP) – compared to the standard
catalogue of steel sections. Further studies of various structural models would enable designers to develop
their understanding on minimising the overall environmental impacts of their design decisions. All
considered, the proposed framework constitutes a useful and an intuitive workflow, which aims to quantify
the environmental savings of structural systems by utilising advanced computational analysis and common
construction techniques.
... The power of algorithms lies in the ability to solve a wide range of computational problems, including, but not limited to, sorting and searching, data structure operations and combinatorial problems. Therefore, the complexity of parametric design becomes even more compounded in the case of designing bigger structures or entities (Aish and Woodbury 2005;Cormen et al. 2001;Coyne 2014;Dino 2012;Kolarevic 2004;Peters 2011;Woodbury et al. 2006). ...
With the rise of digital design tools in architecture, this study aims to participate in the current debate taking into account a holistic approach of the parametric paradigm and some of the major potentialities that emerge from its use in the discipline. This paper therefore aims to review this new paradigm and propose a
conceptual framework based on its models, levels and systems that support the architectural design process. This framework may help architects realize the potential of parametric tools by using and thinking of parameterization as a general procedure from the initial stage of form-finding to the process of manufacturing. However, the paper argues that the parametric-enabled paradigm is often incorrectly mistaken as an emerging architectural style rather than a computational tool. Therefore, a critical awareness of both the potentials and limitations of parametric paradigms is imperative in the effective use of these models and in understanding how they will continue to change the architectural profession.
Keywords: Architectural design, geometry, optimization, parametric models, parameterization
... Planning and designing with careful attention for the environment is a key element in the architecture field, though architects are not steadily setting themselves as champions in environmental design or sustainability research [1]. History shows that the pursuit of environmental value in architecture, for a harmonious balance between man and his surroundings is not new. ...
The North Sumatra Athlete Hotel’s design with Ecological Architecture approach is intended to meet the need for supporting facilities in accommodating athletes who will compete in the upcoming XXI / 2024 national sports event (PON). This is a North Sumatra Province self-preparation form as one of the hosts in accommodating this event. The building design includes supporting facilities, outdoor and indoor sports facilities, a restaurant, and a convention centre. In terms of function, hotel building design and facilities are open to athletes and the public. In terms of the design theme, the theme approach is carried out through the application of concepts in the form of natural ventilation, natural lighting, shading with using vegetation, overhangs, balconies, and secondary skin which are applied through consideration of the orientation of the building to the incoming sunlight.
O processo de projeto em meio digital evolui desde as tecnologias de representação, documentação técnica, simulação, avaliações de desempenho, até a abordagem do desenho paramétrico, que tem influenciado e subsidiado a produção atual de arquitetura. Antoni Gaudí e Frei Otto são considerados os pioneiros desta abordagem em seus processos de projeto, ainda que em modelos analógicos. Os arquitetos desenvolveram modelos físicos aptos a modificações, a partir do uso de malhas suspensas e controladas por pesos variáveis. Para o momento atual dos processos digitais na arquitetura, as malhas expandiram seus usos junto à parametria, como soluções de representação, tesselação, análise e otimização de processos, soluções estruturais e também a possibilidade de simulação da atuação de forças físicas para gerar geometrias curvas e otimizadas. Porém, o currículo dos cursos de arquitetura no Brasil ainda não incorpora tais saberes de maneira sistemática e disciplinar, o que dificulta sua apropriação no contexto profissional. Entende-se que é necessária uma base geométrica que propicie o avanço até níveis maiores de complexidade exigidos para o domínio do desenho paramétrico. Neste processo, é importante tratar com aplicações da geometria na arquitetura para além das questões estéticas, compreendendo como uma forma não trivial pode apresentar atributos funcionais que evidenciem a qualidade de um projeto para o contexto atual. Busca-se, então, a partir de uma teoria didática, explicitar o saber envolvido relacionado com aplicações de malhas na arquitetura e compreender os conceitos geométricos que integram suas propriedades funcionais, para motivar a apropriação destes na prática de arquitetura por meio do projeto paramétrico. Tendo-se por base um estudo teórico de projetos referenciais, tenta-se compreender o processo de projeto desenvolvido para a definição formal e os conceitos e técnicas associadas, tendo-se por base a noção estruturada de um saber, de Yves Chevallard. A partir dessa teoria, define-se um método de estruturação do saber envolvido em cada um dos casos estudados, apresentando-se um dos projetos estudados. Como resultado da sistematização, tem-se uma abordagem integrada entre desempenho das superfícies, a estruturação formal e construtiva, de análise e requisitos essenciais ao processo de projeto contemporâneo, propiciada pela modelagem paramétrica e o saber da geometria.
The high energy consumed for air conditioning in buildings become a serious concern in the scientific research due to its negative consequences on the earth's ecological life. In nature, animals regulate their body temperature in extreme environments without using fuel or prejudice to their environmental system. Therefore, this study aims to emulate one of the biological cooling strategies to design passive cooling unit for buildings in the hot arid regions. It adopted a biomimetic exploratory method to determine three of the efficient biological cooling strategies in nature based on the morphological attributes. They are cooling through animals’ respiratory passages, thermal radiators and air flow cooling in termite mound. A comparative study was conducted on four case studies under each of the three cooling strategies to come up with the working principles that can be used as a guide to design biomimetic cooling system. One of these strategies, the camel nasal respiratory cooling, was simulated to design a cooling unit installed in wind tower for buildings in the hot arid regions. To validate the applicability of the camel nasal-inspired cooling design, a set of experimental tests have been conducted in one of the desert cities that is Seiyun in Yemen by using wind tower. The study main parameter was the design cooling efficiency for (i) three materials which were clay, clay with jute fiber and clay with wood wool pads, (ii) the design height, and (iii) climatic environmental variables. The results showed that the best cooling efficiency among the three materials was the design of clay with jute fiber 85.2 %, followed by clay with wood wool pads 76.6 %, and the clay design 66.3 %. The former two designs have effectively dropped the temperature in hot arid climate up to 18.9 °C for jute design and 16.5°C for wood wool design. This indicates that the bio-inspired design can replace the mechanical air conditioning system. Additionally, the cooling efficiency of the design increases by the increment of its height and the ambient temperature. However, it decreases with the increment of the inlet air wet-bulb temperature, air humidity, and air velocity. It is concluded that emulating biological thermo-regulatory strategies is useful to design energy-efficient buildings. This study contributed to proposing a new passive cooling design for buildings in the hot arid regions.
In the last 20 years, biology has obviously been the source of countless, innovative solutions from nature in many disciplines. Biomimetic is an interesting philosophy which hybrids multidisciplinary sciences with biology. The biomimetic design is currently one of the promising fields ranging from accessing to adaptive, sustainable and energy saving solutions for the architectural and environmental challenges. This paper underlines and reviews the recent state of the art biomimetic applications to architecture, in particular, thermoregulation strategies. The review design was based on project's status that varies from executed projects, experimental models, and design concepts. The study shows that biomimicking thermoregulation strategies of nature lead to a significant energy saving and indoor thermal comfort. It is also observed that some of the architectural researches in this regard do not exceed the stage of theoretical study due to the lack of sponsorship and funding. Although there is a number of levels in respect to mimicking adaptive notions from nature such as behavioral, physiological, and morphological, architects' works are mostly confined to mimicking the functional performance of organism through its morphological configuration; physiological and morphological adaptation. The review shows that architects turn noticeably to nature's solutions as the source of the zero-waste system, saving energy and controlling thermal environment.
This paper discusses the significance of biomimicry as a design methodology within the context of urban infrastructure planning and design. The application of biomimicry principles to urban infrastructure problems is examined by analysing case studies that used biomimicry inspired designs rather than ‘mainstream’ infrastructure approaches. Biomimicry is presented as an ontology of the city that fosters innovative and collaborative urban infrastructure design and management, supplements dominant future city paradigms like the ‘smart’ city, and is worthy of further, detailed study.
Historical studies of architectural design education have endeavored to understand the development not only of this interdisciplinary field but also how architects became architects. While these studies supply descriptions about the changing education of architects, our agenda was to distil the key characteristics of educational designs, in different periods and different cultures, that supported the education of architects in the first place. Furthermore, we considered whether this archival study could shed light on the nature and utility of the term “design” for Education. First, we scrutinized a selective history of architectural design education so as to gain insights into the nature of its educational designs. This resulted in distinguishing eight particular facets of education design: from ancient cultures with their emphasis on ensuring traditions were inherited to contemporary environments (often networked and technologically mediated) that nurture students’ research investigations. We then examined what could and could not be gleaned about designing from that scrutiny of educational design in this discipline. Whilst much was learned from this historical study, it did not yield clear guidance on designing in (architectural design) education. Distilled findings did however suggest the required character for such an investigation into educational designing.
Over the last decade, insight has grown that between a pure product manufacturer and a pure service provider, various business model options exist, in which products and services are combined to varying degrees. This concept is described by the term Product-Service Systems (PSSs), which is the subject of a considerable amount of recent research attention. The overarching goal of the presented work is to analyze the business potential of a PSS from the point of view of a manufacturer of investment goods.
The PSS research field is often criticized for lacking maturity and a coherent terminology. In this thesis, a theoretical foundation for PSS research is proposed, including a new PSS definition, representation scheme and typology. Moreover, Functional Hierarchy Modeling is presented, a theoretical framework that allows to represent the functions of an investment good on different levels of abstraction. Three complementary approaches for PSS ideation, that support manufacturers in identifying a broad set of PSS options, are proposed and illustrated.
The second part of this dissertation presents a generic methodology to evaluate the business potential of a
PSS. This methodology focuses on the innovation potential of a PSS in cost and value and allows to analyze the impact of risks and uncertainties. It is validated through its application on five in-depth case studies, performed for Belgian industrial manufacturers. The business potential of a PSS is analyzed for a manufacturer of elevators, a provider of lighting control systems, a provider of fire detection systems, a developer of diamond polishing systems and a manufacturer of wind turbine gearboxes.
As many manufacturers of investment goods want to expand their service business, the implementation of a Product-Service System (PSS) can emerge as an interesting option. At the start of a PSS innovation process, the ‘PSS ideation’ step is directed towards generating new ideas for PSS options. This paper discusses two PSS ideation support methods, based on the Product Life Cycle and the Functional Hierarchy Model respectively. The application of these methods is illustrated with case studies carried out for providers of investment goods.
The high density, high rise city is explored as a 'green' option for urban settlements. A new kind of skyscraper is presented as requiring reduced land consumption, reduced overall energy use and reduced transport demand, Ken Yeang considers the planning and design considerations for creating the bioclimatic, lower energy skyscraper.
Out There – Architecture Beyond Building: 11th International Architecture Exhibition
- Aaron Betsky
Aaron Betsky, Out There – Architecture Beyond Building: 11th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, Marsilio (New York), 2008, pp 19–20.
From Ecological Houses to Sustainable Cities, Architectural Minds
- Michael Lauring
Michael Lauring, 'From Ecological Houses to Sustainable Cities, Architectural Minds', in The Nordic Journal of Architectural Research, Vol 22, No 1/2, 2010, p 51.