Development of a housing performance evaluation model for multi-family residential buildings in Korea

This paper presents the development and application of a housing performance evaluation model for multi-family residential buildings in Korea. This model is intended to encourage initiatives toward achieving better housing performance and to support a homebuyer's decision-making on housing comparison and selection. Forty-one objective and feasible housing performance indicators, which were selected from the review of existing evaluation models and interviews with experts, are classified into a series of categories. The weights of each category and indicator are calculated by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis, and a weight is converted into credit. Next, the performance grades are divided into four levels, and evaluation criteria are suggested based on statutory performance value or the one frequently met in practice. Finally, the evaluation program and the application procedure are established through the field case study. This model can be used for objective and practical evaluation and comparison of residential housing alternatives.     

The influence of climate on housing: A simple technique for the assessment of dynamic energy behaviour

Recent research within the Department of Architecture and Building Science at the University of Strathclyde has resulted in the development of a computer model of the dynamic behaviour of buildings as they respond to real climatological time-series. This model, known as ESP, is based on an advanced implicit finite difference matrix technique which allows simultaneous ‘whole building’ energy simulation. This report presents the results from a study which utilised the ESP system as the central technical tool. The study was commissioned by the Scottish Development Department and carried out in close collaboration with the Department's officers. Study objectives were to establish — by long-term simulation combined with multiple linear regression analysis — the feasibility of a simplified but inherently dynamic method for the assessment of the stress placed upon a building by the boundary climatic influence.This paper describes the simulation exercise and the subsequent formulation of an index of climatic severity. Application of the index to a range of planning and design problems is then demonstrated.     

Building a new supply chain position: an exploratory study of companies in the timber housing industry

Innovation is an important source of growth for many companies. It is also challenging, as it may require that the companies build a new position in the supply chain. The literature is devoid of analysis of different ways to build such positions in the construction industry. The purpose here is to explore the challenges involved in implementing innovations that require companies to establish new positions in a construction supply chain. Three in‐depth case studies in the Swedish timber housing industry illustrate different challenges that arise with the different modes of repositioning of organic growth, collaboration and acquisition, and with moving either backward or forward in the supply chain. Organic growth is a slow process that prevents companies from taking a first‐mover advantage. Acquisitions can involve difficulties with exploiting acquired competences. Collaboration brings the risks of diversity of interests and transient solutions. Furthermore, and as shown in the cases studied, challenges are associated with pre‐existing competencies and relationships, with technology‐oriented companies facing customer‐related difficulties and market‐oriented companies mainly facing ones involving technological solutions. The construction industry’s idiosyncrasies amplify these challenges, as its fragmentation makes it difficult to connect with external companies at new positions. Stronger ties with business partners are likely to enable construction companies to exploit more easily innovations that require repositioning in the supply chain.     

Seismic performance evaluation of slender masonry towers: a case study

Historical structures and preserving their cultural values are crucial issues for humanity, not only because of their link to important certain periods in the past, but also their unique architectural features. Although many historical structures continue to offer services while keeping their historical values, some of them are at high risk in seismic prone regions. Therefore, the understanding of their structural performance under strong ground motions has been of significant importance to the civil societies as well as engineering community. The structural systems of historical buildings, generally, consist of masonry walls or piers. The behavior of such walls is controlled by either deformation or force. Seismic performance evaluation of historical structures can be carried out within the framework of performance‐based evaluation principles. This paper mainly discusses the basic principles to be considered in performance‐based seismic evaluation of historical structures. Proposed seismic hazard levels, evaluation of existing seismic hazard, selection of earthquake ground motions as well as site geology, geological and tectonic settings of the area, seismic activity of the region and local soil conditions are needed for a thorough performance evaluation. Seismic performance evaluation of a clock tower located in eastern Turkey was accomplished based on the proposed principles. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of air management and energy performance in a data center in Finland: Case study

This is the first research paper on data center from Finland. The objectives of this study are to evaluate air management and energy performance of cooling system and investigate the possibilities of energy saving and reuse in the data center. Field measurements, particularly for long term's IT and facility powers, were conducted. Different performance metrics for the cooling system and power consumption were examined and analysed. Key problem areas and energy saving opportunities were identified. The electrical end use breakdown was estimated. Results show that IT equipment intake conditions were within the recommended or allowable ranges from ASHRAE. The Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) value for a typical year was about 1.33. Noticeable recirculation of hot air was not observed, but extreme bypass air was found. The air change rate was set much bigger than the recommended ASHRAE's value. There was no heat recovery system. The air management and heat recovery issues therefore need to be addressed. Fan speeds (Computer Room Air-Conditioning Unit) should be reduced and the ventilation rate should be minimized. Further, a simulated heat recovery system was presented demonstrating that the data center could potentially provide yearly space and hot water heating for 30,916 m² non-domestic building.     

基于标准化规则的城市POI数据库建库研究——以济南市为例

兴趣点作为重要的地理空间数据,应用日趋广泛,其数据库建库与更新逐渐引起人们的重视。本文提出了一种基于标准化规则的城市兴趣点数据库建库方法,从标准制定、软件开发、数据采集与建库等三个方面规范了城市兴趣点数据库建库的作业过程,并以济南市为例作了详细论述。实践证明该方法是有效的,可显著提高兴趣点数据库成果规范化水平。     

Unconventional housing provision: reflections on health aspects: a case study of Zimbabwe

When the Zimbabwean government embarked on the countrywide destruction of unconventional urban housing settlements code-named “Operation Murambatsvina”, it received international condemnation for displacing people and destroying livelihoods. While the operation negatively affected the residents, it also had some positive effects, given that most of the settlements that had sprouted up in cities did not have proper physical infrastructure. However, their destruction did not put a stop to spontaneous housing, as the displaced people relocated to peripheral locations, perpetuating some unconventional settlements already in existence and erecting new ones. The failure of states to cope with massive demand for low-income housing simply means that unconventional housing will not disappear in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, these areas lack proper physical infrastructure, which is the most important health component of human settlements. The most realistic means of dealing with these health concerns is to ensure that the settlements are equipped with proper physical infrastructure. This paper critically evaluates physical infrastructure provision in unconventional housing settlements in Harare, Zimbabwe. The argument is that developing countries need to accept unconventional housing as part of their housing options for the poor. The authors conclude that the only way to provide proper and healthy housing for the urban poor is to streamline government policies in order to address the critical issues that affect human settlements.     

Building regulations are a barrier to affordable housing in Indian cities: the case of Ahmedabad

Cities in developing countries seldom consider the cost increases that regulations impose on development. To build legal housing, developers must meet a high minimum cost threshold established by mandatory standards. Many standards impose costs on building construction, make them less affordable to low-income households, deprive them access to legally built housing, and fuel the formation of slums. This study analyses the impact of relaxing a few mandatory building and site planning regulations on the cost of small two-room homes in Ahmedabad by developing two alternative layouts for the same site, one in accordance with prevalent regulations, and another after modifying a few regulations. It shows that rationalizing regulations can reduce housing cost by 34% and increase supply by as much as 75% without significantly lowering quality or compromising safety. It also shows that for a large portion of poor households, the costs imposed by mandatory standards are not trivial and have a high impact on the affordability of legally built housing. It recommends that if municipal authorities are interested in tackling the rapid growth of slums by expanding the supply of affordable housing, they should critically examine their building regulations and modify them to address the housing needs of their low-income residents.     

An embodied carbon and energy analysis of modern methods of construction in housing: A case study using a lifecycle assessment framework

There is a growing interest in comparing the energy and consequential carbon embodied in buildings using different methods of construction and alternative materials. This paper compares the embodied carbon in a low energy, affordable house constructed using a novel offsite panellised modular timber frame system, in Norfolk UK with two traditional alternative scenarios. A lifecycle assessment (LCA) framework is used to conduct a partial LCA, from cradle to site, of the construction. An inventory of the materials and fossil fuel energy utilised in the construction was used to calculate the primary energy consumed and the associated embodied carbon. The embodied carbon was found to be 34.6 tonnes CO₂ for a 3 bedroom semi-detached house, 405 kgCO₂ per m² of useable floor area. When compared with traditional methods of construction the modern methods of construction (MMC) house resulted in a 34% reduction in embodied carbon. Despite timber being the predominant structural and cladding material, concrete is the most significant material (by proportion) in embodied carbon terms, responsible for 36% of materials related embodied carbon.     

Case study on the use of a combined system as an intermediate solution in Brazil: cost estimate

As a developing country, Brazil has to deal with a lack of basic sanitation. One of the major challenges is the treatment of wastewater. While 94% of Brazilian municipalities have stormwater systems, only 55% are connected to a wastewater system. To help improve the current situation, this study estimates the costs for implementing an intermediate solution, which is designed to ease the transition towards a separate wastewater treatment system. This solution utilizes a combined sewer system approach in areas where stormwater systems have already been implemented. A case study was carried out assessing two possible alternatives for a wastewater treatment system with data from the city of Joinville. Both alternatives are separate systems but one has a combined system as an intermediate solution. The results show that the alternative with an intermediate combined system will reduce the short‐term financial burden on governments in comparison to the separate sewer system approach.     

Case study: the performance and design outline of a buffering stormwater drainage system for a low-lying area

Performance evaluation and safety assessment of a buffering stormwater drainage system (BSDS) for a low-lying area are discussed in this paper. Unlike a conventional pump drainage system, the BSDS, which drains stormwater runoff of a low-lying area to a nearby channel system through underground conduits with gravity, and then buffering peak flows with the storage capacity of a channel system, will discharge stormwater to rivers outside the low-lying area with pumps or flood gates if necessary. This kind of drainage system is considered to be environment friendly and economic both in terms of capital cost and operating & maintenance expenses. To investigate the design parameters and evaluate the performance and safety of BSDS, a hydraulic model coupling the conduit systems and a channel system was developed in this paper, and a case-study approach based on field investigation and simulation test was used. Moreover, the design requirements for safety of BSDS were drawn through a simulation test.     

Evaluation of BIM energy performance and CO2 emissions assessment tools: a case study in warm weather

ABSTRACT

The EU members have adopted regulations and official methods for evaluating the energy performance in buildings. Most of these methods are applied at the end of the project phase, with few opportunities to correct erroneous design decisions when the desired building energy performance is not achieved. It is demonstrated that there is no European standard for sustainability and that the decision-making process during the development of a building project is compromised by the methodologies and some concepts, as thermal inertia, are withdrawn. Currently, the industry has been developing alternative tools for evaluating energy performance and CO₂ emissions in buildings over their entire life cycle. These software programs, which belong to the BIM environment, use databases and make simplifications adapted to the stage of design when the software can be applied. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the accuracy of this software and how the databases and simplifications influence the decision-making process in building design. Calculation examples are carried out with various tools and compared to real building performance data. The results demonstrate that, as with the official methods, the tools influence the results and therefore condition, sometimes wrongly, the decision-making process to produce better buildings.     

The evidence of poor quality in high rise and medium rise housing units: a case study of mass housing projects in Turkey

Achievement of acceptable levels of quality in the construction industry has long been a problem. Great expenditures of time, money and resources are wasted each year due to inefficient or non-existent quality levels. The situation is even worse in the case of mass housing projects addressed to low and middle income groups. It is the scope of this paper to identify the type of deviations resulting in rework in mass housing projects. For this aim, a general knowledge concerning quality is given at first, and then some related issues like cost of quality and total quality management are discussed. Finally, the quality of mass housing projects in Turkey is examined. In order to achieve this objective, data have been derived from 500 cases in two mass housing regions by means of a questionnaire including 108 questions, and results of this survey were evaluated by t-test and the percentage values calculated by frequencies of the answers. It is concluded that the residents are not adequately satisfied by the quality of products/services provided by their housing units.     

夏热冬冷地区既有建筑绿色化改造案例研究

在城市有机更新发展转型升级的背景下,本文以上海市某既有建筑绿色改造工程为例,系统地介绍了既有建筑生态修复技术、海绵基地营造技术、高效节水利用技术、节能低碳利用技术和可再生能源替代技术.总结夏热冬冷地区既有建筑绿色化改造的思路,为该类建筑的更新改造提供经验参考.     

Role of urban greenway systems in planning residential communities: a case study from Egypt

Greenways have long played a significant role in the development of urban and sub-urban areas. They help mitigate the loss of “natural” space, often have scenic qualities, provide for recreation, education, a sense of well-being, and preservation of the natural habitat. This article explores the concept, history and development of urban greenways. The article illustrates the concept of linked parks and urban greenways in structuring urban and sub-urban developments while suggesting a methodological blueprint for their implementation in the planning process. A case study of a sub-urban development west of the city of Cairo, Egypt is presented to demonstrate the role of urban greenway systems in planning residential communities. An in-depth investigation of the planning process, context, approach, and development concept is followed by an overview of the rationale and significance of the method. The objective of this article is thus two-fold. First, to illustrate the concept of urban greenway systems in structuring communities; and second, to suggest a model for the integration and proper application of the concept of linked parks and urban greenway systems in planning residential communities. In conclusion, the article identifies a step-by-step procedure for integrating natural, recreational and cultural greenways and corridors in planning future residential developments.     

采用光圆钢筋配筋的锈蚀RC框架结构#br# 抗震性能分析：以新西兰结构为例

该文对光圆钢筋配筋RC框架结构在锈蚀环境下的抗震性能进行分析,提出一种可以考虑光圆钢筋锈蚀引起的材料性能退化及钢筋-混凝土黏结滑移性能退化的节点宏单元模型。通过对已有试验结果进行模拟,验证所提出节点模型的合理性。以新西兰奥克兰市的一栋光圆钢筋配筋的锈蚀RC结构为例,基于SeismoStruct有限元软件,采用所提出的节点模型建立算例结构完好及锈蚀后的有限元模型。分别采用静力Pushover方法及动力时程分析法对算例结构的抗震性能进行分析。分析结果表明：光圆钢筋锈蚀引起的RC框架结构抗震性能退化幅度要高于变形钢筋。     

Tackling poverty through housing investment: An evaluation of a community self‐build project in Glasgow

Community self‐build housing has been proposed as a means of tackling urban poverty in Britain. Advocates believe it can improve access to employment and housing for poor people simultaneously. In this paper, a detailed evaluation is made of a community‐based project in Drumchapel, Glasgow. The project was most successful in physical and organisational terms: a major refurbishment scheme was organised by a partnership of diverse bodies and completed on a tight timescale using unskilled, inexperienced labour. The cost was not much greater than it would have been using a commercial contractor and a trained workforce. Most participants gained a sense of achievement and interpersonal skills from working as a group on a practical project. Yet, not many moved into the flats afterwards and stayed, and few secured jobs straightaway. Overall, the project was a valuable learning experience and there may be scope for wider application of many of the basic ideas. There are also specific lessons for the Drumchapel approach including the need for clear, realistic objectives; careful balance between meeting people's needs for housing, training and broader development; thoughtful selection of the participants and property, and effective community involvement.     

研发项目成员绩效评价研究

从项目管理的视角为研发人员绩效考核提出了全新的解决方案。研发人员的工作与研发项目密不可分,研发人员绩效考核的方案设计,需要把项目管理与人力资源管理基本原理相结合。在WBS基础上划分的工作包既是项目的基本工作单元,也是研发人员的工作对象,进一步成为研发人员绩效考核的基础。基于WBS和工作包的绩效考核方案,提出了关于考核周期、考核人、考核内容和考核指标等四个新原则。