How to adapt existing building stock is a problem being addressed by local and state governments worldwide. In most developed countries we now spend more on building adaptation than on new ...construction and there is an urgent need for greater knowledge and awareness of what happens to commercial buildings over time. Sustainable Building Adaptation: innovations in decision-making is a significant contribution to understanding best practice in sustainable adaptations to existing commercial buildings by offering new knowledge-based theoretical and practical insights. Models used are grounded in results of case studies conducted within three collaborative construction project team settings in Australia and the Netherlands, and exemplars are drawn from the Americas, Asia, Japan, Korea and Europe to demonstrate the application of the knowledge more broadly. Results clearly demonstrate that the new models can assist with informed decision-making in adaptation that challenges some of the prevailing solutions based on empirical approaches and which do not accommodate the sustainability dimension. The emphasis is on demonstrating how the new knowledge can be applied by practitioners to deliver professionally relevant outcomes. The book offers guidance towards a balanced approach that incorporates sustainable and optimal approaches for effective management of sustainable adaptation of existing commercial buildings.
This open access book delves into the topic of monitoring the effectiveness of building renovation policies within the European Union (EU) using indicators. Given the substantial environmental impact ...of existing buildings on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonizing them is imperative for achieving climate neutrality in Europe. The use of indicators for monitoring decarbonization progress and evaluating policies emerges as a valuable tool, ensuring the efficiency, effectiveness, and alignment of building renovation policies with broader sustainability and climate objectives. Additionally, this approach facilitates evidence-based decision-making, promotes accountability by Member States (MSs), supports the realization of long-term goals, and actively involves the public in these vital initiatives. The European Commission is actively engaged in this realm, releasing a framework of optional indicators in 2019 and subsequently refining it during the review of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The evolving framework seeks to encompass both mandatory and optional indicators, posing greater challenges for EU MSs in monitoring the impact of their national building renovation policies and the progress of decarbonizing their building stocks. This book offers insights into these developing indicator frameworks, assesses the availability and quality of data in the case of Spain, and suggests areas of improvement and innovative approaches using emerging technologies to enhance data. The target audience includes diverse stakeholders such as central government administrations, regional and municipal authorities, data-collecting institutions, urban planners, researchers, and citizens interested in comprehending the impact of building renovation. By addressing this broad audience, the book aims to foster a more inclusive and well-informed discussion on building renovation and the decarbonization of the European building stock.
Best practices in post-disaster housing and community reconstruction are constantly evolving. Technology is changing how reconstruction is done, as is the frequency and severity of the disasters ...themselves. Reconstruction projects are increasingly focused on the need to reduce future risks by ensuring that what is rebuilt is safer and more disaster-resilient than what was there before. The expanding role of communities in managing community reconstruction, with financial and technical assistance from government, is another way reconstruction is changing.Safer Homes, Stronger Communities: A Handbook for Reconstructing after Natural Disasters provides advice on how to ensure that reconstruction empowers communities to rebuild, and gives them the support they need to build back in a way that the risk of future disasters is greatly reduced. Written for policy makers and project managers engaged in major housing and community reconstruction programs, the handbook provides guidance on the roles and responsibilities of various actors, and explains what the scope of a reconstruction policy should be and how decisions in each aspect of reconstruction contribute to larger reconstruction goals. For project managers who will be charged with implementing reconstruction policy, the handbook provides guidance on the options that should be considered in each aspect of reconstruction, and examples of where they have been used in other reconstruction projects. It includes more than one hundred short case studies collected from global experts with recent experience in housing reconstruction, that illustrate how the policies and practical ideas have been used on the ground. It also includes links to extensive technical information on the topics covered by the handbook.
The refurbishment of existing buildings is a crucial yet often neglected subject within sustainable architecture; attention is usually focused on new buildings. Many old buildings waste large amounts ...of energy and provide poor internal conditions for occupants through poor lighting, poor ventilation, solar penetration and glare, and poor control of heating and cooling. Demolition is an option but the refurbishment alternative is increasingly seen as more sustainable in terms of architectural value, materials use, neighbourhood disruption and waste disposal. In addition, the potential impact of low energy refurbishment is much greater than that for new build since there are many more buildings already in existence than will be built in the next 10 - 20 years, the period over which many CO2 emission targets apply.
The Handbook of Sustainable Refurbishment: Non-Domestic Buildings offers architects, engineers and a wide range of building professionals practical advice, illustrated by real examples. It moves from principles of sustainable refurbishment to specific design and engineering guidance for a variety of circumstances. It emphasises the need for an integrated approach by showing how refurbishment measures interact with one another and with the occupants, and how performance is ultimately influenced by this interaction.
This open access book includes detail on various structures, buildings, and building materials from different structural and sustainability perspectives. It describes how the building industry is ...vital for the achievement of the sustainable development goals, namely, economic growth, social progress, and the effective protection of the environment. The aim of this collection is to foster the design and construction of sustainable structures and buildings to reduce the environmental load, connect with the environment, and benefit the health of occupants. Presenting the knowledge, trends, and developments from a group of contributors in the field working with different kinds of structures, structural components, buildings, and building materials, the book is ideal for practitioners working in commercial settings, as well as engineering students and researchers concerned with sustainability issues.
•We developed a LCA of three typical Italian buildings in their design conditions.•We evaluated the impacts of all life cycle phases of the buildings.•We introduced some energy optimizations and ...evaluated LCA implications.•We showed that LCA can be a powerful tool for the eco-design of buildings.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely known methodology for “cradle to grave” investigation of the environmental impacts of products and technological lifecycles; however, this methodology has not been yet broadly used as an eco-design tool among the practitioners of the building sector. We applied LCA on three conventional Italian buildings – a detached residential house, a multi-family and a multi-story office building. Our analysis includes all the life stages, from the production of the construction materials, to their transportation, assembling, lighting, appliances, cooling- and heating-usages during the operating phase, to the end of life of all the materials and components. We found that the operation phase has the greatest contribution to the total impact (from 77% of that of the detached house, up to 85% of the office building), whereas the impact of the construction phase ranges from about 14% (office building) to 21% (detached house). We carried further analyses to evaluate the influence of various optimizations of the buildings, e.g., more efficient envelopes and facilities, on the entire life cycle of the three buildings. In addition, we propose a methodological approach, which can contribute to the acceptance of LCA as a tool in the eco-friendly design of buildings, especially those buildings whose impact during the construction phase needs to be carefully checked, such as Nearly Zero Energy Buildings.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
This open access book summarizes the research being pursued as part of the COST Action CA21103 titled "Implementation of Circular Economy in the Built Environment" (Circular B), which aims to define ...the methodology to develop a common circularity framework for inclusive application and assessment in new and existing buildings to support decision-making for all value chain stakeholders and appraise the implementation level of the European Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). The Action is increasingly gaining interest worldwide, bringing multidisciplinary young and experienced researchers together to share the latest studies and develop new knowledge. Consisting of 17 chapters corresponding to the conference themes, the book analyses and discusses topics such as Circular Economy (CE) best practices, design strategies for circular buildings, circular materials and products, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, recovery and reuse of salvaged materials and products, case studies of current applications and trends, barriers against CE implementation in buildings, efficient waste and circular resource management, circular lifecycle management and decision making, stakeholders relationships, CE supporting policies and barriers, circular business models, criteria, KPIs and assessment models for circular buildings, CE criteria in sustainability frameworks, digitalization and BIM for enhanced circularity of buildings and building materials, and standardization of CE definitions in buildings.
► Different definition for Net ZEB are possible in different countries. ► A consistent definition framework is presented to set Net ZEB definitions. ► The interaction between buildings and grids is ...addressed. ► The definition framework aims at supporting legislations to achieve political targets.
The term Net ZEB, Net Zero Energy Building, indicates a building connected to the energy grids. It is recognized that the sole satisfaction of an annual balance is not sufficient to fully characterize Net ZEBs and the interaction between buildings and energy grids need to be addressed. It is also recognized that different definitions are possible, in accordance with a country's political targets and specific conditions. This paper presents a consistent framework for setting Net ZEB definitions. Evaluation of the criteria in the definition framework and selection of the related options becomes a methodology to set Net ZEB definitions in a systematic way. The balance concept is central in the definition framework and two major types of balance are identified, namely the import/export balance and the load/generation balance. As compromise between the two a simplified monthly net balance is also described. Concerning the temporal energy match, two major characteristics are described to reflect a Net ZEB's ability to match its own load by on-site generation and to work beneficially with respect to the needs of the local grids. Possible indicators are presented and the concept of grid interaction flexibility is introduced as a desirable target in the building energy design.
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This excellent book highlights all aspects of the analysis and design of buildings subject to impact, explosion and fire. It is a definitive reference book and contains 10 chapters from a wide ...international prospective. Three-dimensional finite element and discrete element techniques are included. They are applied to buildings such as the World Trade Center (WTC Twin Towers) and the Federal Building in Oklahoma on the basis of the designers drawings, data and other information. Many small case studies are also included. The book has a comprehensive bibliography and a large appendix providing background analysis and computer subroutines of recently developed programs.
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