WorldWideScience

Sample records for sustainable building sourcebook

  1. Building integrated PV for commercial and institutional structures, a sourcebook for architects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eiffert, P.; Kiss, G.

    2000-02-14

    This sourcebook on building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is intended for architects and designers interested in learning more about today's sustainable solar buildings. The booklet includes 16 design briefs describing actual structures; they illustrate how electricity-generating BIPV products (such as special roofing systems, vertical-wall systems, skylights, and awnings, all of which contain PV cells, modules, and films) can be integrated successfully into many different kinds of buildings. It also contains basic information about BIPV technologies, an overview of US product development activities and development programs, descriptions of major software design tools, and a bibliography.

  2. Real goods solar living sourcebook your complete guide to living beyond the grid with renewable energy technologies and sustainable living

    CERN Document Server

    Schaeffer, John

    2014-01-01

    What book would you want if you were stranded on a desert island? Widely regarded as the ""bible"" of off-grid living, Real Goods Solar Living Source Book might be your best choice. With over six hundred thousand copies in print worldwide, it is the most comprehensive resource available for anyone interested in lessening their environmental footprint or increasing their energy independence. The Solar Living Sourcebook, Fourteenth Edition is the ultimate guide to renewable energy, sustainable living, natural and green building, off-grid living, and alternative transporta

  3. Energy data sourcebook for the US residential sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wenzel, T.P.; Koomey, J.G.; Sanchez, M. [and others

    1997-09-01

    Analysts assessing policies and programs to improve energy efficiency in the residential sector require disparate input data from a variety of sources. This sourcebook, which updates a previous report, compiles these input data into a single location. The data provided include information on end-use unit energy consumption (UEC) values of appliances and equipment efficiency; historical and current appliance and equipment market shares; appliances and equipment efficiency and sales trends; appliance and equipment efficiency standards; cost vs. efficiency data for appliances and equipment; product lifetime estimates; thermal shell characteristics of buildings; heating and cooling loads; shell measure cost data for new and retrofit buildings; baseline housing stocks; forecasts of housing starts; and forecasts of energy prices and other economic drivers. This report is the essential sourcebook for policy analysts interested in residential sector energy use. The report can be downloaded from the Web at http://enduse.lbl. gov/Projects/RED.html. Future updates to the report, errata, and related links, will also be posted at this address.

  4. Guidelines on Teacher Preparation: The Sourcebook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diskin, Lahna

    Students in the two-year English education program at Trenton State College are asked to develop sourcebooks that contain their original writings, as well as "found" pieces about teaching and learning. The sourcebooks encourage students' on-going exploration of their past school experiences, the reasons for their decision to become…

  5. BWR zinc addition Sourcebook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, Susan E.; Giannelli, Joseph F.; Jarvis, Alfred J.

    2014-01-01

    Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) have been injecting zinc into the primary coolant via the reactor feedwater system for over 25 years for the purpose of controlling primary system radiation fields. The BWR zinc injection process has evolved since the initial application at the Hope Creek Nuclear Station in 1986. Key transitions were from the original natural zinc oxide (NZO) to depleted zinc oxide (DZO), and from active zinc injection of a powdered zinc oxide slurry (pumped systems) to passive injection systems (zinc pellet beds). Zinc addition has continued through various chemistry regimes changes, from normal water chemistry (NWC) to hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) and HWC with noble metals (NobleChem™) for mitigation of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of reactor internals and primary system piping. While past reports published by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) document specific industry experience related to these topics, the Zinc Sourcebook was prepared to consolidate all of the experience gained over the past 25 years. The Zinc Sourcebook will benefit experienced BWR Chemistry, Operations, Radiation Protection and Engineering personnel as well as new people entering the nuclear power industry. While all North American BWRs implement feedwater zinc injection, a number of other BWRs do not inject zinc. This Sourcebook will also be a valuable resource to plants considering the benefits of zinc addition process implementation, and to gain insights on industry experience related to zinc process control and best practices. This paper presents some of the highlights from the Sourcebook. (author)

  6. Rehabilitation Engineering Sourcebook [and] Rehabilitation Engineering Sourcebook Supplement I.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Institute for Information Studies, Falls Church, VA.

    Intended for use by rehabilitation counselors and work supervisors, the sourcebook contains 173 problems and solutions provided by rehabilitation engineering. A section titled "Guidelines for Formulating Problem Statements" is intended to summarize the most effective ways for either disabled individuals or rehabilitation practitioners to…

  7. Improving Compressed Air System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2003-11-01

    NREL will produce this sourcebook for DOE's Industrial Technologies Office as part of a series of documents on industrial energy equipment. The sourcebook is a reference for industrial compressed air system users, outlining opportunities to improve system efficiency.

  8. Sourcebook on the greenhouse effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellis, E.; Devine, J.

    1990-01-01

    The Greenhouse Effect Sourcebook contains information for anyone interested in the environment and the present changes which are taking place. It can be used to trace organisations, technical literature or reports. Much of the information relates to the environment in general. The sourcebook contains:- A list of Greenhouse Effect Information useful sources of information under a variety of headings:-Abstracts and indexes, books, conferences, directories, journals, official publications, online databases, (produces and hosts) and organisations, -The Greenhouse Effect References contains over 250 abstracts and details of recently published material, on a variety of environmental subjects from acid rain and aerosols to weather forecasting and wildlife. There is an author index for the references and a keyword index. (author)

  9. Sustainable Building Operation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole

    2009-01-01

    of sustainable building operation and a survey amongst building administrators from the private and the social housing sector. Our results show that there are many good examples on sustainable building operation in Danish housing estates, where local building managers, residents etc. have gained impressive......Energy-savings in the existing building stock have becomes a main goal in national and international policies. Often focus is on building-renovations, whereas the potential of sustainable building operation to a large extent has been neglected. Nevertheless, international research as well...... as practical experiences from Danish housing estates indicates that there are large potentials for energy savings by focusing on the operation of the buildings. We suggest that in order to achieve sustainability in the existing housing, renovation and operations should be seen as integrated parts...

  10. Improving Steam System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry, Second Edition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2012-02-23

    This sourcebook is designed to provide steam system users with a reference that describes the basic steam system components, outlines opportunities for energy and performance improvements, and discusses the benefits of a systems approach in identifying and implementing these improvement opportunities. The sourcebook is divided into three main sections: steam system basics, performance improvement opportunities, and where to find help.

  11. Sustainable Buildings in Interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elle, Morten

    2007-01-01

    The first attempts to build sustainable buildings in Denmark were typically located on the countryside. The basic idea was to create buildings that were independent of the technical infrastructure. District heating has, however, been the dominating solution to heating in buildings in Denmark......, and the focus on sustainable building have gradually turned from special houses on the countryside to normally looking houses in the urban fabric, integrated in the technical infrastructure. Some new built urban areas in Denmark will, however, not have to be supplied with district heating – these developments...... are going to consist of passive houses. The first sustainable buildings were built by their users, and the user – building interaction still play a decisive role for the performance of the present sustainable buildings. The users have to understand how the building functions. Urban design is essential...

  12. Getting the Story on Aging: A Sourcebook on Gerontology for Journalists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oriol, William E.

    Intended for journalists, this sourcebook contains background information on aging and the problems of the aged. Arranged into two major parts, the sourcebook contains 10 chapters. The first part provides a summary of facts and ideas that should be known to reporters whose stories are related directly or indirectly to aging. Chapter 1 makes the…

  13. Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management - A Sourcebook Volume 3 : Doing Participatory Research and Development. Couverture du livre Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management : A.

  14. Building Better Buildings: Sustainable Building Activities in California Higher Education Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowell, Arnold; Eichel, Amanda; Alevantis, Leon; Lovegreen, Maureen

    2003-01-01

    This article outlines the activities and recommendations of California's sustainable building task force, discusses sustainable building activities in California's higher education systems, and highlights key issues that California is grappling with in its implementation of sustainable building practices. (EV)

  15. Measurement in Sustainable Building

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hale, Lara

    2018-01-01

    Measurement is a necessary aspect of planning and constructing buildings. However, recent attempts to integrate the social dimension of sustainable building into building design and specifications demand measurement of non-technical qualities, such as well-being. The Active House Alliance, in lieu...... and continued provision of sustainable buildings to market demand....

  16. Has social sustainability left the building?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Elle, Morten

    2012-01-01

    Sustainable buildings have often been niche products, but in recent years a new approach has emerged in Denmark aimed at mainstreaming and normalizing this mode of construction and seeking to attract ordinary Danes through market conditions. The aim is to present an alternative conceptualization...... of sustainable buildings to the ecocommunities’ vision and to involve traditional building firms in their design and development. From a theoretical perspective, the mainstreaming of sustainable buildings can be seen either as an example of ecological modernization or technological transition. The new...... conceptualization has implied a narrower approach to sustainability and a lack of social sustainability measures. While earlier paradigms of sustainable buildings emphasized themes such as community building, self-provisioning, local empowerment, and shared facilities, such objectives are largely absent in the new...

  17. Improving Fan System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2003-04-01

    This is one of a series of sourcebooks on motor-driven equipment produced by the Industrial Technologies Program. It provides a reference for industrial fan systems users, outlining opportunities to improve fan system performance.

  18. Improving Steam System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry, Second Edition (Book) (Revised)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2012-10-01

    Improving Steam System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry was developed for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), formerly the Industrial Technologies Program. AMO undertook this project as a series of sourcebook publications. Other topics in this series include: compressed air systems, pumping systems, fan systems, process heating and motor and drive systems. For more information about program resources, see AMO in the Where to Find Help section of this publication.

  19. Building sustainability

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mass Media

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available particu- lar social environment also being awarded. If a building can be used by the community after hours, it should be awarded extra points.” School sports facilities or meeting halls in corporate buildings, are some example. Multi-purpose use..., architect and senior researcher for the CSIR’s Built Environment Unit, the integra- tion of sustainability in building design cannot begin soon enough before it is too late. He says: “Unfortunately nothing is in place in South Africa. For a start...

  20. Sustainable building organisation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schmid, P.

    1998-01-01

    Sustainable Development and Sustainable Building is mainly a question of (human) environmentally-conscious Organisation and Management Criteria are needed in order to capture the best practices in the field. Therefore we developed modells and methods, which help to choose the most adequate

  1. European immigration a sourcebook

    CERN Document Server

    Triandafyllidou, Anna

    2016-01-01

    Fully updated and containing chapters on the new EU member states and the attempt to form a common EU migration policy, this new edition of European Immigration: A Sourcebook provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in migration in all EU countries. With chapters following a common structure to facilitate direct international comparisons, it not only examines the internal affairs of each member state, but also explores both migratory trends within the EU itself and the implications for European immigration of wider global events, including the Arab Spring and the world financial crisis.

  2. KAJIAN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PADA SAVILL BUILDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oktavi Elok Hapsari

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Since 1980 the development of Indonesian architecture design start to leads into sustainable architectural design which as it was expected to became a solution regarding the environmental problems. The implementation of sustainable design in buildings can be applied from the buildings typologi, renewable resources on materials untill the reduction of the negative impact againts the buildings surrounding environment. As the main object for this study was 2006 The Woods Awardee, Savill Building. A literature study was conducted related to sustainable concept design and the implementation in Savill Buildings. Savill Building is a transparance walls buildings with steel and wooden as main materials on it complex curve gridshell structures. Located in a countoured site Savill Building show it assertive appearance. Due to the good landscape processing and design the Savill Building stood out and yet still shown continuity and harmony with the surrounding environment. The buildings not only has a eco-friendly public facility function, but also has the capability on attracting visitors. In the end this study is expected able expand the knowledges on sustainable design and become a design references in Indonesia architectural design.

  3. Improving Steam System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2002-06-01

    The sourcebook is a reference for industrial steam system users, outlining opportunities to improve steam system performance. This Sourcebook is designed to provide steam system users with a reference that describes the basic steam system components, outlines opportunities for energy and performance improvements, and discusses the benefits of a systems approach in identifying and implementing these improvement opportunities. The Sourcebook is divided into the following three main sections: Section 1: Steam System Basics--For users unfamiliar with the basics of steam systems, or for users seeking a refresher, a brief discussion of the terms, relationships, and important system design considerations is provided. Users already familiar with industrial steam system operation may want to skip this section. This section describes steam systems using four basic parts: generation, distribution, end use, and recovery. Section 2: Performance Improvement Opportunities--This section discusses important factors that should be considered when industrial facilities seek to improve steam system performance and to lower operating costs. This section also provides an overview of the finance considerations related to steam system improvements. Additionally, this section discusses several resources and tools developed by the U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE) BestPractices Steam Program to identify and assess steam system improvement opportunities. Section 3: Programs, Contacts, and Resources--This section provides a directory of associations and other organizations involved in the steam system marketplace. This section also provides a description of the BestPractices Steam Program, a directory of contacts, and a listing of available resources and tools, such as publications, software, training courses, and videos.

  4. Sustainable Building Life Cycle Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ginzburg Alexander

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The current building life cycle management system in the Russian Federation is a family of discrete subsystems that exist independently for different building life cycle stages. In this situation building reliability and sustainable functioning are out of the question. The implementation of a united information model (BIM-model intended to describe building entire life cycle will allow to raise the sustainability, but this will happen only if goals and concerns of all participants of the project process are properly coordinated. An important figure of process sustainability is the organizational and technological reliability (OTR that describes the possibility of a system to reach a goal. In case of building life cycle design, the economical efficiency of a building can be considered as the goal. The required technical, ecological, organizational, and other parameters form a complex of constraints that determine the area of allowable values for building functioning. In its broad meaning, OTR may be understood as the probability of receiving an economical effect based on the value of organizational and economical reliability (OER.

  5. Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    It is crucial, for example, that local stakeholders provide input to the process. Participatory research and ... Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management - A Sourcebook Volume 2: Enabling Participatory Research and Development. Book cover Participatory ...

  6. Improving Motor and Drive System Performance – A Sourcebook for Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2014-02-01

    This sourcebook outlines opportunities to improve motor and drive systems performance. The sourcebook is divided into four main sections: (1) Motor and Drive System Basics: Summarizes important terms, relationships, and system design considerations relating to motor and drive systems. (2) Performance Opportunity Road Map: Details the key components of well-functioning motor and drive systems and opportunities for energy performance opportunities. (3) Motor System Economics: Offers recommendations on how to propose improvement projects based on corporate priorities, efficiency gains, and financial payback periods. (4) Where to Find Help: Provides a directory of organizations associated with motors and drives, as well as resources for additional information, tools, software, videos, and training opportunities.

  7. Practicas optimas para la prevencion de la violencia juvenil: Libro de referencia para la accion comunitaria (Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Timothy N., Comp.; Craft, Carole A., Comp.; Dahlberg, Linda L., Comp.; Lynch, Barbara S., Comp.; Baer, Katie, Comp.

    The Spanish-language version of this best practices sourcebook builds on a 1993 publication, "The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action." It offers insight into tested strategies to prevent violence by children and adolescents. It was developed with input from people working to prevent youth violence and people…

  8. Lighting market sourcebook for the US

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vorsatz, D.; Shown, L.; Koomey, J.; Moezzi, M.; Denver, A.; Atkinson, B.

    1997-12-01

    Throughout the United States, in every sector and building type, lighting is a significant electrical end-use. Based on the many and varied studies of lighting technologies, and experience with programs that promote lighting energy-efficiency, there is a significant amount of cost-effective energy savings to be achieved in the lighting end use. Because of such potential savings, and because consumers most often do not adopt cost-effective lighting technologies on their own, programs and policies are needed to promote their adoption. Characteristics of lighting energy use, as well as the attributes of the lighting marketplace, can significantly affect the national pattern of lighting equipment choice and ownership. Consequently, policy makers who wish to promote energy-efficient lighting technologies and practices must understand the lighting technologies that people use, the ways in which they use them, and marketplace characteristics such as key actors, product mix and availability, price spectrum, and product distribution channels. The purpose of this report is to provide policy-makers with a sourcebook that addresses patterns of lighting energy use as well as data characterizing the marketplace in which lighting technologies are distributed, promoted, and sold.

  9. Healthcare Building Sustainability Assessment tool - Sustainable Effective Design criteria in the Portuguese context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, Maria de Fátima; Mateus, Ricardo; Bragança, Luís

    2017-01-01

    Tools and methods to improve current practices and quality in the healthcare building sector are necessary to support decision-making at different building life cycle phases. Furthermore, Healthcare Building Sustainability Assessment (HBSA) Methods are based on criteria organised into different levels, such as categories and indicators. These criteria highlight aspects of significant importance when designing and operating a sustainable healthcare building. To bring more objectivity to the sustainability assessments, the standardisation bodies (CEN and ISO) proposed core indicators that should be used in the evaluation of the environmental, societal and economic performances of buildings. Nevertheless, relying on state of the art analysis, it is possible to conclude that there are aspects of major importance for the operation of healthcare buildings that are not considered in the HBSA methods. Thus, the aim of this paper is to discuss the context of sustainability assessment methods in the field of healthcare buildings and to present a proposal for the incorporation of Sustainable-Effective Design (SED) criteria in a new HBSA method. The used research method is innovative since in the development of the list of sustainability criteria it considers the opinion of main healthcare buildings' stakeholders, the existing healthcare assessment methods and the ISO and CEN standardisation works in the field of the methods to assess the sustainability of construction works. As a result, the proposed method is composed of fifty-two sustainability indicators that cover the different dimensions of the sustainability concept to support decision making during the design of a new or retrofitted healthcare building in urban areas. - Highlights: •A new system to assess the sustainability of healthcare buildings is presented. •We propose a method to develop the list of sustainability indicators for hospitals. •We propose a new concept – Sustainable-Effective Design (SED

  10. Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tommerup, Henrik M.; Elle, Morten

    The scientific community agrees that: all countries must drastically and rapidly reduce their CO2 emissions and that energy efficient houses play a decisive role in this. The general attitude at the workshop on Sustainable Buildings was that we face large and serious climate change problems...

  11. James Lee Byars 1/2 an autobiography, sourcebook

    CERN Document Server

    Byars, James Lee; Eleey, Peter

    2014-01-01

    "I see my autobiography as an arbitrary segment of so many pages of time, of things that I have paid attention to at this point in my life," wrote James Lee Byars (1932-1997) in 1969. He was then 37, about half the average male lifespan at the time, and accordingly thought it appropriate to write his "1/2 autobiography." Byars' art ranged from highly refined objects to extremely minimal performance and events, and books, ephemera and correspondence that he distributed widely among friends and colleagues. Today, more than 15 years after his death, assessments of his art must negotiate Byars' performance of his charismatic self in his life and art. For his first major posthumous survey in the US, exhibition curators Magalí Arriola and Peter Eleey decided to produce a catalogue in two "halves," playing on his "1/2 autobiography": a catalogue of the exhibition itself, including new scholarship, and a sourcebook of primary documents. 1/2 an Autobiography, Sourcebook constitutes the latter volume--a reference guid...

  12. Assessing sustainability of building materials in developing countries: the sustainable building materials index (SBMI)

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Gibberd, Jeremy T

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available performance. This paper reviews a selection of sustainability assessment and reporting methodologies in order understand the applicability of existing systems as a means of measuring sustainability of building materials in developing countries. The review...

  13. Capacity building for sustainable energy development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogner, Hans-Holger

    2006-01-01

    Capacity Building for Sustainable Energy Development - Mission: To build capacity in Member States (MS) for comprehensive energy system, economic and environmental analyses to assist in: - making informed policy decisions for sustainable energy development; - assessing the role of nuclear power; - understanding environmental and climate change issues related to energy production and use

  14. Business Management in Sustainable Buildings: Ankara-Turkey Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutay Karaca, Neşet; Burcu Gültekin, Arzuhan

    2017-10-01

    The concept of the sustainability is described as efficiently and effectively consuming of exhaustible and recyclable sources of the world. A sustainable building implements sustainability criteria in its life cycle, and business management is the process by which an organization uses its resources in the most efficient way to reach its goal. From the beginning, sustainable building proves their differences from the conventional buildings. Sustainable buildings are resource-efficient and environmentally responsible structures in terms of energy consumption, construction principles, siting, renovation and maintenance throughout its life cycle while conventional buildings are more traditional in these matters. The differences are observable especially in costs and expenditures. It is possible and feasible to compare and contrast the design, construction and management costs of both types of structures. Thence, contributions of sustainable buildings are priced favourably in terms of ecological and sociological aspects. In this context, a prospective projection can be made considering the extra costs of sustainable structures, as well as the consumption profits due to the use of less energy than conventional construction. Considering this, it is possible to project consumption savings in long term. By calculating a forward-looking net cash flow projection, it can be forecasted how much time it will take to cover the extra cost. When making decisions, investors always contemplate maximum profitability. Within the scope of this study, costs of sustainable and conventional buildings will be compared and contrasted through precedence of a sustainable building certificated and non-certificated building. It will be analysed in which time period the initial cost difference between them will be compensated totally and partially. Furthermore, an efficiency analyses will be done in the scope of the necessities and expenses of these businesses.

  15. Radical Sustainable Innovation of office buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Christian; Berker, Thomas; Koch-Ørvad, Nina

    2017-01-01

    by high degrees of newness in the entire life cycle. RSI should offer significant enhancements of known benefits, entirely new benefits, or substantial cost reductions, leading to the transformation of existing markets, the creation of sustainable growth, and global sustainability. Thus, if buildings were....../could be radically new. How to evaluate radicality is a major challenge. It is tentatively proposed, to use standards for sustainable office buildings. Standards are developed to accelerate the sustainable development but has to some extent come to constrain possibilities of radical innovation. As the criteria...... of newness is incorporated in standards, going beyond them, could be viewed as radical. Empirically a selection of international cases of office buildings with very high scores of BREEAM, LEED and DGNB are examined. Six selected cases were analysed more in detail, one of them, Geelens...

  16. The Development of a Tool for Sustainable Building Design:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tine Ring Hansen, Hanne; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann

    2009-01-01

    for sustainable buildings, as well as, an analysis of the relationship between the different approaches (e.g. low-energy, environmental, green building, solar architecture, bio-climatic architecture etc.) to sustainable building design and these indicators. The paper furthermore discusses how sustainable......The understanding of sustainable building has changed over time along with the architectural interpretation of sustainability. The paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the indicators found in different internationally acclaimed and Danish certification schemes and standards...... architecture will gain more focus in the coming years, thus, establishing the need for the development of a new tool and methodology, The paper furthermore describes the background and considerations involved in the development of a design support tool for sustainable building design. A tool which considers...

  17. Sustainability in Energy and Buildings : Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference in Sustainability in Energy and Buildings

    CERN Document Server

    Namaane, Aziz; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi

    2012-01-01

    Welcome to the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB’11, held in Marseilles in France, organised by the Laboratoire des Sciences del'Information et des Systèmes (LSIS) in Marseille, France in partnership with KES International.   SEB'11 formed a welcome opportunity for researchers in subjects related to sustainability, renewable energy technology, and applications in the built environment to mix with other scientists, industrialists and stakeholders in the field.   The conference featured presentations on a range of renewable energy and sustainability related topics. In addition the conference explored two innovative themes: - the application of intelligent sensing, control, optimisation and modelling techniques to sustainability and - the technology of sustainable buildings.  These two themes combine synergetically to address issues relating to The Intelligent Building.   SEB’11 attracted a significant number of submissions from around the w...

  18. Ecological modernization of sustainable buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

    2008-01-01

    This article will examine how the contemporary development of sustainable buildings has been influenced by the concept of ecological modernisation. Ecological modernisation is a policy concept describing how environmental considerations are increasingly being integrated into modern society...... driven by enthusiasts and grassroots to being a more widespread, generally obtainable and integrated product. We will discuss to what degree this can be understood within the ideas of ecological modernisation, and then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this development. Based on the concepts...... of governance, standardisation and visibility, the conclusion is that in many ways ecological modernisation has penetrated in Danish sustainable buildings and has contributed to a positive development. However, there are aspects of sustainable consumption that this development does not relate to, including...

  19. Workshops in Dutch sustainable building design practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Quanjel, E.M.C.J.; Borsboom, W.A.

    2009-01-01

    Within the present context of the Dutch Sustainable Building Practice it is hard for the different involved building design disciplines to give a good answer to sustainability. Especially this is the case for the application solar energy either in passive or active form. As traditional methods did

  20. Integrated sustainable urban infrastructures in building projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Quitzau, Maj-Britt; Elle, Morten

    2007-01-01

    Current strategies in urban planning and development merely promote standardized building solutions, while failing to prioritize innovative approaches of integration between building projects and sustainable urban infrastructures. As a result of this, urban infrastructures – the urban veins...... – are outdated from a sustainability perspective. This paper looks into more holistic ways of approaching building projects and discuss whether this provide a basis for an increased integration of urban infrastructures within building projects. In our study, we especially emphasise how conventional ways...... of approaching building projects are influenced by lock-in of existing infrastructural systems and compare this with two examples of more holistic ways of approaching building projects, developed by two architecture firms. The paper points out that such holistic perspective in building projects provide...

  1. Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, Suzanne L., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    Middle school general music may be a student's last encounter with school music. A practical book with accessible pedagogical resources on middle school general music is needed for methods courses and music practitioners' use. The book "Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music" presents numerous ways to engage…

  2. Sustainability in the existing building stock

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elle, Morten; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Hoffmann, Birgitte

    2005-01-01

    , QRWfacilities management’s most important contribution to sustainable development in the built environment. Space management is an essential tool in facilities management – and it could be considered a powerful tool in sustainable development; remembering that the building not being built is perhaps the most......This paper explores the role of Facilities Management in the relation to sustainable development in the existing building stock. Facilities management is a concept still developing as the management of buildings are becoming more and more professional. Many recognize today that facilities...... management is a concept relevant to others than large companies. Managing the flows of energy and other resources is a part of facilities management, and an increased professionalism could lead to the reduction of the use of energy and water and the generation of waste and wastewater. This is, however...

  3. Passive low energy cooling of buildings

    CERN Document Server

    Givoni, Baruch

    1994-01-01

    A practical sourcebook for building designers, providing comprehensive discussion of the impact of basic architectural choices on cooling efficiency, including the layout and orientation of the structure, window size and shading, exterior color, and even the use of plantings around the site. All major varieties of passive cooling systems are presented, with extensive analysis of performance in different types of buildings and in different climates: ventilation; radiant cooling; evaporative cooling; soil cooling; and cooling of outdoor spaces.

  4. 4th international conference in sustainability in energy and buildings

    CERN Document Server

    Höjer, Mattias; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi

    2013-01-01

    This volume contains the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB12, held in Stockholm, Sweden, and is organised by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden in partnership with KES International. The International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings focuses on a broad range of topics relating to sustainability in buildings but also encompassing energy sustainability more widely. Following the success of earlier events in the series, the 2012 conference includes the themes Sustainability, Energy, and Buildings and Information and Communication Technology, ICT. The SEB’12 proceedings includes invited participation and paper submissions across a broad range of renewable energy and sustainability-related topics relevant to the main theme of Sustainability in Energy and Buildings. Applicable areas include technology for renewable energy and sustainability in the built environment, optimisation and modeling techniques, informati...

  5. Sustainability in energy and buildings. Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M' Sirdi, Nacer; Namaane, Aziz [LSIS Laboratory of Systems and Information Sciences, Marseilles (France); Howlett, Robert J. [KES International, Shoreham-by-Sea (United Kingdom); Jain, Lakhmi C. (eds.) [South Australia Univ., Adelaide, SA (Australia). School of Electrical and Information Engineering

    2012-07-01

    Welcome to the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB'11, held in Marseilles in France, organised by the Laboratoire des Sciences del'Information et des Systemes (LSIS) in Marseille, France in partnership with KES International. SEB'11 formed a welcome opportunity for researchers in subjects related to sustainability, renewable energy technology, and applications in the built environment to mix with other scientists, industrialists and stakeholders in the field. The conference featured presentations on a range of renewable energy and sustainability related topics. In addition the conference explored two innovative themes: - the application of intelligent sensing, control, optimisation and modelling techniques to sustainability and - the technology of sustainable buildings. These two themes combine synergetically to address issues relating to The Intelligent Building. SEB'11 attracted a significant number of submissions from around the world. These were subjected to a two-stage blind peer-review process. With the objective of producing a high-quality conference, only the best 50 or so of these were selected for presentation at the conference and publication in the proceedings. It is hoped that you will find this volume an interesting, informative and useful resource for your research.

  6. Towards a Tectonic Sustainable Building Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech-Danielsen, Claus

    and environmental problems? The objective of the project is to analyse and develop the tectonic practice based on case studies, in relation to: • Cultural anchoring and identity creation • Building culture and creative processes • Sustainability, lifecycle and resource management The research project is divided...... into a main project and various subprojects, respectively, two levels that mutually feed each other.The main project, which constitutes the general level, seeks to identify a coherent strategy towards a new tectonically sustainable building culture.The subprojects look at partial issues and go into specific......Can a tectonic building practice be strengthened through new creation processes, where resources are used more purposefully, deliberately and systematically? Which new measures are necessary if we are to develop a strong tectonic building practice with due consideration for increasing climate...

  7. Building Trust-Based Sustainable Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-05

    entities to build sustainable networks with limited resources or misbehaving entities by learning from the lessons in the social sciences. We discuss...their individuality); and ■ Misbehaving nodes in terms of environmental, economic, and social perspectives. The sustainable network concerns...equitable access to particular services which are otherwise abused by misbehaving or malicious users. Such approaches provide a fair and

  8. Perencanaan Dengan Konsep Sustainable Building

    OpenAIRE

    Putra, Yulesta

    2004-01-01

    Di beberapa Negara maju pada tahun 2000 telah mengeluarkan peraturan tentang penerapan konsep sustainable building yang merupakan bagian dari program management lingkungan kota, oleh Yulesta Putra 04015309

  9. Sustainable building design in practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsgaard, Camilla; Bejder, Anne Kirkegaard

    2017-01-01

    Sustainability certification schemes experience growing popularity. Denmark got its own sustainability certification scheme based on the German DGNB certification scheme. Previous work based on four case studies – DGNB certified healthcare centres, suggests further research on how to improve...... and support the iterative design process in the initial design phases. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the design process on a more common level experienced by Danish DGNB consultants when designing sustainable buildings using the Danish DGNB certification scheme and thereby possibly...

  10. Sustainable building; Duurzaam bouwen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendriks, Ch.F. [ed.] [Interfacultair Onderzoek Centrum ' De Ecologische Stad' DIOC, Delft (Netherlands)

    1999-07-01

    A complete overview is given of starting points and targets for the sustainable construction of buildings. The notion of sustainable indicates the necessity of managing specific flows: materials, energy, water and transport (traffic). Also, the monitoring and calculation of environmental effects must be clarified by the generally accepted method of life cycle analysis. This book is for the larger part the result of research carried out at the Interdepartmental Research Centre 'The Ecological City' at the Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands. refs.

  11. Green Richland: Building Sustainable Local and World Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Carole N.

    2008-01-01

    This article shares the college's experiences and the lessons learned in the creation of the GREENRichland Program and the other approaches to building sustainability. These programs directly support the college's vision to be the best place to learn, teach, and build sustainable local and world community. This discussion features details…

  12. A broader consideration of human factor to enhance sustainable building design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attaianese, Erminia

    2012-01-01

    The link between ergonomic/human factor and sustainability seems to be clearly evidenced mainly in relation to social dimension of sustainability, in order to contribute to assure corporate social responsibility and global value creation. But the will to establish an equilibrated connection among used resources in human activities, supported by the sustainability perspective, evidences that the contribution of ergonomics/human factors can be effectively enlarged to other aspects, especially in relation to building design. In fact a sustainable building is meant to be a building that contributes, through its characteristics and attribute, to a sustainable development by assuring, in the same time, a decrease of resources use and environmental impact and an increase of health, safety and comfort of the occupants. The purpose of this paper is to analyze in a broader sense the contribution of ergonomic/human factor to design of sustainable building, focusing how ergonomics principles, methodology and techniques can improve building design, enhancing its sustainability performance during all phases of building lifecycle.

  13. Sustainable Building in Scandinavia: Directions of Innovations for Supporting the Transition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch-Ørvad, Nina; Thuesen, Christian

    2016-01-01

    Buildings are essential for securing a sustainable society, and the Scandinavian building sector is viewed upon globally as the one to lead the way. This paper investigates in which directions sustainable building in Scandinavia is likely to move and outlines a number of areas where sustainable...... in novations are necessary for supporting this movement. The focus on innovations as essential support for the sustainable transition of the building sector derives from the Multi-Level Perspective, which has been applied to this study as a framework for understanding sustainable transitions of socio...

  14. Y-12 Sustainable Design Principles for Building Design and Construction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jackson, J. G.

    2008-11-01

    B&W Y-12 is committed to modernizing the Y-12 complex to meet future needs with a sustainable and responsive infrastructure and to integrating sustainability principles and practices into Y-12 work (Y72-001, B&W Y-12 Environmental, Safety and Health Policy). This commitment to sustainability and specifically sustainable design of buildings is also incorporated into Presidential Executive Orders (EO), DOE Orders (DOE O), and goals. Sustainable building design is an approach to design, construct, and operate facilities in an efficient and environmentally sound manner that will produce a healthful, resource-efficient and productive working environment that is inherently protective of the environment. The DOE has established the following 5 Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable Building (HPSB), and has issued directives that require Y-12 to incorporate the principles and a number of supporting specific practices and techniques into building design, construction and renovation projects: (1) Employ Integrated Design Principles; (2) Optimize Energy Performance; (3) Protect and Conserve Water; (4) Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality; and (5) Reduce Environmental Impact of Materials. The purpose of this document is to present the required sustainable building principles, practices and techniques, summarize the key drivers for incorporating them into Y-12 projects, and present additional recommendations and resources that can be used to support sustainable buildings to enhance the environmental and economic performance of the Y-12 Complex.

  15. Sustainable materials for low carbon buildings

    OpenAIRE

    B.V. Venkatarama Reddy

    2009-01-01

    This paper focuses on certain issues pertaining to energy, carbon emissions and sustainability of building construction with particular reference to the Indian construction industry. Use of sustainable natural materials in the past, related durability issues, and the implications of currently used energy-intensive materials on carbon emissions and sustainability are discussed. Some statistics on the Indian construction sector regarding materials produced in bulk quantities and the energy impl...

  16. Safe and Sustainable Tall Buildings - State of the Art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mendis P.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Tall buildings are becoming very popular around the world. Asia will have most of the tall buildings in this century. Both safety and sustainability aspects are important in planning and designing these buildings. The design and construction of tall buildings present many challenges for the design team, from engineers, architect through to the builder. Although structural systems could be developed and construction solutions could be found to design and construct very tall buildings in excess of 1 km (even 1 mile, other aspects such as fire and egress, long-term movements, environmental wind and perception of motion (including damping for dynamic effects, transportation (lifts issues, sustainability, durability and maintenance will govern and may even restrict the heights. Current practices and important issues related to design of safe and sustainable design of tall buildings are discussed in this paper.

  17. Sourcebook for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Projects

    OpenAIRE

    Pearson, Timothy; Walker, Sarah; Brown, Sandra

    2013-01-01

    This sourcebook is designed to be a guide for developing and implementing land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) projects for the BioCarbon Fund of the World Bank that meet the requirements for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. Only project types and carbon pools that are eligible for credit under the CDM during the first commitment period (2008-2012) ar...

  18. Building the Sustainable Library at Macquarie University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodie, Maxine

    2012-01-01

    This article explores a number of current issues and challenges in sustainability, both of and in academic libraries of the future, using as a case study the new library opened at Macquarie University, Sydney in 2011. Issues covered include sustainable design and operation of library buildings, sustainability in relation to library collections,…

  19. A preliminary study on the relevancy of sustainable building design ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This preliminary study aims to explore the relationship between sustainable building design paradigms and commercial property depreciation, to assist in the understanding of sustainable building design impact towards commercial building value and rental de employs the qualitative method and analyses valuers' current ...

  20. A survey of Danish earthen heritage for sustainable building

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eybye, Birgitte Tanderup; Vestergaard, Inge

    2017-01-01

    Earthen buildings were common in Denmark up until circa 1880, after which the number of such buildings declined. Today earthen buildings are considered as examples of sustainable architecture, nevertheless there are only few contemporary Danish earthen buildings. The first part of this paper...... to contribute to future sustainable building....... investigates heritage uses of earthen building with a view to exploring the factors that led to their decline. To achieve this, the paper will present a literature study and a case study. The second part of this paper comments on the extent to which the earthen heritage techniques have the potential...

  1. A review of interdependence of sustainable building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ju, Chuanjing; Ning, Yan; Pan, Wei

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT: Despite the worldwide promotion of the sustainable building (SB) approach, its associated interdependence has seldom been explored. This knowledge gap is significant given the paradigm shift of regarding SBs as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted interdependence. The aim of this paper is to examine the interdependence of SB through a literature review. The literature review was guided by a framework comprising three dimensions of SB systems, i.e., building performance, methodology and stakeholders, on their theoretical grounds ranged from reductionism to holism. In order to articulate the integration of the three dimensions, this paper examined zero carbon building as a specific case of SB. The findings contribute an innovative approach to examining the interdependence of SB, and should guide the development of strategies for managing the trade-offs in delivering SBs. - Highlights: • Performance scope of sustainable building triggers interdependence. • Material flow from cradle to cradle causes interdependence. • Interdependence occurs between the building and their context. • Interdependence exists in stakeholders' participation.

  2. Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities: Assistance from Grantees

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA awarded Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grants to four nonprofit organizations with extensive expertise in community sustainability. These organizations deliver technical assistance to communities.

  3. Intelligent Buildings: Key to Achieving Total Sustainability in the Built Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tulika Gadakari

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available ‘Are intelligent buildings a pragmatic approach towards achieving a sustainable built environment?’ is the research question that this review article aims to answer. It has been argued that there is a serious need for intelligent buildings to be evaluated against the parameters of total sustainability (environmental, economic and social so as to help the agenda of living in a technologically advanced, healthy and comfortable world. This paper reviews existing theoretical concepts of intelligence and sustainability in the built environment, through an exploration of various scientific literature and U.S Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design databases. A systematic qualitative review approach has been employed to select an appropriate definition of sustainable development and use it as a theoretical framework to assess the technological impact of intelligent buildings on the environmental, economic and social front. Subsequently five case study buildings from around the world, which exemplify the use of intelligent technologies to achieve sustainable gains were chosen and analyzed to further validate the literature findings. Outputs from the study highlight the various benefits of intelligent buildings, which include decrease in energy and water consumption, operational costs, as well as increase in productivity and investments. Additionally the analysis of the case studies revealed that the use of intelligent building technologies has contributed significantly towards a higher sustainability rating on the LEED rating scale. Moreover, the comparison of the attributes of intelligent buildings and sustainable practices in buildings, illustrates the fact that there is a considerable overlap between the two and intelligence can aid sustainability in the built environment. Thus the research suggests that green technologies and intelligence in combination may be a pragmatic approach towards the sustainability

  4. Prerequisites for Successful Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Building Renovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Per Anker; Johansen, Jakob Berg; Thuesen, Christian

    The purpose of this paper is to identify the prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships in relation to renovating buildings sustainably. Establishing strategic partnerships is in the paper seen as a potential way to make building renovation more sustainable in Denmark...... and analysis of strategic partnerships models as well as typical processes used in building renovation. Experiences from development of new strategic partnerships have particularly been found in the UK and Sweden. Based on two workshops with practitioners representing the whole value chain in the construction...... industry and analyses of two exemplary cases the paper suggests prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships for sustainable building renovation. The results show that strategic partnerships are collaborations set up between two or more organizations that remain independent...

  5. Tall-Building Projects Sustainability Indicator (TPSI: A New Design and Environmental Assessment Tool for Tall Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasim Altan

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the features of Tall-building Projects Sustainability Indicator (TPSI—a “Sustainability Rating System” that specializes in tall-building projects. The system comprises two components; the “Technical Manual” in the form of a booklet and the “Calculator” in the form of an Excel tool. It can be used as a “design tool” and/or as a “checklist” to compare and to improve the sustainable performance of tall-building design schemes. At the same time, the system can be used to evaluate the sustainability of existing tall-building projects. The first version of the TPSI rating system (TPSI 2012 Version was released as an online tool (GreenLight and thoroughly examined and validated by multiple parties.

  6. Educating our Children Together: A Sourcebook for Effective Family- School- Community Partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Susanne

    2003-01-01

    Because schools, communities, and families play interconnected roles in the crucial mission of educating children, they must find ways to work together as educational partners. Providing parents with information and resources to support their children's education is a cornerstone of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This sourcebook is based on…

  7. Sustainability-open : Why every building will be sustainable in the future

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coenders, J.L.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper the initiative “sustainability-open” will be introduced. The aim of the initiative is to take away one of the reasons why buildings and other objects in the built environment are often not designed in a sustainable manner: the availability of clear and insightful software to analyse

  8. Sustainability of NGO capacity building in southern Africa: successes and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphries, Debbie; Gomez, Ligia; Hartwig, Kari

    2011-01-01

    Despite an increase in organizational capacity building efforts by external organizations in low and middle income countries, the documentation of these efforts and their effects on health programs and systems remains limited. This paper reviews key frameworks for considering sustainability of capacity building and applies these frameworks to an evaluation of the sustainability of an AIDS non-governmental organization (NGO) capacity building initiative. From 2004-2007 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation's Secure the Future(TM) initiative in southern Africa funded a five country program, the NGO Training Institute (NGOTI), to build capacity of NGOs working to address HIV/AIDS. Lessons learned from this project include issues of ownership, the importance of integrating planning for sustainability within capacity-building projects, and the value of identifying primary capacity-building objectives in order to select sustainability strategies that are focused on maintaining program benefits. Sustainability for capacity building projects can be developed by discussing key issues early in the planning process with all primary stakeholders. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Guiding Principles for Sustainable Existing Buildings: Radiochemical Processing Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pope, Jason E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2013-11-11

    In 2006, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) signed the Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), along with 21 other agencies. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is exceeding this requirement and, currently, about 25 percent of its buildings are High Performance and Sustainable Buildings. The pages that follow document the Guiding Principles conformance effort for the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) at PNNL. The RPL effort is part of continued progress toward a building inventory that is 100 percent compliant with the Guiding Principles.

  10. Prerequisites for Successful Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Building Renovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Per Anker; Johansen, Jakob Berg; Thuesen, Christian

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to identify the prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships in relation to renovating buildings sustainably. Establishing strategic partnerships is in the paper seen as a potential way to make building renovation more sustainable in Denmark...... industry and analyses of two exemplary cases the paper suggests prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships for sustainable building renovation. The results show that strategic partnerships are collaborations set up between two or more organizations that remain independent...... particularly in terms of reducing energy consumption and use of resources and increase productivity. However, until now we have only had a limited number of such partnerships implemented and the few examples that do exist, mostly concern the construction of new buildings. The paper is based on an investigation...

  11. The quest for sustainability in existing buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Michaelsen, Lisbet; Jensen, Per Anker

    2014-01-01

    to sustainability at societal level. Due to lack of professional skills, decisions about operation and renovation of buildings are made every day in Denmark and beyond, without adequate knowledge about e.g. energy management and the potential ways of integrating sustainability (social, environmental and economic...

  12. Innovations in building regulation and control for advancing sustainability in buildings (I)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meacham, B.; Visscher, H.J.; Meijer, F.M.; Chan, C.; Chan, E.; Laubscher, J.; Neng Kwei Sung, J.; Dodds, B.; Serra, J.; Tenorio, J.A.; Echeverria, J.B.; Sanches-Ostiz, A.

    2014-01-01

    This session brings together policy-makers, government officials, researchers and others to present perspectives on how innovation in building regulation and control, such as performancebased approaches, are currently being used to advance sustainability concepts in buildings, and where and how we

  13. Categorizing Building certification systems according to the definition of sustainable building

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zimmermann, Regitze Kjær; Skjelmose, Ole; Guldager Jensen, Kasper

    2018-01-01

    The availability of sustainable (or green) building certifications schemes is constantly increasing and it is not always easy to understand how the schemes on the market differentiate from each other. The purpose of this study is to create a better dialog between client and consultant in relation...... are both of international, regional and local scale (Active House, BREEAM, DGNB, Green Star, HQE, LEED, Living Building Challenge, Miljöbyggnad, Nordic Ecolabel and WELL). The results show a large variation of the weight on the dimensions of social, environmental and economic sustainability within the 10...... the largest focus on criteria within the environmental dimension. Across the selected certifications this dimension account for an average of 51%. This indicates that certifications have “green” buildings as their main focus point. However, a certification such as WELL almost completely focuses on social...

  14. Reducing the operational energy demand in buildings using building information modeling tools and sustainability approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mojtaba Valinejad Shoubi

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available A sustainable building is constructed of materials that could decrease environmental impacts, such as energy usage, during the lifecycle of the building. Building Information Modeling (BIM has been identified as an effective tool for building performance analysis virtually in the design stage. The main aims of this study were to assess various combinations of materials using BIM and identify alternative, sustainable solutions to reduce operational energy consumption. The amount of energy consumed by a double story bungalow house in Johor, Malaysia, and assessments of alternative material configurations to determine the best energy performance were evaluated by using Revit Architecture 2012 and Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software to show which of the materials helped in reducing the operational energy use of the building to the greatest extent throughout its annual life cycle. At the end, some alternative, sustainable designs in terms of energy savings have been suggested.

  15. Improving Compressed Air System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry v3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ron Marshall, William Scales, Gary Shafer, Paul Shaw, Paul Sheaffer, Rick Stasyshan, H.P.

    2016-03-01

    This sourcebook is designed to provide compressed air system users with a reference that outlines opportunities for system performance improvements. It is not intended to be a comprehensive technical text on improving compressed air systems, but rather a document that makes compressed air system users aware of the performance improvement potential, details some of the significant opportunities, and directs users to additional sources of assistance.

  16. A review of interdependence of sustainable building

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ju, Chuanjing [Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Ning, Yan, E-mail: cqningyan@gmail.com [Department of Construction and Real Estate, Southeast University, 210096 (China); Pan, Wei [Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

    2016-01-15

    ABSTRACT: Despite the worldwide promotion of the sustainable building (SB) approach, its associated interdependence has seldom been explored. This knowledge gap is significant given the paradigm shift of regarding SBs as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted interdependence. The aim of this paper is to examine the interdependence of SB through a literature review. The literature review was guided by a framework comprising three dimensions of SB systems, i.e., building performance, methodology and stakeholders, on their theoretical grounds ranged from reductionism to holism. In order to articulate the integration of the three dimensions, this paper examined zero carbon building as a specific case of SB. The findings contribute an innovative approach to examining the interdependence of SB, and should guide the development of strategies for managing the trade-offs in delivering SBs. - Highlights: • Performance scope of sustainable building triggers interdependence. • Material flow from cradle to cradle causes interdependence. • Interdependence occurs between the building and their context. • Interdependence exists in stakeholders' participation.

  17. INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF BUILDINGS QUALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mária Kozlovská

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyse the assumptions for integrated assessment of buildings quality in the context of sustainable development principles. The sustainable (or “green” buildings are cost effective, environmentally friendly and conserving natural resources. The buildings are comfortable for the users, are also healthy and optimally integrated into socio-cultural environment; thereby have long maintained their high added value – for investors, owners as well as users.Design methodology/approach: The methodology of the paper consists in analyses of certification systems that assess buildings sustainability within wider environmental, economic and social relations. An effort to increase the quality of construction and to provide objectified assessment with measurable and comparable results has evoked the origin and development of the tools for buildings sustainability assessment. In the case study, there are analysed the approaches into assessment of one from few certified sustainable projects in Slovakia “EcoPoint Office Center Kosice”. The results are destined for potential investors perhaps even for present owners that have ambitions and responsibility for building sustainability principles performance when designing and using their properties.Findings: The results of the research imply identification of the key characteristics expressing the comprehensive quality of the building and are leading to specification of practical and social implications that are provided by the sustainability philosophy.Originality/value: The force of the paper is to mention the approaches into integrated assessment of construction quality in the context of sustainability principles and the importance of their more extensive implementation in Slovakia. The approaches into the sustainability principles performance as well as the real benefits of the sustainable building are declared through case study of the building EcoPoint Office

  18. Social indicators of sustainable building; Soziale Indikatoren des nachhaltigen Bauens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greiff, Rainer

    2012-06-15

    As a result of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (''Earth Summit'') the participating nations agreed upon principles of sus-tainable development and objectives for sustainable development - the so called ''Agenda 21'' - to be pursued by national sustainability strategies and be monitored by systems of appropriate relative indicators. The participants shared the awareness that ecological objectives aiming at the global preservation of the natural resources can be achieved only if sustainable economic and social developments are considered together. Unlike the ecological demands of protection of climate and resources, for which evidence can be provided by natural sciences and that can be substantiated by figures, a common under-standing of the social dimension of sustainability has not yet emerged. The same is true for the concept of ''sustainable building''. In the guideline ''Sustainable Building'' published by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing in 2001, essential instructions regarding the implementation of ob-jectives for ecological construction were compiled for use in practice. This guideline is now to be supplemented by objectives of social sustainability. As a basis for common understanding a definition of the social aspects of sustainable building will be brought forward, which is expected to be broadly acknowledged. Furthermore indicators for the social dimension of sustainability were to be developed so that the observance of socio-cultural aspects of sustainability may be operationalised for new construction as well as refurbishment.

  19. Comparison of Buildings\\' Thermal Loads against Building Orientations for Sustainable Housing in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arif Khan

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available As the sustainable settlements have been included as a vital end product of all planning exercises, the architectural layouts should be well integrated with the sun path charts and the orientations of windows. Appropriate orientations can offer thermally indoor conditions besides physical and psychological comfort in any settlement at lesser energy demand. This investigation uses a vast number of computer simulations to visualize and make better decisions about heating and cooling requirements of a building and facades as a function of window orientation in composite climatic condition of Lahore. This study in particular evaluates the solar load in residential buildings responsive to the objective of sustainable new housing leading to thoughtful integration of architecture. The orientation of the buildings could then be essentially integrated to the current architectural and urban design practices in order to optimize the relationship between the given site ant the orientations for sustainable developments.

  20. Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    This page provides and overview of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) which was voluntarily committed the Agency to follow the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.

  1. Environmental sustainability assessment of buildings in hot climates: the case of the UAE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    AboulNaga, Mohsen M.; Elsheshtawy, Yasser H.

    2001-01-01

    Sustainability has acquired great importance due to the negative impact of various developments on the environment. The rapid growth during the last decade has been accompanied by active construction which, in some instances, neglected the impact on the environment and human activities. The impact of developments on the traditional heritage has not been taken into consideration although the latter represents a rich resource for sustainable building practices. The study aims at examining these developments in the UAE using an assessment tool that measures the performance of buildings in terms of their sustainability. This study attempts to: (a) develop a comprehensive definition of sustainability to suit UAE needs; (b) classify sustainable building practices at international and regional levels; (c) assess building performance in the UAE; and (d) establish guidelines for future sustainable architecture. T-Sol software was used to predict the CO 2 emission level in selected buildings in the UAE. Results illustrate that average energy use/area in domestic buildings is high (213 kWh/m 2 ) and public buildings showed less sustainable measures in terms of energy features, energy performance and environmental features. Issues considered in the assessment of buildings such as energy use per square metre and CO 2 emission are alarming. Traditional buildings in the UAE were more sustainable than contemporary buildings, however. (Author)

  2. Sustainability challenges of residential reinforced - concrete panel buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markku J. Riihimäki

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Quite similar large-panel prefabrication technologies were used for residential buildings in East-Europe and some countries in Northern-Europe, e.g. Finland. Even if technologically similar, the fate of the building stocks is different in the two regions, with buildings functioning sustainably in Finland. Hence, one could adapt the maintenance and renovation experiences to the building stock in other countries, creating opportunities for communities and business. The paper presents technological, economical, and institutional/policy aspects in the two environments, and discusses them in the larger framework of European sustainability targets. For major renovation, as targeted in the paper, methods of change management should be applied, entailing thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation and above all, consultation/involvement of the people affected. If the presented interventions would be used in a systematic and planned way, improvements can be achieved for social sustainability targets like e.g. adaptability and visual comfort, while maintaining the safety and security. Finally, the limitations of the approach in light of the institutional setting and ownership structure are discussed, highlighting how different ownership models are favoring or hindering major retrofit interventions. The paper offers ways on strengthening the role of key stakeholders to support major renovation interventions on the panel building stock.

  3. Apollo The Definitive Sourcebook

    CERN Document Server

    Orloff, Richard W

    2006-01-01

    On 25 May 1961, John F Kennedy announced the goal of landing an American man on the Moon by the end of the decade. This challenge forced NASA to review the planned lunar landing of a three-man spaceship named Apollo in the mid-1970s. In 1962, it was decided that a specialized vehicle would accompany the main spacecraft, to make the lunar landing while the mothership remained in lunar orbit. To send these vehicles to the Moon would require the development of an enormous rocket. Development was protracted, but in December 1968 Apollo 8 was launched on a pioneering mission to perform an initial reconnaissance in lunar orbit. When Apollo 17 lifted off from the Moon in December 1972, the program was concluded. Now, at long last, there is a real prospect of a resumption of human exploration of the Moon. This book provides an overview of the origins of the Apollo program and descriptions of the ground facilities, launch vehicles and spacecraft that will serve as an invaluable single-volume sourcebook for space enthu...

  4. Modeling a Decision Support Tool for Buildable and Sustainable Building Envelope Designs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natee Singhaputtangkul

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability and buildability requirements in building envelope design have significantly gained more importance nowadays, yet there is a lack of an appropriate decision support system (DSS that can help a building design team to incorporate these requirements and manage their tradeoffs at once. The main objective of this study is to build such a tool to facilitate a building design team to take into account sustainability and buildability criteria for assessment of building envelopes of high-rise residential buildings in Singapore. Literature reviews were conducted to investigate a comprehensive set of the sustainability and buildability criteria. This also included development of the tool using a Quality Functional Deployment (QFD approach combined with fuzzy set theory. A building design team was engaged to test the tool with the aim to evaluate usefulness of the tool in managing the tradeoffs among the sustainability and buildability criteria. The results from a qualitative data analysis suggested that the tool allowed the design team to effectively find a balance between the tradeoffs among the criteria when assessing multiple building envelope design alternatives. Main contributions of using this tool are achievement of a more efficient assessment of the building envelopes and more sustainable and buildable building envelope design.

  5. Energy sustainable development through energy efficient heating devices and buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bojic, M.

    2006-01-01

    Energy devices and buildings are sustainable if, when they operate, they use sustainable (renewable and refuse) energy and generate nega-energy. This paper covers three research examples of this type of sustainability: (1) use of air-to-earth heat exchangers, (2) computer control of heating and cooling of the building (via heat pumps and heat-recovery devices), and (3) design control of energy consumption in a house. (author)

  6. Building products for sustainable buildings; Bauprodukte fuer nachhaltige Gebaeude

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blumberg, Martin; Urbanek, Anja [brands und values GmbH, Bremen (Germany)

    2013-04-15

    In the light of the energy efficiency, sustainability and the increasing distribution of buildings certifications environmental product declarations have grown in significance. The environmental product declaration program for building products was organized by the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. (Koenigswinter, Federal Republic of Germany). Beside the definition of the product group specific requirements and certifications as well as an independent review process of the completed environmental product declarations, the Advisory Council guarantees that the program rules of the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. continue to develop in conformity to international standards.

  7. Beyond the buildingcentric approach: A vision for an integrated evaluation of sustainable buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conte, Emilia; Monno, Valeria

    2012-01-01

    The available sustainable building evaluation systems have produced a new environmental design paradigm. However, there is an increasing need to overcome the buildingcentric approach of these systems, in order to further exploit their innovate potential for sustainable building practices. The paper takes this challenge by developing a cross-scale evaluation approach focusing on the reliability of sustainable building design solutions for the context in which the building is situated. An integrated building–urban evaluation model is proposed based on the urban matrix, which is a conceptualisation of the built environment as a social–ecological system. The model aims at evaluating the sustainability of a building considering it as an active entity contributing to the resilience of the urban matrix. Few holistic performance indicators are used for evaluating such contribution, so expressing the building reliability. The discussion on the efficacy of the model shows that it works as a heuristic tool, supporting the acquisition of a better insight into the complexity which characterises the relationships between the building and the built environment sustainability. Shading new lights on the meaning of sustainable buildings, the model can play a positive role in innovating sustainable building design practices, thus complementing current evaluation systems. - Highlights: ► We model an integrated building–urban evaluation approach. ► The urban matrix represents the social–ecological functioning of the urban context. ► We introduce the concept of reliability to evaluate sustainable buildings. ► Holistic indicators express the building reliability. ► The evaluation model works as heuristic tool and complements other tools.

  8. Infusing Sustainability Across Disciplines to Build Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruckner, M. Z.; O'Connell, K.; McDaris, J. R.; Kirk, K. B.; Larsen, K.; Kent, M.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Blockstein, D.; Mogk, D. W.; Taber, J.

    2014-12-01

    Establishing relevance and effective communication are key mechanisms for building student and community engagement in a topic and can be used to promote the importance of working across disciplines to solve problems. Sustainability, including the impacts of and responses to climate change, is an inherently interdisciplinary issue and can be infused across courses and curricula in a variety of ways. Key topics such as climate change, hazards, and food, water, and energy production and sustainability are relevant to a wide audience and can be used to build student engagement. Using real-world examples, service learning, and focusing on the local environment may further boost engagement by establishing relevance between sustainability issues and students' lives. Communication plays a key role in the exchange of information across disciplines and allows for a more holistic approach to tackling the complex climate and sustainability issues our society faces. It has the power to bridge gaps, break down disciplinary silos, and build connections among diverse audiences with a wide range of expertise, including scientists, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. It also aids in planning and preparation for, response to, and mitigation of issues related to sustainability, including the impacts of climate change, to lessen the detrimental effects of unavoidable events such as sea level rise and extreme weather events. Several workshops from the InTeGrate and On the Cutting Edge projects brought together educators and practitioners from a range of disciplines including geoscience, engineering, social science, and more to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines. They supported networking, community-building, and sharing of best practices for preparing our students for a sustainable future, both in and out of the workplace, and across disciplines. Interdisciplinary teams are also working together to author curricular materials that highlight

  9. Sustainable construction building performance simulation and asset and maintenance management

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    This book presents a collection of recent research works that highlight best practice solutions, case studies and practical advice on the implementation of sustainable construction techniques. It includes a set of new developments in the field of building performance simulation, building sustainability assessment, sustainable management, asset and maintenance management and service-life prediction. Accordingly, the book will appeal to a broad readership of professionals, scientists, students, practitioners, lecturers and other interested parties.

  10. The Lanchester Library — Building a Sustainable Library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pat Noon

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available The award winning Lanchester Library is the largest deep plan naturally ventilated building in Europe and has consistently delivered significant energy savings compared to air conditioned buildings. The article provides some background to the design and explains the sustainable features of the building as well as describing how flexibility was built into the building to enable the library service to evolve in response to changing user needs.

  11. Multicultural Women's Sourcebook. Materials Guide for Use in Women's Studies and Bilingual/Multicultural Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotera, Martha P., Comp.; Cunningham, Nella, Ed.

    This sourcebook for persons involved with bilingual education, multicultural education, and womens' studies programs contains over 2000 entries for materials on women of various cultures in the United States. Materials are organized as much as possible by specific racial or ethnic groups. The many publications that present information on more than…

  12. Do green building assessment criteria meet sustainability imperatives: a critical analysis

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Van Wyk, Llewellyn V

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to determine whether green building assessment criteria meet the imperatives of sustainable development. The paper finds that green building assessment criteria fail to meet the sustainable development imperatives...

  13. Starting a local conservation and passive solar retrofit program: an energy planning sourcebook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barber, V; Mathews, R

    1982-02-01

    A city planner or a neighborhood activist may wish to initiate a local conservation and passive solar retrofit program but may not have previous experience in doing so. This sourcebook is designed to assist interested individuals with their energy planning efforts, from determining retrofit potential, to financing and implementing the program. An approach or methodology is provided which can be applied to determine retrofit potential in single-family residences, mobile homes, multifamily residences, and nonresidential buildings. Case studies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are given as examples. Guidelines are provided for evaluating the economic benefits of a retrofit program through benefit-cost analysis and economic base studies at the city and neighborhood levels. Also included are approaches to community outreach, detailing how to get started, how to gain local support, and examples of successful programs throughout the US. The need for financing, the development of a local strategy, public and private financing techniques, and community energy service organizations are examined. In addition to the Albuquerque case studies, a brief technology characterization, heat-loss calculations, economic tools, and a list of resources are appended.

  14. Decision-making in the Pre-design Stage of Sustainable Building Renovation Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gade, Anne Nørkjær; Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Larsen, Tine Steen

    2017-01-01

    There is a great potential in renovating our existing building stock, in terms of improving environmental, economic and social qualities. Meeting the increasing performance requirements for sustainable construction entails an increasing level of complexity in the design process of both new...... buildings and renovation projects. Decision support tools are one solution that can help the building owner manage this complexity. This study investigates the current decision-making processes among Danish professional building owners, in order to propose a conceptual framework for future decision support...... tools for sustainable renovation. Design Science Research Methodology has been used as the main methodological framework. Current practices for setting goals for sustainability, determining the current state of the buildings and prioritizing which buildings to renovate within a building portfolio, have...

  15. Sustainability-Related Decision Making in Industrial Buildings: An AHP Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús Cuadrado

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Few other sectors have such a great impact on sustainability as the construction industry, in which concerns over the environmental dimension have been growing for some time. The sustainability assessment methodology presented in this paper is an AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process based on Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM and includes the main sustainability factors for consideration in the construction of an industrial building (environmental, economic, and social, as well as other factors that greatly influence the conceptual design of the building (employee safety, corporate image. Its simplicity is well adapted to its main objective, to serve as a sustainability-related decision making tool in industrial building projects, during the design stage. Accompanied by an economic valuation of the actions to be undertaken, this tool means that the most cost-effective solution may be selected from among the various options.

  16. Sustainable Building in China—A Green Leap Forward?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jialiang Wang

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available China is constructing new commercial buildings at an enormous rate—roughly 2 billion square meters per year, with considerable interest and activity in green design and construction. We review the context of commercial building design and construction in China, and look at a specific project as an example of a high performance, sustainable design, the Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (IBR. The IBR building incorporates over 40 sustainable technologies and strategies, including daylighting, natural ventilation, gray-water recycling, solar-energy generation, and highly efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC systems. We present measured data on the performance of the building, including detailed analysis by energy end use, water use, and occupant comfort and satisfaction. Total building energy consumption in 2011 was 1151 MWh, with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI of 63 kWh/m2 (20 kBtu/ft2, which is 61% of the mean EUI value of 103 kWh/m2 (33 kBtu/ft2 for similar buildings in the region. We also comment on the unique design process, which incorporated passive strategies throughout the building, and has led to high occupant satisfaction with the natural ventilation, daylighting, and green patio work areas. Lastly we present thoughts on how the design philosophy of the IBR building can be a guide for low-energy design in different climate regions throughout China and elsewhere.

  17. A Model for Sustainable Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) Using Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) Mechanism for Hotel Buildings in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Pengpeng

    Hotel building is one of the high-energy-consuming building types, and retrofitting hotel buildings is an untapped solution to help cut carbon emissions contributing towards sustainable development. Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) has been promulgated as a market mechanism for the delivery of energy efficiency projects. EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently, and it has not been implemented successfully in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. The aim of this research is to develop a model for achieving the sustainability of Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) in hotel buildings under the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) mechanism. The objectives include: • To identify a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for measuring the sustainability of BEER in hotel buildings; • To identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) under EPC mechanism that have a strong correlation with sustainable BEER project; • To develop a model explaining the relationships between the CSFs and the sustainability performance of BEER in hotel building. Literature reviews revealed the essence of sustainable BEER and EPC, which help to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing sustainable BEER under EPC mechanism in hotel buildings. 11 potential KPIs for sustainable BEER and 28 success factors of EPC were selected based on the developed framework. A questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the importance of selected performance indicators and success factors. Fuzzy set theory was adopted in identifying the KPIs. Six KPIs were identified from the 11 selected performance indicators. Through a questionnaire survey, out of the 28 success factors, 21 Critical Success Factors (CSFs) were also indentified. Using the factor analysis technique, the 21 identified CSFs in this study were grouped into six clusters to help explain project success of sustainable BEER. Finally, AHP/ANP approach was used in this research to develop a model to

  18. China. Top Sector Energy. Sustainable Building. Opportunities for Dutch companies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-08-15

    For China, sustainable design is necessary for controlling energy usage in crowded and constantly expanding urban areas. It is well known that China is the world's biggest construction market. Nearly half of the new buildings annually constructed worldwide are located in China by 2015. However, only about 4% of these are built according to energy efficiency standards. China's construction market will by 2020 account for 40% of the country's total energy consumption. While it contributes 15% of the world's GDP, China consumes 30% of the earth's steel and half its concrete. On top of which, buildings in China consume a third of the country's increasingly endangered water supplies. Recent research showed that almost half of the national energy consumption has been used for construction related purposes. Of existing buildings, a huge amount needs sustainable redesign and retrofitting technologies.Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. As a result, a national 3-star China National Green Building rating system has been launched in 2006. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Main problems are, amongst others, low level of regulations and standards, problematic implementations at local level, lack of awareness and transparency in related public and private sector, lack of expertise of integrated sustainable building design and construction among engineers, designers and constructors. It is also to be expected that more aggressive energy saving and environmental protection targets will be set by the 12th Five Year Plan. Promote green buildings will be one of the top priorities in China's swift urbanization process with focus on saving land, energy, water and materials. Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Under this framework, the

  19. China. Top Sector Energy. Sustainable Building. Opportunities for Dutch companies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-08-15

    For China, sustainable design is necessary for controlling energy usage in crowded and constantly expanding urban areas. It is well known that China is the world's biggest construction market. Nearly half of the new buildings annually constructed worldwide are located in China by 2015. However, only about 4% of these are built according to energy efficiency standards. China's construction market will by 2020 account for 40% of the country's total energy consumption. While it contributes 15% of the world's GDP, China consumes 30% of the earth's steel and half its concrete. On top of which, buildings in China consume a third of the country's increasingly endangered water supplies. Recent research showed that almost half of the national energy consumption has been used for construction related purposes. Of existing buildings, a huge amount needs sustainable redesign and retrofitting technologies.Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. As a result, a national 3-star China National Green Building rating system has been launched in 2006. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Main problems are, amongst others, low level of regulations and standards, problematic implementations at local level, lack of awareness and transparency in related public and private sector, lack of expertise of integrated sustainable building design and construction among engineers, designers and constructors. It is also to be expected that more aggressive energy saving and environmental protection targets will be set by the 12th Five Year Plan. Promote green buildings will be one of the top priorities in China's swift urbanization process with focus on saving land, energy, water and materials. Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Under this framework, the following areas will offer business

  20. 76 FR 56780 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Capacity Building for Sustainable...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-14

    ... Information Collection: Comment Request; Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program: Notice of... public comments on the subject proposal. The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program... also lists the following information: Title of Proposal: Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities...

  1. Modelling the life-cycle of sustainable, living buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Nederveen, S.; Gielingh, W.

    2009-01-01

    Credit-reductions by banks, as a consequence of the global monetary crisis, will hit the construction industry for many years to come. There are however still financing opportunities for building projects that are perceived as less risky. Buildings that are not only sustainable, but also flexible

  2. Building Integrated Design Practice under the Concept of Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xuexin

    2018-03-01

    With the continuous development of social economy, people are more demanding for architecture. Some advanced design concepts are gradually applied to the design of buildings. Under the concept of sustainable development, building integration design has also been widely used to promote the rapid development of architectural design. Integrated design concepts and sustainable development concepts play an important role to meet people’s requirements. This article will explore the concept of sustainable development under the concept of integrated architectural design and practice analysis, propose appropriate measures.

  3. Sustainable Buildings: An Ever Evolving Target

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillermo Quesada

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Environmental considerations have called for new developments in building technologies to bridge the gap between this need for lower impacts on the environment and ever increasing comfort. These developments were generally directed at the reduction of the energy consumption during operations. While this was indeed a mandatory first step, complete environmental life cycle analysis raises new questions. For instance, for a typical low thermal energy consumption building, the embodied energy of construction materials now becomes an important component of the environmental footprint. In addition, the usual practice in life cycle analysis now appears to call for some adaptation—due to variable parameters in time—to be implemented successfully in building analysis. These issues bring new challenges to reach the goal of integrated design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of sustainable buildings.

  4. Floating houses “lanting” in Sintang: Assessment on sustainable building materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susanto, D.; Lubis, M. S.

    2018-03-01

    One important element in the concept of sustainable building is the use of materials. The higher the use of sustainable material in building, the more sustained the building. Lanting is one type of floating construction, usually made from wood, that can be found in settlement along the river, such as in the city of Sintang, West Kalimantan. Lanting is still survive today because it is still used by community whose lives are tied to the river, and also because of its flexible nature that is able to function as a ‘water building’ as well as ‘land building’, and it is also movable, in addition for land limitation in some places. However, the existence of lanting settlements in the city of Sintang faces insistence because it is considered slum, polluting the environment, the scarcity of wooden materials, disturbing the beauty of the city, and threatened by the concretized river banks by local government. This paper discussed the sustainability of waterfront buildings in the city of Sintang in terms of material uses, through the assessment of ‘green-features’ of the main materials used. Assessment results show that wood is the most green building material and lanting is considered at the highest sustainability level for its use of wooden materials.

  5. Success factors of energy performance contracting (EPC) for sustainable building energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) of hotel buildings in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Pengpeng; Chan, Edwin Hon-Wan; Queena Kun Qian

    2011-01-01

    Hotel building is a type of high-energy-consuming building and most existing hotel buildings need energy efficiency improvement in China. Energy performance contracting (EPC) is considered a win-win mechanism to organize building energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) project. However, EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently and many EPCs have not been successful in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. This research aims to develop a set of critical success factors (CSFs) of EPC for sustainable energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) of hotel buildings in China. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with practitioners and other professionals were conducted. The findings reveal the relative importance of the 21 number of identified success factors. In order to explore the underlying relationship among the identified critical success factors (CSFs), factor analysis method was adopted for further investigation, which leads to grouping the 21 identified CSFs into six clusters. These are (1) project organization process, (2) EPC project financing for hotel retrofit, (3) knowledge and innovation of EPC, sustainable development (SD), and M and V, (4) implementation of sustainable development strategy, (5) contractual arrangement, and (6) external economic environment. Finally, several relevant policies were proposed to implement EPC successfully in sustainable BEER in hotel buildings. - Highlights: → EPC is a win-win mechanism to organize building energy efficiency retrofit project. → CSFs of EPC mechanism for sustainable BEER of hotel building in China are examined. → Six clusters are extracted from 21 identified CSFs based on factor analysis.

  6. Building reactor operator sustain expert system with C language integrated production system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouyang Qin; Hu Shouyin; Wang Ruipian

    2002-01-01

    The development of the reactor operator sustain expert system is introduced, the capability of building reactor operator sustain expert system is discussed with C Language Integrated Production System (Clips), and a simple antitype of expert system is illustrated. The limitation of building reactor operator sustain expert system with Clips is also discussed

  7. Sustainable Building in China -- A Green Leap Forward?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diamond, Richard [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Ye, Qing [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Feng, Wei [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yan, Tao [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Mao, Hongwei [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Li, Yutong [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Guo, Yongcong [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Wang, Jialiang [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China)

    2013-09-01

    China is constructing new commercial buildings at an enormous rate -- roughly 2 billion square meters per year, with considerable interest and activity in green design and construction. We review the context of commercial building design and construction in China, and look at a specific project as an example of a high performance, sustainable design, the Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (IBR). The IBR building incorporates over 40 sustainable technologies and strategies, including daylighting, natural ventilation, gray-water recycling, solar-energy generation, and highly efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. We present measured data on the performance of the building, including detailed analysis by energy end use, water use, and occupant comfort and satisfaction. Total building energy consumption in 2011 was 1151 MWh, with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 63 kWh/m2 (20 kBtu/ft2), which is 61% of the mean EUI value of 103 kWh/m2 (33 kBtu/ft2) for similar buildings in the region. We also comment on the unique design process, which incorporated passive strategies throughout the building, and has led to high occupant satisfaction with the natural ventilation, daylighting, and green patio work areas. Lastly we present thoughts on how the design philosophy of the IBR building can be a guide for low-energy design in different climate regions throughout China and elsewhere.

  8. Merging building maintainability and sustainability assessment: A multicriteria decision making approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asmone, A. S.; Chew, M. Y. L.

    2018-02-01

    Accurately predicting maintainability has been a challenge due to the complex nature of buildings, yet it is an important research area with a rising necessity. This paper explores the use of multicriteria decision making approach for merging maintainability and sustainability elements into building grading systems to attain long-term sustainability in the building industry. The paper conducts a systematic literature review on multicriteria decision analysis approach and builds on the existing knowledge of maintainability to achieve this. A conceptual framework is developed to bridge the gap between building operations and maintenance with green facilities management by forecasting green maintainability at the design stage.

  9. Traditional buildings of Iran as a sign of sustainable architecture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rezaei, Davood; Zare, Mohamad [Faculty of engineering, Zanjan University (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], Email: d_rezaei@znu.ac.ir, email: zaremd@yahoo.com

    2011-07-01

    With the rising price of energy and increasing concerns over the environment, ways of creating sustainable architecture are getting more and more attention. Buildings in Iran are confronted with a variety of weather conditions and specific measures have been taken to adapt traditional architecture to the environment and minimize energy consumption. The aim of this paper is to present the different materials and solutions used in traditional Iranian architecture. This review showed that sustainable architecture in an arid climate can be realised by the use of soil as a building insulator. Other methods consist in orienting the building in such a way as to absorb sunlight, using wind towers and wind scope, dividing a yard in such a way that different areas are used, depending on the season, and building underground spaces to provide comfortable conditions. This paper highlighted several historical methods and materials which can be used to bring about sustainable architecture in an arid climate.

  10. Towards sustainable public FM: collective building of capabilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ramskov Galamba, Kirsten; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Public facilities management (FM) is in the unique position of aligning building projects and FM with the policies of sustainable development at societal level. However, sustainable facilities management (SFM) is an emergent profession, and there is a need to build a code of conduct for SFM...... in FM organisations. The purpose is to develop and test a workshop based concept for collective building of capabilities targeting in-house FM organisations, in particular public in-house FM organisations. Design/methodology/approach This research explores the role of public facilities managers...... and examines how an empowerment process can help FM employees develop collective competences for SFM. The methodologies used are literature review, and a 3–year-long action research process in the Danish local authority, Albertslund, which is internationally recognised for its innovative and green profile...

  11. The Dutch sustainable building policy: A model for developing countries?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melchert, Luciana [Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Sao Paulo, Rua do Lago, 876, CEP 05508.900, Sao Paulo SP (Brazil)

    2007-02-15

    This article explores the institutionalization of environmental policies in the Dutch building sector and the applicability of the current model to developing countries. First, it analyzes the transition of sustainable building practices in the Netherlands from the 1970s until today, exploring how these were originally embedded in a discourse on 'de-modernization', which attempted to improve the environmental performance of building stocks by means of self-sufficient technologies, whereas nowadays they adopt a framework of 'ecological modernization', with integrative approaches seeking to improve the environmental performance of building stocks through more efficient-rather than self-sufficient-technologies. The study subsequently shows how the current Dutch sustainable building framework has thereby managed to achieve a pragmatic and widely accepted rationale, which can serve to orient the ecological restructuring of building stocks in developing countries. (author)

  12. The use of fiscal instruments in sustainable building policies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sunikka, M.M.

    2003-01-01

    Although progressive government guidelines and knowledge about sustainable building exist, sustainability measures are not adopted in large scale. Several barriers have been identified, especially the perceived costs of implementing environmental management and the lack of market demand. The choice

  13. Strategies for Sustainable Comfort in Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørgaard, Jørgen

    1997-01-01

    these goals include phasing out all use of electricity for space heating and for hot water supply. Furthermore building codes should require new buildings to be very well insulated, 30-40 cm mineral wool, for instance, and low energy windows. Similar codes, although not always as strict, should be applied......It is possible within some decades to achieve environmental sustainability in the building sector and at the same time provide a comfortable and healthy life for all Europeans as well as leaving that option open for other people in the world.Buildings are charcterized by having the longest lifetime...... of all capital in our societies, often more than a hundred years. For that reason they should never be designed on the bases of just present cheap energy supply and energy system, but with the long term outlook and risks in mind. New buildings can be designed to require essentially no space heating...

  14. Sustainable building in a Danish era of public de-regulation: Political ideology or Ecological Modernisation?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

    2005-01-01

    In recent decades, Denmark has gained a reputation for being an environmental frontrunner in sustainable building, through a number of initiatives in new buildings, urban renewal and building operation. However, lately this has changed and this article discusses whether the right-wing government......, which came to power in 2001, caused this effect or if this setback for sustainable building is part of a broader international trend. The article presents examples of new Danish policies to promote sustainability in the building sector, and on recent examples of sustainable buildings. The policies...

  15. Evaluation of a School Building in Turkey According to the Basic Sustainable Design Criteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arslan, H. D.

    2017-08-01

    In Turkey, as well as many other developing countries, the significance of sustainable education buildings has only recently become recognized and the issue of sustainability issue has not been sufficiently involved in laws and regulations. In this study, first of all architectural sustainability with basic design criteria has been explained. After that selected type primary school project in Turkey has been evaluated according to the sustainable design criteria. Type project of school buildings significantly limits the sustainability performance expected from buildings. It is clear that type projects shorten the planning time as they include a designing process that is independent of settlement and they are repeated in various places with different characteristics, indeed. On the other hand; abundance of disadvantages such as the overlook of the natural physical and structural properties of the location mostly restricts the sustainable design of the building. For sustainable buildings, several factors such as the environment, land, climate, insolation, direction etc. shall be taken into consideration at the beginning stage. Therefore; implementation of type projects can be deemed to be inappropriate for sustainability.

  16. Energy Performance of Buildings - The European Approach to Sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heiselberg, Per

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents the European approach to improve sustainability in the building sector, which has a very high potential for considerable reduction of energy consumption in the coming years. By approving the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive the European Union has taken a strong...... leadership role in promoting energy efficiency in buildings in Europe, that will be the most powerful instrument developed to date for the building sector in Europe....

  17. An Investigation into Energy Requirements and Conservation Techniques for Sustainable Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robitaille, Jad

    Traditionally, societies use to design their built environment in a way that was in line with the climate and the geographical location that they evolved in, thereby supporting sustainable lifestyles (i.e. thick walls with small windows in cold climates). With the industrial revolution and the heavy use and reliance on cheap fossil fuels, it can be argued that the built environment has become more focused on aesthetics and cost savings rather than on true sustainability. This, in turn, has led to energy intensive practices associated with the construction of homes, buildings, cities and megalopolises. Environmental concerns with regards to the future have pushed people, entities and industries to search for ways to decrease human's energy dependency and/or to supply the demand in ways that are deemed sustainable. Efforts to address this concern with respect to the built environment were translated into 'green buildings', sustainable building technologies and high performance buildings that can be rated and/or licensed by selected certifying bodies with varying metrics of building construction and performance. The growing number of such systems has brought real concerns: Do certified sustainable buildings really achieve the level of sustainability (i.e. performance) they were intended to? For the purpose of this study, buildings' energy consumption will be analysed, as it is one of the main drivers when taking into consideration greenhouse gas emissions. Heating and cooling in the residential and commercial/institutional sector, combined account for approximately a fifth of the secondary energy use in Canada. For this reason, this research aims at evaluating the main rating systems in Canada based on the efficacy of their rating systems' certification methodology and the weighting and comparison of energy requirements under each scheme. It has been proven through numerous studies that major energy savings can be achieved by focusing primarily on building designs

  18. Building a Metaframework for Sustainable Transport Indicators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cornet, Yannick; Gudmundsson, Henrik

    2015-01-01

    Several recent papers presented at TRB and elsewhere seek to make sustainability manageable by suggesting indicators and performance measures as key tools to help conceptualize and operationalize sustainability for various levels of transportation-related planning and decision-making. These studies...... often prescribe frameworks that will allow sustainability indicators and measures to be selected and included in, for example, agency strategies and practices. Moreover, some suggest criteria for selection of individual indicators and performance measures. The studies do however not always agree on what...... of the paper is first to provide a theoretical elaboration of the underlying notion of ‘frameworks’, and then to conduct a review of the selected recent key scientific studies on sustainable transportation indicator frameworks in terms of what they propose for building the meta-framework and for identifying...

  19. Environmental Sustainability and Mold Hygiene in Buildings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Haoxiang; Ng, Tsz Wai; Wong, Jonathan Wc; Lai, Ka Man

    2018-04-04

    Environmental sustainability is one of the key issues in building management. In Hong Kong, one of the initiatives is to reduce the operation hours of air-conditioning in buildings to cut down energy consumption. In this study, we reported a mold contamination case in a newly refurbished laboratory, in which the air-conditioner was switched from 24- to 18-h mode after refurbishment. In order to prevent mold recurrence, the air-conditioner was switched back to 24-h mode in the laboratory. During the mold investigation, visible mold patches in the laboratory were searched and then cultured, counted and identified. Building and environmental conditions were recorded, and used to deduce different causes of mold contamination. Eight contaminated sites including a wall, a bench, some metal and plastic surfaces and seven types of molds including two Cladosporium spp., two Aspergillus spp., one Rhizopus sp., one Trichoderma sp., and one Tritirachium sp. were identified. Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant and frequently found molds in the laboratory. The contaminated areas could have one to five different species on them. Based on the mold and environmental conditions, several scenarios causing the mold contamination were deduced, and different mold control measures were discussed to compare them with the current solution of using 24-h air-conditioning to control mold growth. This study highlights the importance of mold hygiene in sustainable building management.

  20. Environmental Sustainability and Mold Hygiene in Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haoxiang Wu

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Environmental sustainability is one of the key issues in building management. In Hong Kong, one of the initiatives is to reduce the operation hours of air-conditioning in buildings to cut down energy consumption. In this study, we reported a mold contamination case in a newly refurbished laboratory, in which the air-conditioner was switched from 24- to 18-h mode after refurbishment. In order to prevent mold recurrence, the air-conditioner was switched back to 24-h mode in the laboratory. During the mold investigation, visible mold patches in the laboratory were searched and then cultured, counted and identified. Building and environmental conditions were recorded, and used to deduce different causes of mold contamination. Eight contaminated sites including a wall, a bench, some metal and plastic surfaces and seven types of molds including two Cladosporium spp., two Aspergillus spp., one Rhizopus sp., one Trichoderma sp., and one Tritirachium sp. were identified. Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant and frequently found molds in the laboratory. The contaminated areas could have one to five different species on them. Based on the mold and environmental conditions, several scenarios causing the mold contamination were deduced, and different mold control measures were discussed to compare them with the current solution of using 24-h air-conditioning to control mold growth. This study highlights the importance of mold hygiene in sustainable building management.

  1. Towards a fourth skin? sustainability and double-envelope buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diprose, P.R.; Robertson, G. [Auckland Univ. (New Zealand)

    1996-05-01

    In several well publicised designs for `green` office buildings, the zone of meditation between inside and outside has been increased by the addition of a second building envelope. When interpreted as exemplars of sustainable architecture, the addition of a second wall in these buildings is questionable both biophysically and psycho-culturally. More constructive design strategies acknowledge the wider biophysical contexts of the human ecosystem, the prudent use of material and energy resources throughout a building`s life, make realistic use of climate, and promote psycho-cultural needs arising out of ecologism. (author)

  2. A model for the sustainable selection of building envelope assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huedo, Patricia, E-mail: huedo@uji.es [Universitat Jaume I (Spain); Mulet, Elena, E-mail: emulet@uji.es [Universitat Jaume I (Spain); López-Mesa, Belinda, E-mail: belinda@unizar.es [Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)

    2016-02-15

    The aim of this article is to define an evaluation model for the environmental impacts of building envelopes to support planners in the early phases of materials selection. The model is intended to estimate environmental impacts for different combinations of building envelope assemblies based on scientifically recognised sustainability indicators. These indicators will increase the amount of information that existing catalogues show to support planners in the selection of building assemblies. To define the model, first the environmental indicators were selected based on the specific aims of the intended sustainability assessment. Then, a simplified LCA methodology was developed to estimate the impacts applicable to three types of dwellings considering different envelope assemblies, building orientations and climate zones. This methodology takes into account the manufacturing, installation, maintenance and use phases of the building. Finally, the model was validated and a matrix in Excel was created as implementation of the model. - Highlights: • Method to assess the envelope impacts based on a simplified LCA • To be used at an earlier phase than the existing methods in a simple way. • It assigns a score by means of known sustainability indicators. • It estimates data about the embodied and operating environmental impacts. • It compares the investment costs with the costs of the consumed energy.

  3. A model for the sustainable selection of building envelope assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huedo, Patricia; Mulet, Elena; López-Mesa, Belinda

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this article is to define an evaluation model for the environmental impacts of building envelopes to support planners in the early phases of materials selection. The model is intended to estimate environmental impacts for different combinations of building envelope assemblies based on scientifically recognised sustainability indicators. These indicators will increase the amount of information that existing catalogues show to support planners in the selection of building assemblies. To define the model, first the environmental indicators were selected based on the specific aims of the intended sustainability assessment. Then, a simplified LCA methodology was developed to estimate the impacts applicable to three types of dwellings considering different envelope assemblies, building orientations and climate zones. This methodology takes into account the manufacturing, installation, maintenance and use phases of the building. Finally, the model was validated and a matrix in Excel was created as implementation of the model. - Highlights: • Method to assess the envelope impacts based on a simplified LCA • To be used at an earlier phase than the existing methods in a simple way. • It assigns a score by means of known sustainability indicators. • It estimates data about the embodied and operating environmental impacts. • It compares the investment costs with the costs of the consumed energy.

  4. Indicators of sustainable capacity building for health research: analysis of four African case studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bates, Imelda; Taegtmeyer, Miriam; Squire, S Bertel; Ansong, Daniel; Nhlema-Simwaka, Bertha; Baba, Amuda; Theobald, Sally

    2011-03-28

    Despite substantial investment in health capacity building in developing countries, evaluations of capacity building effectiveness are scarce. By analysing projects in Africa that had successfully built sustainable capacity, we aimed to identify evidence that could indicate that capacity building was likely to be sustainable. Four projects were selected as case studies using pre-determined criteria, including the achievement of sustainable capacity. By mapping the capacity building activities in each case study onto a framework previously used for evaluating health research capacity in Ghana, we were able to identify activities that were common to all projects. We used these activities to derive indicators which could be used in other projects to monitor progress towards building sustainable research capacity. Indicators of sustainable capacity building increased in complexity as projects matured and included- early engagement of stakeholders; explicit plans for scale up; strategies for influencing policies; quality assessments (awareness and experiential stages)- improved resources; institutionalisation of activities; innovation (expansion stage)- funding for core activities secured; management and decision-making led by southern partners (consolidation stage).Projects became sustainable after a median of 66 months. The main challenges to achieving sustainability were high turnover of staff and stakeholders, and difficulties in embedding new activities into existing systems, securing funding and influencing policy development. Our indicators of sustainable capacity building need to be tested prospectively in a variety of projects to assess their usefulness. For each project the evidence required to show that indicators have been achieved should evolve with the project and they should be determined prospectively in collaboration with stakeholders.

  5. Community action for sustainable housing: Building a low-carbon future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seyfang, Gill

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a new analytical framework of 'grassroots innovations' which views community-led initiatives for sustainable development as strategic green niches with the potential for wider transformation of mainstream society. This framework is applied to a low-carbon, low-impact, community-based sustainable housing initiative in the USA that pioneers straw bale housing techniques within a strong community-building ethos. The project is evaluated according to New Economics criteria of sustainable consumption, and is found to be successful at localising the construction supply chain, reducing ecological footprints, community-building, enabling collective action and building new institutions and systems of provision around housebuilding. However, viewing it as a strategic niche with aim to influence wider society, it is clear that it faces significant challenges in diffusing its ideas and practices beyond the niche. Its model is not necessarily suitable for scaling up or widespread replication; however, the scope for niche lessons to be adopted by mainstream builders is greater, given a supportive policy environment. Recognising the innovative nature of green niches at the policy level could lead to new approaches to governance of bottom-up community action for sustainable development.

  6. The First Sourcebook on Nordic Research in Mathematics Education: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Contributions from Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sriraman, Bharath, Ed.; Bergsten, Christer, Ed.; Goodchild, Simon, Ed.; Palsdottir, Gudbjorg, Ed.; Sondergaard, Bettina Dahl, Ed.; Haapasalo, Lenni, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    The First Sourcebook on Nordic Research in Mathematics Education: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and contributions from Finland provides the first comprehensive and unified treatment of historical and contemporary research trends in mathematics education in the Nordic world. The book is organized in sections co-ordinated by active researchers in…

  7. Perceptions of building professionals on sustainable development: A comparative study between Hong Kong and Shenyang

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lo, S.M.; Zhao, C.M.; Cheng, W.Y. [Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

    2006-07-01

    It is logical to believe that the building professionals (architect, structural engineers, building services engineers, etc.) are the relevant persons that may influence the decision-making process on a real estate development process. Accordingly, the attitudes and perception of building professionals should have a significant influence on sustainable development. This article describes a survey concerning the perceptions of different building professionals, which include architects, construction engineers and building services engineers, on the environment, resource sustainability, and green consumerism in two major cities in China: Hong Kong and Shenyang. It is recognized that energy is central to sustainable development and in 2006/2007, the United Nation Commission on Sustainable Development will focus on energy issue. The discussion in this article will concentrate on the building professionals' perception on energy related issues. Nevertheless, the findings in respect of their awareness of the environment, resources sustainability and other related issues are also summarized. At global level, apart from the need to preserve historical buildings, the professionals in Shenyang feel that 'exhaustion of natural resources' is of major concern and energy preservation is significant. However, the Hong Kong professionals do not consider energy resource sustainability is of urgency. (author)

  8. 76 FR 71996 - Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Capacity Building for Sustainable...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-21

    ... Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program AGENCY... proposal. The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program (Program), through a Notice of Funding...: Title of Proposal: Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program OMB Approval Number: 2501-0026...

  9. IDES-EDU – new interdisciplinary education program for Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dvorakova, Pavla; Kabele, Karel; Brunsgaard, Camilla

    2013-01-01

    Buildings fulfilling all requirements related to energy, economy and environment are necessary to be designed by interdisciplinary teams with efficient transfer of information and good knowledge base. IDES EDU is a project co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe program in which 15 European...... universities make a concerted effort to develop and implement balanced master and postgraduate courses on Sustainable Energy Design providing skills and knowledge that exceed the requirements of the EPBD. The resulting courses focus on different aspects of sustainable building design from the perspective...

  10. Sustainability Assessment: Energy Efficiency in Buildings at a Community University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephane Louise Bocasanta

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the degree of sustainability of a building in a community university (object of analysis, as regards its energy efficiency. Therefore, it seeks out to contribute to the literature, provide a basis for the application of SICOGEA system in other buildings and contribute to the consolidation of an effective and consistent environmental management system. The research can be classified, as to its technical procedures, as a case study. As to its objectives it is descriptive, with a qualitative approach. The literature on environmental management and sustainability assessment of buildings was used to support the research. As to the results found, the overall University sustainability rate was 48%, which can be classified as regular, that is, it aims to deal with the legislation only. Therefore, it is believed that the institution can make improvements to achieve a more efficient index. By taking into consideration the deficit items, the following is suggested: to introduce sustainable procurement; to strive for stamps and certifications; to avoid environmental fines and indemnity; and to implement environmental auditing. However, it is clarified that these are suggestions that should be taken into consideration along with financial matters and within the institution planning questions. The analysis of financial sustainability was considered good and, ideally, it will go on.

  11. 77 FR 10543 - Announcement of Funding Awards for the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-22

    ... Awards for the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program for Fiscal Year 2011 AGENCY: Office... INFORMATION: The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program identifies intermediary organizations... announces the allocation total of $5.65 million for Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities grants, of...

  12. Early stage decision support for sustainable building renovation – A review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Anne Nørkjær; Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Larsen, Tine Steen

    2016-01-01

    Decision support tools for building renovation are important as assistance to professional building owners when setting goals for sustainability, and for making sure that the objectives are met throughout the design process, both when renovating a single building or choosing renovation actions wi...

  13. Sustainable construction - the standard for all public building?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Handyside, R. [Richard Handyside Construction Resources (United Kingdom)

    2002-01-01

    This article argues for the need for foresight and planning to achieve sustainable development in the construction of public buildings. Reasons why sustainable development fails are highlighted, and the key factors that go to make a development sustainable are listed and involve the choice and layout of the site, site services, the fitting of spaces to the required purpose, the arrangement of rooms to achieve maximum use of natural light, heat and air, and the choice of construction materials and finishes. The balancing of short and long-term costs, and the use of life-cycle costs in every project are discussed.

  14. Early stage design decisions: the way to achieve sustainable buildings at lower costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragança, Luís; Vieira, Susana M; Andrade, Joana B

    2014-01-01

    The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle.

  15. Community capacity building and sustainability: outcomes of community-based participatory research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacker, Karen; Tendulkar, Shalini A; Rideout, Catlin; Bhuiya, Nazmim; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau; Savage, Clara P; Grullon, Milagro; Strelnick, Hal; Leung, Carolyn; DiGirolamo, Ann

    2012-01-01

    For communities, the value of community-based participatory research (CBPR) is often manifested in the outcomes of increased capacity and sustainable adoption of evidence-based practices for social change. Educational opportunities that promote discourse between community and academic partners can help to advance CBPR and better define these outcomes. This paper describes a community-academic conference to develop shared definitions of community capacity building and sustainability related to CBPR and to identify obstacles and facilitators to both. "Taking It to the Curbside: Engaging Communities to Create Sustainable Change for Health" was planned by five Clinical Translational Science Institutes and four community organizations. After a keynote presentation, breakout groups of community and academic members met to define community capacity building and sustainability, and to identify facilitators and barriers to achieving both. Groups were facilitated by researcher-community partner teams and conversations were recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis for thematic content was conducted by a subset of the planning committee. Important findings included learning that (1) the concepts of capacity and sustainability were considered interconnected; (2) partnership was perceived as both a facilitator and an outcome of CBPR; (3) sustainability was linked to "transfer of knowledge" from one generation to another within a community; and (4) capacity and sustainability were enhanced when goals were shared and health outcomes were achieved. Community capacity building and sustainability are key outcomes of CBPR for communities. Co-learning opportunities that engage and mutually educate both community members and academics can be useful strategies for identifying meaningful strategies to achieve these outcomes.

  16. Green Buildings Amid Efficiency and Sustainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khalifa, Yousef M.; Mady, Salah M.

    2014-01-01

    The vast increase of energy consumption, global warming and the harm they cause to the environment, emerge to be a major obstruction that distresses the world today. This review paper views one of the methods that the world focused on as means of reducing the environmental harms and that is, through green building, or in more common words sustainable buildings. Those means, covers the exercising of a wide range of applications including merging of new and specific technologies in which through fulfilling its basis, the process of evaluation of the building takes place in terms of its harmony with the environment, reduction of energy consumption, and the reduction of the environmental problems caused by the building life cycle starting from defining of location, design of the building, operation, maintenance, repairing and up to the renewal of the building. Despite the significance of green building, no profit nor implementations has yet been made in Libya. The latter is due to the lack of awareness by many Libyan social groups. From here, the idea behind this paper crystallized. It aims to spread and enhance the knowledge and techniques of green building. It also penetrates into the green building features and advantages that are considered to be a preliminary step to start its application in a wide range coinciding with the grand progress that the country has witnessed in the field of construction and housing. This paper concludes that it is possible to reduce energy consumption and the harm it causes to the environment after the implementation and merging of green building techniques and should be applied on a large scale covering the whole country.(author)

  17. Sustainable flexible process innovation. Towards a new building design approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brand, G.J.W. van den; Quanjel, E.; Zeiler, W.

    2001-01-01

    Developers and investors ofresidential and office buildings are facing large risks. A yearly loss ofcapital of approximately 50 billion EURO can be reduced by improvement of the design process. The need for more sustainable and end user oriented buildings on a background ofthe dynamics ofever

  18. AccountAbility 1000: a new social standard for building sustainability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beckett, R.; Jonker, J.

    2002-01-01

    The pressing need to build common frameworks to redefine the performance and sustainability of organisations, has led to the development of a new standard, AccountAbility 1000 (AA1000). AA1000 is a quality framework that aims to make clear how principles of accountability and sustainability are

  19. Design decision support for sustainable, healthier and more productive buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Maaijen, H.N.; Maassen, W.H.; Morawska, L.; Dear, de R.

    2012-01-01

    There is a clear need for more sustainable, healthier and thus more productive solutions within the built environment. However at the moment the initial investment costs for applying new and more sustainable solutions for a good Indoor Air Quality within buildings are higher than the traditional

  20. Increase in buildings sustainability by using renewable materials and energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milutiene, Edita [Kaunas University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas (Lithuania); Lithuanian Solar Energy Association, Kaunas (Lithuania); Straw Houses Builders' Association, Kaunas (Lithuania); Staniskis, Jurgis K. [Kaunas University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas (Lithuania); Krucius, Audrys [Straw Houses Builders' Association, Kaunas (Lithuania); JSK ' ' Ecococon' ' , Kaunas (Lithuania); Auguliene, Vida [Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, Kaunas (Lithuania); Ardickas, Daumilas [University of Cambridge, Girton College, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

    2012-12-15

    Sustainable development could be seen as indispensable condition for survival of civilization. Construction sector is a field with immediate need for reducing environmental impacts. Sustainability measures applied for buildings could produce very efficient results to the people. The paper provides the methods of construction sustainability increase by researching, developing, and applying the technologies which use renewable materials and energy. The paper analyzes the cases of both a solar eco house which was built of original prefabricated straw-bale panels and was designed to use direct solar energy; and an educational project promoting straw-bale construction and seeking to mitigate climate change. The project results have shown the need of spreading information on sustainable building methods to be accepted by wider society and to be applied to the construction industry. Monitoring of solar ecohouse has proved that direct solar energy gains are significant in reducing heating degree-days in 55 N latitude and in allowing to save half the energy needed for heating. (orig.)

  1. Sustainable Renovation of Residential Buildings and the Landlord/Tenant Dilemma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ástmarsson, Björn; Jensen, Per Anker; Maslesa, Esmir

    2013-01-01

    solutions can help solve the landlord/tenant dilemma in relation to sustainable renovation of residential buildings, and how the general awareness of sustainable renovation can be increased. Particular focus is on whether tools like energy performance contracting and energy labeling can help solve......The landlord/tenant dilemma arises when the interests of landlords and tenants misalign and is one of the greatest barriers hindering the development of sustainable renovation of residential buildings in Europe. The aim of this research is to investigate how regulatory changes and contractual...... be overcome with a package solution. In the Danish national context the package solution must consist of legislative changes, financial incentives and better dissemination of information. Therefore, an array of different tools must be integrated and used in cooperation to overcome the dilemma....

  2. Early Stage Design Decisions: The Way to Achieve Sustainable Buildings at Lower Costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luís Bragança

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle.

  3. Early Stage Design Decisions: The Way to Achieve Sustainable Buildings at Lower Costs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragança, Luís; Vieira, Susana M.; Andrade, Joana B.

    2014-01-01

    The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle. PMID:24578630

  4. Evaluation of possibility to increasing sustainability of high-rise buildings through use university intellectual property

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potekhin, Igor; Mischenko, Valeryi; Mottaeva, Angela; Zheltenkov, Alexander

    2018-03-01

    In this article explained approach of valuation of intellectual property of Voronezh State Technical University, as her usefulness to increasing the sustainability and ecological safety of high-rise building. High-rise building is main type of buildings in modern cities. They include large volume of material mass, high volume of energy using and high volume of emissions. Using innovation solutions to improving ecology safety of high-rise buildings has large potential to city in whole. Explained in the article methods of calculation of effects helps to value sustainable solutions of present and future generations. Thus usefulness of patents express through usefulness regarding to high-rise building, including for sustainable development.

  5. Sustainability needs and practices assessment in the building industry of China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Pingjian; He, Gang; Mao, Guozhu; Liu, Yong; Xu, Mingzhu; Guo, Huaicheng; Liu, Xi

    2013-01-01

    The building industry in China has huge potential capacity for energy/resources conservation and pollutants reduction to achieve sustainable development. However, stakeholders are hardly able to reach a consensus on preferential needs and effective solutions, which was a difficulty faced by policy makers. To better identify the common interests on sustainable development in this field, the Sustainability Solutions Navigator (SSN) was adopted in China for the first time to assess the sustainability needs and practices. Based on the participation of stakeholders from the government, businesses, academia, and non-government organizations, prioritized needs and practices were identified using SSN, and gap analyses were conducted for comparison to global benchmarks. According to the results, the top needs were mainly focused on improving government efficiency and implementation, maintaining healthy indoor environments and obtaining adequate funds; priority practices were mainly focused on governmental action, renewable energy development and pollutant source reduction. The gap analysis indicated that the government efficiency and performance had the largest gap to the benchmark. By using a simple interactive tool to bring different stakeholders into policy making process, this study produces all-around information for decision makers. The results imply that the sustainability of the building industry in China has a much better expectation than governmental performance. - Highlights: ► SSN was first used for sustainability assessment in China's building industry. ► Prioritized needs and practices of multiple stakeholders were identified. ► High expectation of improved governmental efforts from the study

  6. Towards evaluation and prediction of building sustainability using life cycle behaviour simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marzouk Mohamed

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays researchers and practitioners are oriented towards questioning how effective are the different building life cycle activities contribution to preserving the environment and fulfilling the need for equilibrium. Terminologies such as Building sustainability and Green Buildings have long been adopted yet the evaluation of such has been driven through the use of rating systems. LEED of the United States, BREEAM of the United Kingdom, and Pearl of the United Arab Emirates are namely good examples of these rating systems. This paper introduces a new approach for evaluation of building life cycle sustainability through simulation of activities interaction and studying its behaviour. The effort focuses on comprehending impact and effect of suitability related activities over the whole building life cycle or period of time. The methodology includes gathering a pool of parameters through benchmarking of five selected rating systems, analytical factorization for the gathered parameters is used to elect the most influencing parameters. Followed by simulation modelling using System dynamics to capture the interaction of the considered parameters. The resulting behaviour obtained from simulation is studied and used in designing a tool for prediction of sustainability.

  7. Evaluation System sustainable building of the Federal State. Evidence of sustainability criteria for the new construction of office and administration buildings; Bewertungssystem Nachhaltiges Bauen des Bundes. Nachweis der Nachhaltigkeitskriterien fuer den Neubau von Buero- und Verwaltungsgebaeuden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kerz, Nicolas; Rietz, Andreas [Bundesinstitut fuer Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR), Berlin (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    Numerous research projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany) are the essential basis for the emergence of a systematic sustainability assessment. After two years of cooperation with the German Sustainable Building Council (Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany) a scientifically substantiated and design based process of evaluation for the construction of administrative buildings was available. On the basis of a practical testing the system of evaluating of sustainability was refined to a ''rating system for sustainable building''. The contribution under consideration reports on the structure and methodology of this evaluation system as well as on working materials and tools for planning and evaluation.

  8. Evaluating the engagement of universities in capacity building for sustainable development in local communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiel, Chris; Leal Filho, Walter; do Paço, Arminda; Brandli, Luciana

    2016-02-01

    Universities have the potential to play a leading role in enabling communities to develop more sustainable ways of living and working however, sustainable communities may only emerge with facilitation, community learning and continual efforts to build their capacities. Elements of programme planning and evaluation on the one hand, and capacity building on the other, are needed. The latter entails approaches and processes that may contribute to community empowerment; universities may either lead such approaches, or be key partners in an endeavour to empower communities to address the challenges posed by the need for sustainable development. Although capacity building and the promotion of sustainable development locally, are on the agenda for universities who take seriously regional engagement, very little is published that illustrates or describes the various forms of activities that take place. Further, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the work performed by universities in building capacity for sustainable development at the local level. This paper is an attempt to address this need, and entails an empirical study based on a sample of universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Brazil. The paper examines the extent to which capacity building for sustainable development is being undertaken, suggests the forms that this might take and evaluates some of the benefits for local communities. The paper concludes by reinforcing that universities have a critical role to play in community development; that role has to prioritise the sustainability agenda. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. BUILDING NEW BUSINESS MODELS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Taco C. R. van Someren; Shuhua van Someren-Wang

    2011-01-01

    Considered are issues of methodology and methods, as well as ideology of strategic innovation. Using the tools of this approach is offered as mechanisms to develop and build business models for sustainable socio-economic economic growth and development of different regions. The connection between key problems of sustainable development and management policy of different economic entities is studied. The consultancy company Ynnovate’s experience in addressing these issues in the EU and China i...

  10. Sustainable hemp-based composites for the building industry application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarzova, Ivana; Stevulova, Nadezda; Junak, Jozef; Hospodarova, Viola

    2017-07-01

    Sustainability goals are essential driving principles for the development of innovative materials in the building industry. Natural plant (e.g. hemp) fibers represent an attractive alternative as reinforcing material due to its good properties and sustainability prerequisites. In this study, hemp-based composite materials, designed for building application as non-load bearing material, providing both thermal insulation and physico-mechanical properties, are presented. Composite materials were produced by bonding hemp hurds with a novel inorganic binder (MgO-based cement) and then were characterized in terms of physical properties (bulk density, water absorption), thermal properties (thermal conductivity) and mechanical properties (compressive and tensile strength). The composites exhibited promising physical, thermal and mechanical characteristics, generally comparable to commercially available products. In addition, the hemp-based composites have the advantage of a significantly low environmental impact (thanks to the nature of both the dispersed and the binding phase) and no negative effects on human health. All things considered, the composite materials seem like very promising materials for the building industry application.

  11. Significance of Building Maintenance Management Systems towards Sustainable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A. Othuman Mydin

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Building maintenance management is an organized and effective system of maintenance operations which is set up to deal with problems related to the upkeep of a building. Its goal, aside from locating and remedying a building’s deficiencies, is to effectively minimize the overall costs of maintenance and is also an effort to maximize the gain and benefits from the savings. There are a few factors that influence decisions to undertake maintenance work. The principal goal of maintenance is to protect a building in the early stage of issues as they arise. Some major reasons for maintaining a building include retaining its reputation and value of investments, maintaining the building in a condition which allows it to accomplish its purpose, and presenting a good outer shell. This paper will review and discuss some of the major elements of building maintenance towards achieving sustainable buildings.

  12. Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Rasmussen, Henrik

    2009-01-01

    satisfies the design objectives and criteria. In the design of sustainable buildings, it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to more efficiently develop alternative design solutions or reach optimized design solutions. Sensitivity analyses make it possible to identify...... possible to influence the most important design parameters. A methodology of sensitivity analysis is presented and an application example is given for design of an office building in Denmark....

  13. Gamification as a Means to User Involvement in Decision-making Processes for Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Hanne Tine Ring; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann; Skøtt, Stine

    2017-01-01

    of life. Design thinking was used as method to develop a tool that focuses on how to make sustainable strategy development accessible to non-specialists during those critical stages of building design processes when goals and prioritisations are set. The tool is based on an open and editable platform...... and it will be available to the public in the early Summer of 2017. The paper presents how design thinking is used as an engaging research and development methodology, as well as, an introduction to the dialogue and prioritisation tool’s content and format.......User ownership, actors’ and stakeholders’ lack of knowledge is often identified as critical success parameters and barriers when evaluating how well sustainable buildings perform. Recognising that it is impossible to drive sustainable development without the people who pay for sustainable buildings...

  14. Opportunities for low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Ping; Keith Tovey, N.

    2009-01-01

    China's building sector consumes one quarter of total energy consumption in the country and plays an important role in long-term ability of the country to achieve sustainable development. This paper discusses a comprehensive approach to achieving low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China incorporating both energy and carbon-reduction strategies. The approach concentrates primarily on three complementary aspects: (a) the introduction of an effective energy management system; (b) the incorporation of relevant advanced energy saving technologies and measures and (c) the promotion of awareness among occupants to make changes in their behaviour towards a more environmental-friendly behaviour. However, reference is also made to the role that renewable energy and offsetting may have in the effective management and environmental performance of buildings. Nine examples of large commercial buildings in Beijing and Shanghai were studied and the average electricity consumption of around 153 kWh/m 2 per annum is about 5 times higher than average electricity use in residential buildings. At the same time the associated green house gas (GHG) emissions are around 158 kg/m 2 per annum.

  15. HVAC in sustainable office buildings a bridge between owners and engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Hovorka, Frank; Kurnitski, Jarek; Litiu, Andrei

    2012-01-01

    This guidebook aims to build a bridge between the real estate community and the engineering community. It explains the challenges of property valuation based on real data and how the sustainability and HVAC-technology can have an impact on value. It also gathers the latest HVAC- and other technologies used in sustainable buildings and gives some real case study examples. But maybe the most important part in terms of improved communication between the owners and engineers is the list of questions to be asked during the life time of a building. It is impossible to give all the right answers in this guidebook, but we will raise some pertinent questions. As climates and cultures are different, as well as existing building types and energy production, the same solutions do not solve problems universally. This guidebook is aimed for the owners and architects as well as engineers. It doesn’t require deep technical knowhow of HVAC-systems or real estate valuation.

  16. Research on Building Urban Sustainability along the Coastal Area in China

    OpenAIRE

    Sun Jiaojiao; Fu Jiayan

    2015-01-01

    At present, in China, the research about the urban sustainability construction is still in the exploratory stage. The ecological problems of the coastal area are more sensitive and complicated. In the background of global warming with serious ecological damage, this paper deeply researches on the main characteristics of urban sustainability and measures how to build urban sustainability. Through combining regional environmental with economic ability along the coastal area...

  17. Building Theory at the Intersection of Ecological Sustainability and Strategic Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borland, Helen; Ambrosini, Véronique; Lindgreen, Adam

    2016-01-01

    This article builds theory at the intersection of ecological sustainability and strategic management literature—specifically, in relation to dynamic capabilities literature. By combining industrial organization economics–based, resource-based, and dynamic capability–based views, it is possible...... to develop a better understanding of the strategies that businesses may follow, depending on their managers’ assumptions about ecological sustainability. To develop innovative strategies for ecological sustainability, the dynamic capabilities framework needs to be extended. In particular, the sensing...... sustainability. Finally, this approach offers opportunities for managers and academics to identify, categorize, and exploit business strategies for ecological sustainability....

  18. In search of a holistic, sustainable and replicable model for complete energy refurbishment in historic buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija S. Todorović

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in buildings offers one of the most promising opportunities for developed and developing countries to cooperate in achieving the realization of significant energy efficiency improvements. However, achieving sustainability is not an easy task unless there is synergy with/between energy efficiency improvement and renewable energy sources (RES - these are not at present in widespread dissemination and use. This paper recognizes the synergetic relationship between conservation and sustainability. At present, the role of heritage conservation in achieving sustainability has not yet been fully recognized, nor have heritage needs been well integrated into sustainability initiatives. Historic buildings are inherently sustainable. Preservation maximizes the use of existing materials and infrastructures, reduces waste, and preserves the historical character of older towns and cities. Sustainability begins with preservation. Taking into account the original climatic adaptations of historic buildings, today’s sustainable technology can supplement inherent sustainable features without compromising their unique historical character. Furthermore, a number of paper reviews and case studies with related methodologies outline the need to implement the latest current knowledge and technologies (BPS - Building Performance Simulation and CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics for use in the refurbishment design process, as well as highlighting the crucial importance of sustainability, relevant benchmarking and rating system development.

  19. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and priority setting in using the multi-attribute approach for assessing sustainable intelligent buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    ALwaer, H. [The University of Dundee, School of Architecture, Matthew Building, 13 Perth Road, Dundee DD1 4HT (United Kingdom); Clements-Croome, D.J. [School of Construction Management and Engineering, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading RG6 6AW (United Kingdom)

    2010-04-15

    The main objectives of this paper are to: firstly, identify key issues related to sustainable intelligent buildings (environmental, social, economic and technological factors); develop a conceptual model for the selection of the appropriate KPIs; secondly, test critically stakeholder's perceptions and values of selected KPIs intelligent buildings; and thirdly develop a new model for measuring the level of sustainability for sustainable intelligent buildings. This paper uses a consensus-based model (Sustainable Built Environment Tool- SuBETool), which is analysed using the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) for multi-criteria decision-making. The use of the multi-attribute model for priority setting in the sustainability assessment of intelligent buildings is introduced. The paper commences by reviewing the literature on sustainable intelligent buildings research and presents a pilot-study investigating the problems of complexity and subjectivity. This study is based upon a survey perceptions held by selected stakeholders and the value they attribute to selected KPIs. It is argued that the benefit of the new proposed model (SuBETool) is a 'tool' for 'comparative' rather than an absolute measurement. It has the potential to provide useful lessons from current sustainability assessment methods for strategic future of sustainable intelligent buildings in order to improve a building's performance and to deliver objective outcomes. Findings of this survey enrich the field of intelligent buildings in two ways. Firstly, it gives a detailed insight into the selection of sustainable building indicators, as well as their degree of importance. Secondly, it tesst critically stakeholder's perceptions and values of selected KPIs intelligent buildings. It is concluded that the priority levels for selected criteria is largely dependent on the integrated design team, which includes the client, architects, engineers and facilities managers

  20. Sustainability of earth building materials - Environmental product declarations as an instrument of competition in building material industry

    OpenAIRE

    Schroeder, Horst; Lemke, Manfred

    2015-01-01

    [EN] The evaluation of the building process in terms of their environmental impact in all life cycle phases of a building leads to the key principle of sustainable building: the analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building. The goal of this analysis is to reduce waste and keep the environmental impact as low as possible by “closing” the cycle. During an inventory, the entire life cycle is assessed. This includes the sourcing and extracting of the raw material, the use of the...

  1. Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Hesselholt, Allan Tind

    2007-01-01

    satisfies the design requirements and objectives. In the design of sustainable Buildings it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to develop more efficiently alternative design solutions or reach optimized design solutions. A sensitivity analysis makes it possible...

  2. Sustainable school infrastructure through effective innovative building technology selection

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mphahlele, C

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of a model proposed for the selection Innovative Building Technologies (IBTs) and procurement of services supporting the erection of the IBTs that will ensure the construction of a sustainable school...

  3. FOSTERING SUSTAINABILITY: DESIGNING A GREEN SCIENCE BUILDING AT A SMALL MAINE COLLEGE

    Science.gov (United States)

    The overarching goal of the project ‘as to develop a feasibility study of building design and construction that takes into account the various local conditions, optimizes energy savings. use of building materials, and long term sustainability of the structur...

  4. Construction cost prediction model for conventional and sustainable college buildings in North America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Othman Subhi Alshamrani

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The literature lacks in initial cost prediction models for college buildings, especially comparing costs of sustainable and conventional buildings. A multi-regression model was developed for conceptual initial cost estimation of conventional and sustainable college buildings in North America. RS Means was used to estimate the national average of construction costs for 2014, which was subsequently utilized to develop the model. The model could predict the initial cost per square feet with two structure types made of steel and concrete. The other predictor variables were building area, number of floors and floor height. The model was developed in three major stages, such as preliminary diagnostics on data quality, model development and validation. The developed model was successfully tested and validated with real-time data.

  5. The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society : Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoppen, Hendrik Sietze

    2017-01-01

    The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership Authorized translation of the chapter ‘Impact of brands on people, markets and society’ (prepublication Build Bridge Bond, method for sustainable leadership and building future-proof trust)

  6. SUSTAINED LIVEABILITY: A FRAMEWORK BEYOND ENERGY CONSCIOUS BUILDING CONSERVATION OF MARKET HALLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neveen Hamza

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Market halls are commonly found in  contexts of cultural and heritage value. Positioned in urban centres and transport networks, these unique buildings were originally constructed in the 19th century to ensure better food distribution in growing European cities, then copied to other territories such as Egypt.  We argue that leaving market halls, with their large spanning structures and indoor open space, for dilapidation is a lost opportunity for sustaining community engagement, and educating the public on the original sustainability, neighbourhood regeneration and cultural thinking that underpinned these buildings. The proposed framework extends current sustainable ‘heritage conservation frameworks’ beyond concepts of adding renewable energy technologies, recycling and sustainable goods movement,  to ‘sustaining liveability and social inclusion’. We argue that market halls offer the opportunities to merge the daily activities of buying and selling food with creating local creative economies such as culinary art exhibitions, and culinary schools. The paper consists of two parts: the first discusses the historical urban context of market halls in Cairo; the second proposes a sustainable heritage conservation model for market halls.

  7. Sustainability rating tools for buildings and its wider application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siew Renard

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a commentary on the latest research in measuring the sustainability of buildings and its wider application. The emergence of sustainability rating tools (SRTs has faced critique from scholars due to their deficiencies such as the overemphasis on environmental criteria, the negligence of uncertainty in scoring and existence of non-scientific criteria benchmarks among many others. This could have attributed to the mixed evidence in the literature on the benefits of SRTs. Future research direction is proposed to advance the state-of-the art in this field.

  8. Environmental Comfort Indicators for School Buildings in Sustainability Assessment Tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Santos Saraiva

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students. This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal and Juiz de Fora (Brazil, that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity. In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.

  9. CapaSIDS : Capacity Building and Knowledge on Sustainable ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    CapaSIDS : Capacity Building and Knowledge on Sustainable Responses to Climate Change in Small Island States. Tourism is the main economic sector in ... Gouvernance axée sur la collaboration : gestion des risques associés aux inondations et à l'élévation du niveau de la mer au Cap. La ville du Cap doit relever un ...

  10. Transition to Sustainable Buildings: Strategies and Opportunities to 2050

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-06-01

    Buildings are the largest energy consuming sector in the world, and account for over one-third of total final energy consumption and an equally important source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Achieving significant energy and emissions reduction in the buildings sector is a challenging but achievable policy goal. Transition to Sustainable Buildings presents detailed scenarios and strategies to 2050, and demonstrates how to reach deep energy and emissions reduction through a combination of best available technologies and intelligent public policy. This IEA study is an indispensible guide for decision makers, providing informative insights on: cost-effective options, key technologies and opportunities in the buildings sector; solutions for reducing electricity demand growth and flattening peak demand; effective energy efficiency policies and lessons learned from different countries; future trends and priorities for ASEAN, Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United States; implementing a systems approach using innovative products in a cost effective manner; and pursuing whole-building (e.g. zero energy buildings) and advanced-component policies to initiate a fundamental shift in the way energy is consumed.

  11. Sustainable building design in practice – survey among Danish DGNB consultants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsgaard, Camilla; Bejder, Anne Kirkegaard

    2017-01-01

    and support the iterative design process in the initial design phases. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the design process on a more common level experienced by Danish DGNB consultants when designing sustainable buildings using the Danish DGNB certification scheme and thereby possibly......Sustainability certification schemes experience growing popularity. Denmark got its own sustainability certification scheme based on the German DGNB certification scheme. Previous work based on four case studies – DGNB certified healthcare centres, suggests further research on how to improve...

  12. Investigation on Smoke Movement and Smoke Control for Atrium in Green and Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fang, Lui; Nielsen, Peter V.; Brohus, Henrik

    The concepts of green buildings and sustainable buildings are promoted actively in the developed countries. Targets are on protecting the environment, using less energy through natural ventilation provisions and daylight utilization, developing better waste management and taking resource...... design in the green or sustainable buildings with an atrium. Since the physics of air entrainment is not yet clearly understood, most of the fire plume expressions reported in the literature was derived empirically. Experiments and CFD simulation were used to study the different types of thermal plumes...... conservation into account. Architectural and building design, electrical and mechanical systems, and building management have to be upgraded. However, there are problems in dealing with fire safety, especially in complying with the existing prescriptive fire codes. A hot argument is that smoke control system...

  13. A sustainable building promotes pro-environmental behavior: an observational study on food disposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, David W-L; DiGiacomo, Alessandra; Kingstone, Alan

    2013-01-01

    In order to develop a more sustainable society, the wider public will need to increase engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Psychological research on pro-environmental behaviors has thus far focused on identifying individual factors that promote such behavior, designing interventions based on these factors, and evaluating these interventions. Contextual factors that may also influence behavior at an aggregate level have been largely ignored. In the current study, we test a novel hypothesis--whether simply being in a sustainable building can elicit environmentally sustainable behavior. We find support for our hypothesis: people are significantly more likely to correctly choose the proper disposal bin (garbage, compost, recycling) in a building designed with sustainability in mind compared to a building that was not. Questionnaires reveal that these results are not due to self-selection biases. Our study provides empirical support that one's surroundings can have a profound and positive impact on behavior. It also suggests the opportunity for a new line of research that bridges psychology, design, and policy-making in an attempt to understand how the human environment can be designed and used as a subtle yet powerful tool to encourage and achieve aggregate pro-environmental behavior.

  14. Approaches for Sustaining and Building Management and Leadership Capability in VET Providers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callan, Victor; Mitchell, John; Clayton, Berwyn; Smith, Larry

    2007-01-01

    This study examines the existing and potential strategies for sustaining and building greater levels of management and leadership capability in training organisations. The research report is one of the products of a nationally based research consortium: Supporting vocational education and training (VET) providers in building capability for the…

  15. A matrix in life cycle perspective for selecting sustainable materials for buildings in Sri Lanka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abeysundara, U.G. Yasantha [Ministry of Education, Isurupaya, Battaramulla (Sri Lanka); Babel, Sandhya [Environmental Technology Program, School of Biochemical Engineering and Technology, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, P.O. Box 22, Pathumthani 12121 (Thailand); Gheewala, Shabbir [The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut' s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140 (Thailand)

    2009-05-15

    This paper presents a matrix to select sustainable materials for buildings in Sri Lanka, taking into consideration environmental, economic and social assessments of materials in a life cycle perspective. Five building elements, viz., foundations, roofs, ceilings, doors and windows, and floors are analyzed based on materials used for these elements. Environmental burdens associated with these elements are analyzed in terms of embodied energy and environmental impacts such as global warming, acidification and nutrient enrichment. Economic analysis is based on market prices and affordability of materials. Social factors that are taken into account are thermal comfort, interior (aesthetics), ability to construct quickly, strength and durability. By compiling the results of analyses, two building types with minimum and maximum impacts are identified. These two cases along with existing buildings are compared in a matrix of environmental, economic and social scores. Analysis of the results also indicates need for higher consideration of environmental parameters in decision-making over social and economic factors, as social and economic scores do not vary much between cases. Hence, this matrix helps decision-makers to select sustainable materials for buildings, meaningfully, and thus helps to move towards a more sustainable buildings and construction sector. (author)

  16. The potential role of cattail-reinforced clay plaster in sustainable building

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Georgiev

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable development is a key goal in town and country planning, as well as in the building industry. The main aims are to avoid inefficient land use, to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and, thus, to move towards meeting the challenges of climate change. In this article we consider how the use of a traditional low-energy building material, namely clay, might contribute. Recent research has identified a promising connection between the reinforcement of clay for internal wall plastering with fibres from the wetland plant Typha latifolia (cattail and the positive environmental effects of cultivating this species. If large quantities of Typha fibres were to be used in building, the need for cultivation of the plant would increase and create new possibilities for the renaturalisation of polluted or/and degraded peatlands. We explore the topic first on the basis of literature, considering the suitability of Typha for this application and possibilities for its sustainable cultivation, as well as implications for the life cycle analyses of buildings in which it is used. We then report (qualitatively the results of testing different combinations of clay with natural plant (straw and cattail fibres for their suitability as a universal plaster, which demonstrate clearly the superior properties of Typha fibres as a reinforcement material for clay plaster mortars.

  17. Transparency, Accountability, and Engagement: A Recipe for Building Trust in Policing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-06-01

    Toward Community-orientated Policing: Potential, Basic Requirements, and Threshold Questions,” Crime and Delinquency 33 (1987): 6–30. 49 More, Current...States,” in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online, accessed June 4, 2017, http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/csv/ t2332011.csv. 89 Gary...to-date crime statistics , and empowered them to think creatively to develop individualized plans to address crime trends and conditions. His focus

  18. Solar chimney: A sustainable approach for ventilation and building space conditioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lal, S.,

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The residential and commercial buildings demand increase with rapidly growing population. It leads to the vertical growth of the buildings and needs proper ventilation and day-lighting. The natural air ventilation system is not significantly works in conventional structure, so fans and air conditioners are mandatory to meet the proper ventilation and space conditioning. Globally building sector consumed largest energy and utmost consumed in heating, ventilation and space conditioning. This load can be reduced by application of solar chimney and integrated approaches in buildings for heating, ventilation and space conditioning. It is a sustainable approach for these applications in buildings. The authors are reviewed the concept, various method of evaluation, modelings and performance of solar chimney variables, applications and integrated approaches.

  19. Smart energy control systems for sustainable buildings

    CERN Document Server

    Spataru, Catalina; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi

    2017-01-01

    There is widespread interest in the way that smart energy control systems, such as assessment and monitoring techniques for low carbon, nearly-zero energy and net positive buildings can contribute to a Sustainable future, for current and future generations. There is a turning point on the horizon for the supply of energy from finite resources such as natural gas and oil become less reliable in economic terms and extraction become more challenging, and more unacceptable socially, such as adverse public reaction to ‘fracking’. Thus, in 2016 these challenges are having a major influence on the design, optimisation, performance measurements, operation and preservation of: buildings, neighbourhoods, cities, regions, countries and continents. The source and nature of energy, the security of supply and the equity of distribution, the environmental impact of its supply and utilization, are all crucial matters to be addressed by suppliers, consumers, governments, industry, academia, and financial institutions. Thi...

  20. BUILDING NEW BUSINESS MODELS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taco C. R. van Someren

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Considered are issues of methodology and methods, as well as ideology of strategic innovation. Using the tools of this approach is offered as mechanisms to develop and build business models for sustainable socio-economic economic growth and development of different regions. The connection between key problems of sustainable development and management policy of different economic entities is studied. The consultancy company Ynnovate’s experience in addressing these issues in the EU and China is shown. It is offered to the use its experience and tools in exploring the areas of cross-border economic cooperation between territories of the Russian Far East and China

  1. Use of Education as Social Indicator in the Assessment of Sustainability throughout the Life Cycle of a Building

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruano, Marco A.; Cruzado, Marcos Garcia

    2012-01-01

    The authors seek to establish the need for better education to develop procedures useful to evaluate the sustainability of a building. The analysis emphasises the need for education in the social dimension of sustainability assessment in the context of the life cycle of a building and how such education of building agents could increase…

  2. Social-ecology networks : building connections for sustainable landscapes

    OpenAIRE

    Opdam, P.F.M.

    2014-01-01

    Humans adapt their landscapes, their living environment. Sustainable use of the various landscape benefits requires that land owners and users collaborate in managing ecological networks. Because the government is stepping back as the organizer of coordinated landscape adaptation, we need new landscape planning approaches that enhance collaboration by building social networks and link them to ecological networks. In this farewell address I will explain why the social-ecological network is a p...

  3. Sustainable Skyscrapers: Designing the Net Zero Energy Building of the Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kothari, S.; Bartsch, A.

    2016-12-01

    Cities of the future will need to increase population density in order to keep up with the rising populations in the limited available land area. In order to provide sufficient power as the population grows, cities must become more energy efficient. Fossil fuels and grid energy will continue to become more expensive as nonrenewable resources deplete. The obvious solution to increase population density while decreasing the reliance on fossil fuels is to build taller skyscrapers that are energy neutral, i.e. self-sustaining. However, current skyscrapers are not energy efficient, and therefore cannot provide a sustainable solution to the problem of increasing population density in the face of depleting energy resources. The design of a net zero energy building that includes both residential and commercial space is presented. Alternative energy systems such as wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, and a waste-to-fuel conversion plant have been incorporated into the design of a 50 story skyscraper that is not reliant on fossil fuels and has a payback time of about six years. Although the current building was designed to be located in San Francisco, simple modifications to the design would allow this building to fit the needs of any city around the world.

  4. Capacity building for sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development in Myanmar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steins, N.A.; Bosma, R.H.; Taal, K.; Bolman, B.C.; Bink, E.; Dop, van H.; Dekker, A.; Numan, J.; Spek, van der G.; Pijl, van der W.

    2015-01-01

    This report presents the results of a Dutch public-private capacity building (Knowledge to Knowledge or K2K) mission for fostering sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development in Myanmar. The objectives of the K2K mission were to: 1) analyse Myanmar’s aquaculture and fisheries knowledge

  5. Investigation on Smoke Movement and Smoke Control for Atrium in Green and Sustainable Buildings

    OpenAIRE

    Fang, Lui; Nielsen, Peter V.; Brohus, Henrik

    2007-01-01

     The concepts of green buildings and sustainable buildings are promoted actively in the developed countries. Targets are on protecting the environment, using less energy through natural ventilation provisions and daylight utilization, developing better waste management and taking resource conservation into account. Architectural and building design, electrical and mechanical systems, and building management have to be upgraded. However, there are problems in dealing with fire safety, especial...

  6. Assessing Sustainability in Developing Country Contexts: The Applicability of Green Building Rating Systems to Building Design and Construction in Madagascar and Tanzania

    OpenAIRE

    Ozolins, Peter Charles

    2010-01-01

    Buildings have significant and complex impacts both in their construction and in their use. Green building rating systems have been developed and promoted in more economically-advanced countries to offer guidelines to reduce negative impacts and to promote sustainable practices of building construction and operations. The green building rating system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), established in 1995 by the U.S. Green Building Council, is increasingly accepted as...

  7. The Evolution of the Sustainability Assessment Tool SBToolPT: From Buildings to the Built Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guilherme Castanheira

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the current trends in sustainability assessment. After about 15 years from the launch of sustainability assessment tools, focused on buildings evaluation, the paradigm of sustainability assessment tools is changing from the building scale to the built environment scale. Currently European cities and cities around the world are concerned with sustainable development, as well as its evolution. Cities seek a way to adapt to contemporary changes, in order to meet the required needs and ensure population’s well-being. Considering this, the new generations of sustainability assessment tools are being developed to be used to guide and help cities and urban areas to become more sustainable. Following the trend of the most important sustainability assessment tools, the sustainability assessment tool SBToolPT is also developing its version for assessing the sustainability of the built environment, namely, the urban planning projects and the urban regeneration projects, to be developed in Portugal, the SBToolPT-UP. The application of the methodology to three case studies will demonstrate its feasibility; at the same time this will identify the best practices which will serve as reference for new projects, thereby assisting the development of the tool.

  8. The Evolution of the Sustainability Assessment Tool SBToolPT: From Buildings to the Built Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragança, Luís

    2014-01-01

    This paper analyses the current trends in sustainability assessment. After about 15 years from the launch of sustainability assessment tools, focused on buildings evaluation, the paradigm of sustainability assessment tools is changing from the building scale to the built environment scale. Currently European cities and cities around the world are concerned with sustainable development, as well as its evolution. Cities seek a way to adapt to contemporary changes, in order to meet the required needs and ensure population's well-being. Considering this, the new generations of sustainability assessment tools are being developed to be used to guide and help cities and urban areas to become more sustainable. Following the trend of the most important sustainability assessment tools, the sustainability assessment tool SBToolPT is also developing its version for assessing the sustainability of the built environment, namely, the urban planning projects and the urban regeneration projects, to be developed in Portugal, the SBToolPT-UP. The application of the methodology to three case studies will demonstrate its feasibility; at the same time this will identify the best practices which will serve as reference for new projects, thereby assisting the development of the tool. PMID:24592171

  9. BPS, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources for buildings greening and zero energy cities planning harmony and ethics of sustainability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Todorovic, Marija S. [University of Belgrade, Serbia and Southeast University (China)

    2011-07-01

    Traditional village houses now use renewable materials and energy sources and this paper presents the intrinsic harmony of these buildings' greening and their sustainability. The paper covers building technical systems, sustainable energy supply, and the importance of renewable raw materials (RMS) for sustainable development. This study investigated the role of building dynamic behavior and optimized energy efficiency in reducing thermal loads significantly. A preliminary design for sustainable energy efficient settlements with net zero energy buildings is proposed and a comprehensive multidisciplinary engineering study was done which identified the technical feasibility of sustainable village energy and water supplies using solar or wind technologies. Overall, through analysis of sustainability definitions and possible ways to achieve sustainability, the study demonstrated that this can only be brought about by interdisciplinary interaction and finding the right balance between materiality and spirituality, science and art, and between technological development and concern for cultural and other human values.

  10. Building capacity for energy and electricity planning for sustainable development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-09-01

    The IAEA, through its Planning and Economic Studies Section (PESS), assists Member States to build their capacities to perform analyses for developing alternative strategies for sustainable energy development, evaluate the energy-economic-environmental implications and assess the potential contribution of nuclear energy in securing affordable and clean supplies of energy

  11. Optimal Decision Model for Sustainable Hospital Building Renovation—A Case Study of a Vacant School Building Converting into a Community Public Hospital

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juan, Yi-Kai; Cheng, Yu-Ching; Perng, Yeng-Horng; Castro-Lacouture, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    Much attention has been paid to hospitals environments since modern pandemics have emerged. The building sector is considered to be the largest world energy consumer, so many global organizations are attempting to create a sustainable environment in building construction by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, maintaining high standards of hygiene while reducing energy consumption has become a major task for hospitals. This study develops a decision model based on genetic algorithms and A* graph search algorithms to evaluate existing hospital environmental conditions and to recommend an optimal scheme of sustainable renovation strategies, considering trade-offs among minimal renovation cost, maximum quality improvement, and low environmental impact. Reusing vacant buildings is a global and sustainable trend. In Taiwan, for example, more and more school space will be unoccupied due to a rapidly declining birth rate. Integrating medical care with local community elder-care efforts becomes important because of the aging population. This research introduces a model that converts a simulated vacant school building into a community public hospital renovation project in order to validate the solutions made by hospital managers and suggested by the system. The result reveals that the system performs well and its solutions are more successful than the actions undertaken by decision-makers. This system can improve traditional hospital building condition assessment while making it more effective and efficient. PMID:27347986

  12. Optimal Decision Model for Sustainable Hospital Building Renovation-A Case Study of a Vacant School Building Converting into a Community Public Hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juan, Yi-Kai; Cheng, Yu-Ching; Perng, Yeng-Horng; Castro-Lacouture, Daniel

    2016-06-24

    Much attention has been paid to hospitals environments since modern pandemics have emerged. The building sector is considered to be the largest world energy consumer, so many global organizations are attempting to create a sustainable environment in building construction by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, maintaining high standards of hygiene while reducing energy consumption has become a major task for hospitals. This study develops a decision model based on genetic algorithms and A* graph search algorithms to evaluate existing hospital environmental conditions and to recommend an optimal scheme of sustainable renovation strategies, considering trade-offs among minimal renovation cost, maximum quality improvement, and low environmental impact. Reusing vacant buildings is a global and sustainable trend. In Taiwan, for example, more and more school space will be unoccupied due to a rapidly declining birth rate. Integrating medical care with local community elder-care efforts becomes important because of the aging population. This research introduces a model that converts a simulated vacant school building into a community public hospital renovation project in order to validate the solutions made by hospital managers and suggested by the system. The result reveals that the system performs well and its solutions are more successful than the actions undertaken by decision-makers. This system can improve traditional hospital building condition assessment while making it more effective and efficient.

  13. The Building sector commitment to promote the sustainability of construction products: a common European approach for the Environmental Product Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caterina Gargari

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The industry of construction products plays an important role in Europe in promoting the sustainability of the built environment in a life cycle perspective. Within the framework of the European initiatives for a sustainable competitiveness, manufacturers are interested in promoting a life cycle approach along the building chain. However both, institutions and building operators, in general still have to go a long way on designing and applying a sustainable and competitive industrial policy. This paper aims to describe the European background, the regulatory framework, identifying gaps and the actions to be undertaken to promote a market for sustainable products and sustainable buildings. In particular this paper deals with the assessment and communication of the environmental performance of construction products between the operators in the building chain, as a prerequisite for the sustainability of the built environment, and outlines the strategies to implement a proper evaluation and communication process.

  14. Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services for Sustainable Buildings: A Guide for Federal Project Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2004-06-01

    This guide was prepared to be a resource for federal construction project managers and others who want to integrate the principles of sustainable design into the procurement of professional building design and consulting services. To economize on energy costs and improve the safety, comfort, and health of building occupants, building design teams can incorporate daylighting, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and passive solar design into all projects in which these elements are technically and economically feasible. The information presented here will help project leaders begin the process and manage the inclusion of sustainable design in the procurement process. The section on establishing selection criteria contains key elements to consider before selecting an architectural and engineering (A/E) firm. The section on preparing the statement of work discusses the broad spectrum of sustainable design services that an A/E firm can provide. Several helpful checklists are included.

  15. Building and Sustaining Digital Collections: Models for Libraries and Museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington, DC.

    In February 2001, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) convened a meeting to discuss how museums and libraries are building digital collections and what business models are available to sustain them. A group of museum and library senior executives met with…

  16. A hybrid decision support system for sustainable office building renovation and energy performance improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juan, Yi-Kai [Department of Architecture, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) (China); Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University (United States); Gao, Peng [Department of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Tongji University (China); Wang, Jie [Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University (United States)

    2010-03-15

    Energy consumption of buildings accounts for around 20-40% of all energy consumed in advanced countries. Over the last decade, more and more global organizations are investing significant resources to create sustainably built environments, emphasizing sustainable building renovation processes to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This study develops an integrated decision support system to assess existing office building conditions and to recommend an optimal set of sustainable renovation actions, considering trade-offs between renovation cost, improved building quality, and environmental impacts. A hybrid approach that combines A* graph search algorithm with genetic algorithms (GA) is used to analyze all possible renovation actions and their trade-offs to develop the optimal solution. A two-stage system validation is performed to demonstrate the practical application of the hybrid approach: zero-one goal programming (ZOGP) and genetic algorithms are adopted to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. A real-world renovation project is introduced to validate differences in energy performance projected for the renovation solution suggested by the system. The results reveal that the proposed hybrid system is more computationally effective than either ZOGP or GA alone. The system's suggested renovation actions would provide substantial energy performance improvements to the real project if implemented. (author)

  17. Sustainable renovation of residential buildings and the landlord/tenant dilemma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ástmarsson, Björn; Jensen, Per Anker; Maslesa, Esmir

    2013-01-01

    The landlord/tenant dilemma arises when the interests of landlords and tenants misalign and is one of the greatest barriers hindering the development of sustainable renovation of residential buildings in Europe. The aim of this research is to investigate how regulatory changes and contractual solutions can help solve the landlord/tenant dilemma in relation to sustainable renovation of residential buildings, and how the general awareness of sustainable renovation can be increased. Particular focus is on whether tools like energy performance contracting and energy labeling can help solve the landlord/tenant dilemma. The research was done in relation to the specific situation in Denmark, but theory, information and experiences from other countries were included. The results show that there are plenty of opportunities to overcome the landlord/tenant dilemma, but principal/agent problems can only be overcome with a package solution. In the Danish national context the package solution must consist of legislative changes, financial incentives and better dissemination of information. Therefore, an array of different tools must be integrated and used in cooperation to overcome the dilemma. - Highlights: • There are plenty of opportunities to overcome the landlord/tenant dilemma. • The principal/agent problems can only be overcome with a package solution. • An array of different tools must be integrated and used in cooperation. • Legislative changes, financial incentives and better dissemination of information

  18. Building performance simulation for sustainable buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hensen, J.L.M.

    2010-01-01

    This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many

  19. Eco-Self-Build Housing Communities: Are They Feasible and Can They Lead to Sustainable and Low Carbon Lifestyles?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steffie Broer

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper concerns how sustainable and low carbon living can be enabled in new housing developments in the UK. It is here recognized that consumption of energy and resources is not just what goes into the building, but also long-term through occupancy and activities. Current approaches, which require housing developers to reduce the carbon emissions of the homes they build through a mixture of energy efficiency and renewable energy systems, do not sufficiently contribute to the carbon emission reductions which are necessary for meeting UK Government targets and to avoid dangerous climate change. Purchasing a home ties people in to not just direct consumption of energy (heating, hot water, electricity, but also effects other areas of consumption such as the embedded energy in the building and activities associated with the location and the type of development. Conventional business models for new housing development, operating under current government regulations, policies and targets have failed to develop housing which encourages the adoption of sustainable lifestyles taking whole life consumption into account. An alternative business model of eco-self-build communities is proposed as a way to foster desired behavior change. The feasibility of eco-self-build communities and their scope for supporting low carbon sustainable lifestyles is assessed through stakeholder interviews, and through quantitative assessment of costs, carbon emission reduction potential, and other sustainability impacts of technical and lifestyle options and their combinations. The research shows that eco-self-build communities are both feasible and have the ability to deliver low carbon lifestyles. In comparison to conventional approaches to building new housing, they have further advantages in terms of delivering wider social, environmental as well as economic sustainability objectives. If implemented correctly they could succeed in making sustainable lifestyles

  20. Sustainable Construction Industry Development and Green Buildings: A Case of Latvia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauskale, L.; Geipele, I.; Zeltins, N.; Vanags, J.

    2018-02-01

    Nowadays, more and more attention is being paid to the country's economy, construction industry and real estate market's sustainable development and to the studies related to these issues. The aim of the research is to analyse significant aspects of sustainable development of construction activities and real estate market, with particular focus on environmental aspects of construction or the role of green buildings. The research includes an integrated approach of construction industry analysis and analysis of real estate operations area. Scientific and practical solutions and recommendations will enable the industry participants to be introduced to the main sustainable aspects of construction industry development, which, in their turn, can improve the overall performance of the industry in the long term.

  1. Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries12

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Sunny S.; Rogers, Beatrice L.; Coates, Jennifer; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Sarriot, Eric

    2013-01-01

    After making large investments to put in place effective health and nutrition interventions, researchers, program implementers, policy makers, and donors all expect lasting effects. However, it is uncertain whether this is the case, and there is less certainty on how to approach the study of program sustainability. This symposium, “Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries,” provided not only frameworks for conceptualizing sustain...

  2. Building green covering for a sustainable use of energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.A. Campiotti

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays the growth of the cities increased built and paved areas, energy use and heat generation. The phenomenon of urban warming, called urban heat island, influences negatively outdoor comfort conditions, pollutants concentration, energy demand for air conditioning, as well as increases environmental impact due to the demand of energy generation. A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of green roofs and walls in order to reduce the energy consumption for conditioning in summer and improve the thermal insulation in winter. The use of green roofs and walls can contribute to mitigate the phenomenon of heat island, the emissions of greenhouse gases, and the storm water runoff affecting human thermal comfort, air quality and energy use of the buildings. Recently, a number of municipalities started to adopt regulations and constructive benefits for renovated and new buildings which incorporate green roofs and walls. The aim of this paper is to describe the green roofs and walls plant technology.

  3. The use of social media for improving sustainable energy and building operation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Helene Hjort

    2015-01-01

    This paper will draw perspectives of the experiences from the housing estate “Eight House”, using the social intranet media “Borigo”. How can Social Intranet Media support sustainable building operation with an overall aim of improving the residents’ sustainable practice? Can local operational...... managers of the residential area function as change agents in the process? What kind of process is needed? Can the use of social media support communities of practice?...

  4. Building Sustainable Capacity with University Partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, J. M.

    2013-05-01

    Universities can play an important role in building scientific and technical capacity by providing educational opportunities for local and regional populations in developing countries. These opportunities may be short term or long term through for example faculty exchanges, student exchanges, and collaborative teaching and research activities. As the demand for talented graduates expands in developing countries, local universities face competition for students, lecturers, and professors from the same industries and communities they serve. This competition is in many ways counterproductive to building the sustainable human resource that is needed to support local development, management, and governance. Such competition is particularly evident for top science and engineering students in energy rich countries. University partnerships, e.g., in particular those between universities in OECD countries and universities in developing countries, have an important role to play in bridging the gap between today's lack of capacity and a sustainable human resource for the future. Such university partnerships, however, face many challenges, some of which can be traced to organizational and cultural differences In this presentation, I will discuss how university partnerships are formed, some of the benefits to partners, and some pitfalls to avoid during implementation of university partnerships. The examples are taken from Stanford partnerships that involve geoscience and engineering, and will include representative goals and content of the example partnerships. These partnerships I'll describe are actually trilateral, with partners from two or more universities and a private company or government agency. I conclude the presentation with a brief discussion on multiculturalism, perhaps the most important consideration when planning a partnership between diverse organizations. Organizers of partnerships must recognize the fact that multiculturalism and diversity are assets that

  5. Sustainable Building Assessment of Colonial Shophouses after Adaptive Reuse in Kuala Lumpur

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karam M. Al-Obaidi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Kuala Lumpur, as a major capital city, has undergone a drastic transformation in the past ten years. Many heritage buildings have been sacrificed for urban renewal projects. Those located in the touristic heritage zones within Kuala Lumpur were being converted by their owners into hotels and cafés to meet current demands to sustain their incomes. This approach, however, creates several physical and environmental issues within the new adaptation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the building performance of heritage shophouses that were adapted into budget hotels. The research focuses on two case studies in a strategic and historical location of Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. At the initial stage, interviews and physical surveys were done to determine the context of this study. The authors of this research then used a triangulation method through indoor environmental condition assessment, measurements of indoor environmental conditions and occupant survey to determine the indoor building performance after the adaption. Results showed that adaptive reuse heritage buildings can perform and meet new indoor environmental requirements, but many sensitive design judgments need to be made before the adaptive reuse renovation. The research found that the use of natural light, natural ventilation, recycled materials and water efficiency have been neglected and thus, they should be prioritized and preserved to ensure a successful change of use. Conserving existing heritage buildings, while incorporating new usages with acceptable comfort, is in line with the principle of sustainability.

  6. Sustainable Construction Industry Development and Green Buildings: A Case of Latvia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kauskale L.

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, more and more attention is being paid to the country's economy, construction industry and real estate market's sustainable development and to the studies related to these issues. The aim of the research is to analyse significant aspects of sustainable development of construction activities and real estate market, with particular focus on environmental aspects of construction or the role of green buildings. The research includes an integrated approach of construction industry analysis and analysis of real estate operations area. Scientific and practical solutions and recommendations will enable the industry participants to be introduced to the main sustainable aspects of construction industry development, which, in their turn, can improve the overall performance of the industry in the long term.

  7. Building Theory at the Intersection of Ecological Sustainability and Strategic Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borland, Helen; Ambrosini, Véronique; Lindgreen, Adam

    2016-01-01

    This article builds theory at the intersection of ecological sustainability and strategic management literature—specifically, in relation to dynamic capabilities literature. By combining industrial organization economics–based, resource-based, and dynamic capability–based views, it is possible...... to develop a better understanding of the strategies that businesses may follow, depending on their managers’ assumptions about ecological sustainability. To develop innovative strategies for ecological sustainability, the dynamic capabilities framework needs to be extended. In particular, the sensing......–seizing–maintaining competitiveness framework should operate not only within the boundaries of a business ecosystem but in relation to global biophysical ecosystems; in addition, two more dynamic capabilities should be added, namely, remapping and reaping. This framework can explicate core managerial beliefs about ecological...

  8. An Early Look at Building a Social Learning for Sustainability Community of Practice: RCE Grand Rapids' Flagship Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glasser, Harold

    2010-01-01

    Grand Rapids is the first United Nations University (UNU) Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on education for sustainable development (ESD) in the United States. It builds on the region's long history and deep foundation in research, planning and problem solving to build a sustainable future. This article explores the concept of RCEs as social…

  9. Building Castles Together: A sustainable collaboration as a perpetual work-in-progress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Vazquez Jacobus

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The Building Castles Together project is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Southern Maine at Lewiston-Auburn College and Sandcastle Clinical and Educational Services that aims to build solidarity and resilience in vulnerable young children, their families and their community. This article explores how the partnership exemplifies five key areas impacting the sustainability of community-university collaborations. 1 Mutuality and reciprocity are foundational elements in establishing trust and ensuring project relevance to both organisations. 2 Interdisciplinarity and diversity are constructs related to the core mission of both the University and Sandcastle. The multiple perspectives offer a range of holistic strategies for addressing complex social problems, but also create the potential for misunderstandings between disciplines and organisations. 3 Community integration at multiple levels is critical to the partnership’s sustainability as well as to achievement of its ideals. 4 Dynamic interaction is an evolutionary process, both internal and external to both organisations, that impacts their relative contributions and necessitates flexibility in planning and outcomes. 5 Asset enhancement describes the potential to increase capacity, but also the concern for overextension and resource exhaustion. We conclude that sustainability in university-community partnerships is not a goal in itself, but an ongoing process, and an attribute of a partnership based on common principles, continuous input and constant change. Keywords Community-university partnership, sustainability, diversity, vulnerable youth

  10. On methods of sustainable architectural design of bio-positive buildings in the low-rise residential development structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhogoleva Anna

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the author’s research is to determine the actual content of sustainable architectural design for suburban residential development. In accordance with the methodology of area sustainable development the traditional architectural design according to the rules and regulations is completed with additional approaches and methods. As a result, methods of bio-positive design of buildings have been studied and defined, including: the principle of planning transformations, the use of environmentally friendly, local building materials and design concepts, energy-efficient architectural design, the use of alternative energy in building operation, the design of the energy intake and accumulationsystems, the architectural and landscape design that ensures stable functioning of autonomous, sustainable biosystems on the site, non-waste functioning of architectural objects, introduction of waste disposal systems in the project.

  11. The New Jersey Nursing Initiative: building sustainable collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakewell-Sachs, Susan; Mertz, Lynn M; Egreczky, Dana; Ladden, Maryjoan

    2011-01-01

    The New Jersey Nursing Initiative was publically launched in 2009 as a 5-year, $22 million program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It was reauthorized in 2011 through 2016 for an additional $8.5 million. The initiative includes a faculty preparation program and strategic tracks of work focusing on building education capacity, increasing current faculty capacity, making nurse faculty a preferred career, leading policy initiatives, creating sustainable funding in support of nursing education, and ultimately, building local, regional, and statewide collaborative networks. The tagline, "So a Nurse will be there for You," emphasizes both the reality of an aging nursing workforce needing replacement and the expected health care transformation that will result in the need for new knowledge and skills in the future nursing workforce. The purpose of this article was to describe the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, emphasizing the partnerships that have resulted from the project to date. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Sustainable Urban (re-Development with Building Integrated Energy, Water and Waste Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tae-Goo Lee

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The construction and service of urban infrastructure systems and buildings involves immense resource consumption. Cities are responsible for the largest component of global energy, water, and food consumption as well as related sewage and organic waste production. Due to ongoing global urbanization, in which the largest sector of the global population lives in cities which are already built, global level strategies need to be developed that facilitate both the sustainable construction of new cities and the re-development of existing urban environments. A very promising approach in this regard is the decentralization and building integration of environmentally sound infrastructure systems for integrated resource management. This paper discusses such new and innovative building services engineering systems, which could contribute to increased energy efficiency, resource productivity, and urban resilience. Applied research and development projects in Germany, which are based on integrated system approaches for the integrated and environmentally sound management of energy, water and organic waste, are used as examples. The findings are especially promising and can be used to stimulate further research and development, including economical aspects which are crucial for sustainable urban (re-development.

  13. Nation-wide development of sustainable production patterns. The case of 16 years of sustainability in Dutch residential house building

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bossink, B.A.G.

    2009-01-01

    This paper integrates the interorganisational innovation process and national innovation system-approach into a new model. A case study research project that covers a 16-year period of sustainable innovations in the Dutch residential building industry applies the model. The research outcomes

  14. Architectural qualities of Danish office buildings built between 1960 and 1980, seen in a contemporary sustainable perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hannoudi, L.; Lauring, M.; Christensen, Jørgen Erik

    2016-01-01

    This study is about evaluating the past and present architectural quality of office buildings built between1960 and 1980 in Denmark. The evaluation will focus on the expression of these buildings in relation to their context, combined with the present sustainable performance of the buildings...

  15. Sustainability and office building conversions : A comparison of Dutch and Australian practices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Remøy, H.T.; Wilkinson, S.J.

    2011-01-01

    Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation to reduce building related energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a carbon neutral city,

  16. The importance of ergonomics to sustainability throughout a building's life cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Linda; Dorsey, Julie; Jacobs, Karen

    2012-01-01

    Protecting and conserving environmental resources is a global concern. Over the past decade, a number of certification processes have emerged to help designers and operators of buildings assess the potential impact of a building on the environment. Certifications such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consider the environmental impact through the lifecycle of a building, but may not be considering the people that construct and utilize it. It is important to remember the human factor. Considering the human factor throughout the lifecycle is crucial to ensure individuals are protected during construction and in operation in the built environment. The paper highlights how ergonomics can be integrated into the life cycle of a building to promote sustainability goals for both the human factor and the environment. A case study approach will be used to illustrate how ergonomics was integrated into a LEED renovation and expanded into its daily operations on a large university campus..

  17. A Real-Time Recording Model of Key Indicators for Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Sustainable Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Weiwei; Yang, Huanjia; Chew, David; Hou, Yanhong; Li, Qiming

    2014-01-01

    Buildings' sustainability is one of the crucial parts for achieving urban sustainability. Applied to buildings, life-cycle assessment encompasses the analysis and assessment of the environmental effects of building materials, components and assemblies throughout the entire life of the building construction, use and demolition. Estimate of carbon emissions is essential and crucial for an accurate and reasonable life-cycle assessment. Addressing the need for more research into integrating analysis of real-time and automatic recording of key indicators for a more accurate calculation and comparison, this paper aims to design a real-time recording model of these crucial indicators concerning the calculation and estimation of energy use and carbon emissions of buildings based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based system. The architecture of the RFID-based carbon emission recording/tracking system, which contains four functional layers including data record layer, data collection/update layer, data aggregation layer and data sharing/backup layer, is presented. Each of these layers is formed by RFID or network devices and sub-systems that operate at a specific level. In the end, a proof-of-concept system is developed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of the design. This study would provide the technical solution for real-time recording system of building carbon emissions and thus is of great significance and importance to improve urban sustainability. PMID:24831109

  18. Sustainability assessment, rating systems and historical buildings Case study: Rehabilitated construction in a university site

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadrykia Somayeh

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the relationship between the indicators and different factors that “rating systems for green projects” concentrates on, and principles and factors considered in the rehabilitation of historical buildings. In recent years, different methods and systems concerned and improved for assessing environmental sustainability. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment (BRE Environmental Assessment Method are two most commonly used rating systems, established in U.S and UK. These systems comprise some categories and different factors to achieve environmentally responsible design. Firstly, this study focuses on the list of rating systems indicators and criteria. Secondly this paper investigates a historical rehabilitated building in the site of Tabriz Art University, as a case study and has tried to compile its green design elements. Finally, this work intends to compare mentioned elements with indicators and factors of building rating systems. Findings of the study revealed that “Materials and Resources”, “indoor environmental quality” and also “Sustainable Sites” ,the most significant indicator of rating systems, had major and important role in the rehabilitation of the building. Beyond this materials’ life cycle was considerable in construction.

  19. Urban ecology and sustainable building in a Danish era of public de-regulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

    , to which extent the changes should be seen as a result of respectively the right-wing government, or international trends in environmental management and public regulation – as characterised by the concepts of “Ecological Modernisation” and “New Public Management”. The recent development in the sector......The article describes the changed conditions for sustainable building in Denmark in the last decade and describes the different actors and there relations during this period. It also discusses to what extent the new right-wing government, which came to power in 2001, initiated these changes...... extent been based on public subsidies, and on grass-root activities. The new government however, has changed many of the previously state-supported conditions for sustainable building, and have escalated and narrowed a policy based on the principles of New Public Management. The discussions will include...

  20. Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity. The Soul of Educational Leadership Series. Volume 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blankstein, Alan M.; Houston, Paul D.; Cole, Robert W.

    2009-01-01

    Today's rapidly changing schools and educational trends present administrators and school leaders with unique challenges. This fifth volume in the "Soul of Educational Leadership" series offers inspiring articles that examine how to sustain the achievements of school communities while building shared leadership to carry on the work of school…

  1. Building evidence for sustainability of food and nutrition intervention programs in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sunny S; Rogers, Beatrice L; Coates, Jennifer; Gilligan, Daniel O; Sarriot, Eric

    2013-09-01

    After making large investments to put in place effective health and nutrition interventions, researchers, program implementers, policy makers, and donors all expect lasting effects. However, it is uncertain whether this is the case, and there is less certainty on how to approach the study of program sustainability. This symposium, "Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries," provided not only frameworks for conceptualizing sustainability but concrete evidence about the approaches and methods used as well as lessons on how they do or do not work in particular contexts. We presented the following findings: 1) sustainability of activities and impacts of Title II food aid programs in Bolivia and Kenya, 2) sustainability of impact in terms of adoption and consumption of a biofortified orange sweet potato in Uganda, and 3) lessons from incorporating pro-sustainability investment strategies in child survival programs in Guinea. Our symposium introduced a new important body of research on program sustainability to provide insights and stimulate innovative thinking in the design and planning of further applied research and future prosustainability intervention programs.

  2. A net-zero building application and its role in exergy-aware local energy strategies for sustainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kılkış, Şiir

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Net-zero exergy targets are put forth for more energy-sufficient buildings and districts. ► A premier building that is the first LEED Platinum building in Turkey exemplifies this target. ► The building integrates low-exergy measures with PV/BIPV, CHP, GSHP, solar collectors and TES. ► Two districts in the south heating network of Stockholm are compared with this technology bundle. ► Net-zero exergy targets are related to a re-structuring of an exergy-aware energy value chain. - Abstract: Based on two case studies, this paper explores the nexus of exergy, net-zero targets, and sustainable cities as a means of analyzing the role of exergy-aware strategies at the building and district level. The first case study is a premier building in Ankara that is ready to meet the net-zero exergy target. It is also the first building in Turkey to receive the highest Platinum rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A net-zero exergy building (NZEXB) is a building that has an annual sum of net-zero exergy transfer across the building-district boundary. This new target is made possible by lowered annual exergy consumption, (AEXC), and increased on-site production from a bundle of sustainable energy technologies. The modeled results of the building indicate that the reduced AEXC of 60 kW h/m 2 yr is met with on-site production of 62 kW h/m 2 yr. On-site production includes PV and building integrated PV, a micro-wind turbine, combined heat and power, GSHP, and solar collectors. Diversified thermal energy storage tanks further facilitate the exergy supply to meet with the exergy demand. The results of this case study provide key lessons to structure an energy value chain that is more aware of exergy, which are up-scalable to the district level when the bundle of sustainable energy technologies is zoomed out across a larger spatial area. These key lessons are then compared with the second case study of two districts in the south heating network

  3. Optimal and Sustainable Plant Refurbishment in Historical Buildings: A Study of an Ancient Monastery Converted into a Showroom in Florence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Balocco

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to study the possibility and sustainability of retrofit and refurbishment design solutions on historical buildings converted to different uses and often clashing with their original purpose and architectural features. The building studied is an ancient monastery located in the historical center of Florence (Italy. Today the original cloister is covered over by a single glazed pitched roof and used as a fashion showroom. Our proposed solution concerns a reversible and sustainable plant design integrated with an active transparent building casing. The existing glazed pitched roof was reconsidered and re-designed as part of the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC plant system, based on the functioning of an active thermal buffer to control the high heat flow rates and external thermal loads due to solar radiation. Hourly whole building energy analysis was carried out to check the effectiveness and energy sustainability of our proposed solution. Results obtained showed, from the historical-architectural, energy and environmental points of view, its sustainability due to the building-plant system integration and interaction with its location, the external climatic conditions and defined expected uses, in particular with reference to indoor thermal comfort.

  4. Sustainable transformation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Nicolai Bo

    This paper is about sustainable transformation with a particular focus on listed buildings. It is based on the notion that sustainability is not just a question of energy conditions, but also about the building being robust. Robust architecture means that the building can be maintained and rebuilt......, that it can be adapted to changing functional needs, and that it has an architectural and cultural value. A specific proposal for a transformation that enhances the architectural qualities and building heritage values of an existing building forms the empirical material, which is discussed using different...... theoretical lenses. It is proposed that three parameters concerning the ꞌtransformabilityꞌ of the building can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of sustainable transformation: technical aspects, programmatic requirements and narrative value. It is proposed that the concept of ꞌsustainable...

  5. Integrating Poverty and Gender into Health Programs: A Sourcebook for Health Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coll-Black, Sarah; Bhushan, Anjana; Fritsch, Kathleen

    2007-12-01

    Evidence increasingly shows that poverty and gender inequalities are important determinants of health and influence the opportunity for timely and appropriate health care. These findings suggest that health professionals need to have a sound understanding of health inequalities and their causes, as well as of how they can be addressed. However, through surveys to health ministries and educational institutions in 2001, the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific found that awareness of, and capacity to respond to, poverty and gender concerns in health was weak. In response, the Regional Office initiated a project to develop materials to support the integration of poverty and gender concerns into health professional education curricula. The multimodule publication, Integrating Poverty and Gender into Health Programmes: A Sourcebook for Health Professionals, supports evidence-based and participatory learning. The experience to date suggests that the publication might be meeting a long-felt need for such a response.

  6. Build IT: Scaling and Sustaining an Afterschool Computer Science Program for Girls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, Melissa; Gorges, Torie; Penuel, William R.

    2012-01-01

    "Co-design"--including youth development staff along with curriculum designers--is the key to developing an effective program that is both scalable and sustainable. This article describes Build IT, a two-year afterschool and summer curriculum designed to help middle school girls develop fluency in information technology (IT), interest in…

  7. Building a sustainable Academic Health Department: the South Carolina model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Lillian Upton; Waddell, Lisa; Kyle, Joseph; Hand, Gregory A

    2014-01-01

    Given the limited resources available to public health, it is critical that university programs complement the development needs of agencies. Unfortunately, academic and practice public health entities have long been challenged in building sustainable collaborations that support practice-based research, teaching, and service. The academic health department concept offers a promising solution. In South Carolina, the partners started their academic health department program with a small grant that expanded into a dynamic infrastructure that supports innovative professional exchange and development programs. This article provides a background and describes the key elements of the South Carolina model: joint leadership, a multicomponent memorandum of agreement, and a shared professional development mission. The combination of these elements allows the partners to leverage resources and deftly respond to challenges and opportunities, ultimately fostering the sustainability of the collaboration.

  8. Performance evaluation of operational energy use in refurbishment, reuse, and conservation of heritage buildings for optimum sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.K. Akande

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The operational phase of a building project has increasingly gained importance with their energy performance becoming valuable and determining their operational excellence. In most heritage building projects (HBPs, the operational energy use aspects are less considered, and a systematic way of analyzing their energy performance following project delivery is often lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the operational performance of refurbishment and reuse of UK listed church projects. The objective is to assess the operational energy use with a view to optimizing their sustainable performance. The methodology includes eight selected case study buildings refurbished and converted for multipurpose use. The case study approach provided qualitative insights into how the study contributes to a more structured requirements for energy management in HBPs with specific attention to energy-efficient building operations. The findings show the need to focus on fundamental areas of operational management (i.e. by developing and implementing more focused policy on operational energy performance of heritage buildings to minimize the energy required to operate them. The challenges of implementing changes in operational energy performance improvement of heritage buildings are addressed in the form of recommendations that could lead to real results. The study concludes that leveraging these areas requires commitment from all heritage building stakeholders because they all have substantial roles in harmonizing the requirement for the project׳s sustainability and not just the building operators. Meanwhile, baseline project planning, periodic updating, monitoring, and managing the energy use pattern are suggested as measures that could greatly facilitate better energy performance to optimizing their sustainable reuse compared with the traditional approach of trying to improve their thermal performance.

  9. Access a better development for Chinese sustainable building -A study of problems and proposal from a technical view

    OpenAIRE

    Gong, Boyun

    2012-01-01

    Sustainable building issue plays a key role in world sustainable development as the building industry converge major sectors of energy, water and material consumption that have huge affect on social and environment. Modern China is under the process of sifting from agriculture society to industrialized society, experiencing a fast economic growth and urbanization, facing big amount of environment and energy problems. Large amount of migration swam from rural area to urban area, which bring up...

  10. Children and Development in the 1990s: A UNICEF Sourcebook on the Occasion of the World Summit for Children (New York, New York, September 20-30, 1990).

    Science.gov (United States)

    United Nations Children's Fund, New York, NY.

    This eight-part sourcebook provides background information, data, and references relating to child welfare issues throughout the world. The book is organized around a set of goals for children in the 1990s. An introductory section provides an overview of these goals and strategies for achieving them, and discusses infant and child mortality,…

  11. Water sustainable management for buildings Water sustainable management for buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Arturo Ocaña Ponce

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a literature review article that deals with how to manage water in build­ings, specifically in facility projects, in ways to save water during the use, maintenance and operation of the building. This work is aimed at architects, builders and developers, and may be helpful for decision-making in the planning and management of efficient water use in buildings.Este trabajo es un artículo de revisión relacionado con el manejo y gestión del recurso agua, particularmente en proyectos de edificaciones, con el fin de propiciar ahorro de agua durante el uso, mantenimiento y operación del inmueble. Este documento está dirigido a arquitectos, constructores y desarrolladores inmobiliarios y puede ser de gran utilidad para la toma de decisiones en la fase de planeación y de gestión del uso eficiente del agua en los edificios.

  12. The evaluation of innovative production to ensure quality in sustainable buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonella Postorino

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The LaboReg has spent years to focus on the purpose of internal research on practical application of the achieved  results and the involvement in all phases of business, governments and local entrepreneurs in order to anticipate times and procedures to make a decision towards sustainable solutions. The synergy created between the academic world, the local government and the businesses has put together a research whose main objective is oriented towards the implementation of the productive sectors of the local construction materials to be used in the restoration and rehabilitation of historic buildings and new green building measures in the prospective of environmental sustainability and energy conservation. Within the research programme, interesting results have emerged in the field of experiments called “New Historical Materials.” In this field of ​​activity a research has emerged on the implementation of a prototype of a “new town photovoltaic roof tiles”. The study has provided a first significant result, that is the development of a model of assessment and control of production processes, and some innovative materials.

  13. Proposed strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to critical urban issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truong, Nguyen Hoang Long; Huan Giang, Ngoc; Binh Duong, Trong

    2018-03-01

    This paper aims at finding practical strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to varied municipal issues. Two steps are made. Step-1 identifies the critical issues of Ho Chi Minh City which are associated with high-rise apartment building projects. Step-2 finds potential and applicable strategies which are solutions for the critical issues in Step-1 with reference of seven selected assessment methods. The study finds the set of 58 strategies applicable to designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City.

  14. Sustainability and productivity of southern pine ecosystems: A thematic framework for integrating research and building partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles K. McMahon; James P. Barnett

    2000-01-01

    In 1997, the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) published a Strategic Plan that formed a framework for addressing the Sustainability of Southern Forest Ecosystems. Six crosscutting themes were identified to facilitate research integration and partnership building among the widely dispersed SRS research work units. The Sustainability and Productivity of...

  15. A Real-Time Recording Model of Key Indicators for Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Sustainable Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiwei Wu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Buildings’ sustainability is one of the crucial parts for achieving urban sustainability. Applied to buildings, life-cycle assessment encompasses the analysis and assessment of the environmental effects of building materials, components and assemblies throughout the entire life of the building construction, use and demolition. Estimate of carbon emissions is essential and crucial for an accurate and reasonable life-cycle assessment. Addressing the need for more research into integrating analysis of real-time and automatic recording of key indicators for a more accurate calculation and comparison, this paper aims to design a real-time recording model of these crucial indicators concerning the calculation and estimation of energy use and carbon emissions of buildings based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID-based system. The architecture of the RFID-based carbon emission recording/tracking system, which contains four functional layers including data record layer, data collection/update layer, data aggregation layer and data sharing/backup layer, is presented. Each of these layers is formed by RFID or network devices and sub-systems that operate at a specific level. In the end, a proof-of-concept system is developed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of the design. This study would provide the technical solution for real-time recording system of building carbon emissions and thus is of great significance and importance to improve urban sustainability.

  16. Open Space between Residential Buildings as a Factor of Sustainable Development - Case Studies in Brno (Czech Republic) and Vienna (Austria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilnarová, Pavla; Wittmann, Maxmilian

    2017-12-01

    The characteristics of open spaces between residential buildings have, as authors suppose, an impact on the sustainable development of urban areas. Spatial arrangement and accessibility of these spaces, the type and height of surrounding buildings, the quantity and character of greenery, and many more characteristics influence the quality of environment, and the quality of life of local residents. These and further characteristics of the open spaces between residential buildings influence the ecological stability of the area, its hygienic qualities, the intensity and way of using by various social groups, and also the prices of real estates. These qualities indicate the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the urban area. The proposed research methodology assessed specific indicators of sustainability within a range from 0 to 10 points. 5 points correspond to the general standard in the area, 0 points indicate degradation, and 10 points indicate the highest contribution to sustainable development. Observation methods, questionnaire survey, statistical analyses, and methods of measurement were used to determine the values of the given indicators. The paper analyses the impact of the open spaces between residential buildings on sustainability via the case studies performed in the Central European cities of Brno, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria. Two forms of residential urban structures in the City of Brno in the Czech Republic were selected for the analysis: the closed courtyards in the urban block from the 19th century and the open spaces in the housing estates constructed under socialism in the 20th century. The question is, if the different forms of spaces between residential buildings influence the sustainability of urban area and satisfaction of inhabitants in different ways. A complementary case study in Vienna indicates that inhabitants of a housing estate in Vienna, as well as inhabitants of housing estates in Brno, highly appreciate the

  17. Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Global experiences now show that the changing agenda requires new ways of thinking about and doing research and development. .... the sourcebook, review of paper contributions and participation in critical advisory committee meetings. ...... Creative methodologies are necessary in developing appropriate technologies ...

  18. SUSTAINABLE AND DESIGN BUILDING PROCESSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvio F. R. MOTTA

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a historical revision of the sustainable development and the sustainable in the constructed environment. It describes the main concepts and practices for implantation of the sustainable in the civil construction. These concepts and practices are reviewed from the perspective of the dialectic method, the general theory of systems and the theories of creative processes. These concepts are also analyzed from the perspective of quality management. The article proposes a model based on the dialectic, in which sustainability is considered an open system and a search inventive. The implantation of the sustainable in projects, companies and design processes are considered as main strategy. A vertical insertion of the sustainable in the process is proposal. In this vertical insertion, the sustainable is presents in all the phases and activities of the process. The model is organized to promote the external creative solutions to the process, through the promotion of research centers. Tools of selection of possibilities and practical are suggested, considering the characteristic dialectics proposals. The article concludes that sustainable is a cultural change in the processes, practical and management current.

  19. Sustainable capacity building among immigrant communities: the raising sexually healthy children program in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narushima, Miya; Wong, Josephine Pui-Hing; Li, Anda; Sutdhibhasilp, Noulmook

    2014-03-01

    The Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) program is a peer-to-peer leadership training program for immigrant parents in Toronto, Canada. It was established in 1998 with the goal of promoting family sex education and parent-child communication. This evaluative study examined the developmental processes and outcomes of the RSHC program to identify the strengths, challenges and insights that can be used to improve the program. It employed a multi-case study approach to compare the RSHC programs delivered in the Chinese, Portuguese and Tamil communities. Data collection methods included focus groups, individual interviews and document analysis. The cross-case analysis identified both common and unique capacity building processes and outcomes in the three communities. In this paper, we report factors that have enhanced and hindered sustainable capacity building at the individual, group/organizational and community levels, and the strategies used by these communities to address challenges common to immigrant families. We will discuss the ecological and synergetic, but time-consuming processes of capacity building, which contributed to the sustainability of RSHC as an empowering health promotion program for immigrant communities. We conclude the paper by noting the implications of using a capacity building approach to promote family health in ethno-racial-linguistic minority communities.

  20. 75 FR 34657 - Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-18

    ... Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Buildings AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and....S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Federal Energy Management... June 11, 2010. Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. [FR Doc. 2010...

  1. Sustainable enterprise in office buildings of small businesses; Duurzaam ondernemen in het kantoorhoudende MKB

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertens, C. [Panteia/EIM, Zoetermeer (Netherlands); Muizer, A. [Panteia/Consult, Zoetermeer (Netherlands)

    2012-05-15

    SMEs in the Netherlands will increasingly face stricter sustainability criteria in procurement procedures. A study has been carried out among 375 small businesses that will provide insight into the state of sustainability in office buildings of SMEs. Attention is paid to the importance of sustainability, measures taken with regard to sustainable enterprising, plans and ambitions; and required support [Dutch] Het MKB krijgt in toenemende mate te maken met strengere duurzaamheidseisen in aanbestedingsprocedures. Er is onderzoek gedaan onder 375 bedrijven waarmee inzicht wordt gegeven in de stand van zaken van duurzaam ondernemen in het kantoorhoudend MKB. Het gaat in grote lijnen om de volgende aspecten: het belang van duurzaam ondernemen; genomen maatregelen op het gebied van duurzaam ondernemen; plannen en ambities; benodigde ondersteuning.

  2. Building a Sustainable Energy Future for Africa - Acting Now and Together

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fall, L.

    2007-07-01

    The key energy challenges Africa is facing are: low level of access to commercial energy, low per capita energy consumption, weak development of energy infrastructure and lack of investment and financing for energy projects. Addressing these challenges is critical for sustainable economic and social development, and assured access to secure, affordable and reliable energy. In spite of these daunting challenges, Africa is well endowed in energy resources, but these resources are largely untapped and concentrated in a few countries. In addition, there are numerous 'rooms' for opportunities that could be seized concretely to overcome the main obstacles to the Sustainable Energy Development of the Continent. Thus, right actions must be taken to overcome these obstacles, including: financing the huge needed investments, technological development, private-public partnerships, energy market reform and effective regulation, sound and sustainable energy policies, and economic and social measures. Subsequently, from priority areas, the related stakeholders should 'act now' and 'act together', through effective collaboration and partnership and making proper alliances, to initiate effective and concrete actions to support Africa aspirations in order to build a Sustainable Energy Future for Africa, in a cost-effective and timely manner. (auth)

  3. Building a Sustainable Global Surgical Program in an Academic Department of Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Linda P; Silverberg, Daniel; Divino, Celia M; Marin, Michael

    Global surgery and volunteerism in surgery has gained significant interest in recent years for general surgery residents across the country. However, there are few well-established long-term surgical programs affiliated with academic institutions. The present report discusses the implementation process and challenges facing an academic institution in building a long-term sustainable global surgery program. As one of the pioneer programs in global surgery for residents, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai global surgery rotation has been successfully running for the last 10 years in a small public hospital in the Dominican Republic. The present report details many key components of implementing a sustainable global surgery program and the evolution of this program over time. Since 2005, 80 general surgery residents have rotated through Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the Dominican Republic. They have performed a total of 1239 major operations and 740 minor operations. They have also participated in 328 emergency cases. More importantly, this rotation helped shape residents' sense of social responsibility and ownership in their surgical training. Residents have also contributed to the training of local residents in laparoscopic skills and through cultural exchange. As interest in global surgery grows among general surgery residents, it is essential that supporting academic institutions create sustainable and capacity-building rotations for their residents. These programs must address many of the barriers that can hinder maintenance of a sustainable global surgery experience for residents. After 10 years of sending our residents to the Dominican Republic, we have found that it is possible and valuable to incorporate a formal global surgery rotation into a general surgery residency. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. DRIVER: Building a Sustainable Infrastructure of European Scientific Repositories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norbert Lossau

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available DRIVER has a clear vision: All research institutions in Europe and worldwide make all their research publications openly accessible through institutional repositories. The vision follows the Berlin Declaration, which called in October 2003 for ‘free and unrestricted access to sciences and human knowledge representation worldwide’. Initiated by the internationally renowned German research organisation the Max-Planck-Society, and signed by many international research organisations and institutes, the Berlin Declaration has set a political statement. In building a sustainable infrastructure for scientific repositories, DRIVER brings to this statement the reality of scholarly communication in the future.

  5. Design Solutions for Sustainable Construction of Pre Engineered Steel Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Umair Saleem

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable construction of ecofriendly infrastructure has been the priority of worldwide researchers. The induction of modern technology in the steel manufacturing industry has enabled designers to get the desired control over the steel section shapes and profiles resulting in efficient use of construction material and manufacturing energy required to produce these materials. The current research study is focused on the optimization of steel building costs with the use of pre-engineered building construction technology. Construction of conventional steel buildings (CSB incorporates the use of hot rolled sections, which have uniform cross-section throughout the length. However, pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB utilize steel sections, which are tailored and profiled based on the required loading effects. In this research study, the performance of PEB steel frames in terms of optimum use of steel sections and its comparison with the conventional steel building is presented in detail. A series of PEB and CSB steel frames is selected and subjected to various loading conditions. Frames were analyzed using Finite Element Based analysis tool and design was performed using American Institute of Steel Construction design specifications. Comparison of the frames has been established in terms of frame weights, lateral displacements (sway and vertical displacements (deflection of the frames. The results have clearly indicated that PEB steel frames are not only the most economical solution due to lesser weight of construction but also have shown better performance compared to CSB frames.

  6. STUDY OF SHELL FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT OF SUSTAINABLE LOW-RISE BUILDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DANISHEVSKYI V. V.

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of study the shell for energy-efficient environmental low-rise residential building, corresponding to the criteria of sustainable development in construction. Purpose. The purpose of the presented research is providing a study of parameters for shell of energy-efficient environmental low-rise buildings. Methodology. Research is carried out on the basis of an improved method for calculating the thermal characteristics of the external walling, as well as physical heat transfer simulation. Conclusion.The ratio between the thickness of external walling and the proportion of heat loss through them was determined, and also the heat loss through thermal "bridges" was studied. Originality. The limits for the optimum thickness of the external walling of ecological materials was analyzed, and it was offered solution for minimization of heat loss through the nodes of shell. Practical value.Recommendations are worked out on constructing of thermal shell at planning of energy-efficient low-rise residential buildings.

  7. Biosafety and Biosecurity: A Relative Risk-Based Framework for Safer, More Secure, and Sustainable Laboratory Capacity Building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickmann, Petra; Sheeley, Heather; Lightfoot, Nigel

    2015-01-01

    Laboratory capacity building is characterized by a paradox between endemicity and resources: countries with high endemicity of pathogenic agents often have low and intermittent resources (water, electricity) and capacities (laboratories, trained staff, adequate regulations). Meanwhile, countries with low endemicity of pathogenic agents often have high-containment facilities with costly infrastructure and maintenance governed by regulations. The common practice of exporting high biocontainment facilities and standards is not sustainable and concerns about biosafety and biosecurity require careful consideration. A group at Chatham House developed a draft conceptual framework for safer, more secure, and sustainable laboratory capacity building. The draft generic framework is guided by the phrase "LOCAL - PEOPLE - MAKE SENSE" that represents three major principles: capacity building according to local needs (local) with an emphasis on relationship and trust building (people) and continuous outcome and impact measurement (make sense). This draft generic framework can serve as a blueprint for international policy decision-making on improving biosafety and biosecurity in laboratory capacity building, but requires more testing and detailing development.

  8. Biosafety and Biosecurity: A relative risk-based framework for safer, more secure and sustainable laboratory capacity building

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra eDickmann

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Laboratory capacity building is characterized by a paradox between endemicity and resources: Countries with high endemicity of pathogenic agents often have low and intermittent resources (water, electricity and capacities (laboratories, trained staff, adequate regulations. Meanwhile, countries with low endemicity of pathogenic agents often have high containment facilities with costly infrastructure and maintenance governed by regulations. The common practice of exporting high biocontainment facilities and standards is not sustainable and concerns about biosafety and biosecurity require careful consideration. Methods: A group at Chatham House developed a draft conceptual framework for safer, more secure and sustainable laboratory capacity building. Results: The draft generic framework is guided by the phrase ‘LOCAL – PEOPLE – MAKE SENSE’ that represents three major principles: capacity building according to local needs (local with an emphasis on relationship and trust-building (people and continuous outcome and impact measurement (make sense. Conclusions: This draft generic framework can serve as a blueprint for international policy decision-making on improving biosafety and biosecurity in laboratory capacity building, but requires more testing and detailing development.

  9. Universities in capacity building in sustainable development: focus on solid waste management and technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agamuthu, P; Hansen, Jens Aage

    2007-06-01

    This paper analyses some of the higher education and research capacity building experiences gained from 1998-2006 by Danish and Malaysian universities. The focus is on waste management, directly relating to both the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of sustainable development. Primary benefits, available as an educational legacy to universities, were obtained in terms of new and enhanced study curricula established on Problem-oriented Project-based Learning (POPBL) pedagogy, which strengthened academic environmental programmes at Malaysian and Danish universities. It involved more direct and mutually beneficial cooperation between academia and businesses in both countries. This kind of university reach-out is considered vital to development in all countries actively striving for global and sustainable development. Supplementary benefits were accrued for those involved directly in activities such as the 4 months of field studies, workshops, field courses and joint research projects. For students and academics, the gains have been new international dimensions in university curricula, enhanced career development and research collaboration based on realworld cases. It is suggested that the area of solid waste management offers opportunities for much needed capacity building in higher education and research, contributing to sustainable waste management on a global scale. Universities should be more actively involved in such educational, research and innovation programmes to make the necessary progress. ISWA can support capacity building activities by utilizing its resources--providing a lively platform for debate, securing dissemination of new knowledge, and furthering international networking beyond that which universities already do by themselves. A special challenge to ISWA may be to improve national and international professional networks between academia and business, thereby making education, research and innovation the key driving mechanisms in

  10. Sustainable transformation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Nicolai Bo

    This paper is about sustainable transformation with a particular focus on listed buildings. It is based on the notion that sustainability is not just a question of energy conditions, but also about the building being robust. Robust architecture means that the building can be maintained and rebuil...

  11. A multi-methodology and sustainability-supporting framework for implementation and assessment of a holistic building renovation: Implementation and assessment of a holistic sustainable building renovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamari, Aliakbar

    . The research strategy employed in this thesis presents characteristics of two research types, namely the qualitative research approach, and the inter- or transdisciplinary research throughout mode 2. It therefore calls for an inductive research approach and involves an interpretive approach and comparative...... a deep building renovation and an ordinary one is a commitment to a holistic approach in which objectives/criteria are targeted early in the design stages and subsequently are considered for their interdependence throughout sustainability perspectives. A review of recent research has revealed...... is entitled RE-VALUE . The case study is Section 3 of Skovgårdsparken located in Brabrand, Denmark. It is a social housing complex (including nine blocks), and has been renovated by Brabrand Housing Association. The future of the research in this thesis concerns expanding of the TSBD framework for Building...

  12. Sustainable Industrialization in the Building Industry: On the Road to Energy Efficient Construction Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wandahl, Søren; Ussing, Lene Faber

    2013-01-01

    Since the Brundtland report in 1987, sustainability has been an issue in all parts of the world, and the focus is increasing in these years. In the same period, the building industry has in the same period also been under heavy pressure to increase productivity in the same pace as other manufactu......Since the Brundtland report in 1987, sustainability has been an issue in all parts of the world, and the focus is increasing in these years. In the same period, the building industry has in the same period also been under heavy pressure to increase productivity in the same pace as other...... manufacturing industries. An important question, then, is how well these two highly relevant areas can go hand in hand. By means of comparing the main ideas and drivers behind sustainability and industrialization, respectively, common threads, possible synergies and evident barriers are put forward...... in this discussion paper. The main method is a review to track past merits in the two domains and to detect knowledge gaps that have research potential. A strategic research agenda focusing on energy-efficient construction management is outlined showing the need for future focus on combining industrialization...

  13. Sustainable solutions for cooling systems in residential buildings: case study in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foudzai, F.; M' Rithaa, M. [Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town (South Africa). Dept. of Industrial Design

    2010-07-01

    The energy demand in building sectors for summer air-conditioning is growing exponentially due to thermal loads, increased living standards and occupant comfort demands throughout the last decades. This increasing consumption of primary energy is contributing significantly to emission of greenhouse gases and therefore to global warming. Moreover, fossil fuels, current main sources of energy used for electricity generation, are being depleted at an alarming rate despite continued warning. In addition, most air-conditioning equipment still utilise CFCs, promoting further destruction of our planet's protective ozone layer. Concerns over these environmental changes, have begun shifting the emphasis from current cooling methods, to 'sustainable strategies' of achieving equally comfortable conditions in building interiors. Study of ancient strategies applied by vernacular architecture shows how the indigenously clean energies to satisfy the cooling need were used. One of the most important influences on vernacular architecture is the macro-climate of the area in which the building is constructed. Mediterranean vernacular architecture, as well as that of much of the Middle East, often includes a courtyard with a fountain or pond; air cooled by water mist and evaporation is drawn through the building by the natural ventilation set up by the building form, and in many cases also includes wind-catchers to draw air through the internal spaces. Similarly, Northern African vernacular designs often have very high thermal mass and small windows to keep the occupants cool. Not only vernacular structure but also the recent development in solar and geothermal cooling technologies could be used to the needs for environmental control. Intelligent coupling of these methods as alternative design strategies could help developing countries such as South Africa toward sustainable development in airconditioning of building. In this paper, the possible strategies for

  14. Sustainable building assessment tool: integrating sustainability into current design and building processes

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Gibberd, Jeremy T

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems. ( International Union for Conservation of Nature 1991) These definitions focus on what Wackernagel and Yount call the “socio-economic” and “ecological imperatives” of sustainability (Wackernagel et al, 2000.... Figure 1 Human development and ecological footprints 2003 (from the Living Planet Report) The figure is interesting in that it suggest that only one country (in Latin America and the Caribbean) meets the minimum criteria for sustainability...

  15. Summary of detailed energy audit and building simulation on archetype sustainable house, Woodbridge ON

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fung, A. [Ryerson Polytechnic Univ., Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Dembo, A.; Zhou, J. [Ryerson Polytechnic Univ., Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Architectural Science

    2009-07-01

    This paper described energy and audit and building simulations conducted on an archetype sustainable house located in Woodbridge, Ontario. The house formed part of a project to construct low energy, sustainable house designs for mass production. The 2 houses formed a duplex. House A was designed using current best design practices, while house B was equipped with advanced and innovative technologies not commonly used in residential constructions. Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) HOT2000 residential building simulation program was used to evaluate the performance of both houses in the duplex. The simulation program demonstrated that house B performed more efficiently than house A. However, neither houses met their designed values. Significantly larger space heating and cooling loads were identified. The program showed that additional weather-stripping around doors, and caulking around windows will help to reduce the amount of draft in the houses. Assessments are also needed to measure heat losses from the common wall in the basement. It was concluded that the energy performance of the house can be optimized by using the appropriate sealing techniques throughout the building envelope. 2 refs., 1 tab.

  16. Impact of Sustainable Cool Roof Technology on Building Energy Consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuppuluri, Prem Kiran

    Highly reflective roofing systems have been analyzed over several decades to evaluate their ability to meet sustainability goals, including reducing building energy consumption and mitigating the urban heat island. Studies have isolated and evaluated the effects of climate, surface reflectivity, and roof insulation on energy savings, thermal load mitigation and also ameliorating the urban heat island. Other sustainable roofing systems, like green-roofs and solar panels have been similarly evaluated. The motivation for the present study is twofold: the first goal is to present a method for simultaneous evaluation and inter-comparison of multiple roofing systems, and the second goal is to quantitatively evaluate the realized heating and cooling energy savings associated with a white roof system compared to the reduction in roof-top heat flux. To address the first research goal a field experiment was conducted at the International Harvester Building located in Portland, OR. Thermal data was collected for a white roof, vegetated roof, and a solar panel shaded vegetated roof, and the heat flux through these roofing systems was compared against a control patch of conventional dark roof membrane. The second research goal was accomplished using a building energy simulation program to determine the impact of roof area and roof insulation on the savings from a white roof, in both Portland and Phoenix. The ratio of cooling energy savings to roof heat flux reduction from replacing a dark roof with a white roof was 1:4 for the month of July, and 1:5 annually in Portland. The COP of the associated chillers ranges from 2.8-4.2, indicating that the ratio of cooling energy savings to heat flux reduction is not accounted for solely by the COP of the chillers. The results of the building simulation indicate that based on energy savings alone, white roofs are not an optimal choice for Portland. The benefits associated with cooling energy savings relative to a black roof are offset by

  17. Glacier Monitoring and Capacity Building: Important Ingredients for Sustainable Mountain Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel U. Nussbaumer

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Glacier observation data from major mountain regions of the world are key to improving our understanding of glacier changes: they deliver fundamental baseline information for climatological, hydrological, and hazard assessments. In many mountain ecosystems, as well as in the adjacent lowlands, glaciers play a crucial role in freshwater provision and regulation. This article first presents the state of the art on glacier monitoring and related strategies within the framework of the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G. Both in situ measurements of changes in glacier mass, volume, and length as well as remotely sensed data on glacier extents and changes over entire mountain ranges provide clear indications of climate change. Based on experiences from capacity-building activities undertaken in the Tropical Andes and Central Asia over the past years, we also review the state of the art on institutional capacity in these regions and make further recommendations for sustainable mountain development. The examples from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Kyrgyzstan demonstrate that a sound understanding of measurement techniques and of the purpose of measurements is necessary for successful glacier monitoring. In addition, establishing durable institutions, capacity-building programs, and related funding is necessary to ensure that glacier monitoring is sustainable and maintained in the long term. Therefore, strengthening regional cooperation, collaborating with local scientists and institutions, and enhancing knowledge sharing and dialogue are envisaged within the GTN-G. Finally, glacier monitoring enhances the resilience of the populations that depend on water resources from glacierized mountains or that are affected by hazards related to glacier changes. We therefore suggest that glacier monitoring be included in the development of sustainable adaptation strategies in regions with glaciated mountains.

  18. Sustainability in School Building Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Ece ŞAHİN

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable construction is important for the continuation of life in a healthy world for futuregenerations; many issues affecting the quality of life such as effective use of resources, take advantage ofrenewable energy, the choice of recyclable materials that do not harm the environment and waterconservation are considered in the context of sustainable design. Implementations carried out in thisframework are regarded as valuable due to providing the consciousness of sustainability to the society.Creating the awareness of sustainability is given a great importance by educators; thus, “education forsustainability” are included from the preschool program so that children can learn the gainings of suchperspective in their early ages. In support of this concept, it is believed that education structures should bea laboratory where children can practice theoretical knowledge learned at school. In that respect, studiesneed to be considered in the context of sustainable construction are studied in this research. In the study,after a description of the importance of sustainable design as a learning mean, significant subjects such asusing natural light, heating, cooling and air-conditioning methods, wind energy, water protection andmaterial selection are analyzed in terms of designing sustainable schools. It is criticized worldwide thatstructures ground on sustainable design principles are relatively few in numbers. Despite, there is anincreasing interest to the subject in Turkey later years; a lot more steps are required in terms ofimplementation and research of the issue. Thus, the purpose of the study is to provide a supplementaryreference for school designs.

  19. Building Design & Construction - Sustainability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2003-11-01

    Offers a brief history of green building; presents the results of a specially commissioned survey; and analyzes the chief trends, issues, and published research, based on interviews with dozens of experts and participants in green building.

  20. Capacities for the Risk Assessment of GMOs: Challenges to Build Sustainable Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danilo Fernández Ríos

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The need for functional risk assessment bodies in general, and in the biosafety field in particular, demands continued efforts and commitment from regulatory agencies, if results that are sustainable in time are to be achieved. The lack of formal processes that ensure continuity in the application of state of the art scientific criteria, the high rotation in some cases or the lack of experienced professionals, in others, is a challenge to be addressed. Capacity building initiatives with different approaches and degrees of success have been implemented in many countries over the years, supported by diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations. This document summarizes some capacity building experiences in developing countries and concludes that risk assessors taking ownership and regulatory authorities fully committed to developing and retaining highly qualified bodies are a sine qua non to achieve sustainable systems. To this end, it is essential to implement “in-house” continuing education mechanisms supported by external experts and organizations, and inter-institutional cooperation. It has to be noted that these recommendations could only be realized if policy makers understand and appreciate the value of professional, independent regulatory bodies.

  1. Capacities for the Risk Assessment of GMOs: Challenges to Build Sustainable Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández Ríos, Danilo; Rubinstein, Clara; Vicién, Carmen

    2018-01-01

    The need for functional risk assessment bodies in general, and in the biosafety field in particular, demands continued efforts and commitment from regulatory agencies, if results that are sustainable in time are to be achieved. The lack of formal processes that ensure continuity in the application of state of the art scientific criteria, the high rotation in some cases or the lack of experienced professionals, in others, is a challenge to be addressed. Capacity building initiatives with different approaches and degrees of success have been implemented in many countries over the years, supported by diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations. This document summarizes some capacity building experiences in developing countries and concludes that risk assessors taking ownership and regulatory authorities fully committed to developing and retaining highly qualified bodies are a sine qua non to achieve sustainable systems. To this end, it is essential to implement "in-house" continuing education mechanisms supported by external experts and organizations, and inter-institutional cooperation. It has to be noted that these recommendations could only be realized if policy makers understand and appreciate the value of professional, independent regulatory bodies.

  2. ICT applications for energy efficiency in buildings. Report from the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kramers, Anna H.; Svane, Oerjan

    2011-07-01

    The project 'ICT as a Motor of Transition' aims to examine how the innovative application of ICT can contribute to more energy-efficient transport habits and facilitate more sustainable ways of managing and using buildings, without the need for drastic changes in the city's physical structure. The project is an extended in-depth study and forms part of current research into urban sustainable development in the SitCit project at KTH Environmental Strategies Research (fms). The full title of the SitCit project is 'Situations of Opportunity in the Growth and Change of Three Stockholm City Districts - Everyday Life, Built Environment and Transport Explored as Energy Usage Systems and Governance Networks' (SitCit, 2010). It is an ongoing, cross-disciplinary, five-year project in collaboration with the Department of Energy Technology at KTH. An important part of the SitCit project is a methodological approach that integrates actors and measures in describing a process of change, in other words to look at 'What' can be transformed in parallel with transformation 'By Whom'? The 'ICT as a Motor of Transition' project focused on ICT solutions for energy-efficient and sustainable ways of managing and using buildings in the existing built environment. ICT could play a role as a key enabler for decreasing energy usage in buildings and at the same time create new business opportunities driven by the need for energy efficiency. Throughout the life cycle of a building, most energy ({approx}80%) is used during the operational stage (REEB, 2009a). The decisions made in the early design stages or in renovation stages for existing buildings thus influence about 80% of the total life cycle energy usage, while the impact of user behaviour and real-time control is in the range of 20% (REEB, 2009a). Therefore there is an urgent need to find new possibilities to decrease the energy usage in buildings. The overarching aim of this study

  3. A self-sustainable winery, an advanced passive building and remote monitoring of environments in wineries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roger Boulton

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The self-sustainable winery was conceived in 2006 and the intention was to create a building and its related utility systems that would operate independently from the energy and water grids and to eliminate hydrocarbon fuels from its operation, capture and sequester the carbon dioxide from its fermentations and create a zero carbon footprint facility. The winery was the highest scoring LEED building at any university when it was completed and the first LEED Platinum Winery in the USA. The adjacent Jess Jackson sustainable winery building is a highly passive research and utility space that will house the advanced energy and water systems that make this off-grid performance possible. Together these buildings will operate every daily in energy and water positive modes and at capacities, which exceed the demands even during the harvest season. The data system incorporated into these buildings for one hundred and fifty research fermentors, fourteen teaching fermentors will also monitor all energy, water and building activities in a secure, cloud-based software system that supports both web and handheld access, with the potential for bidirectional date and control functions. This data network has been extended to include real time monitoring of temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds in five production areas within two commercial winery sites and two creamery facilities, located more than 100 km from Davis. This now provides an example of a distributed dynamic network for the monitoring of the built environment in remote commercial food and wine facilities.

  4. Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sunny S.; Rogers, Beatrice L.; Coates, Jennifer; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Sarriot, Eric

    2013-01-01

    After making large investments to put in place effective health and nutrition interventions, researchers, program implementers, policy makers, and donors all expect lasting effects. However, it is uncertain whether this is the case, and there is less certainty on how to approach the study of program sustainability. This symposium, “Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries,” provided not only frameworks for conceptualizing sustainability but concrete evidence about the approaches and methods used as well as lessons on how they do or do not work in particular contexts. We presented the following findings: 1) sustainability of activities and impacts of Title II food aid programs in Bolivia and Kenya, 2) sustainability of impact in terms of adoption and consumption of a biofortified orange sweet potato in Uganda, and 3) lessons from incorporating pro-sustainability investment strategies in child survival programs in Guinea. Our symposium introduced a new important body of research on program sustainability to provide insights and stimulate innovative thinking in the design and planning of further applied research and future prosustainability intervention programs. PMID:24038245

  5. Building for a post-fossil era. Sustainable construction and operation of buildings; Bauen fuer die nachfossile Aera. Nachhaltiges Bauen und Betreiben von Gebaeuden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daniels, Klaus [HL Beratungs- und Beteiligungs GmbH, Muenchen (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    The challenges of the 21st century will mostly be the result of the exploding world population, i.e. increasing instability because of the unequal distribution of wealth, fights over raw materials that are getting scarce, and the destruction of our natural resources. Increasingly, decision-makers are getting aware of the problems. This has consequences also for the process of building construction. For example, sustainability will be given greater attention in projecting and operation of buildings. (orig.)

  6. Sustainability and within use office building adapations : A comparison of Dutch and Australian practices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wilkinson, S.J.; Remøy, H.T.

    2011-01-01

    Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation as a means of reducing building related urban energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a

  7. Alliance for Sustainable Colorado Renovation Raises Its Energy Performance to New Heights, Commercial Building Energy Efficiency (Fact Sheet); Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2015-03-01

    The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado (The Alliance) is a nonprofit organization aiming to transform sustainability from vision to reality. Part of its mission is to change the operating paradigms of commercial building design to make them more sustainable. Toward that end The Alliance uses its headquarters, The Alliance Center at 1536 Wynkoop Street in Denver, as a living laboratory, conductingpilot studies of innovative commercial-building-design solutions for using and generating energy.

  8. Towards sustainable urban water governance in Denmark: collective building of capabilities in local authorities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Jensen, Marina Bergen

    2016-01-01

    be achieved. The ‘urban water platform’ was tested and is hereby presented as a course concept for building collective capabilities for integrated sustainable water design among local authorities in Denmark. The course is an innovation because: 1) it invites urban planners, road and park managers and sewage...

  9. Analyse that! : understanding sustainable design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brand, van den G.J.W.; Wit, de M.H.

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes a method for the analysis of sustainable building projects. Sustainable technology measures can easily be misinterpreted, consequently leading to unsustainable building solutions. Our research and educations aims at discovering new approaches for sustainable design. For building

  10. Building Performance Simulation for Sustainable Energy Use in Buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hensen, J.L.M.

    2010-01-01

    This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many

  11. Building performance simulation for sustainable building design and operation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hensen, J.L.M.

    2011-01-01

    This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many

  12. Delivering competence based training and capacity building to support sustainable uranium mining in less prepared areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miko Dit Angoula, I.; Tulsidas, H.

    2014-01-01

    The IAEA project “Supporting sustainable uranium mining in less prepared areas” consists of a 3-year catalytic training and capacity building of a range of work packages/tasks targeted on technical, operational, regulatory, environmental, stakeholders and governance needs in uranium mining of African francophone uranium producer or potential producer countries. The project is externally funded by a contribution from the USA. The scope is defined by the identification and the delivery of training and further capacity-building measures to enhance national and regional preparedness in these francophone Member States for the conduct of sustainable uranium mining and production, with particular reference to environmental, social, economic issues and good governance within the context of fostering good, safe practices in the comprehensive extraction of all possible economic resources from the mining process.

  13. VTT Digitalo. A case study from the view points of sustainable building and modern working environment; VTT Digitalo. Tavoitteena kestaevae rakennus ja moderni tyoeympaeristoe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haekkinen, T.; Nuutinen, M.; Pulakka, S.; Porkka, J.; Vares, S.; Laitinen, A.; Vesikari, E.; Pajari, M.

    2007-01-15

    This publication summarises the assessment results from the VTT Digitalo case. VTT Digitalo is a new office building built for the use of VTT research and development. The building was assessed from the viewpoints of sustainable construction and sustainable workspaces. The study analysed the case considering it as an achievement and a stage in a long-term process that is taking place between VTT as the user and Senate Properties as the owner of the building. This process aims at developing high-quality facility services, which are in accordance with the user needs, and based on understanding the strategic goals of the user. Additionally, these services should follow the principles of sustainable construction. The VTT's user needs concern first of all (a) good indoor environment in terms of indoor climate, acoustics and illumination, (b) ability of the workspace to support interaction and innovative way of working, (c) ability of the whole building to indicate VTT's image as a supplier of innovation services. VTT acts as a client, which sets performance and conformity requirements based on the planned use of spaces. The aims of Senate Properties as the owner and the provider of facility services concern the ability to understand and realise user needs, and to manage investment costs and life cycle efficiency of the building. The research defines sustainable construction in accordance with (ISO 2006): Sustainable construction brings about the required performance with the least unfavourable environmental impact, while encouraging economic, social, and cultural improvement at a local, regional, and global level. Accordingly, the study defined as a premise that a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of an office building should be based on the assessment of the following aspects: user satisfaction, building performance and environmental impacts, and life cycle costs and life cycle economy. (orig.)

  14. Sustainable refurbishment of exterior walls and building facades. Final report, Part A - Methods and recommendations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hakkinen, T. (ed.)

    2012-11-01

    This report is the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). (orig.)

  15. Contractor Development Models for Promoting Sustainable Building – a case for developing management capabilities of contractors

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dlungwana, Wilkin S

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Construction industry and indeed all small and medium-sized contractors play a significant socio-economic role in the developing countries. This paper highlights the importance of promoting sustainable building through the implementation...

  16. Sustainable building with closed cavity facades. Top energy efficiency and more daylight; Nachhaltig bauen mit Closed Cavity Fassaden. Hoechste Energieeffizienz und mehr Tageslicht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rudolf, Bernhard

    2012-08-15

    Facades have a key function within the sustainable construction since the energy conservation significantly depends on the building envelope. Beside an enhanced energy efficiency, the Green Building shall offer an improved utilization of day-lighting and comfortable indoor climatic conditions. Here, the innovative Closed Cavity Facade new standards. The former 'Poseidon building' in Frankfurt/Main (Federal Republic of Germany) and the multi-storey building of the Roche company in Basel (Switzerland) are equipped with this facade. The energy costs, operational costs as well as the maintenance costs are reduced sustainably using this closed bivalved facade.

  17. Assessing and Developing the Application of LEED Green Building Rating System as a Sustainable Project Management and Market Tool in the Italian Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walaa S. E. Ismaee

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the recent introduction of the LEED system to the Italian context in order to assess its role to promote sustainable building process in the Italian context, pointing out its potentials on one hand as well as their gaps and limitations on the other hand, and suggests means for its future development. The study discusses the application of LEED as a ‘Sustainable Project management tool’ to guide sustainable building performance. This requires investigating the following: its structure, tools, assessment criteria along with its benchmarks and references. It also discusses the application of LEED as a ‘Sustainable building Certification and market tool’. This investigates the role and value of the LEED certification in the Italian Green market. The research method is comprised of three parts. The first part is a comparative analysis of LEED categories against Italian national initiatives for sustainability. The comparison showed that most LEED categories are already mandated by national norms and directives but they may differ in their stringency creating some areas of precedence of LEED system or drawbacks. This streamlines the adaptation process of LEED system to the Italian context. The second part investigates LEED projects’ market analysis. The result showed that the shift towards a sustainable building process is occurring slowly and on a vertical scale focusing on some building sectors rather than others. Its market diffusion in the Italian context faces challenges regarding the insufficient availability of green materials and products satisfying its requirements, as well as high soft cost of sustainability tests and expertise required. The Third part presents a practical review-citing the methodology and results of a survey conducted by the researchers in mid-2012. It is composed of a web-based questionnaire and interviews among a sample of LEED professionals in Italy. The result shows that LEED systems needs

  18. Pinenes: Abundant and Renewable Building Blocks for a Variety of Sustainable Polymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winnacker, Malte

    2018-05-14

    Pinenes - a group of monoterpenes containing a double bond - are very suitable renewable building blocks for a variety of sustainable polymers and materials. Their abundance from mainly non-edible parts of plants as well as the feasibility to isolate them render these compounds unique amongst the variety of biomass that is utilizable for novel materials. Accordingly, their use for the synthesis of biobased polymers has been investigated intensively, and strong progress has been made with this especially within the past 2-3 years. Direct cationic or radical polymerization via the double bonds as well as polymerization upon their further functionalization can afford a variety of sustainable polymers suitable for many applications, which is summarized in this article. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. The Cost-Effectiveness of Investments to Meet the Guiding Principles for High-Performance Sustainable Buildings on the PNNL Campus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cort, Katherine A.; Judd, Kathleen S.

    2014-08-29

    As part its campus sustainability efforts, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has invested in eight new and existing buildings to ensure they meet the U.S. Department of Energy’s requirements for high performance sustainable buildings (HPSB) at DOE sites. These investments are expected to benefit PNNL by reducing the total life-cycle cost of facilities, improving energy efficiency and water conservation, and making buildings safer and healthier for the occupants. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of the implementing measures that meet the criteria for HPSBs in 3 different types of buildings on the PNNL campus: offices, scientific laboratories, and data centers. In each of the three case studies examined the investments made to achieve HPSB status demonstrated a high return on the HPSB investments that have taken place in these varied environments. Simple paybacks for total investments in the three case study buildings ranged from just 2 to 5 years; savings-to-investment ratios all exceeded the desirable threshold of 1; and the net present values associated with these investments were all positive.

  20. Building capacity for sustainable research programmes for cancer in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adewole, Isaac; Martin, Damali N; Williams, Makeda J; Adebamowo, Clement; Bhatia, Kishor; Berling, Christine; Casper, Corey; Elshamy, Karima; Elzawawy, Ahmed; Lawlor, Rita T; Legood, Rosa; Mbulaiteye, Sam M; Odedina, Folakemi T; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I; Olopade, Christopher O; Parkin, Donald M; Rebbeck, Timothy R; Ross, Hana; Santini, Luiz A; Torode, Julie; Trimble, Edward L; Wild, Christopher P; Young, Annie M; Kerr, David J

    2014-05-01

    Cancer research in Africa will have a pivotal role in cancer control planning in this continent. However, environments (such as those in academic or clinical settings) with limited research infrastructure (laboratories, biorespositories, databases) coupled with inadequate funding and other resources have hampered African scientists from carrying out rigorous research. In September 2012, over 100 scientists with expertise in cancer research in Africa met in London to discuss the challenges in performing high-quality research, and to formulate the next steps for building sustainable, comprehensive and multi-disciplinary programmes relevant to Africa. This was the first meeting among five major organizations: the African Organisation for Research and Training in Africa (AORTIC), the Africa Oxford Cancer Foundation (AfrOx), and the National Cancer Institutes (NCI) of Brazil, France and the USA. This article summarizes the discussions and recommendations of this meeting, including the next steps required to create sustainable and impactful research programmes that will enable evidenced-based cancer control approaches and planning at the local, regional and national levels.

  1. Investigation of Sustainable Housing Criteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    roshanfekr Somayeh

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently, much attention has been paid to sustainable development in cities. The quality of human life is directly related to environmental quality. Because many people live in cities as a place of social, economic and cultural relationships, certain issues such as environmental crises, energy, air and noise pollution and traffic jams are some of the factors that can alter the quality of human life. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of human life, attention to sustainable development (or sustainability in cities is proposed. Sustainable building has a comprehensive significance that begins with the conception of negative and positive impacts on the environment. Several descriptions of sustainable or green buildings have been created; however, they all pursue one goal, which is to create sustainable urban developments and protection of the environment. The quality of indoor environments, materials, and energy consumption, water usage, the impact of building construction processes and building maintenance are some of the factors that affect the environment and sustainability. Sustainable building is an attempt to relieve the minus impacts on the environment that occur during a building’s lifetime. This research investigates the important factors that have relevance to green buildings and introduces several criteria of sustainable housing.

  2. The Macuti House, Traditional Building Techniques and Sustainable Development in Ilha de Moçambique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sollien, Silje Erøy

    2011-01-01

    reflect a sustainable return to the art of building. Implied is that preservation of this way of building may have a value in the form of strengthening cultural identity and possible environmental and socio-economic advantages. However, in order to overcome negative associations with colonial...... subordination, poverty and low social status, such initiatives need to be part of a wider programme of strengthening cultural and social capital among the population, avoiding division into tangible and intangible heritage management, and include broad ecological and socio-economic considerations....

  3. Researching for sustained translation from site cluster permeability into building courtyard and interior atrium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teddy Badai Samodra, FX; Defiana, Ima; Setyawan, Wahyu

    2018-03-01

    Many previous types of research have discussed the permeability of site cluster. Because of interaction and interconnected attribute, it will be better that there is its translation into lower context such as building and interior scale. In this paper, the sustainability design performance of both similar designs of courtyard and atrium are investigated continuing the recommendation of site space permeability. By researching related literature review and study through Ecotect Analysis and Ansys Fluent simulations, the pattern transformation and optimum courtyard and atrium design could comply the requirement. The results highlighted that the air movement from the site could be translated at the minimum of 50% higher to the building and indoor environment. Thus, it has potency for energy efficiency when grid, loop, and cul-de-sac site clusters, with 25% of ground coverage, have connectivity with building courtyard compared to the atrium. Energy saving is higher when using low thermal transmittance of transparent material and its lower area percentages for the courtyard walls. In general, it was more energy efficient option as part of a low rise building, while the courtyard building performed better with increasing irregular building height more than 90% of the difference.

  4. Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnese Attanasio

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available There is a growing interest in the construction sector in the use of sustainable binders as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement, the production of which is highly impacting on the environment, due to high carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption. Alkali-activated binders, especially those resulting from low-cost industrial by-products, such as coal fly ash or metallurgical slag, represent a sustainable option for cement replacement, though their use is more challenging, due to some technological issues related to workability or curing conditions. This paper presents sustainable alkali-activated mortars cured in room conditions and based on metakaolin, fly ash, and furnace slag (both by-products resulting from local sources and relevant blends, aiming at their real scale application in the building sector. The effect of binder composition—gradually adjusted taking into consideration technical and environmental aspects (use of industrial by-products in place of natural materials in the view of resources saving—on the performance (workability, compressive strength of different mortar formulations, is discussed in detail. Some guidelines for the design of cement-free binders are given, taking into consideration the effect of each investigated alumino-silicate component. The technical feasibility to produce the mortars with standard procedures and equipment, the curing in room conditions, the promising results achieved in terms of workability and mechanical performance (from 20.0 MPa up to 52.0 MPa, confirm the potential of such materials for practical applications (masonry mortars of class M20 and Md. The cement-free binders resulting from this study can be used as reference for the development of mortars and concrete formulations for sustainable building materials production.

  5. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS as a methodical approach to the development of design strategies for environmentally sustainable buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Hanne Tine Ring

    . The research methodology applied in the project combines a literature study of descriptions of methodical approaches and built examples with a sensitivity analysis and a qualitative interview with two designers from a best practice example of a practice that has achieved environmentally sustainable...... architecture, such as: ecological, green, bio-climatic, sustainable, passive, low-energy and environmental architecture. This PhD project sets out to gain a better understanding of environmentally sustainable architecture and the methodical approaches applied in the development of this type of architecture...... an increase in scientific and political awareness, which has lead to an escalation in the number of research publications in the field, as well as, legislative demands for the energy consumption of buildings. The publications in the field refer to many different approaches to environmentally sustainable...

  6. Sustainable building versus ecological building

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Van Wyk, Llewellyn V

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available and sensitivity to a site that are required to efficiently meet the energy needs of a building and occupants with renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, etc), designers must apply holistic design principles and take advantage of the free, naturally... monumental waste: the product which they deliver requires resources such as energy and water to operate over its entire life-cycle, a period measured in decades, and often in centuries. Throughout this process, construction activities often result...

  7. Sustainable refurbishment of exterior walls and building facades. Final report, Part B - General refurbishment concepts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vares, S.; Pulakka, S.; Toratti, T. [and others

    2012-11-01

    This report is the second part of the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). The following list shows the sustainability assessment criteria defined by the SUSREF project. These are Durability; Impact on energy demand for heating; Impact on energy demand for cooling; Impact on renewable energy use potential; Impact on daylight; Environmental impact of manufacture and maintenance; Indoor air quality and acoustics; Structural stability; Fire safety; Aesthetic quality; Effect on cultural heritage; Life cycle costs; Need for care and maintenance; Disturbance to the tenants and to the site; Buildability. This report presents sustainability assessment results of general refurbishment concepts and gives recommendations on the basis of the results. The report covers the following refurbishment cases - External insulation - Internal insulation - Cavity wall insulation - Replacement Insulation during renovation.

  8. Source-book of International Activities Related to the Development of Safety Cases for Deep Geological Repositories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-01-01

    All national radioactive waste management authorities recognise today that a robust safety case is essential in developing disposal facilities for radioactive waste. To improve the robustness of the safety case for the development of a deep geological repository, a wide variety of activities have been carried out by national programs and international organisations over the past years. The Nuclear Energy Agency, since first introducing the modern concept of the 'safety case', has continued to monitor major developments in safety case activities at the international level. This Source-book summarises the activities being undertaken by the Nuclear Energy Agency, the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning the safety case for the operational and post-closure phases of geological repositories for radioactive waste that ranges from low-level to high-level waste and for spent fuel. In doing so, it highlights important differences in focus among the three organisations

  9. Guidelines for sustainable building design: Recommendations from the Presidio of San Francisco energy efficiency design charrette

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, K.; Sartor, D.; Greenberg, S. [and others

    1996-05-01

    In 1994, the Bay Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers{reg_sign} organized a two-day design charrette for energy-efficient redevelopment of buildings by the National Park Services (NPS) at the Presidio of San Francisco. This event brought together engineers, researchers, architects, government officials, and students in a participatory environment to apply their experience to create guidelines for the sustainable redesign of Presidio buildings. The venue for the charrette was a representative barracks building located at the Main Post of the Presidio. Examination of this building allowed for the development of design recommendations, both for the building and for the remainder of the facilities. The charrette was organized into a committee structure consisting of: steering, measurement and monitoring, modeling, building envelope and historic preservation (architectural), HVAC and controls, lighting, and presentation. Prior to the charrette itself, the modeling and measurement/monitoring committees developed substantial baseline data for the other committees during the charrette. An integrated design approach was initiated through interaction between the committees during the charrette. Later, committee reports were cross-referenced to emphasize whole building design and systems integration.

  10. Synergy between building rating systems and design methodology for intellingent and green buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.; Plesser, S.

    2008-01-01

    There is a strong need for more efficient and more sustainable buildings. At present it is difficult to define the performance of buildings in an objective way to efficiency and sustainability. Goal of this project is to examine and to understand differences between different building rating systems

  11. Sustainable architecture by example of the project for a corner building between the streets Kralja Milana and Kralja Milutina in Belgrade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marić Igor

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Technology development for civil engineering and the application of new and improved materials become ever more present in realization of any kind of construction, starting from buildings for housing, business, as well as for the multifunctional and specialized ones. Sustainable architecture presumes environmental considerations, then the use of passive solar systems protection from the adverse conditions of climate, noise, micro location. This paper presents some of the sustainable architecture principles by example of the project for a corner building between the streets Kralja Milana and Kralja Milutina in Belgrade.

  12. The new district energy : building blocks for sustainable community development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The price of energy is expected to rise as world demand for fossil fuels increases and energy supplies become harder to access. Governments and businesses are interested in the role of energy in the design, development and operation of buildings and whole communities. In addition to contributing to community economic development, district energy (DE) systems can assist communities in meeting their goals for sustainable growth and in managing the changing nature of risk in the generation and delivery of energy. This handbook was developed in order to encourage information sharing and provide ideas on how to advance district energy development in communities across Canada. The handbook identified those who could use DE and listed the benefits provided by DE. These included community, environmental, and business benefits. The handbook also offered suggestions for overcoming common challenges experienced by communities initiating a DE system and provided a checklist to help accelerate the uptake of DE systems in a community. These challenges included working with the community; using integrated design; building knowledge, know-how and technical skills; and partnering to improve project financing and reducing development risk. 50 refs., 8 tabs., 11 figs

  13. Developing the Potential for Sustainable Improvement in Underperforming Schools: Capacity Building in the Socio-Cultural Dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Jeffrey V.; Ylimaki, Rose M.; Dugan, Thad M.; Brunderman, Lynnette A.

    2014-01-01

    This mixed-method study examines Arizona principals' capacity-building skills and practices in Tier III schools aimed at developing potential for sustained improvements in student outcomes. Data sources included surveys (62 individuals) and semistructured interviews (29 individuals) of principals and staff (e.g. teachers, instructional coaches,…

  14. Use of industrial waste for the manufacturing of sustainable building materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugrañez, Rafael; Cruz-Yusta, Manuel; Mármol, Isabel; Martín, Francisco; Morales, Julián; Sánchez, Luis

    2012-04-01

    Presently, appropriate waste management is one of the main requisites for sustainable development; this task is tackled by the material construction industry. The work described herein is focused on the valorization of granite waste through incorporation, as a filler-functional admixture, into cement-based mortar formulations. The main components of the waste are SiO(2) (62.1 %), Al(2)O(3) (13.2 %), Fe(2)O(3) (10.1 %), and CaO (4.6 %). The presence of iron oxides is used to develop the photocatalytic properties of the waste. Following heating at 700 °C, α-Fe(2)O(3) forms in the waste. The inclusion of the heated sample as a filler admixture in a cement-based mortar is possible. Moreover, this sample exhibits a moderate ability in the photodegradation of organic dye solutions. Also, the plastering mortars, in which the heated samples have been used, show self-cleaning properties. The preparation of sustainable building materials is demonstrated through the adequate reuse of the granite waste. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Next generation healthcare buildings in South Africa: complexities and opportunities for sustainability

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    De Jager, Peta

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available is not, for instance, addressed. The N&S cost model has been developed to take into consideration life-cycle costs. This takes into account that different building elements and materials have different expected service lives and in this way contribute... that it is currently not on a sustainable trajectory, which the 2012 UNU-IHDP and UNEP report contends (p 272). According to the report this is - in large part - due to poor health status and poor life expectancy. The dual epidemics of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV...

  16. Building a sustainable complementary and alternative medicine research network in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiter, Bettina; Baumhöfener, Franziska; Dlaboha, Meike; Odde Madsen, Jesper; Regenfelder, Stephanie; Weidenhammer, Wolfgang

    2012-01-01

    Since CAMbrella is a networking project funded by the European Commission explicitly to build and sustain a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research network in Europe, communication and dissemination play a large role and form a work package of their own. The present article gives an outline of the communication and dissemination work in the CAMbrella consortium. The intensive building of sound internal communication is an essential part in establishing a functioning structure for collaboration in a diverse group of 16 partner institutions from 12 countries, as exists in the CAMbrella project. The means and tools for dissemination of results to the scientific community and the European public at large, as well as to the European policy makers, are presented. The development of the corporate design and a dissemination strategy are described in detail. In addition, some basic information regarding previous CAM research efforts, which might be interesting for future consortium building in the field of CAM research, is given. Internal communication within a heterogeneous research group, the maintenance of a work-oriented style of communication and a consensus oriented effort in establishing dissemination tools and products will be essential for any future consortium in the CAM field. The outlook shows the necessity for active political encouragement of CAM research and the desideratum of a Pan-European institution analogous to the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in the USA.

  17. NRC new sustainable building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semczyszyn, D.

    2004-01-01

    'Full text:' The National Research Council Institute For Fuel Cell Innovation is relocating to a purpose-built 71,343 sq. Ft. (6598 sq. M) Research, Testing, Evaluation, and Industry Incubation Facility in the spring of 2006. The new facility will contain Hydrogen-ready laboratories, the existing relocated Hydrogen Safe Environmental Test Chamber, a hydrogen vehicle maintenance bay, a hydrogen vehicle refuelling station, and the following demonstration projects and features: 1. A Ground Source Heat Pump: This long-proven natural-source heating and cooling technology to provide climate control for the new IFCI's atrium and galleria. It is being designed by Keen Engineering of North Vancouver, BC. 2. 5 KW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System: Fuelled by natural gas and in the future, from biomass, the fuel cell will also produce approximately 15 kW of waste heat, which will be captured and used to supply heat for the building. The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell will be supplied by Fuel Cell Technologies in Kingston, ON. 3. LEED Building certification: Attaining LEED 'green building' certification is considered an important complement to the plans for the new NRC-IFCI, because it will provide respected third-party verification of government's commitment to efficient building design and construction. Project architects Bunting Coady of Vancouver, BC believe the IFCI has strong potential to earn gold LEED certification. 4. Photovoltaic hydrogen source for back-up power fuel cell system: A photovoltaic array will capture energy from sunlight to power an electrolyzer that will produce and store hydrogen for a PEM fuel cell emergency backup power system. The electrolyzer will be provided by Hydrogenics of Mississauga, ON. Photovoltaics are being designed and installed by the British Columbia Institute of Technology. (author)

  18. Sustainable Housing Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Gert Michael

    2016-01-01

    Sustainable Housing Design. Integrating technical and housing quality aspects of sustainable architecture in civil engineering education. Summary An integrated design approach to sustainable architecture is outlined that combines concerns for zero energy building, good indoor climate and adequate...... phases. The outcome shows that integrated design further solutions where sustainable urban forms of settlement can be highly energy efficient while also attractive from a user perspective. Key words: Sustainable architecture, integrated design, zero-energy-housing, dense urban living. 1. Introduction...... When designing sustainable housing, energy optimization and satisfactory indoor climates are central issues that need to be incorporated from early design phases if to reach a coherent design. It might also be argued that the energy consumption of contemporary buildings only plays a rela-tively minor...

  19. Sustainability Base Construction Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mewhinney, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Construction of the new Sustainability Base Collaborative support facility, expected to become the highest performing building in the federal government continues at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif. The new building is designed to achieve a platinum rating under the leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) new construction standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the U. S. Green Building Council, Washington, D. C. When completed by the end of 2011, the $20.6 million building will feature near zero net energy consumption, use 90 percent less potable water than conventionally build buildings of equivalent size, and will result in reduced building maintenance costs.

  20. Building Sustainability Competence from the Top Down

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sanchez, Ron; Galbreath, Jeremy; Nicholson, Gavin

    2017-01-01

    performance. We first define concepts of sustainability, sustainability competence, and sustainability performance. We then analyze two forms of board capital (a board’s human capital and its social capital) and three aspects of a board’s information processing (its patterns of information search, discussion...

  1. Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Action

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korsgaard, Steffen T.; Anderson, Alistair

    Abstract Objectives - This paper explores how entrepreneurial action can lead to environmental sustainability. It builds on the assumption that the creation of sustainble practices is one of the most important challenges facing the global society, and that entrepreneurial action is a vital......: resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurial action.  Approach - The paper uses a case study approach to build deeper theoretical knowledge of environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship.  Results - The paper identifies and analyses a distinct form of sustainable entrepreneurship -  resource oriented...... entrepreneurship - which uses bricolage in various ways to create sustainable solutions. Implications and value - The concept of resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurship contributes to the theoretical understanding of how entrepreneurial action can support sustainability, Furthermore the case study has...

  2. Wood as a sustainable building material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert H. Falk

    2009-01-01

    Few building materials possess the environmental benefits of wood. It is not only the most widely used building material in the United States but also one with characteristics that make it suitable for a wide range of applications. Efficient, durable, and useful wood products produced from trees range from a minimally processed log at a log-home building site to a...

  3. Building Capacity for Earth Observations in Support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blevins, B.; Prados, A. I.; Hook, E.

    2017-12-01

    The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) looks to build a future where the international community uses Earth observations to make better, informed decisions. This includes application in international agreements such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. To do this, decision makers first need to build the necessary skills. NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training program (ARSET) seeks to build capacity through remote sensing training. In-person and online trainings raise awareness, enable data access, and demonstrate applications of Earth observations. Starting in 2017, ARSET began offering training focused on applying Earth data to the UN SDGs. These trainings offer insight into applications of satellite data in support of implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the SDGs. This presentation will provide an overview of the use of NASA satellite data to track progress towards increased food security, disaster risk reduction, and conservation of natural resources for societal benefit. It will also include a discussion on capacity building best practices and lessons learned for using Earth observations to meet SDG targets, based on feedback from engaging over 800 participants from 89 nations and 580 organizations in ARSET SDG trainings.

  4. BUILDING INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MONTENEGRO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bosiljka Vuković

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available There are many proofs confirming the importance of sustainable development for Montenegro. Shared international challenges, global economic crisis, and, particularly, the country's natural characteristics emphasize that sustainable development is the only way ahead. In 2002 Montenegro formed the National Council for Sustainable Development; in 2005 the Office for Sustainable Development was established, and the National Strategy of Sustainable Development was adopted in 2007. With these developments, Montenegro created the most advanced institutional basis for sustainable development in its region. After carefully observing the functioning of national sustainable development institutions, however, the Office for Sustainable Development embarked upon the process of their reform in 2008. As a result, the Council was fundamentally reformed, having its membership downsized and composition transformed. Two Annual Reports on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy have been completed and the process of defining sustainable development indicators commenced in co-operation with the United Nations. This paper critically examines the evolution of the set-up of the Montenegrin sustainable development system, presents the advantages and disadvantages of the government-anchored Council. Based on the lessons learnt, it presents recommendations for policy makers on promoting and enforcing sustainable development. The paper argues that only by effectively co-ordinating all segments of society and ensuring genuine participation of outside-government stakeholders, the countries can ensure that sustainable development principles are incorporated in national and local policies. The independence and pro-activeness in approach of sustainable development institutions is essential in ensuring the supremacy of sustainable practices in decision-making. Considering the similarities in historic, economic and social developments of the former socialist

  5. Is local participation always optimal for sustainable action? The costs of consensus-building in Local Agenda 21.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Urs Steiner; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

    2013-11-15

    Is local participation always optimal for sustainable action? Here, Local Agenda 21 is a relevant case as it broadly calls for consensus-building among stakeholders. Consensus-building is, however, costly. We show that the costs of making local decisions are likely to rapidly exceed the benefits. Why? Because as the number of participants grows, the more likely it is that the group will include individuals who have an extreme position and are unwilling to make compromises. Thus, the net gain of self-organization should be compared with those of its alternatives, for example voting, market-solutions, or not making any choices at all. Even though the informational value of meetings may be helpful to policy makers, the model shows that it also decreases as the number of participants increase. Overall, the result is a thought provoking scenario for Local Agenda 21 as it highlights the risk of less sustainable action in the future. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Building Fit-for-Purpose Spatial Frameworks for Sustainable Land Governaqnce in Sub-Sahara Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Stig

    2013-01-01

    SUMMARY Arguably sound land governance is the key to achieve sustainable development and to support the global agenda set by adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The operational component of land governance is the country specific land administration systems dealing with the four...... then be incrementally improved over time when relevant and justified by serving the needs of citizen, business and society in general. Such a fit-for-purpose approach is fundamental for building adequate land administration systems in developing regions in support of sustainable land governance. In most developed...... key functions of land tenure, land value, land, and land development. Land administration systems, whether highly advanced or very basic, require a spatial framework to operate. Spatial frameworks identify the spatial units such as land parcels, as a basis for dealing with land administration...

  7. The FTAA and hemispheric integration: building a triple-win strategy for trade and sustainability in the hemisphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-04-01

    The concept of a trade and sustainability agenda for the Americas is explained and a historical account of the process of making this concept a reality is discussed in a background paper for the Hemispheric Trade and Sustainability Symposium held on April 18, 2001 in Quebec City. The Symposium was held in conjunction with the Third Summit of the Americas, where heads of 34 American nations discussed ways and means to encourage hemispheric cooperation. The object of the Symposium was to provide a constructive, policy-oriented, and knowledge-based open forum for dialogue on trade and sustainability issues; to identify policy options that can be mutually beneficial to trade, environment and development, and to increase public support for trade liberalisation in the Americas. The strategy aims to build a sustainable FTAA through the identification of a series of environmental provisions to be incorporated in the Agreement; strengthen environmental cooperation in the Americas, especially in trade-sensitive, or trade-related sectors, and create a high level hemispheric expert group on trade and sustainability for continuous and constructive dialogue with civil society and industry on these issues. The backgrounder provides a precis of the fundamental aspect of building a sustainable FTAA, explains the origin of the prevailing fear of unilateral environment-related trade sanctions by the United States, the fear of protectionist measures by Canada and the United States based on environmental provisions in the FTAA, and the fear that higher environmental standards and regulations would undermine the competitiveness of Latin American and Caribbean businesses. The paper attempts to dispel these fears by explaining the mechanism envisaged to be predominant in creating the triple-win strategy, namely impact assessment, transparency, participation and dispute resolution processes. The eventual agreement should also mention sustainable development as an overarching objective of

  8. Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mainor, Avia; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Maier, Ryan C.; Brossart, Laura; Luke, Douglas A.

    2014-01-01

    Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning. PMID:24456644

  9. LOCAL WISDOM OF SABANG ISLAND SOCIETY (ACEH, INDONESIA IN BUILDING ECOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dian ASWITA

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the existing natural and environmental uses in Aceh (Indonesia is tourism. One of the aspects that determine the development and sustainability of tourism is the institutional and community aspects. Sustainable tourism is a picture of the ecosystem sustainability and socio-economic development of the community. This study aims to reveal and find local wisdom practices and explore local knowledge owned by Sabang Island community in the management and conservation of the environment so as to support the realization of sustainable tourism. This study uses rationalistic paradigm and uses qualitative research method. The data that has been collected is analyzed descriptively. Local wisdom and local knowledge are reflected in how society has a unique way of looking at and understanding nature and interacting with it. In the Aceh community, there are customary institutions that regulate the rules or interactions of the community with the environment, including “panglima laot”, “keujreun blang”, “peutua seuneubok”, “pawang glee or peutua uteun”, “haria peukan” and “syahbanda”. Local wisdom and local knowledge have great potential in maintaining, preserving and sustainability of the environment used by communities to meet their living needs. Ecological, social and religious intelligence formed through local wisdom and local knowledge can be an aspect in maintaining environmental sustainability in order to build sustainable tourism on Sabang Island.

  10. Assessment Framework of Building Facade in Optimizing Indoor Thermal Comfort of Green Building Index (GBI Certified Office Building

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Tharim Asniza Hamimi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available During the past decade, the construction industry has seen a new trend in the development of “green” or “sustainable” construction concept around the world with vast support from prominent organization, together with the introduction of sustainable building codes. The establishment of green building certification systems worldwide is seen as one of the most efforts in the emerging green building movement. In order to support the development of the “green” and “sustainable” concept in Malaysia, Green Building Index (GBI was launched by the government on 21 May 2009 that created to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness of environmental issues. However, the construction industry seems to have focused only on findings the “right mechanism” for an environmentally sustainable “final result” in order for the building to be certified as green with the lacking of continuous assessment on the building performance after the certifications. This study is purposely conducted to investigate the performance of various rated Green Building Index (GBI Non-Residential New Construction office buildings and the influence on Indoor Thermal Comfort (ITC of the selected buildings. The aim is to develop an assessment framework for optimum green building architectural façade to be used for office buildings in Malaysia as well as to analyse the occupants’ perception, satisfaction and performance in the selected Green Building Index (GBI rated office indoor environment. This research is still in its infancy; therefore the paper is focused on research aims, research scope and methodology, and expected deliverables for the proposed research.

  11. Buildings Indicators for Sustainable Mobility: the District of Naples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pietro D'Amico

    2011-07-01

    complex index could take place. The main result of this research was the design and implementation of a database via a GIS. Not only could this GIS be updated, but it could also convert information within each indicator into a single complex index. It could immediately give the trend towards sustainable mobility.The database was useful to compare either a zone of the district in different times or different areas of the district at the same time. In addition, the process of building indices could help transparency in planning procedures and social learning through the appraisal process, if citizenship and stakeholders had been involved. The combined use of participatory techniques and multiple criteria analysis takes conflicting interest into account and is the only way to solve them in a common vision.The method implemented in this research should be applied to planning process as well and should involve most of the society.

  12. Surface protection treatments of highly porous building stones and sustainability problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calia, Angela; Lettieri, Maria Teresa; Matera, Loredana; Sileo, Maria

    2013-04-01

    The growing attention to the cultural value and the potential touristic attraction of the historic towns has led to increasing activities of rehabilitation and conservation of the historical built heritage. Chemical treatments have become a common practice for the protection of the stone building surface against the decay agents and traditional methods of protection, such as the application of sacrificial layers, have been even more neglected. The use of chemical products on large scale works on the historical built heritage draws the attention towards the sustainability of the conservation treatments, that involve peculiar features with relation to the different types of stones. Sustainability is undoubtedly in terms of human and environmental impact of the used products, so that the use of new formulations based on aqueous solvent should be preferred. Sustainability also means the equilibrium between the required performances of the treatments and the preservation of the original stone properties (colour, permeability, etc), namely harmlessness and effectiveness of the treatments. This can be a critical aspect when we deal with very porous stones, namely having porosity between 30-40%, that are widely used in many countries as traditional building materials. In most cases no information - or very general recommendations - is reported in the technical sheets of the conservation products with reference to the application to these types of stones. Relevant problems of compatibility can arise from the significant amounts absorbed by the high porous structure, as well as in terms of cost effectiveness of the treatments. In this work several calcarenites with different petro-physic characteristics and porosity between 30 and 45% are concerned for the assessment of the performance of two commercial water based products for stone protection, respectively an alcoxy-siloxane with low molecular weight and a modified organo-silane. This activity is a part of the Apulia

  13. Capacity building for sustainable development. One of the five key areas to sustainable development where progress is possible with the resources and technologies at our disposal today

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    Today, approximately one third of the world's population lack access to modern energy services. Poverty eradication and sustainable development will require not just access, but also clean and affordable energy services. Expanding access to such services requires careful planning. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) helps developing countries and economies in transition build their energy planning capabilities with respect to all three pillars of sustainable development - economic, environmental, and social. The Agency develops and transfers planning models tailored to their special circumstances. It transfers the latest data on technologies, resources, and economics. It trains local experts. It jointly analyzes national options and interprets results. And the IAEA helps establish the continuing local planning expertise needed to independently chart national paths to sustainable development

  14. Building Sustainable Capacity for Cardiovascular Care at a Public Hospital in Western Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binanay, Cynthia A; Akwanalo, Constantine O; Aruasa, Wilson; Barasa, Felix A; Corey, G Ralph; Crowe, Susie; Esamai, Fabian; Einterz, Robert; Foster, Michael C; Gardner, Adrian; Kibosia, John; Kimaiyo, Sylvester; Koech, Myra; Korir, Belinda; Lawrence, John E; Lukas, Stephanie; Manji, Imran; Maritim, Peris; Ogaro, Francis; Park, Peter; Pastakia, Sonak D; Sugut, Wilson; Vedanthan, Rajesh; Yanoh, Reuben; Velazquez, Eric J; Bloomfield, Gerald S

    2015-12-08

    Cardiovascular disease deaths are increasing in low- and middle-income countries and are exacerbated by health care systems that are ill-equipped to manage chronic diseases. Global health partnerships, which have stemmed the tide of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries, can be similarly applied to address cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we present the experiences of an academic partnership between North American and Kenyan medical centers to improve cardiovascular health in a national public referral hospital. We highlight our stepwise approach to developing sustainable cardiovascular services using the health system strengthening World Health Organization Framework for Action. The building blocks of this framework (leadership and governance, health workforce, health service delivery, health financing, access to essential medicines, and health information system) guided our comprehensive and sustainable approach to delivering subspecialty care in a resource-limited setting. Our experiences may guide the development of similar collaborations in other settings. Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Publications | Page 172 | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour le ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management - A Sourcebook Volume 1 : Understanding Participatory Research and ... Plus tard, ce processus s'est approfondi et ancré à la faveur des négociations de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) et il.

  16. Unauthorised building as a factor in the recession. Analysis, strategies and plans for sustainable development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Maria Vitrano

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available How can we turn the tide on the indiscriminate sale of land? What sort of development would conform to environmental and economic needs? With a view to laying the foundations for effectively redressing criticalities determined by the abuse or improper use of buildings, the University of Palermo has promoted: the APRAE Project (Analysis, Prevention and Recovery of unauthorized construction, the HERA Project (Habitat Recovery Environment, Aegean-Med Project, arose from virtuous collaboration with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture (Greece. The research explored the phenomenological structure of unauthorized building and its negative impact on balance of the «housing system» in depth on one hand; on the other it has identified competitive rehabilitation strategies based on sustainability, innovation and participation.

  17. Assessment of SIP Buildings for Sustainable Development in Rural China Using AHP-Grey Correlation Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Libiao; Wang, Hailing; Shi, Chunming; Du, Qiang; Li, Yi

    2017-10-25

    Traditional rural residential construction has the problems of high energy consumption and severe pollution. In general, with sustainable development in the construction industry, rural residential construction should be aimed towards low energy consumption and low carbon emissions. To help achieve this objective, in this paper, we evaluated four different possible building structures using AHP-Grey Correlation Analysis, which consists of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Grey Correlation Analysis. The four structures included the traditional and currently widely used brick and concrete structure, as well as structure insulated panels (SIPs). Comparing the performances of economic benefit and carbon emission, the conclusion that SIPs have the best overall performance can be obtained, providing a reference to help builders choose the most appropriate building structure in rural China.

  18. HETEROGENEOUS SENSOR DATA EXPLORATION AND SUSTAINABLE DECLARATIVE MONITORING ARCHITECTURE: APPLICATION TO SMART BUILDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Servigne

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Concerning energy consumption and monitoring architectures, our goal is to develop a sustainable declarative monitoring architecture for lower energy consumption taking into account the monitoring system itself. Our second is to develop theoretical and practical tools to model, explore and exploit heterogeneous data from various sources in order to understand a phenomenon like energy consumption of smart building vs inhabitants' social behaviours. We focus on a generic model for data acquisition campaigns based on the concept of generic sensor. The concept of generic sensor is centered on acquired data and on their inherent multi-dimensional structure, to support complex domain-specific or field-oriented analysis processes. We consider that a methodological breakthrough may pave the way to deep understanding of voluminous and heterogeneous scientific data sets. Our use case concerns energy efficiency of buildings to understand relationship between physical phenomena and user behaviors. The aim of this paper is to give a presentation of our methodology and results concerning architecture and user-centric tools.

  19. Building Viable and Sustainable Regional Netchains: Case Studies of Regional Pork Netchains in Spain, Germany, and The Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rannia Nijhoff‐Savvaki

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The present paper aims to give insight into critical issues contributing to the successful building of viable and sustainable regional netchains, focussing on chain governance mechanisms (coordination mechanisms, quality management systems, information systems and social embedding. It uses three representative case studies from the regional pork sector in Spain, Germany, and The Netherlands, illustrating different trajectories to commercially viable and sustainable regional netchains. By analysing the cases on each critical aspect, the present paper describes important issues and proposes specific elements of further research, including on the roles for(nongovernmental organisations.

  20. Built sustainability. The office building of the Federal Ministry for the Environment in Berlin; Gebaute Nachhaltigkeit. Der Berliner Dienstsitz des Bundesumweltministeriums

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mager, Hans; Schulz, Juergen; Weigand, Reinhold (comps.)

    2011-06-15

    With the move into the office building in the Stresemann Street in Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety adopts a remarkable new building in the new centre of Berlin. It is the first Federal authority at all which works in a low-energy and passive house. This brochure under consideration reports on the history and architecture of the new office building as well as its sustainable energy management and life cycle assessments.

  1. Sustainability of public health in diadema, 2000 - 2011: a picture of SUS building limits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Alves Melo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: between 2000 to 2011, Diadema paulista municipality has faced many obstacles in health management, struggling to ensure the sustainability of its health system. Objective: to contribute to the discussion of the Unified Health System (SUS and its foreseable turbulent future, based on the analysis of the municipal point of view, identifying the limits of its building in Diadema. Methods: Diadema is characterized as one of the first municipalities that adhered to the principles of the SUS, since its implementation, allowing an analysis as a case study in view of the system's sustainability at the local level. The term sustainability used was addressed in two dimensions: the structure of this system and its process. Results: in SUS implementation period, Diadema stood out by increasing investment in health, reaching an average allocation of about 30% of its tax revenues, including constitutional transfers. Results diagnosed by observing the structure of dimensions and the process indicate that the sustainability of the municipal health system is threatened, as the significant expansion of the range of services and health actions was not followed by sufficient resources to its health maintenance. Conclusions: the existence of obstacles justified and formed the basis for the diagnosis of the main limits on SUS conformation, in health policy and management of resources, funding and budgetary impacts.

  2. Building a Metaframework for Sustainable Transport Indicators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cornet, Yannick; Gudmundsson, Henrik

    2015-01-01

    and operationalize sustainability for transportation-related planning and decision making. Often these studies presented frameworks that would allow sustainability indicators and measures to be included in, for example, agency strategies and practices. Moreover, some papers suggested criteria for the selection...... of individual indicators and performance measures. The studies, however, did not always agree on the definition of a framework or how to use one to make sustainability-based decisions, and they tended to differ on underscored aspects and concerns. The current study addressed the issue of frameworks more...... generically and explored what was termed a "metaframework" with a set of associated criteria to guide the framing of indicators for sustainable transportation. On the basis of an explicit framework theory, the three functions of conceptualization, operationalization, and utilization were found to provide...

  3. Building Innovation and Sustainability in Programs of Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villarruel, Antonia M

    2018-01-01

    Innovation and sustainability are two important concepts of impactful programs of research. While at first glance these concepts and approaches may seem at odds, they are synergistic. We examine the social, political, and policy context as it relates to innovation and sustainability. We present an exemplar of a program of research and discuss factors to consider in developing innovative and sustainable programs of research. Innovation is an important component of sustainable programs of research. Understanding the social and political context and addressing relevant policy issues are factors to be considered in both innovation and sustainability. Innovation and sustainability, important components of research, are also central to clinical practice. Open communication between researchers and clinicians can support the acceleration of innovations and the integration of evidence-based findings in practice. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  4. Sustainable innovation in the building sector. An analysis of chances and constraints; Duurzame innovatie in de bouwsector. Een analyse van kansen en belemmeringen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suurs, R. [TNO, Delft (Netherlands); Van Niekerk, E.; Van Barreveld, C. [3D BluePrint, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Urlings, M. [LSWA architecten, Oirschot (Netherlands)

    2011-04-15

    Building Brains has been set up by TNO as a cooperative and started September 21, 2009. The aim of the project was to answer the question how the energy consumption in the Netherlands can be reduced by 50% up to 2030 or how the built environment can be made energy-neutral. This issue of the magazine is dedicated to Building Brains project. The building construction sector is in need for sustainable innovation. This transition process calls for new organisational forms, new regulations, shifting markets, etc. To establish this, firms and governments should join forces to set up a network that stimulates and fosters sustainable innovation, an Innovation System. This is the only way to successfully support sustainable innovations in the construction sector. An Innovation System Analysis of the development of 'Building Information Systems' provides insights in the actual opportunities and threats offered by innovation in current building practice. [Dutch] Building Brains is een door TNO opgezet samenwerkingsproject dat op 21 september 2009 van start ging. Het doel van het project is antwoord te geven op de vraag hoe tot 2030 het energiegebruik in Nederland kan worden gehalveerd of hoe de gebouwde omgeving energieneutraal kan worden gemaakt. Deze aflevering van het tijdschrift TVVL is vrijwel geheel gewijd aan het Building Brains project. Onder druk van een veranderende wereld en forse economische terugval, neemt de roep om duurzame innovatie in de bouwsector toe. Dit vraagt om nieuwe organisatiestructuren, aangepaste regelgeving, opkomende markten, etc. Bedrijven en overheden zullen samen een netwerk moeten opbouwen dat duurzame innovatie faciliteert en versnelt. Alleen zo krijgen opkomende innovaties de kans om de bouwsector ingrijpend te veranderen. Een 'lnnovatie Systeem Analyse' (lSA) van de Nederlandse ontwikkelingen op het gebied van Bouw Informatie Modellen (BIM) geeft inzicht in de kansen en belemmeringen.

  5. Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress 2004 : Building for the future. CD-ROM ed.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    This conference provided an opportunity to exchange information on recent building and construction research. The main issues were arranged into the following sessions: building techniques; buildings and the environment; building processes; sustainable construction; performance based buildings and regulatory systems; revaluing construction; and, construction in developing countries. The presentations evaluated best practices in construction with reference to a wide range of topics, including heat, air and moisture transfer in buildings, roofing materials, energy conservation, building economics, urban sustainability and the future needs of the construction industry. The conference featured 40 presentations, of which 6 have been indexed separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs. ,figs.

  6. Approach to the regulation in spain for sustain-able constructions and eco-efficient solutions

    OpenAIRE

    Castilla Guerra, Jerónimo; Agudo Martínez, Andrés; Mercader-Moyano, Pilar (Coordinador)

    2017-01-01

    Is there any law related to sustainable buildings and eco-efficient solutions in Spain? How harmful effects on the environment caused by the building industry are regulated? The emergence of concepts such as sustainability or eco-efficiency in the mid-twentieth century has caused a deep impact in the building industry, changing traditional techniques, systems and procedures that have promoted research for the use of materials more efficient. All aimed at lessening the harmful ...

  7. Meeting the Challenge of Chronic Conditions in a Sustainable Manner: Building on the AHC Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delgado, Pedro

    2016-01-01

    The Atlantic Healthcare Collaboration for Innovation and Improvement in Chronic Disease (AHC) set out to achieve three aims: to create a patient- and family-centred approach to manage chronic diseases; to build a network of organizational, regional and provincial teams to share evidence-informed, systems-level solutions and work together to develop, implement and sustain improvement initiatives; and to promote the sustainability of the participating health systems. Important elements of all three aims were achieved and the synthesis provides a meaningful contribution to systems working to improve chronic care. This paper explores those achievements as well as some of the areas for improvement, including replicability, expanded outcome measurement, greater detail around patient and family engagement, increased focus on specific outcomes and processes, and further articulation of lessons learned and recommendations.

  8. Economic–Environmental Sustainability in Building Projects: Introducing Risk and Uncertainty in LCCE and LCCA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Fregonara

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for supporting decision-making in the design stages of new buildings or in the retrofitting of existing heritages. The focus is on the evaluation of economic–environmental sustainability, considering the presence of risk and uncertainty. An application of risk analysis in conjunction with Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA is proposed for selecting the preferable solution between technological options, which represents a recent and poorly explored context of analysis. It is assumed that there is a presence of uncertainty in cost estimating, in terms of the Life-Cycle Cost Estimates (LCCEs and uncertainty in the technical performance of the life-cycle cost analysis. According to the probability analysis, which was solved through stochastic simulation and the Monte Carlo Method (MCM, risk and uncertainty are modeled as stochastic variables or as “stochastic relevant cost drivers”. Coherently, the economic–financial and energy–environmental sustainability is analyzed through the calculation of a conjoint “economic–environmental indicator”, in terms of the stochastic global cost. A case study of the multifunctional building glass façade project in Northern Italy is proposed. The application demonstrates that introducing flexibility into the input data and the duration of the service lives of components and the economic and environmental behavior of alternative scenarios can lead to opposite results compared to a deterministic analysis. The results give full evidence of the environmental variables’ capacity to significantly perturb the model output.

  9. DGNB Building Certification Companion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Renate Skovgaard; Rhodes, Michael K.; Larsen, Tine Steen

    2017-01-01

    for sustainable buildings. The literature describes several barriers of entry preventing actors in the industry from seeking sustainability certifications and prioritizing design methods, supporting sustainability in greater numbers. In the newly developed tool, “DGNB building certification companion: Sustainable......-language, easily digestible summaries of various topics regarding sustainability and the DGNB certification scheme. The identified barriers are described in the tool followed by a solution to overcome them. The tool, tested at multiple stages of development and moulded by many individuals both within and outside...... was that this is a desired product on the market. This new approach is expected to dramatically reduce misunderstandings, conflicts, and mistakes during a sustainable design process, helping the design team plan a project to possibly obtain the highest DGNB score if desired and properly documented....

  10. DGNB BUILDING CERTIFICATION COMPANION

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Renate Skovgaard; Rhodes, Michael K.; Larsen, Tine Steen

    2018-01-01

    for sustainable buildings. The literature describes several barriers of entry preventing actors in the industry from seeking sustainability certifications and prioritizing design methods, supporting sustainability in greater numbers. In the newly developed tool, “DGNB building certification companion: Sustainable......-language, easily digestible summaries of various topics regarding sustainability and the DGNB certification scheme. The identified barriers are described in the tool followed by a solution to overcome them. The tool, tested at multiple stages of development and moulded by many individuals both within and outside...... was that this is a desired product on the market. This new approach is expected to dramatically reduce misunderstandings, conflicts, and mistakes during a sustainable design process, helping the design team plan a project to possibly obtain the highest DGNB score if desired and properly documented....

  11. A mini review on the integration of resource recovery from wastewater into sustainability of the green building through phycoremediation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yulistyorini, Anie

    2017-09-01

    Green building implementation is an important assessment for sustainable development to establish a good quality of the environment. To develop the future green building implementation, resource recovery from the building wastewater is significantly important to consider as a part of the green building development. Discharge of urban wastewater into water bodies trigger of eutrophication in the water catchment, accordingly need further treatment to recover the nutrient before it is reused or discharged into receiving water bodies. In this regard, integration of microalgae cultivation in closed photobioreactor as building façade is critically important to be considered in the implementation of the green building. Microalgae offer multi-function as bioremediation (phycoremediation) of the wastewater, production of the biofuels, and important algal bio-products. At the same time, algae façade boost the reduction of the operating cost in forms of light, thermal energy and add the benefit into the building for energy reduction and architecture function. It promises an environmental benefit to support green building spirit through nutrient recovery and wastewater reuse for algae cultivation and to enhance the aesthetic of the building façade.

  12. Building the Foundations for a Large-Scale, Cross-Sector Collaboration for a Sustainable and Permanent Return to the Lunar Surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapoglou, A.

    2017-10-01

    This presentation will describe how to build the foundations needed for a large scale, cross-industry collaboration to enable a sustainable and permanent return to the Moon based on system leadership, cross-sector partnership, and inclusive business.

  13. Actual service life prediction of building components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aagaard, Niels-Jørgen; Brandt, Erik; Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, sustainability and life cycle cost in the construction industry have been given great attention in many countries due to the heavy climatic and environmental impact from this sector. In Denmark, a sustainability certification scheme for buildings has been developed including....... Finally, it is discussed how to adjust the model for practical purposes, and a scheme for actual service life for selected building components important for analysis of sustainability is linked. The schemes are now being implemented as basis for sustainability certification of new buildings in Denmark....

  14. Eawag Forum Chriesbach - Simulation and measurement of energy performance and comfort in a sustainable office building

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehmann, B.; Dorer, V.; Frank, Th. [Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Building Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland); Guettinger, H. [Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf (Switzerland); van Velsen, S.; Thiemann, A. [3-Plan Haustechnik AG, Winterthur (Switzerland)

    2010-10-15

    The Eawag's new headquarters ''Forum Chriesbach'' is an exemplary illustration of a 'sustainable' construction design for office buildings. With a unique combination of architectural and technical elements the building reaches a very low 88 kWh/m{sup 2} overall primary energy consumption, which is significantly lower than the Swiss Passive House standard, Minergie-P. A monitoring and evaluation project shows that the building is heated mainly by using the sun and internal heat gains from lighting, electrical appliances and occupants, resulting in an extremely low space heating demand. Cooling is provided by natural night time ventilation and the earth-coupled air intake, which pre-cools supply air and provides free cooling for computer servers. However, values for embodied energy and electricity consumption remain significant, even with partial on-site electricity production using photovoltaics. TRNSYS computer simulations show the contributions of individual building services to the overall energy balance and indicate that the building is resilient towards changes in parameters such as climate or occupancy density. Measurements confirm comfortable room temperatures below 26 C, even during an extremely hot summer period, and 20-23 C in the winter season. An economic analysis reveals additional costs of only 5% compared to a conventionally constructed building and a payback-time of 13 years. (author)

  15. Experimental Standards in Sustainability Transitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hale, Lara Anne

    In this thesis I address how experimental standards are used in the new governance paradigm to further sustainability transitions. Focusing on the case of the Active House standard in the building sector, I investigate experimental standards in three research papers examining the following dynamics......: (1) the relationship between commensuration and legitimacy in the formulation and diffusion of a standard’s specifications; (2) the role of awareness in standardizing green default rules to establish sustainable consumption in buildings; and (3) the significance of focus on humans in the development...... of technological standards for sustainable building. Launching from a critical realist social ontology, I collected ethnographic data on the Active House Alliance, its cofounder VELUX, and three of their demonstration building projects in Austria, Germany, and Belgium over the course of three years from 2013...

  16. Wood as a sustainable building material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert H. Falk

    2010-01-01

    Few building materials possess the environmental benefits of wood. It is not only our most widely used building material but also one with characteristics that make it suitable for a wide range of applications. As described in the many chapters of this handbook, efficient, durable, and useful wood products produced from trees can range from a minimally processed log at...

  17. Building an Economical and Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure to Enable Lunar Industrialization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuniga, Allison F.; Turner, Mark; Rasky, Daniel; Loucks, Mike; Carrico, John; Policastri, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    delivery and surface power generation, in partnership with industry; 2) incentivize industry to establish economical and sustainable lunar infrastructure services to support NASA missions and initiate lunar commerce; and 3) encourage creation of new space markets for economic growth and benefit. A phased-development approach was also studied to allow for incremental development and demonstration of capabilities needed to build a lunar infrastructure. This paper will describe the Lunar COTS concept goals, objectives and approach for building an economical and sustainable lunar infrastructure. It will also describe the technical challenges and advantages of developing and operating each infrastructure element. It will also describe the potential benefits and progress that can be accomplished in the initial phase of this Lunar COTS approach. Finally, the paper will also look forward to the potential of a robust lunar industrialization environment and its potential effect on the next 50 years of space exploration.

  18. The absolute environmental performance of buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brejnrod, Kathrine Nykjær; Kalbar, Pradip; Petersen, Steffen

    2017-01-01

    Our paper presents a novel approach for absolute sustainability assessment of a building's environmental performance. It is demonstrated how the absolute sustainable share of the earth carrying capacity of a specific building type can be estimated using carrying capacity based normalization factors....... A building is considered absolute sustainable if its annual environmental burden is less than its share of the earth environmental carrying capacity. Two case buildings – a standard house and an upcycled single-family house located in Denmark – were assessed according to this approach and both were found...... to exceed the target values of three (almost four) of the eleven impact categories included in the study. The worst-case excess was for the case building, representing prevalent Danish building practices, which utilized 1563% of the Climate Change carrying capacity. Four paths to reach absolute...

  19. Building a sustainable academic-community partnership: focus on fall prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Betsey; Macrae, Nancy

    2012-01-01

    To create an interprofessional/interdisciplinary education (IPE), pilot course that provided a representative group of students the opportunity to develop a 6 week fall reduction program for a group of elder volunteers who were independently living in the community. The authors describe the processes that occurred for the course and student-led program to be developed. This pilot course provided opportunities for interprofessional student learning, faculty practice and development, and a program to improve the health of the participants. Sustaining interprofessional collaboration is challenging, primarily due to scheduling difficulties and faculty workloads. More time needs to be devoted to developing the team skills of students, as well as building their knowledge of the contributions each discipline can make to a holistic view of elders. The next phase of this project needs to include pre and post measurement of students' readiness for IPE and elders to more adequately assess the components and effects of the course and program for fall prevention.

  20. Minimum impact house prototype for sustainable building

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Götz, E.; Klenner, K.; Lantelme, M.; Mohn, A.; Sauter, S.; Thöne, J.; Zellmann, E.; Drexler, H.; Jauslin, D.

    2010-01-01

    The Minihouse is a prototupe for a sustainable townhouse. On a site of only 29 sqm it offers 154 sqm of urban life. The project 'Minimum Impact House' adresses two important questions: How do we provide living space in the cities without distroying the landscape? How to improve sustainably the

  1. Working together. Best practices in sustainable utility building; Samen aan de slag. Best practices in duurzame utiliteitsbouw

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Franzen, E.; Verstraete, E.; Mathlener, R.; Wenting, R. [PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC, s.l. (Netherlands); De Waal, L.; Kuijpers, S.; Veendrick, P.; Scheelbeek, J. [Rabobank International, Utrecht (Netherlands); Fraanje, P. [Bouwend Nederland, Zoetermeer (Netherlands)

    2011-10-15

    Rabobank and PwC have taken the initiative to work with players in the construction and real estate sector to find success factors of sustainable construction of utility buildings. With the cooperation of industry leaders is a selection is made of case studies, quotes and findings. They are illustrative and should inspire to seek a personal interpretation of sustainability. [Dutch] Rabobank en PwC hebben het initiatief genomen om samen met spelers in de bouw- en vastgoedsector te zoeken naar succesfactoren van duurzame utiliteitsbouw. Met medewerking van toonaangevende bedrijven is een selectie gemaakt uit praktijkvoorbeelden, quotes en bevindingen. Ze zijn illustratief en moeten inspireren om op zoek te gaan naar een eigen invulling van duurzaamheid.

  2. NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource High Resolution Meteorology Data For Sustainable Building Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandler, William S.; Hoell, James M.; Westberg, David; Zhang, Taiping; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.

    2013-01-01

    A primary objective of NASA's Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) project is to adapt and infuse NASA's solar and meteorological data into the energy, agricultural, and architectural industries. Improvements are continuously incorporated when higher resolution and longer-term data inputs become available. Climatological data previously provided via POWER web applications were three-hourly and 1x1 degree latitude/longitude. The NASA Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data set provides higher resolution data products (hourly and 1/2x1/2 degree) covering the entire globe. Currently POWER solar and meteorological data are available for more than 30 years on hourly (meteorological only), daily, monthly and annual time scales. These data may be useful to several renewable energy sectors: solar and wind power generation, agricultural crop modeling, and sustainable buildings. A recent focus has been working with ASHRAE to assess complementing weather station data with MERRA data. ASHRAE building design parameters being investigated include heating/cooling degree days and climate zones.

  3. Teaching sustainable design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cooper, P.; Haggard, K.; Knuckles, A.; Le Noble, J. [California Polytechnic State Univ., San Luis Obispo, CA (United States)

    1995-11-01

    Sustainable design is inclusive, holistic and integrative. It require humility and guts, caring and a certain degree of stubbornness. It helps to do it cooperatively in a group. Human interest in sustainability has gained a great deal of impetus over the last several years as the problems of the late 20th and the early 21st century have become clearer. Design for sustainability broadens and integrates many previously separate design concerns to create a unified approach that is both compelling and ripe with new possibilities. Ecosystem regeneration, ecological land use planning, biometric design, regional environmental and economic viability, natural landscape maintenance, resource optimization, integrated infrastructure system, neotraditional and pedestrian oriented urban design, passive solar architecture, appropriate technology, renewable building materials, healthy buildings, and the aesthetics of place; are a few of these design concerns that, when welded together, can create sustainability.

  4. The Minimum Impact House : Applications of the Frankfurt Prototype for sustainable building in Cities of the European Rhine Region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Drexler, H.; Jauslin, D.; Curiel, F.

    2010-01-01

    The Minimum Impact House in Frankfurt am Main is a sustainable solution for low cost living within city centers - a prototype typology with minimal footprint, built on a leftover urban space. The planning process itself became part of a scientific study. The ecological advantages of building in the

  5. Project-Based Market Competition and Policy Implications for Sustainable Developments in Building and Construction Sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min-Ren Yan

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Building and construction sectors are significant contributors to the global economy, but their energy consumption necessitates greater commitment to sustainable developments. There is therefore a growing demand for green innovation in the form of cleaner production and policies to meet the modern requirements of sustainability. However, the nature in which public work is undertaken is in an environment of project-based market competition, whereby contractors routinely bid for contracts under specific project awarding systems, and variations are accompanied with the unique scope of individual projects before the final goods or services are delivered. A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics and contractors’ behavior in systems could help to identify the leverage points of policies. This paper proposes a system dynamics model, with quantitative analysis and simulations, to demonstrate the problems of a system with different project awarding systems and ineffective market performance. The framework of market efficiency and performance measures has been proposed to evaluate the project-based competition mechanism. Managerial policy implications for market efficiency and sustainable developments can thus be systematically discussed and compared through iterative computer simulations and scenario analysis.

  6. NET-ZERO ENERGY BUILDING OPERATOR TRAINING PROGRAM (NZEBOT)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brizendine, Anthony; Byars, Nan; Sleiti, Ahmad; Gehrig, Bruce; Lu, Na

    2012-12-31

    The primary objective of the Net-Zero Energy Building Operator Training Program (NZEBOT) was to develop certificate level training programs for commercial building owners, managers and operators, principally in the areas of energy / sustainability management. The expected outcome of the project was a multi-faceted mechanism for developing the skill-based competency of building operators, owners, architects/engineers, construction professionals, tenants, brokers and other interested groups in energy efficient building technologies and best practices. The training program draws heavily on DOE supported and developed materials available in the existing literature, as well as existing, modified, and newly developed curricula from the Department of Engineering Technology & Construction Management (ETCM) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC-Charlotte). The project goal is to develop a certificate level training curriculum for commercial energy and sustainability managers and building operators that: 1) Increases the skill-based competency of building professionals in energy efficient building technologies and best practices, and 2) Increases the workforce pool of expertise in energy management and conservation techniques. The curriculum developed in this project can subsequently be used to establish a sustainable energy training program that can contribute to the creation of new “green” job opportunities in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast region, and workforce training that leads to overall reductions in commercial building energy consumption. Three energy training / education programs were developed to achieve the stated goal, namely: 1. Building Energy/Sustainability Management (BESM) Certificate Program for Building Managers and Operators (40 hours); 2. Energy Efficient Building Technologies (EEBT) Certificate Program (16 hours); and 3. Energy Efficent Buildings (EEB) Seminar (4 hours). Training Program 1 incorporates the following

  7. Delivering Sustainable Facilities Management in Danish Housing Estates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Jensen, Jesper Ole; Jensen, Per Anker

    2009-01-01

    Housing plays a central role in sustainable development due to large resource consumption and as transition agent towards sustainable lifestyles. The aim is to evaluate current practice of housing administration in Denmark in order to evaluate if and how sustainable facilities management is suppo......Housing plays a central role in sustainable development due to large resource consumption and as transition agent towards sustainable lifestyles. The aim is to evaluate current practice of housing administration in Denmark in order to evaluate if and how sustainable facilities management...... is supporting social, economical and environmental sustainable development. Sustainable facility management (SFM) is as an 'umbrella' for various ways of reducing flows of energy, water and waste in the daily operation of the buildings, for instance by regular monitoring the consumption, by using 'green......-setting including the ownership of the building, the organisation of daily operation, the roles and relation between stakeholders are equally important in order to utilise the monitoring as a mean for transformation towards sustainable buildings and lifestyles....

  8. National Tribal Building Codes Summit

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Tribal Building Codes summit statement developed to support tribes interested in adopting green and culturally-appropriate building systems to ensure safe, sustainable, affordable, and culturally-appropriate buildings on tribal lands.

  9. The energetic concept in the administration building of the Federal Environmental Agency in Dessau. Technical innovation for a sustainable operation; Das energetische Konzept im Dienstgebaeude des Umweltbundesamtes in Dessau. Technische Innovationen fuer einen nachhaltigen Betrieb

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    The new office building of the Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) was implemented as a pilot project for environmentally sustainable construction with high-energy targets. In order to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels significantly, the building should have a very low power consumption and enable a sustainable operation. A mostly compact form of the building and a highly insulated building envelope are a first prerequisite.

  10. Technology Paths in Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Construction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Jesper; Lund Sørensen, Runa Cecilie

    2015-01-01

    Various tehcnology paths and regimes, Building codes and standards in energy, eco and sustainable housing......Various tehcnology paths and regimes, Building codes and standards in energy, eco and sustainable housing...

  11. How to use Building Information Systems for a transition towards Sustainable Building Operation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Itard, L.C.M.; Joosstens, F; Heiselberg, Per Kvols

    2016-01-01

    BIM Building Information Model or Modelling connects many different information
    systems from various actors during the building construction process with each
    other in one easily accessible and understandable model. BIM assures an effective
    and efficient building construction process by

  12. Design of Sustainable Agricultural Buildings. A Case Study of a Wine Cellar in Tuscany, Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Conti

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This research concerns the design of an agricultural building with a high degree of sustainability, located in a farm in the south of the Tuscany region, Italy. The building, intended mainly as a wine cellar, offers innovative construction solutions of high deconstructability and has features of low environmental impact, economic competitiveness and constructive simplicity. In particular, the design of the basement cellar involves the use of gabions and stones for the realization of the foundations, the ground retaining walls and all other bearing walls. A different solution is adopted for the external wall which remains entirely above ground. It is also made by gabions, but it is externally covered with a coat of straw bales and is plastered with clay or lime. The roof-bearing structure is made of steel beams and galvanized steel sheets. A layer of fertile soil is arranged on the roof to form a green roof system. This research aims to spread the design criteria of deconstructable buildings, based on the use of natural materials with low environmental and economic impact. Where it is not possible to employ natural materials, reusable or recyclable materials are used.

  13. A Conceptual Model for the Sustainable Governance of Integrated Management of National Water Resources with a Focus on Training and Capacity Building

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alaleh Ghaemi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The instabilities over the past two decades in governing water resources have led to the need for an integrated approach to the problem. Moreover, the decent and sustainable governance of water resources has come to be recognized as the supplement to the integrated management of water resources. The present study strives to develop a conceptual model of water reources sustainable governance with emphasis on training and capacity-building. For this purpose, expert views presented to different international meetings and world conferences on water were reviewed to develop a comprehensive and all-embracuing conceptual model of sustainable governance for the integrated management of water resources with a focus on training and capacity-building. In a second stage of the study, both internationally published literature and the regulatory documents on water management approved at the national level were consulted to derive appropriate standards, criteria, and indicators for the implementation of the proposed conceptual model. The relevance of these indicators was validated by soliciting expert views while their stability was calculated via the Cronbach’s alpha formula to be 0.94. The third stage of the study involved the ranking and gradation of the indicators using the relevant software in a fuzzy decision-making environment based on interviews with 110 senior water executives, academics working in the field, senior agricultural managers, water experts in local communities, and NGO activists. The emerging model finally consisted of 9 criteria and 52 indicators, amongst which the criterion of public participation and the indicator of training and capacity-building won the highest scores. It may be claimed that the proposed conceptual model is quite relevant and adapted to the sustainable governance presently sought. The key roles in this model are played by public participation as well as training and capacity building that must be on the priority

  14. Life-cycle design for sustainable architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Thiébat

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability in architecture should involve environmental and social aspects and also economic aspects. However, in a design process budget issues usually outweigh ecological aspects. How can we then drive clients and builders to put more socially responsible buildings on the market that do not exceed the fixed budget but are environmentally friendly? This paper propose an economic and environmental assessment tool to aid private or public building designers and owners to find the global sustainability value of a green building within a life cycle perspective. Sustainable life cycle tools for buildings design and construction help to achieve successfully integrated architecture. The research here presented proposes a new point of view of the “time-cost-quality triangle” of Project Management, by introducing three further aspects: environment, society and aesthetics.

  15. Building agribusiness model of LEISA to achieve sustainable agriculture in Surian Subdistrict of Sumedang Regency West Java Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djuwendah, E.; Priyatna, T.; Kusno, K.; Deliana, Y.; Wulandari, E.

    2018-03-01

    Building agribusiness model of LEISA is needed as a prototype of sustainable regional and economic development (SRRED) in the watersheds (DAS) of West Java Province. Agribusiness model of LEISA is a sustainable agribusiness system applying low external input. The system was developed in the framework of optimizing local-based productive resources including soil, water, vegetation, microclimate, renewable energy, appropriate technology, social capital, environment and human resources by combining various subsystems including integrated production subsystems of crops, livestock and fish to provide a maximum synergy effect, post-harvest subsystem and processing of results, marketing subsystems and supporting subsystems. In this study, the ecological boundary of Cipunegara sub-watershed ecosystem, administrative boundaries are Surian Subdistricts in Sumedang. The purpose of this study are to identify the potency of natural resources and local agricultural technologies that could support the LEISA model in Surian and to identify the potency of internal and external inputs in the LEISA model. The research used qualitative descriptive method and technical action research. Data were obtained through interviews, documentation, and observation. The results showed that natural resources in the form of agricultural land, water resources, livestock resources, and human labor are sufficient to support agribusiness model of LEISA. LEISA agribusiness model that has been applied in the research location is the integration of beef cattle, agroforestry, and agrosilvopasture. By building LEISA model, agribusiness can optimize the utilization of locally based productive resources, reduce dependence on external resources, and support sustainable food security.

  16. International Conference on Human Resource Development for Nuclear Power Programmes: Building and Sustaining Capacity. Presentations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-01-01

    The objectives of the conference are to: • Review developments in the global status of HRD since the 2010 international conference; • Emphasize the role of human resources and capacity building programmes at the national and organizational level for achieving safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programmes; • Discuss the importance of building competence in nuclear safety and security; • Provide a forum for information exchange on national, as well as international, policies and practices; • Share key elements and best practices related to the experience of Member States that are introducing, operating or expanding nuclear power programmes; • Highlight the practices and issues regarding HRD at the organizational and national level; • Highlight education and training programmes and practices; • Emphasize the role of nuclear knowledge management for knowledge transfer and HRD; and • Elaborate on the role and scope of various knowledge networks

  17. Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Evaluation of Space and Water Heating in Urban Residential Buildings of the Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Chen

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available With the urbanization process of the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW zone in China, the energy consumption of space and water heating in urban residential buildings of the HSCW zone has increased rapidly. This study presents the energy efficiency and sustainability evaluation of various ways of space and water heating taking 10 typical cities in the HSCW zone as research cases. Two indicators, primary energy efficiency (PEE and sustainability index based on exergy efficiency, are adopted to perform the evaluation. Models for the energy and total exergy efficiencies of various space and water heating equipment/systems are developed. The evaluation results indicate that common uses of electricity for space and water heating are the most unsustainable ways of space and water heating. In terms of PEE and sustainability index, air-source heat pumps for space and water heating are suitable for the HSCW zone. The PEE and sustainability index of solar water heaters with auxiliary electric heaters are greatly influenced by local solar resources. Air-source heat pump assisted solar hot water systems are the most sustainable among all water heating equipment/systems investigated in this study. Our works suggest the key potential for improving the energy efficiency and the sustainability of space and water heating in urban residential buildings of the HSCW zone.

  18. Simulation for (sustainable) building design: Czech experiences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bartak, M.; Drkal, F.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Lain, M.; Schwarzer, J.; Sourek, B.

    2001-01-01

    This paper attempts to outline the current state-of-the-art in the Czech Republic regarding the use of integrated building performance simulation as a design tool. Integrated performance simulation for reducing the environmental impact of buildings is illustrated by means of three recent HVAC

  19. Applied building physics

    CERN Document Server

    Hens, Hugo S L C

    2012-01-01

    The energy crises of the 1970s, persisting moisture problems, complaints about sick buildings, thermal, visual and olfactory discomfort, and the move towards more sustainability in building construction have pushed Building Physics to the forefront of building innovation. The societal pressure to diminish energy consumption in buildings without impairing usability acted as a trigger to activate the whole notion of performance based design and construction. As with all engineering sciences, Building Physics is oriented towards application, which is why, after a first book on fundamentals this s

  20. Towards sustainable irrigation and drainage through capacity building

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kay, M.; Terwisscha Van Scheltinga, C.T.H.M.

    2003-01-01

    Capacity building is not something new, it has been a leading issue in development for many years. But despite all the commotion, capacity building remains a concept of enormous generality and vagueness. The calls for capacity building in irrigated agriculture suffer from these same vague

  1. Residential and commercial buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Svendsen, Svend; Furbo, S.

    2012-11-15

    Low-energy buildings can make a major contribution to general sustainable development by providing a solution to problems related to the use of fossil fuels. The EPBD (EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings) requirements that by 2020 new building shall be constructed to use nearly zero energy, and no fossil fuels, can be accomplished by combining low-energy buildings with renewable energy via low-temperature district heating in cities and suburbs, and via heat pumps for low-density settlements. Based on experience with passive houses, low-energy buildings meeting the energy performance requirements of 2020 are expected to cost only a few percent more than conventional buildings. The very large and rapid changes needed in the energy performance of buildings is a challenge for the building sector, but one that can be overcome by better methods of developing products and designing, constructing and operating buildings. Simulation-based analysis and optimisation, and considerations of durability, will be important here. Building may thus be transformed from an experience-based sector to one based on knowledge and research, with high-quality sustainable products and good business opportunities. (Author)

  2. Teaching environmental sustainability in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Itard, L.C.M.; Van den Bogaard, M.E.D.; Hasselaar, E.

    2010-01-01

    The challenges of sustainable engineering and design are complex and so are the challenges of teaching sustainability to higher education students. This paper deals with teaching environmental sustainability, with a specific focus on the sustainability of buildings. The paper addresses specifically

  3. Building sustainable policy framework for transport development: A review of national transport policy initiatives in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumaila A.F.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper is concerned with building a sustainable policy framework for transport development in Nigeria. Its objective is to review the country’s transport policy initiatives in order to understand the extent to which it addresses Nigeria’s mobility and transportation problems. From published materials and official government documents and files, the study identifies four national policy initiatives which are reviewed and analysed with regard to their context, contents, and consequences. The study reveals that while the policy initiatives could be said to be adequate and comprehensive in terms of their context and contents, the major challenge is implementation of recommended solutions. The study therefore provides a general checklist to guide policy direction, while advocating for policy-based researches and empirical studies in order to provide the data base for formulation of a sustainable national transport policy for Nigeria.

  4. Design for Sustainability : Current Trends in Sustainable Product Design and Development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Clark, G.; Kosoris, J.; Nguyen Hong, L.; Crul, M.

    2009-01-01

    The Design for Sustainability (D4S) concept outlines methodologies for making sustainable improvements (social, economic and environmental) to products by applying elements of life cycle thinking. D4S builds on the work of ecodesign to include economic and social concerns, and its methodology

  5. INL High Performance Building Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jennifer D. Morton

    2010-02-01

    High performance buildings, also known as sustainable buildings and green buildings, are resource efficient structures that minimize the impact on the environment by using less energy and water, reduce solid waste and pollutants, and limit the depletion of natural resources while also providing a thermally and visually comfortable working environment that increases productivity for building occupants. As Idaho National Laboratory (INL) becomes the nation’s premier nuclear energy research laboratory, the physical infrastructure will be established to help accomplish this mission. This infrastructure, particularly the buildings, should incorporate high performance sustainable design features in order to be environmentally responsible and reflect an image of progressiveness and innovation to the public and prospective employees. Additionally, INL is a large consumer of energy that contributes to both carbon emissions and resource inefficiency. In the current climate of rising energy prices and political pressure for carbon reduction, this guide will help new construction project teams to design facilities that are sustainable and reduce energy costs, thereby reducing carbon emissions. With these concerns in mind, the recommendations described in the INL High Performance Building Strategy (previously called the INL Green Building Strategy) are intended to form the INL foundation for high performance building standards. This revised strategy incorporates the latest federal and DOE orders (Executive Order [EO] 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance” [2009], EO 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management” [2007], and DOE Order 430.2B, “Departmental Energy, Renewable Energy, and Transportation Management” [2008]), the latest guidelines, trends, and observations in high performance building construction, and the latest changes to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

  6. The Capacity-Building Stewardship Model: assessment of an agricultural network as a mechanism for improving regional agroecosystem sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison J. Duff

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Working lands have potential to meet agricultural production targets while serving as reservoirs of biological diversity and as sources of ecological services. Yet agricultural policy creates disincentives for this integration of conservation and production goals. While necessary, the development of a policy context that promotes agroecosystem sustainability will take time, and successful implementation will depend on a receptive agricultural audience. As the demands placed on working lands grow, there is a need for regional support networks that build agricultural producers' capacity for land stewardship. We used a social-ecological system framework to illustrate the Healthy Grown Potato Program as an agricultural network case study. Our Capacity-Building Stewardship Model reflects a 20-year experience working in collaboration with potato growers certified under an ecolabel in Wisconsin, USA. The model applies an evolving, modular farm stewardship standard to the entire farm - croplands and noncroplands. The model demonstrates an effective process for facilitating communication and shared learning among program participants, including agricultural producers, university extension specialists, nonprofit conservation partners, and industry representatives. The limitation of the model in practice has been securing funding to support expansion of the program and to ensure that the ecolabel standard is responsive to changes in the social-ecological system. Despite this constraint, the Capacity-Building Stewardship Model reveals an important mechanism for building regional commitment to conservation, with agricultural producers in a leadership role as architects, adopters, and advocates for stewardship behavior. Our experience provides important insight for the application of agri-environment schemes on private lands. The durability of a conservation ethic on working farms is likely to be enhanced when networks engage and support producers in an

  7. Neighbourhood facilities for sustainability

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Gibberd, Jeremy T

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available . In this paper these are referred to as ‘Neighbourhood Facilities for Sustainability’. Neighbourhood Facilities for Sustainability (NFS) are initiatives undertaken by individuals and communities to build local sustainable systems which not only improve...

  8. Transforming BIM to BEM: Generation of Building Geometry for the NASA Ames Sustainability Base BIM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' Donnell, James T. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Maile, Tobias [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Rose, Cody [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mrazovic, Natasa [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Morrissey, Elmer [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Regnier, Cynthia [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bazjanac, Vladimir [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Typical processes of whole Building Energy simulation Model (BEM) generation are subjective, labor intensive, time intensive and error prone. Essentially, these typical processes reproduce already existing data, i.e. building models already created by the architect. Accordingly, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed a semi-automated process that enables reproducible conversions of Building Information Model (BIM) representations of building geometry into a format required by building energy modeling (BEM) tools. This is a generic process that may be applied to all building energy modeling tools but to date has only been used for EnergyPlus. This report describes and demonstrates each stage in the semi-automated process for building geometry using the recently constructed NASA Ames Sustainability Base throughout. This example uses ArchiCAD (Graphisoft, 2012) as the originating CAD tool and EnergyPlus as the concluding whole building energy simulation tool. It is important to note that the process is also applicable for professionals that use other CAD tools such as Revit (“Revit Architecture,” 2012) and DProfiler (Beck Technology, 2012) and can be extended to provide geometry definitions for BEM tools other than EnergyPlus. Geometry Simplification Tool (GST) was used during the NASA Ames project and was the enabling software that facilitated semi-automated data transformations. GST has now been superseded by Space Boundary Tool (SBT-1) and will be referred to as SBT-1 throughout this report. The benefits of this semi-automated process are fourfold: 1) reduce the amount of time and cost required to develop a whole building energy simulation model, 2) enable rapid generation of design alternatives, 3) improve the accuracy of BEMs and 4) result in significantly better performing buildings with significantly lower energy consumption than those created using the traditional design process, especially if the simulation model was used as a predictive

  9. Sustainability Potentials of Housing Refurbishment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behzad Sodagar

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The benefits of choosing refurbishment over new build have recently been brought into focus for reducing environmental impacts of buildings. This is due to the fact that the existing buildings will comprise the majority of the total building stocks for years to come and hence will remain responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions from the sector. This paper investigates the total potentials of sustainable refurbishment and conversion of the existing buildings by adopting a holistic approach to sustainability. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA and questionnaires have been used to analyse the environmental impact savings (Co2e, improved health and well-being, and satisfaction of people living in refurbished homes. The results reported in the paper are based on a two year externally funded research project completed in January 2013.

  10. Towards Sustainable Health Care Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauro ROMANELLI

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Health care organizations have to develop a sustainable path for creating public value by seeking legitimacy for building and maintaining public trust with patients as social and economic institutions creating value and sustaining both health and wealth for people and communities within society. Health care organizations having at disposal decreasing resources and meeting increasing demands of citizens are following an unsustainable path. Designing sustainable health care systems and organizations is emerging as a strategic goal for developing the wealth of people and communities over time. Building sustainable organizations relies on valuing human resources, designing efficient and effective processes, using technology for better managing the relationships within and outside organizations. Sustainable health care organizations tend to rediscover the importance of human resource management and policies for effectively improving communication with patients and building trust-based relationships. While processes of accreditation contribute to legitimizing effectiveness and quality of health care services and efficient processes, introducing and using new information and communication technologies (ICTs and informatics helps communication leading to restore trust-based relationships between health care institutions and patients for value creation within society.

  11. When Sustainable Development is Core Business

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Galamba, Kirsten Ramskov

    2010-01-01

    . Originality/value: The paper presents suggestions on the role of facilities management in a sustainable transition of society by changing focus from a typically instrumental approach towards a more holistic management of its facilities. The research provides an insight into the context of FM in a local......Purpose: The purpose of the paper is an attempt to define sustainability in a Facilities Management context and to present a methodology for facilities managers to reflect on their role as system builders. Theory: Theory of transition of large socio-technical systems are used to show the complexity...... of reorganising public building administration into FM for sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: Understandings of the term Sustainable Facilities Management is identified through reviews of FM literature as well as literature on sustainable buildings and sustainable urban development...

  12. Cocitation or Capacity-Building? Defining Success within an Interdisciplinary, Sustainability Science Team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abby J. Roche

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available To address gaps in knowledge and to tackle complex social–ecological problems, scientific research is moving toward studies that integrate multiple disciplines and ways of knowing to explore all parts of a system. Yet, how these efforts are being measured and how they are deemed successful is an up-and-coming and pertinent conversation within interdisciplinary research spheres. Using a grounded theory approach, this study addresses how members of a sustainability science-focused team at a Northeastern U.S. university funded by a large, National Science Foundation (NSF grant contend with deeply normative dimensions of interdisciplinary research team success. Based on semi-structured interviews (N = 24 with researchers (e.g., faculty and graduate students involved in this expansive, interdisciplinary team, this study uses participants’ narrative accounts to progress our understanding of success on sustainability science teams and addresses the tensions arising between differing visions of success present within the current literature, and perpetuated by U.S. funding agencies like NSF. Study findings reveal that team members are forming definitions of interdisciplinary success that both align with, and depart from, those appearing in the literature. More specifically, some respondents’ notions of team success appear to mirror currently recognized outcomes in traditional academic settings (i.e., purpose driven outcomes—citations, receipt of grant funding, etc.. At the same time, just as many other respondents describe success as involving elements of collaborative research not traditionally acknowledged as a forms of “success” in their own right (i.e., capacity building processes and outcomes—relationship formation, deep understandings of distinct epistemologies, etc.. Study results contribute to more open and informed discussions about how we gauge success within sustainability science collaborations, forming a foundation for

  13. Design and management of sustainable built environments

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Climate change is believed to be a great challenge to built environment professionals in design and management. An integrated approach in delivering a sustainable built environment is desired by the built environment professional institutions. The aim of this book is to provide an advanced understanding of the key subjects required for the design and management of modern built environments to meet carbon emission reduction targets. In Design and Management of Sustainable Built Environments, an international group of experts provide comprehensive and the most up-to-date knowledge, covering sustainable urban and building design, management and assessment. The best practice case studies of the implementation of sustainable technology and management from the BRE Innovation Park are included. Design and Management of Sustainable Built Environments will be of interest to urban and building designers, environmental engineers, and building performance assessors.  It will be particularly useful as a reference book ...

  14. The status quo of green-building education in South Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2015-10-30

    Oct 30, 2015 ... on projects in the property-development industry. The purpose of this study ... adequate technical understanding of sustainable building methods. ... skills in green building as promptly as role players in the green-building sector might .... The body of knowledge about sustainability and green buildings is ...

  15. Partnering for a greener community, Virginia Tech, the Town of Blacksburg, and Sustainable Blacksburg present Sustainability Week 2008

    OpenAIRE

    Harris, Jennifer

    2008-01-01

    Virginia Tech, the Town of Blacksburg and Sustainable Blacksburg have partnered to present Sustainability Week 2008, Oct. 20 through 25. During Sustainability Week more than 20 activities, events and tours, focused on building and sustaining a greener community, have been scheduled.

  16. Kennedy Space Center Five Year Sustainability Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Ann T.

    2016-01-01

    The Federal Government is committed to following sustainable principles. At its heart, sustainability integrates environmental, societal and economic solutions for present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Building upon its pledge towards environmental stewardship, the Administration generated a vision of sustainability spanning ten goals mandated within Executive Order (EO) 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade. In November 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) responded to this EO by incorporating it into a new release of the NASA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP). The SSPP recognizes the importance of aligning environmental practices in a manner that preserves, enhances and strengthens NASA's ability to perform its mission indefinitely. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is following suit with KSC's Sustainability Plan (SP) by promoting, maintaining and pioneering green practices in all aspects of our mission. KSC's SP recognizes that the best sustainable solutions use an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach spanning civil servant and contractor personnel from across the Center. This approach relies on the participation of all employees to develop and implement sustainability endeavors connected with the following ten goals: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Design, build and maintain sustainable buildings, facilities and infrastructure. Leverage clean and renewable energy. Increase water conservation. Improve fleet and vehicle efficiency and management. Purchase sustainable products and services. Minimize waste and prevent pollution. Implement performance contracts for Federal buildings. Manage electronic equipment and data centers responsibly. Pursue climate change resilience. The KSC SP details the strategies and actions that address the following objectives: Reduce Center costs. center dot Increase energy and water efficiencies. Promote smart

  17. Sustainable energy management in municipal buildings and equipment; Gestion durable de l'energie dans les batiments et les equipements municipaux

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-07-01

    The municipalities and local authorities in the CEEC countries have been given back ownership of the majority of public buildings formerly owned by the state: schools, sports and cultural buildings and administrative buildings. Even the management of public lighting and the collection and treatment of sewage are in most cases the responsibility of municipalities. Municipalities pay the energy bills of all these buildings and they find it difficult because of the difference between their income and the energy prices that they are forced to pay, the latter being already set, or soon to be set, by the price on the European market. The experience of towns in the EU has shown that it was mainly under the impact of a similar situation (the oil crisis during the years 1970) that local energy management policies were put in place. These included energy audits, monitoring of consumption, setting up local energy management teams, action plans, investment programmes, etc. The know-how acquired during that phase of energy management of the municipal stock has very often served as a basis for the development of sustainable local energy policies encompassing all fields of urban activity. This void in our knowledge and basic experience is often a complete obstacle to the practical implementation of sustainable local energy policies, integrated within a local Agenda 21, despite declarations of goodwill and sometimes praiseworthy political intentions. All these questions are approached principally with the objective of stimulating a movement in the CEEC, but building on the experience of municipalities of the EU. One should not forget however that in a large number of them, no process approaching the scale of the challenge to be faced has yet been set in train. Both CEEC and EU experiences are presented. (author)

  18. Green buildings need good ergonomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedge, A; Dorsey, J A

    2013-01-01

    A retrospective post-occupancy evaluation survey of 44 occupants in two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum buildings on a US college campus is reported. The Internet survey covered a range of indoor environment and ergonomics issues. Results show that working in these buildings were a generally positive experience for their health, performance and satisfaction. However, in one building there were persistent issues of variability in air temperature, air freshness, air quality and noise that affected the perceived health and performance of the occupants. Although the buildings were energy-efficient and sustainable structures, ergonomics design issues were identified. Implications for the role of ergonomics in green buildings and in the US LEED rating system are discussed. This survey identified a number of ergonomics design issues present in the LEED Platinum energy-efficient and sustainable buildings that were studied. These results highlight the importance of integrating ergonomics design into green buildings as a component in the US LEED rating system.

  19. Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fowler, Kimberly M.; Rauch, Emily M.; Henderson, Jordan W.; Kora, Angela R.

    2010-06-01

    2nd report on the performance of GSA's sustainably designed buildings. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of measured whole building performance as it compares to GSA and industry baselines. The PNNL research team found the data analysis illuminated strengths and weaknesses of individual buildings as well as the portfolio of buildings. This section includes summary data, observations that cross multiple performance metrics, discussion of lessons learned from this research, and opportunities for future research. The summary of annual data for each of the performance metrics is provided in Table 25. The data represent 1 year of measurements and are not associated with any specific design features or strategies. Where available, multiple years of data were examined and there were minimal significant differences between the years. Individually focused post occupancy evaluation (POEs) would allow for more detailed analysis of the buildings. Examining building performance over multiple years could potentially offer a useful diagnostic tool for identifying building operations that are in need of operational changes. Investigating what the connection is between the building performance and the design intent would offer potential design guidance and possible insight into building operation strategies. The 'aggregate operating cost' metric used in this study represents the costs that were available for developing a comparative industry baseline for office buildings. The costs include water utilities, energy utilities, general maintenance, grounds maintenance, waste and recycling, and janitorial costs. Three of the buildings that cost more than the baseline in Figure 45 have higher maintenance costs than the baseline, and one has higher energy costs. Given the volume of data collected and analyzed for this study, the inevitable request is for a simple answer with respect to sustainably designed building performance. As previously stated

  20. Building a Sustainable Future: A Report on the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Sustainability Pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report describes each of the Brownfields Sustainability Pilots and provides findings and recommendations for future projects. It is intended for use by people, communities, organizations, and agencies helping make brownfields more sustainable.

  1. H3Africa and the African life sciences ecosystem: building sustainable innovation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dandara, Collet; Huzair, Farah; Borda-Rodriguez, Alexander; Chirikure, Shadreck; Okpechi, Ikechi; Warnich, Louise; Masimirembwa, Collen

    2014-12-01

    Interest in genomics research in African populations is experiencing exponential growth. This enthusiasm stems in part from the recognition that the genomic diversity of African populations is a window of opportunity for innovations in postgenomics medicine, ecology, and evolutionary biology. The recently launched H3Africa initiative, for example, captures the energy and momentum of this interest. This interdisciplinary socio-technical analysis highlights the challenges that have beset previous genomics research activities in Africa, and looking ahead, suggests constructive ways H3Africa and similar large scale science efforts could usefully chart a new era of genomics and life sciences research in Africa that is locally productive and globally competitive. As independent African scholars and social scientists, we propose that any serious global omics science effort, including H3Africa, aiming to build genomics research capacity and capability in Africa, needs to fund the establishment of biobanks and the genomic analyses platforms within Africa. Equally they need to prioritize community engagement and bioinformatics capability and the training of African scientists on these platforms. Historically, the financial, technological, and skills imbalance between Africa and developed countries has created exploitative frameworks of collaboration where African researchers have become merely facilitators of Western funded and conceived research agendas involving offshore expatriation of samples. Not surprisingly, very little funding was allocated to infrastructure and human capital development in the past. Moving forward, capacity building should materialize throughout the entire knowledge co-production trajectory: idea generation (e.g., brainstorming workshops for innovative hypotheses development by African scientists), data generation (e.g., genome sequencing), and high-throughput data analysis and contextualization. Additionally, building skills for political science

  2. A system approach to the environmental analysis of industrial buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    San-Jose Lombera, Jose-Tomas [LABEIN-Tecnalia, C/Geldo, Parque Tecnologico de Bizkaia, Edificio 700, 48160 Derio (Vizcaya) (Spain); Department of Science of Materials, ESTSI Bilbao-University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Alda, Urquijo s/n, 48013 Bilbao (Spain); Garrucho Aprea, Isaac [SEDICAL S.A., Txorierri Etorbidea 46 - Pab, 12 F 48150 Sondica (Vizcaya) (Spain)

    2010-03-15

    The construction sector plays a major role in the development of society. It wields enormous influence over economic activity, employment and growth rates. However, it also has a substantial impact on the natural environment, the effects of which are evident across the world. Over recent decades, pioneering initiatives have proposed environmentally friendly buildings and sustainable construction has centred on residential and office buildings. Nevertheless, further consideration still needs to be given to sustainability in many areas of industrial construction. Accordingly, an Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment (MIVES) is presented in this article that applies a set of six study scopes to define the sustainability criteria of industrial buildings. The system uses a requirements tree to quantify sustainability at various hierarchical levels, in order to assess the behaviour of industrial buildings and compliance with the criteria. Assignment of value functions to the sustainability criteria is then described in the context of a case study of a printing works, which demonstrates the effectiveness of this model at unifying both qualitative and quantitative indicators, in order to arrive at a specific ''environmental sustainability index'' for the industrial building. (author)

  3. Supplement to nuclear EQ sourcebook: A compilation of documents for nuclear equipment qualification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    In the nuclear power industry, environmental and seismic qualification of safety-related electrical and instrumentation equipment is collectively known as Equipment Qualification (EQ). Related technology, as well as regulatory requirements, have evolved rapidly during the last 15 years. For environmental qualification, what began in 1971 with one trial-use guide (IEEE Std 323-1971), now stands as a full complement of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rules, guides, and industry standards. As the original 1992 version of the Nuclear EQ Sourcebook was compiled to serve the user-community need for a complete and exhaustive single source of nuclear EQ documentation, this Supplement is published to provide the user community with nuclear EQ documentation revisions and updates that have been published since the publication of the original volume in May of 1992. The first volume of this publication included documents issued before December, 1991. That first volume was well received and also prompted positive response from industry on its usefulness and on recommendations to improve the completeness and enhance the ease of use. This Supplement, therefore, includes new documents, revisions, and updates issued and published since December 1991 and up to and including March 1993. It incorporates various enhancements in order to better serve the user community. One such enhancement included in this Supplement is the new Equipment Classification Index that is described in the User Guide section of this publication. 37 papers, including Bulletins, Federal rules, Generic Letters, Notices, Regulatory Guides, IEEE Standards, IEEE Recommended Practices, and IEEE Guides, have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base

  4. Dual certification for bank skyscrapers. A company headquarter gets a Green Building; Duale Zertifizierung fuer Bank-Tuerme. Eine Konzernzentrale wird zum Green Building

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luft, Christian; Bauer, Michael [Drees und Sommer Advanced Building Technologies GmbH, Stuttgart (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    Fire protection regulations force the Deutsche Bank AG (Frankfurt/Main, Federal Republic of Germany) to extensive reorganization measures in order to continuously operate their buildings. As part of a complete renovation, Deutsche Bank AG has stipulated a modern, innovative and sustainable example. This is confirmed by the Green Building Certification with the US american label LEED registered in Platinum as well as the German sustainability certificate of the Germain Sustainable Building Council (Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany) in gold.

  5. Environmentally-sound building technologies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schmid, P.

    1998-01-01

    Referring to numbers of international scientific reports it arises that Sustainable Building Constructions are the only acceptable possibilities yet. The Sustainability of a construction deals with responsible choices of materials and energies as well as similar choices of production and execution.

  6. The RENUE resource centre. Design study of building-integrated PV in a zero-carbon exhibition building

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Webb, R.

    2001-07-01

    Studies at the RENUE building in London are described. The RENUE project is a renewable energy and urban sustainability demonstration of comfortable and elegant buildings which are zero-carbon users. Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems are a factor in the zero-CO{sub 2} building. The building should be of special interest to protagonists of renewable energy, building designers and the PV industry.

  7. Identifying intelligent Building Management Systems (BMS) in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Identifying intelligent Building Management Systems (BMS) in sustainable housing. ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... attention to the principles of sustainability of energy and organized approach to sustainable development.

  8. Assessing the built environment’s contribution to sustainable development: the sustainable building assessment tool

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Gibberd, Jeremy T

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses how the built environment can support sustainable development. It identifies the key characteristics of built environment that can be used to support sustainable development and shows how this can be developed into a set...

  9. The management of building fire safety towards the sustainability of Malaysian public universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebenehi, I. Y.; Mohamed, S.; Sarpin, N.; Masrom, M. A. N.; Zainal, R.; Azmi, M. A. Mohd

    2017-11-01

    Recently, there had been reduction in annual budgetary allocations to public universities in Malaysia due to some economic tensions. This situation had left many institutions in question with the options of scaling down their expenses as well as sourcing for other means of meeting up with the shortfalls in allocated funds. Hence, it affects the sustainability of the building itself. This paper is an attempt to look at the possibility of reducing incidents that could lead to expending unbudgeted fund to rehabilitating property unfortunately destroyed by fire on campus, in addition to limiting risk to life and interruption of academic and business activities. Several research had been conducted on FSM, nevertheless very few consider Higher Education Institutions (HEI)s holistically. Hence this research intends to fill that gap.

  10. Minimizing Climate Change Impacts through the Application of Green Building Principles

    OpenAIRE

    Baharuddin

    2014-01-01

    The presentation explains the climate change and the role of green building in minimising the impact of climate change. The presentation covers the emerging issues, sustainable building, green building certification which covers: sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and

  11. Towards a results-based management approach for capacity-building in space science, technology and applications to support the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balogh, Werner R.; St-Pierre, Luc; Di Pippo, Simonetta

    2017-10-01

    The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has the mandate to assist Member States with building capacity in using space science, technology and their applications in support of sustainable economic, social and environmental development. From 20 to 21 June 2018 the international community will gather in Vienna for UNISPACE + 50, a special segment of the 61st session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first UNISPACE conference and to reach consensus on a global space agenda for the next two decades. ;Capacity-building for the twenty-first century; is one of the seven thematic priorities of UNISPACE + 50, identified and agreed upon by COPUOS. The Committee has tasked UNOOSA with undertaking the work under this thematic priority and with reporting regularly to the Committee and its Subcommittees on the progress of its work. It is therefore appropriate, in this context, to take stock of the achievements of the capacity-building activities of the Office, to review the relevant mandates and activities and to consider the necessity to strengthen and better align them with the future needs of the World and in particular with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This paper describes the efforts on-going at UNOOSA, building on its experiences with implementing the United Nations Programme on Space Applications and the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) and working with Member States and other United Nations entities, to develop a results-based management approach, based on an indicator framework and a database with space solutions, for promoting the use of space-based solutions to help Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and successfully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

  12. Green Building Adoption Index 2017

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kok, Nils

    2017-01-01

    In the early 2000s, energy efficiency was for the committed few, and “green” building was a niche concept. But with the advent of strong tenant and investor interest in constructing, operating, and occupying better buildings, the concept of energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings has taken

  13. CEPHEUS results: measurements and occupants' satisfaction provide evidence for Passive Houses being an option for sustainable building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schnieders, Juergen; Hermelink, Andreas

    2006-01-01

    Passive houses offer extended living comfort with only 15-20% of the space heating demand of conventional new buildings while the extra costs of this standard are only about 10% of the total building costs. In the first part of this paper, detailed measurements for 11 'Passive House' projects with more than 100 dwelling units from the EU-funded demonstration project CEPHEUS (Cost Efficient Passive Houses as EUropean Standards) are presented. All projects exhibit extraordinarily low space heat consumptions. Compared with ordinary, newly erected buildings, 80% of the space heat consumption could be saved. The total primary energy consumption (including household electricity) was less than 50% of that of conventional new buildings. The measurements show that the buildings also offer comfortable indoor conditions in both summer and winter. Several social research studies revealed that the users are well pleased with their homes. The second part of the paper focuses on low-income tenant's satisfaction in the world's first multi-story Passive Houses in Kassel, Germany. This building contrasts sharply with the 'standard' Passive House, occupied by its owners. A 2.5 year study was conducted from spring of 2000 to autumn of 2002. The development of opinions, attitudes, behaviour, and satisfaction over time could be recorded. The building is a clear success, the tenant's satisfaction is high. It is concluded that this building type fulfils the conditions of sustainability in social, ecological and economic respects and should therefore be disseminated on a larger scale. To this end, the last part of the paper describes the development of the Passive House standard in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, from the first demonstration project in 1991 to about 3500 dwelling units today. The prerequisites for this development are analysed. Finally, the authors give their view about the political possibilities for pushing Passive Houses into the market as well as for stimulating a

  14. Integrating Sustainability into the Marketing Curriculum: Learning Activities that Facilitate Sustainable Marketing Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borin, Norm; Metcalf, Lynn

    2010-01-01

    In response to political, social, and competitive forces, many firms are developing sustainable marketing strategies. Marketing educators can play an important role in assisting these firms by developing curricula that build the knowledge and skills required to enable marketing graduates to contribute to sustainable marketing efforts. Marketing…

  15. Sustainable energy management in municipal buildings and equipment; Gestion durable de l'energie dans les batiments et les equipements municipaux

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-07-01

    The municipalities and local authorities in the CEEC countries have been given back ownership of the majority of public buildings formerly owned by the state: schools, sports and cultural buildings and administrative buildings. Even the management of public lighting and the collection and treatment of sewage are in most cases the responsibility of municipalities. Municipalities pay the energy bills of all these buildings and they find it difficult because of the difference between their income and the energy prices that they are forced to pay, the latter being already set, or soon to be set, by the price on the European market. The experience of towns in the EU has shown that it was mainly under the impact of a similar situation (the oil crisis during the years 1970) that local energy management policies were put in place. These included energy audits, monitoring of consumption, setting up local energy management teams, action plans, investment programmes, etc. The know-how acquired during that phase of energy management of the municipal stock has very often served as a basis for the development of sustainable local energy policies encompassing all fields of urban activity. This void in our knowledge and basic experience is often a complete obstacle to the practical implementation of sustainable local energy policies, integrated within a local Agenda 21, despite declarations of goodwill and sometimes praiseworthy political intentions. All these questions are approached principally with the objective of stimulating a movement in the CEEC, but building on the experience of municipalities of the EU. One should not forget however that in a large number of them, no process approaching the scale of the challenge to be faced has yet been set in train. Both CEEC and EU experiences are presented. (author)

  16. Environment-friendly building complex of the BBVA bank in Madrid, Spain. Sustainable and healthy indoor climate in a new office building; Spaans BBVA-cornplex milieuvriendelijk gebouwd. Duurzaam en gezond binnenklimaat nieuw hoofdkantoor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petersen, G. [Swegon, Capelle aan den IJssel (Netherlands)

    2011-03-15

    In the design and construction of the new office building of the Spanish bank BBVA (Madrid) sustainability and environmental effects were important aspects. The office building complex will certified by the American company Leed Gold. The energy efficient installations are made possible by Eurovent-certified heat recovery units and comfort units. [Dutch] Bij de bouw van het nieuwe hoofdkantoor van de Spaanse bank BBVA in Madrid staan duurzaamheid en milieuvriendelijkheid hoog in het vaandel. Het complex zal na de oplevering worden gecertificeerd conform het Amerikaanse Leed Gold. De energiezuinige installatie wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door Eurovent-gecertificeerde wtw-units en comfortunits.

  17. Sustainable purchase. Impact on the Dutch real estate market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kok, N.

    2009-08-01

    The effect of the sustainable procurement policy of the Dutch government is starting to become visible in the market. There is a distinct movement towards making the existing stock more sustainable. Investors are responding to the changing demand. This is the outcome of a study commissioned by SenterNovem with respect to the impact of sustainable procurement on the office building market. The Dutch government envisages 100% sustainable procurement in 2010. This also includes renting and purchasing office buildings. [nl

  18. Building sustainable neuroscience capacity in Africa: the role of non-profit organisations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karikari, Thomas K; Cobham, Ansa E; Ndams, Iliya S

    2016-02-01

    While advances in neuroscience are helping to improve many aspects of human life, inequalities exist in this field between Africa and more scientifically-advanced continents. Many African countries lack the infrastructure and appropriately-trained scientists for neuroscience education and research. Addressing these challenges would require the development of innovative approaches to help improve scientific competence for neuroscience across the continent. In recent years, science-based non-profit organisations (NPOs) have been supporting the African neuroscience community to build state-of-the-art scientific capacity for sustainable education and research. Some of these contributions have included: the establishment of training courses and workshops to introduce African scientists to powerful-yet-cost-effective experimental model systems; research infrastructural support and assistance to establish research institutes. Other contributions have come in the form of the promotion of scientific networking, public engagement and advocacy for improved neuroscience funding. Here, we discuss the contributions of NPOs to the development of neuroscience in Africa.

  19. Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Evaluation of Space and Water Heating in Urban Residential Buildings of the Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone in China

    OpenAIRE

    Xiao Chen; Yongquan Wen; Nanyang Li

    2016-01-01

    With the urbanization process of the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) zone in China, the energy consumption of space and water heating in urban residential buildings of the HSCW zone has increased rapidly. This study presents the energy efficiency and sustainability evaluation of various ways of space and water heating taking 10 typical cities in the HSCW zone as research cases. Two indicators, primary energy efficiency (PEE) and sustainability index based on exergy efficiency, are adopted t...

  20. The positioning of sustainability within residential property marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kriese, Ulrich; Scholz, Roland W

    2011-01-01

    This article investigates the evolution of sustainability positioning in residential property marketing to shed light on the specific role and responsibility of housebuilders and housing investors in urban development. To this end, an analysis is made of housing advertisements published in Basel, Switzerland, over a period of more than 100 years. The paper demonstrates how to draw successfully on advertisements to discern sustainability patterns in housing, using criteria situated along the dimensions building, location and people. Cluster analysis allows five clusters of sustainability positioning to be described—namely, good location, green building, comfort living, pre-sustainability and sustainability. Investor and builder types are differently located in these clusters. Location emerges as an issue which, to a large extent, is advertised independently from other sustainability issues.

  1. Building Minds, Minding Buildings: Our Union's Road Map to Green and Sustainable Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spake, Amanda

    2008-01-01

    Late in 2006, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) released the first report in this series, "Building Minds, Minding Buildings: Turning Crumbling Schools into Environments for Learning." This second report, which covers the green schools movement is a natural follow-up; it highlights the work of AFT members and affiliates involved…

  2. Coupling and quantifying resilience and sustainability in facilities management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cox, Rimante Andrasiunaite; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Rode, Carsten

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider how to couple and quantify resilience and sustainability, where sustainability refers to not only environmental impact, but also economic and social impacts. The way a particular function of a building is provisioned may have significant repercus......Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider how to couple and quantify resilience and sustainability, where sustainability refers to not only environmental impact, but also economic and social impacts. The way a particular function of a building is provisioned may have significant...... repercussions beyond just resilience. The goal is to develop a decision support tool for facilities managers. Design/methodology/approach – A risk framework is used to quantify both resilience and sustainability in monetary terms. The risk framework allows to couple resilience and sustainability, so...... that the provisioning of a particular building can be investigated with consideration of functional, environmental, economic and, possibly, social dimensions. Findings – The method of coupling and quantifying resilience and sustainability (CQRS) is illustrated with a simple example that highlights how very different...

  3. Contribution Index Based on Green Building Certification Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Yuting Sun; Bee Hua Goh

    2015-01-01

    Green Building Certification Systems (GBCS) are carried out in many countries due to the rising awareness of the importance of sustainability in the building industry. The intention should have motivated participants to construct and operate buildings sustainably, however, there is not yet a method developed to investigate the motivation of the participants. Based on the GBCS, this paper proposes the contribution index as a standard global method to analyze the performance of participants in ...

  4. Sustainable schools better than traditional schools?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.

    2008-01-01

    During the last decades in the United Kingdom several educational buildings were built with a strong environmental ethos, real icons of a new generation of low-energy sustainable buildings. In some of the buildings post occupancy evaluations were held and building’s performance was revealed. Also in

  5. Sustainability in Recruitment and Selection: Building a Framework of Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jepsen, Denise M.; Grob, Suzanne

    2015-01-01

    Much has been written about the role of human resources professionals in creating sustainable organizations. However, despite recognition that organizational human resources functions have an important role to play in sustainability, researchers tend to focus on strategic issues and sustainability. This higher-order focus has often meant that…

  6. Creating biological solutions for the sustainable development of buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coady, T.F. [Bunting Coady Architects, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

    2001-07-01

    Buildings and their associated occupancy and construction footprints consume a sixth of the world's water, two-fifths of the world's energy, and a quarter of the world's wood. Passive designs for conserving energy are used to optimize architectural, mechanical, and landscape systems. This paper discussed approaches for designing buildings that are net producers of energy. The implementation of integrated design processes (IDP) for buildings is challenged by a lack of buy-in from owners and developers; over-designing; and a lack of market-based decision-making tools. The IDP uses interdisciplinary approaches to ensure the development of simple, cost-effective solutions. Computer modelling is used to determine the appropriate form of a building. Building sites are seen as ecosystems designed to retain water, provide ambient cooling, and oxygenate air supply. Building assemblies are reviewed for thermal bridging characteristics. It was concluded that future developments in materials research will ensure the design of systems capable of exhibiting photosynthesis, biomimicry and biofeedback looped systems. 10 refs., 8 figs.

  7. Whole Building Cost and Performance Measurement: Data Collection Protocol Revision 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fowler, Kimberly M.; Spees, Kathleen L.; Kora, Angela R.; Rauch, Emily M.; Hathaway, John E.; Solana, Amy E.

    2009-03-27

    This protocol was written for the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to be used by the public as a tool for assessing building cost and performance measurement. The primary audiences are sustainable design professionals, asset owners, building managers, and research professionals within the Federal sector. The protocol was developed based on the need for measured performance and cost data on sustainable design projects. Historically there has not been a significant driver in the public or private sector to quantify whole building performance in comparable terms. The deployment of sustainable design into the building sector has initiated many questions on the performance and operational cost of these buildings.

  8. The Living Rainforest Sustainable Greenhouses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bot, G.P.A.; Zwart, de H.F.; Hansen, K.; Logan, A.; Witte Groenholland, H.

    2008-01-01

    The Living Rainforest (www.livingrainforest.org) is an educational charity that uses rainforest ecology as a metaphor for communicating general sustainability issues to the public. Its greenhouses and office buildings are to be renovated using the most sustainable methods currently available. This

  9. CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN CITY AT THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDINGS OF THE FIRST MASSIVE SERIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RAZUMOVA O. V.

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Summary. The concept of sustainable development is a combination of three components: social, economic and environmental, which are directly related to the development of cities. The economic and demographic crisis has a considerable impact not only on the social sphere, but also on urban planning. The complex approach to restoration and improvement of housing stock is considered, the concept of reconstruction of particular buildings is provided. This approach reflects most fully the purpose of renovating of the particular structure or their groups as a solution to the issue of the complex problem of improving the urban environment. An innovative project for the reconstruction of the buildings of the first mass series with the modification of the space planning solutions of the apartments was proposed, using modern technical and environmental requirements and preserving the housing stock. Purpose of research. The use of innovative approaches in the design of comfortable standard housing and the choice of the technical solutions to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings, reduce energy costs for solving economic and social problems in the reconstruction of the five-story building of the 50-60's.

  10. Environmental and Energy Aspects of Construction Industry and Green Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauskale, L.; Geipele, I.; Zeltins, N.; Lecis, I.

    2017-04-01

    Green building is an important component of sustainable real estate market development, and one of the reasons is that the construction industry consumes a high amount of resources. Energy consumption of construction industry results in greenhouse gas emissions, so green buildings, energy systems, building technologies and other aspects play an important role in sustainable development of real estate market, construction and environmental development. The aim of the research is to analyse environmental aspects of sustainable real estate market development, focusing on importance of green buildings at the industry level and related energy aspects. Literature review, historical, statistical data analysis and logical access methods have been used in the research. The conducted research resulted in high environmental rationale and importance of environment-friendly buildings, and there are many green building benefits during the building life cycle. Future research direction is environmental information process and its models.

  11. Building a roundtable for a sustainable hazelnut supply chain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ramos Castro, Nathalia; Swart, J.

    2017-01-01

    Considering the increasing awareness of the sustainability issues in the hazelnut sector in Turkey as well as its leading role in the international market, this paper provides a thorough qualitative analysis of the potential of creating a roundtable for sustainable hazelnuts, and the key success

  12. ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS: AN APPLICATION IN GREEN BUILDING MARKET RESEARCH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharmin Attaran

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability has become a necessity in the building industry. In recent years, as the general public is more informed and aware of sustainability related issues, they are becoming major players in the decision making process regarding their built environment. However, there are still challenges with how sustainability is communicated to occupants and owners of buildings. As the global economic crisis is continuing, the marketing of green buildings needs to be refined to communicate the lifetime benefits of sustainability. One of the ways to develop effective marketing strategies, is to understand what the occupants value the most among many aspects of green buildings thus develop focused marketing solutions. Authors present a conceptual methodology using Analytic Hierarchy Process toward identifying consumer ranking and weights of a major green building rating system’s categories. Authors use sample non-representative data to illustrate the proposed methodology, while sharing preliminary qualitative data from the research in progress.

  13. Driving change : sustainable development action plans Guidance

    OpenAIRE

    Sustainable Development Commission

    2008-01-01

    This guidance builds upon the Sustainable Development Commission’s previous guidance, Getting Started (August 2005), which set out the basic elements that the Sustainable Development Commission would expect to see in a good Sustainable Development Action Plan. Publisher PDF Original published August 2005.

  14. Successful sustainable renovation; Succesvolle duurzame renovatie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Doorn, A.Q.C.M.; De Ruyter, G.M. [Yacht, Randstad, Diemen (Netherlands); Kaper, A.A. [Ballast Nedam, Nieuwegein (Netherlands)

    2011-04-15

    Building Brains has been set up by TNO as a cooperative and started September 21, 2009. The aim of the project was to answer the question how the energy consumption in the Netherlands can be reduced by 50% up to 2030 or how the built environment can be made energy-neutral. This issue of the magazine is dedicated to Building Brains project. It is often said that Smart defined ambitions and strict process management are important ingredients for successful realization of building projects. Sustainable real estate developments can be considered as highly ambitious projects. To find out how and why sustainable renovation projects actually became sustainable, a group of professionals systematically evaluated 21 leading Dutch real estate renovation projects. For each project they interviewed the client, consultant, architect and contractor. Based on the results it was concluded that a pre-defined (sustainability) ambition is not a necessity to realize a project that can be considered sustainable in practice. [Dutch] Building Brains is een door TNO opgezet samenwerkingsproject dat op 21 september 2009 van start ging. Het doel van het project is antwoord te geven op de vraag hoe tot 2030 het energiegebruik in Nederland kan worden gehalveerd of hoe de gebouwde omgeving energieneutraal kan worden gemaakt. Deze aflevering van het tijdschrift TVVL is vrijwel geheel gewijd aan het Building Brains project. Een jaar lang zijn de succes- en faalfactoren van duurzame renovatieprojecten onderzocht. Voor 21 projecten zijn in totaal 73 actoren geinterviewd. Er werd een vragenlijst gebruikt, die vanuit vijf invalshoeken was opgesteld: ambitiestelling, duurzame maatregelen, actoren, beleidsomgeving en proces. Per project zijn opdrachtgevers, architecten, aannemers, adviseurs en gebruikers geinterviewd. Alle data is verwerkt in een database. De projecten voldoen aan het selectiecriterium Trias Energetica. Het accent lag op woningbouw, waar de grootste uitdaging ligt voor duurzame

  15. Maturity model for strategic collaboration in sustainable building renovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Jakob Berg; Jensen, Per Anker; Thuesen, Christian

    2017-01-01

    To enable the construction industry to execute sustainable renovation projects which entails a reduction in use of resources, an increase in productivity and a more socially sustainable construction process, new tools are needed. A maturity model can be a simple and effective tool for a company...

  16. Life cycle assessment and environmental building declaration for the design building at the University of Massachusetts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hongmei Gu; Richard Bergman

    2018-01-01

    AbstractWith the world’s increasing focus on sustainability in the construction sector through green building systems, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been ac-tively engaged in green building advocacy in the United States through USDA Tall Wood Building competitions and follow-up research on use of mass timber for nonresi-dential buildings. The USDA...

  17. Building leadership capacity to drive sustainable water management: the evaluation of a customised program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, A C

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes a customised, six-month, leadership development program (LDP) that was designed for emerging leaders in the Australian water industry who were promoting sustainable urban water management (SUWM). It also presents results from an evaluation of the program's benefits, costs and overall 'return on investment' (ROI). The program was designed to help build emergent leadership capacity in the water industry, given strong evidence that this form of leadership plays an important role in advancing SUWM. It involved '360-degree feedback' processes, training, individual leadership development plans, and coaching sessions. Its design was informed by a review of the literature, and its content was informed by local empirical research involving effective SUWM leaders. The evaluation used a seven-tier assessment framework that examined different dimensions of the program's performance using source and methodological triangulation. The results indicate that such LDPs can produce a range of positive outcomes, such as promoting desired leadership behaviours and generating a positive ROI estimate. Specifically, the program's estimated ROI was approximately 190% after only one year. The primary conclusion is that evidence-based LDPs which are highly customised for specific types of leaders in the water industry represent a promising type of intervention to build forms of leadership capacity which are needed to successfully promote SUWM.

  18. Preindustrial versus postindustrial Architecture and Building Techniques

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vestergaard, Inge

    2014-01-01

    How can preindustrial architecture inspire sustainable thinking in postindustrial architectural design? How can we learn from experience and how can social, economic and environmental conditions give perspectives and guide a knowledge based evolution of basic experience towards modern industriali......How can preindustrial architecture inspire sustainable thinking in postindustrial architectural design? How can we learn from experience and how can social, economic and environmental conditions give perspectives and guide a knowledge based evolution of basic experience towards modern...... industrialized building processes? Identification of sustainable parameters related to change in society, to building technique and to comfort are illustrated through two Danish building types, which are different in time, but similar in function. One representing evolution and experience based countryside...... fisherman’s house built around year 1700; and second a frontrunner suburban family house built year 2008. The analysis involves architectural, technical and comfort matters and will state the levels of design, social conditions, sustainable and energy efficient parameters. Results will show lessons learned...

  19. Towards sustainable restoration: learning from the past, a challenge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hees, R.P.J. van; Naldini, S.

    2016-01-01

    In many cultures in the past, sustainability used to be an integral concept, related to building traditions, crafts and daily life.With the increasing complexity of our society and the progressive shift from the local to the global scale the past sustainable building tradition has often faded out,

  20. Building a sustainable future: Bioclimatic house

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez Mallen, Esther; Rivera Fusalba, Oriol

    2010-05-01

    The application of bioclimatic principles is a critical factor in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This poster develops a sequence of experiments and building working models in order to form students of secondary school and make progress towards real applications of new energy technologies. The activity has been carried out by 14 and 15-year-old students using a Power House building kit. Scientific method and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) were used as an effective system of acquiring new knowledge. Students were asked to form cooperative groups. Firstly, each group had to choose the best location and orientation in the imaginary Dragon Island for the construction of the house. The house consisted of eight Styrofoam parts and one transparent plastic part. The Styrofoam parts formed the house structure (floor, walls and roof) with two interior chambers and the attached greenhouse. Once the house was assembled in a few steps, it was ready for the students to start adding more components. Students then conducted several experiments related to the heat and light energy of the Sun and the energy of the wind. Some of the experiments and building projects realized were: how to capture the Sun to heat the house by passive solar heating, how to collect the Sun's rays to heat water using a Sun Collector and how to extract electricity current from Sun Power station and from wind power plant. For most of the assays it was necessary to record the temperature and students used for that purpose a temperature sensor that comes with Multilog Pro, a portable, graphic data collection and analysis system. Groups of students were really engaged in the project and each of them ran a different test with the house. Finally they proved if their initial hypothesis was correct and they had to expose the results to the rest of the class members. Students demonstrated how we can transform and use renewable forms of energy. With the experiments students

  1. The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: Towards four pillars of learning

    OpenAIRE

    Shivali Lawale; Aline Bory-Adams

    2010-01-01

    Education for sustainable development is a paradigm shift in education which goes beyond the traditional realms of education. Shivali Lawale and Aline Bory-Adams assess how education for sustainable development could build sustainable societies through the Decade of Education for sustainable development. They explore how to build a conceptual framework based on the four pillars of learning proposed by the Delors Report.

  2. The role of social sustainability in building assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stender, Marie

    2018-01-01

    stakeholders. A fundamental question is whether and how social sustainability can be measured, assessed and certified in the construction or renewal of housing and neighbourhoods. In addition to physical and functional indicators, it is suggested that certification systems (e.g. the Deutsche Gesellschaft für...... neighbourhoods examines how social sustainability indicators could be integrated into the application of certification systems such as the DGNB and whether the certification system can be improved by integrating social and organizational aspects with the existing criteria for physical and functional layout...

  3. SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE : WHAT ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS THINK

    OpenAIRE

    SATWIKO, PRASASTO

    2013-01-01

    Sustainable architecture has become a hot issue lately as the impacts of climate change become more intense. Architecture educations have responded by integrating knowledge of sustainable design in their curriculum. However, in the real life, new buildings keep coming with designs that completely ignore sustainable principles. This paper discusses the results of two national competitions on sustainable architecture targeted for architecture students (conducted in 2012 and 2013). The results a...

  4. The Making of Sustainable Urban Development: A Synthesis Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Ting Tang

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In a time of rapid climate change and environmental degradation, planning and building an ecologically sustainable environment have become imperative. In particular, urban settlements, as a densely populated built environment, are the center of attention. This study aims to build a clear and concise synthesis of sustainable urban development not only to serve as an essential reference for decision and policy makers, but also encourage more strategically organized sustainability efforts. The extensive similarities between environmental planning and a policy-making/decision-making/problem-solving process will be carefully examined to confirm the fundamental need to build a synthesis. Major global urban sustainability rankings/standards will be presented, discussed, and integrated to produce a holistic synthesis with ten themes and three dimensions. The study will assemble disparate information across time, space, and disciplines to guide and to facilitate sustainable urban development in which both environmental concerns and human wellbeing are addressed.

  5. Sustainable Development of Heritage Areas: Towards Cyber-Physical Systems Integration in Extant Heritage Buildings and Planning Conservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laila Mohamed Khodeir

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Although architectural heritage reflects the evolution of human civilization throughout history, nevertheless, civilized and social changes of heritage areas in many countries led to their degradation. Historical building management and planning conservation raise two important issues: the restoration and improvement of historical areas features and adopting a framework of sustainable development in heritage regions. Recently a number of processes have arose to aid in the aforementioned problems, namely the heritage building information modelling (HBIM and the  cyber-physical systems approach (CPS, where the latter is believed to  achieve great potentials hereby integrating virtual models and physical construction and  enabling bidirectional coordination. Since HBIM has recently been investigated through a number of recent research and application, the aim of this paper is to explore the potentials offered by the CPS, to move from 3D content model to bi-dimensional coordination for achieving efficient management of built heritage. To tackle the objective of this paper, firstly, a review of the BIM use in the field of cultural heritage  was undergone, Secondly, reporting the existing BIM/HBIM platforms, analyzing cyber-physical systems integration in extant heritage buildings and in planning conservation were performed. Results of this paper took the form of detailed comparative analysis between both CPS and HBIM, which could guide decision makers working in the field of heritage buildings management, in addition to shedding light on the main potentials of the emerging CPS.

  6. Building Sustainable Professional Development Programs: Applying Strategies From Implementation Science to Translate Evidence Into Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Constance D; Chandran, Latha; Gusic, Maryellen E

    2017-01-01

    Multisite and national professional development (PD) programs for educators are challenging to establish. Use of implementation science (IS) frameworks designed to convert evidence-based intervention methods into effective health care practice may help PD developers translate proven educational methods and models into successful, well-run programs. Implementation of the national Educational Scholars Program (ESP) is used to illustrate the value of the IS model. Four adaptable elements of IS are described: (1) replication of an evidence-based model, (2) systematic stages of implementation, (3) management of implementation using three implementation drivers, and (4) demonstration of program success through measures of fidelity to proven models and sustainability. Implementation of the ESP was grounded on five established principles and methods for successful PD. The process was conducted in four IS stages over 10 years: Exploration, Installation, Initial Implementation, and Full Implementation. To ensure effective and efficient processes, attention to IS implementation drivers helped to manage organizational relationships, build competence in faculty and scholars, and address leadership challenges. We describe the ESP's fidelity to evidence-based structures and methods, and offer three examples of sustainability efforts that enabled achievement of targeted program outcomes, including academic productivity, strong networking, and career advancement of scholars. Application of IS frameworks to program implementation may help other PD programs to translate evidence-based methods into interventions with enhanced impact. A PD program can follow systematic developmental stages and be operationalized by practical implementation drivers, thereby creating successful and sustainable interventions that promote the academic vitality of health professions educators.

  7. Sustainable resilience in property maintenance: encountering changing weather conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cox, Rimante Andrasiunaite; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of the study is to develop a methodological approach for project management to integrate sustainability and resilience planning in property maintenance as an incremental strategy for upgrading existing properties to meet new standards for sustainable and climate resilient...... buildings. Background: Current maintenance practice is focused on the technical standard of buildings, with little consideration of sustainability and resilience. There is a need to develop tools for incorporating sustainable resilience into maintenance planning. Approach: The study is primarily theoretical......, developing the concept of sustainable resilience for changing weather conditions Results: The paper suggests a decision support methodology that quantifies sustainable resilience for the analytical stages of property maintenance planning. Practical Implications: The methodology is generic and expected users...

  8. Solar thermal energy / exhaust air heat pump / wood pellet furnace for a sustainable heat supply of low energy buildings in older buildings; Solarthermie / Abluft-Waermepumpe / Pelletofen. Kombisysteme zur nachhaltigen Waermeversorgung von Niedrigenergiehaeusern im Gebaeudebestand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diefenbach, Nikolaus; Born, Rolf [Institut Wohnen und Umwelt GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Staerz, Norbert [Ingenieurbuero inPlan, Pfungstadt (Germany)

    2009-11-13

    The research project under consideration reports on combination systems for a sustainable heat supply for low-energy buildings in older building. For this, a central and decentralized system configuration consisting of solar thermal energy, exhaust air heat pump and wood pellet furnace are presented. Solutions for an interaction of these three heat suppliers in one plant are designated regarding the control strategy. The fundamentals of the computerized simulations for the central and decentralized system are presented. A cost estimate with both variants of the combination system as well as a comparison with conventional energy-saving heat supply systems follow.

  9. Handbook of sustainable engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Kun-Mo

    2013-01-01

    "The efficient utilization of energy, sustainable use of natural resources, and large-scale adoption of sustainable technologies is the key to a sustainable future. The Handbook of Sustainable Engineering provides tools that will help us achieve these goals". Nobel Prize Winner Dr. R.K. Pauchauri, Chairman, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change As global society confronts the challenges of diminishing resources, ecological degradation, and climate change, engineers play a crucial role designing and building technologies and products that fulfil our needs for utility and sustainability. The Handbook of Sustainable Engineering equips readers with the context and the best practices derived from both academic research and practical examples of successful implementations of sustainable technical solutions. The handbook’s content revolves around the two themes, new ways of thinking and new business models, including sustainable production, products, service systems and consumption while addressing key asse...

  10. Application of building system in prototype house building in a sustainable community; Aplicacion de un sistema constructivo innovador en uan vivienda prototipo de una comunidad ecologica sustentable

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Chavez, J. R.

    2004-07-01

    This work presents a prototype house built in a typical rural community of Mexico, based on the application of innovative building system and materials, integrated with bioclimatic design principles and sustainable technologies. The objectives of this project are aimed at reducing construction costs whilst providing suitable indoor thermal comfort conditions for the occupants and high levels of self-sufficiency in energy, mainly electricity and gas L. P.; and of natural resources, such as water. Results have shown that the application of this approach is a promising alternative to reduce construction costs of housing whilst providing suitable indoor thermal comfort conditions for occupants, and improving their economy and quality of living as well as the environment of the region. This approach can also be applied to promote a beneficial multiple effect in the country, to reduce the high housing deficit, whilst reducing the severe environmental damage, meant to effectively promote sustainability for the existing and new generation of the new millennium. (Author)

  11. Predictive performance simulations for a sustainable lecture building complex

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Conradie, Dirk CU

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available the site and building are not ideally oriented regarding the prevailing wind directions that generally follow the coast. From the perspective of the design team, the commitment to use a building information management (BIM) system at inception needed a... far more integrated approach to design development. Engineers typically wait for the architects to design the whole building, and then only drill down to final calculated structural design configurations and sizes. With BIM, these activities should...

  12. IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN BUILDING INCENTIVES FOR CONSTRUCTION KEY PLAYERS IN MALAYSIA

    OpenAIRE

    SITI ZUBAIDAH HASHIM; INTAN BAYANI ZAKARIA; NADIRA AHZAHAR; MOHD FADZIL YASIN; ABDUL HAKIM AZIZ

    2016-01-01

    A Green Building Index (GBI) is a pioneer in a building grading system to promote sustainability and increase awareness upon environmental issue in Malaysia. The GBI was first established by Malaysia Architect Association (PAM) and Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) in February 2009. As a green building contribution on sustainable development and energy efficiency, government has introduced incentives to parties who involve in obtaining Green Building Index Certificate to inc...

  13. Australia's TERN: Building, Sustaining and Advancing Collaborative Long Term Ecosystem Research Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    HEld, A. A.; Phinn, S. R.

    2012-12-01

    TERN is Australia's Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (www.tern.org.au) is one of several environmental data collection, storage and sharing projects developed through the government's research infrastructure programs 2008-2014. This includes terrestrial and coastal ecosystem data collection infrastructure across multiple disciplines, hardware, software and processes used to store, analyse and integrate data sets. TERN's overall objective is to build the collaborations, infrastructure and programs to meet the needs of ecosystem science communities in Australia in the long term, through institutional frameworks necessary to establish a national terrestrial ecosystem site and observational network, coordinated networks enabling cooperation and operational experience; public access to quality assured and appropriately licensed data; and allowing the terrestrial ecosystem research community to define and sustain the terrestrial observing paradigm into the longer term. This paper explains how TERN was originally established, and now operates, along with plans to sustain itself in the future. TERN is implemented through discipline/technical groups referred to as "TERN Facilities". Combined, the facilities provide observations of surface mass and energy fluxes over key ecosystems, biophysical remote sensing data, ecological survey plots, soils information, and coastal ecosystems and associated water quality variables across Australia. Additional integrative facilities cover elements of ecoinformatics, data-scaling and modelling, and linking science to management. A central coordination and portal facility provides meta-data storage, data identification, legal and licensing support. Data access, uploading, meta-data generation, DOI attachment and licensing is completed at each facility's own portal level. TERN also acts as the open-data repository of choice for Australian scientists required to publish their data. Several key lessons we have learnt, will be presented

  14. "Initiate-build-operate-transfer" - a strategy for establishing sustainable telemedicine programs not only in the developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latifi, Rifat

    2011-01-01

    Establishing sustainable telemedicine has become a goal of many developing countries around the world. Yet, despite initiatives from a select few individuals and on occasion from various governments, often these initiatives never mature to become sustainable programs. The introduction of telemedicine and e-learning in the Balkans has been a pivotal step in advancing the quality and availability of medical services in a region whose infrastructure and resources have been decimated by wars, neglect, lack of funding, and poor management. The concept and establishment of the International Virtual e-Hospital (IVeH) has significantly impacted telemedicine and e-health services in Kosova. The success of the IVeH in Kosova has led to the development of similar programs in other Balkan countries and other developing countries in the hope of modernizing and improving their healthcare infrastructure. A comprehensive, four-pronged strategy developed by IVeH "Initiate-Build-Operate-Transfer" (IBOT), may be a useful approach in establishing telemedicine and e-health educational services not only in developing countries, but in developed countries. The development strategy, IBOT, used by the IVeH to establish and develop telemedicine programs is described. IBOT includes assessment of healthcare needs of each country, the development of a curriculum and education program, the establishment of a nationwide telemedicine network, and the integration of the telemedicine program into the very core of healthcare infrastructure. The end point is the transfer of a sustainable telehealth program to the nation involved. By applying IBOT, a sustainable telemedicine program of Kosova and Albania has been established as an effective prototype for telemedicine in the Balkans. Once fully matured, the program is transitioned to the Ministry of Health, which ensures the sustainability and ownership of the program. Similar programs are being established in Macedonia, Montenegro and other countries

  15. The ethical Dilemma of lifestyle change: designing for sustainable schools and sustainable citizenship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Wheeler

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores how participation and sustainability are being addressed by architects within the Building Schools for the Future (BSF programme in the UK. The intentions promoted by the programme are certainly ambitious, but the ways to fulfil these aims are ill-explored. Simply focusing on providing innovative learning technologies, or indeed teaching young people about physical sustainability features in buildings, will not necessarily teach them the skills they will need to respond to the environmental and social challenges of a rapidly changing world. However, anticipating those skills is one of the most problematic issues of the programme. The involvement of young people in the design of schools is used to suggest empowerment, place-making and to promote social cohesion but this is set against government design literature which advocates for exemplars, standard layouts and best practice, all leading to forms of standardisation. The potentials for tokenistic student involvement and conflict with policy aims are evident. This paper explores two issues: how to foster in young people an ethic towards future generations, and the role of co-design practices in this process. Michael Oakeshott calls teaching the conversation of mankind. In this paper, I look at the philosophy of Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Luce Irigaray to argue that investigating the ethical dilemmas of the programme through critical dialogue with students offers an approach to meeting government objectives, building sustainable schools, and fostering sustainable citizenship.

  16. Build Artifacts in Sustainable Urban Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pinheiro-Croisel, Rebecca; Hernes, Tor

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores innovation and social behaviourist theory in relation to sustainable urban projects in the highly institutionalized public sector (towns). Using empirical data from France, we examine the dynamics of a design process in which unexpected practices generated innovative urban...... into a movement of collective action, which presupposed the acquisition of a new identity. Ultimately, our objective is to combine social behaviourist theory and innovation theory and to facilitate innovative design in urban projects....

  17. How Frugal Innovation Promotes Social Sustainability

    OpenAIRE

    Rakhshanda Khan

    2016-01-01

    There is a need to develop an understanding of how frugal innovation promotes social sustainability. The objective of this paper is to find the connections between the two concepts of social sustainability and frugal innovation, by reviewing the existing literature concerning both fields. This paper presents a framework that identifies essential themes of social sustainability and explores them through frugal innovation. The framework builds on the important themes of social sustainability an...

  18. The Potential of Circular Economy in Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malabi Larsen, Leonora Charlotte; Birgisdottir, Harpa; Birkved, Morten

    2018-01-01

    benefits of designing the buildings concrete structure for disassembly, with the purpose of reuse, as well as to exemplify how circular economy can be applied in future building projects. Moreover, the paper aims at suggesting a more industry focused approach towards circular economy in order to seize...... the inherent potentials. As a result, it was found that recycling and energy recovery are the most common circular economy practices in the building industry, even though the economic and environmental benefits of reuse are believed to be much higher. This observation is supported by the findings of the case...... and glass, thereby enabling easier disassembly for both reuse and recycling. However, main challenges preventing the industry from seizing these potentials are identified as: focus on short term goals, complex supply chains, lack of collaboration between stakeholders and absence of a commonly agreed...

  19. Volume Home Building: The Provision of Sustainability Information for New Homebuyers

    OpenAIRE

    Georgia Warren-Myers; Erryn McRae

    2017-01-01

    The new residential housing sector is producing approximately 200,000 homes a year that could benefit from methods to increase sustainability and energy efficiency. Currently, there is limited implementation of sustainability measures beyond mandatory minimum requirements in Australia. New homebuyers are often the scapegoats for the poor sustainability adoption due to their perceived lack of interest and willingness to pay. However, their knowledge and engagement in sustainability is likely t...

  20. Sustainable hydraulic engineering through building with nature

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vriend, Huib J.; van Koningsveld, M.; Aarninkhof, S.G.J.; de Vries, Mindert; Baptist, M.J.

    2015-01-01

    Hydraulic engineering infrastructures are of concern to many people and are likely to interfere with the environment. Moreover, they are supposed to keep on functioning for many years. In times of rapid societal and environmental change this implies that sustainability and adaptability are important

  1. A storey of buildings and materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    Throughout history, the development of new materials and technologies has enabled more functional and aesthetically pleasing buildings. With the advent of sustainable architecture, the role of materials science in building innovation is becoming more prominent than ever.

  2. The building as a power plant. Net plus energy building with e-mobility; Das Gebaeude als Kraftwerk. Netto-Plusenergiegebaeude mit E-Mobilitaet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fisch, M. Norbert [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Gebaeude- und Solartechnik

    2011-07-01

    Energy designers do not consider the building technology isolated from the architecture. Instead, sustainable, functional and innovative solutions are developed in an integrated process with all persons involved. The user comfort, the overall energy efficiency, the selection of ecologically compatible materials as well as the relation between building and sustainable mobility belong to the context of holistic planning.

  3. Taking a Holistic Approach to Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girouard, Miles

    2011-01-01

    The benefits of sustainability go way beyond improving the environment. School districts that choose to build facilities using sustainable principles reap the benefits of environmentally friendly, healthy establishments; attractive work spaces (which improve recruiting and retention); and significant operational cost savings. Districts realize…

  4. Building sustained partnerships in Greenland through shared science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culler, L. E.; Albert, M. R.; Ayres, M. P.; Grenoble, L. A.; Virginia, R. A.

    2013-12-01

    (cultural center in Nuuk) and being interviewed for a program that was broadcasted on Kalaallit Nunaat Radio. Third, students in the IGERT program have participated in Arctic science and educational initiatives by the Joint Committee, an international high-level government forum that promotes interactions between government, academic, and private institutions in Greenland, Denmark, and the U.S. Graduate students worked with high-school students and teachers from Greenland, Denmark, and the U.S. during the Joint Committee's scientific field school based in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. We attribute our success in building sustained partnerships to allocating resources for cultural and social connections, working with the Joint Committee, maintaining connections with Greenlandic students, creative and collaborative approaches to communication, and connecting young researchers with high school students. Furthermore, our approach has been to participate in a conversation with Greenlanders rather than simply sharing our science and ideas. This has improved our communication skills and is helping our science become more accessible and relevant to the needs and interests of Greenland.

  5. Being in a "Green" Building Elicits "Greener" Recycling, but Not Necessarily "Better" Recycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, David W-L; DiGiacomo, Alessandra; Lenkic, Peter J; Wong, Vanessa K; Kingstone, Alan

    2016-01-01

    Previous observational work revealed that transient populations in a sustainable building disposed of waste more accurately when compared to patrons in a non-sustainable building. The current study uses an experimental design to replicate this observed effect and to investigate whether or not the built environment influences motivational factors to impact behavior. We find support that a building designed and built to communicate an atmosphere of sustainability can influence waste disposal behavior. Participants in the sustainable building used the garbage receptacle significantly less and compensated by tending to select the containers and organics receptacle more, which actually resulted in more errors overall. Our findings suggest that building atmospherics can motivate people to recycle more. However, atmospherics alone do not appear to be sufficient to elicit the desired performance outcome.

  6. A source of energy : sustainable architecture and urbanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roestvik, Harald N.

    2011-07-01

    An update on the environmental challenges. Meant to inspire and be a source of energy.Tearing down myths and floodlighting paradoxes. Particularly relevant for students of architecture, architects and concerned citizens. Training tasks, recommendations for further source books and web sites, are included. From the content: Climate change and consensus, Population growth, Food production, The sustainable city, Transportation myths and facts, A mini history of environmental architecture, Architects' approach to sustainable design, The failure of western architects; a case study; China, The passive, zeb and plus energy building, Natural ventilation, Sustainable materials, Plastics in building, Nuclear energy, Solar energy, The grid of the future, Indoor climate and health. The sick building syndrome, Radon, Universal design, Paradoxes, Bullying techniques, Trust yourself, Timing, Which gateway will you choose?, On transience. (au)

  7. Sustainable Living and Co-Housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marckmann, Bella; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten; Christensen, Toke Haunstrup

    2012-01-01

    In this article we examine aspects of the different arguments for the environmental advantages of co-housing compared with individual households. The analysis is structured around four main questions, which are argued to be decisive for the question of co-housing and sustainability. The first...... is whether co-housing offers better opportunities for choosing and using more sustainable technologies, which also relates to the question of whether co-housing offers better opportunities for building smaller and denser and thus more energy efficient buildings. The second and third questions are socially...... oriented; one relates to the claim that co-housing can support pro-environmental behaviour among residents as they can support each other’s norms and practices. The fourth and last claim relates to a discussion of co-housing as a more sustainable opportunity especially for people living alone...

  8. Sustainable Workspace Performance for Steelcase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Adrian; Bey, Niki

    This report documents the work done in the project “Sustainable Workspace Performance” for Steelcase in the period of October 2006 - December 2007. Today organizations around the world are encouraging and promoting standards for environmentally efficient buildings. Interest in these “green......” buildings have increased immensely, but just like financial metrics do not provide a total view of the effectiveness and efficiency of the workspace, the environmental focus tends to be one dimensional. In this project a framework and a computer-based tool was developed to demonstrate the links between...... was to allow companies to assess their own performance of their workspace in each of the sustainability dimensions relative to their own business context. This is expected to engage and empower companies to take action and make informed sustainable decisions in the design of their workspace....

  9. Defining Sustainability in Relation to the Renovation of Modern Housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peters, Terri

    Summary This paper focuses on comparing practice-based and academic definitions and metrics of “sustainability” as they relate to the transformation of Modern housing in Denmark. Keywords:Sustainability, Renovation, Architecture, Denmark, Modern housing 1. Introduction to the Study Buildings......”. 2. Background to the Study and Study Context Despite the increasing focus on low energy buildings and sustainability, the definitions of key terms in these areas are unclear. This paper focuses on architectural approaches to sustainable building, rather than engineering or other ways of approaching...... process, and how successfully they were used. Data collected includes definitions of sustainability from outside of the profession, as well as in architectural literature. Definitions used in the context of architectural practice were also studied. The definitions from selected key texts were compared...

  10. UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development: Learning Today for a Sustainable Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 2012

    2012-01-01

    The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will be co-organised in 2014 by UNESCO and the Government of Japan on the occasion of the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. It has the following objectives: (1) Celebrating a decade of action; (2) Reorienting education to build a better future…

  11. Embodied energy of building materials and green building rating systems : a case study for industrial halls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, B.; Trcka, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2011-01-01

    Green building rating (GBR) systems are developed to provide independent assessment standards that evaluate in a few categories about the performance and sustainability of buildings. However, same category might weight differently in each of the GBR systems. A particular system might favor certain

  12. Embodied energy of building materials and green building rating systems : a case study for industrial halls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, B.; Trcka, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2010-01-01

    Green Building Rating (GBR) systems are developed to provide independent assessment standards that evaluate in a few categories about the performance and sustainability of buildings. However, same category might weight differently in each of the GBR systems, which are different in objectives. A

  13. Vacuum Insulation Panels Applied in Building Constructions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tenpierik, M.J.

    2010-01-01

    Due to sustainability and due to international treaties, it is desired and required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically. One contributor to these emissions is the burning of fossil fuels for generating power and electricity to be used in and for buildings. Buildings and building-related

  14. Sustainability focused decision-making in building renovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamari, Aliakbar; Corrao, Rossella; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

    2017-01-01

    of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. Early in a project, it can be used to identify key performance criteria, and later to evaluate/compare the pros and cons of alternative retrofitting solutions either during the design stage or upon the project...

  15. A Socratic approach to teaching sustainability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dimitri van Kelft; Dr. ir. Jan Venselaar

    2013-01-01

    Because understanding sustainability does not automatically lead to sustainable acting, we feel that additional awareness building should be necessary. Therefore a project is started in which a very old method, namely the Socratic dialogue, is borrowed from the founders and customized for the use in

  16. Sustainable concrete pavements : a manual of practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-01

    Developed as a more detailed follow-up to a 2009 briefing document, Building Sustainable Pavement with Concrete, this guide provides a clear, concise, and cohesive discussion of pavement sustainability concepts and of recommended practices for maximi...

  17. The market for green building in developed Asian cities. The perspectives of building designers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Edwin H.W.; Qian, Queena K.; Lam, Patrick T.I.

    2009-01-01

    Green building (GB) is part of the concept of promoting sustainability. Although GB and the concept of sustainability are well studied for environmental concerns, their business rationale and related social concerns have not been fully explored or widely accepted by the parties involved in the building sector. In this study, the situation of GB market in relation to the general building market is reviewed and the business rationales of stakeholders to invest in the GB market have been investigated from the perspective of building designers. In addition, the factors that enhance the popularity of GB have been explored and the obstacles that hinder its market have been examined. The data are collected by a questionnaire survey covering building designers in Hong Kong and Singapore, the cities that are categorized as economically developed cities in Asia. After data analysis of the survey, this paper presents the findings of the business reasons for stakeholders to be involved in GB, the most favorable conditions required to promote GB business and the important obstacles that hinder its popularity. Based on the findings, recommendations and policy implications are tendered. (author)

  18. Sustainable buildings. Bioclimatic architecture for housing in a Mediterranean climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tirone, L. [Tirone Nunes Urbanismo Lda, Sintra (Portugal)

    2000-07-01

    Although the building sector is the largest energy consumer worldwide, and thus a major contributor to climate change and global warming, the comfort we require in our homes does not have to be harmful to our environment. While in a Mediterranean climate the mean outdoor temperatures coincide with the indoor comfort range, it is possible to apply passive solar technologies in the design of the new buildings and this provides three advantages: The buildings will offer thermal comfort to their inhabitants all year round, relying predominantly on renewable energies. The buildings will not require cooling at any time of year and will require up to 90% less heating than their conventional counterparts. The buildings will be no more costly to construct than their conventional counterparts. (orig.)

  19. Visions of sustainable urban energy systems. Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pietzsch, Ursula [HFT Stuttgart (Germany). zafh.net - Centre of Applied Research - Sustainable Energy Technology; Mikosch, Milena [Steinbeis-Zentrum, Stuttgart (Germany). Europaeischer Technologietransfer; Liesner, Lisa (eds.)

    2010-09-15

    Within the polycity final conference from 15th to 17th September, 2010, in Stuttgart (Federal Republic of Germany) the following lectures were held: (1) Visions of sustainable urban energy system (Ursula Eicker); (2) Words of welcome (Tanja Goenner); (3) Zero-energy Europe - We are on our way (Jean-Marie Bemtgen); (4) Polycity - Energy networks in sustainable cities An introduction (Ursula Pietzsch); (5) Energy efficient city - Successful examples in the European concerto initiative (Brigitte Bach); (6) Sustainable building and urban concepts in the Catalonian polycity project contributions to the polycity final conference 2010 (Nuria Pedrals); (7) Energy efficient buildings and renewable supply within the German polycity project (Ursula Eicker); (8) Energy efficient buildings and cities in the US (Thomas Spiegehalter); (9) Energy efficient communities - First results from an IEA collaboration project (Reinhard Jank); (10) The European energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD) - Lessons learned (Eduardo Maldonado); (11) Passive house standard in Europe - State-of-the-art and challenges (Wolfgang Feist); (12) High efficiency non-residential buildings: Concepts, implementations and experiences from the UK (Levin Lomas); (13) This is how we can save our world (Franz Alt); (14) Green buildings and renewable heating and cooling concepts in China (Yanjun Dai); (15) Sustainable urban energy solutions for Asia (Brahmanand Mohanty); (16) Description of ''Parc de l'Alba'' polygeneration system: A large-scale trigeneration system with district heating within the Spanish polycity project (Francesc Figueras Bellot); (17) Improved building automation and control systems with hardware-in-the loop solutions (Martin Becker); (18) The Italian polycity project area: Arquata (Luigi Fazari); (19) Photovoltaic system integration: In rehabilitated urban structures: Experiences and performance results from the Italian polycity project in Turin (Franco

  20. Focus 2012. Awakening into a new age - Elements of a sustainable energy supply. Ressource efficiency - key competency of sustainable societies, Sustainable chemistry - fundamental building blocks of a green economy. Annual report; Schwerpunkte 2012. Aufbruch ins neue Zeitalter - Elemente einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung, Ressourceneffizienz - Schluesselkompetenz zukunftsfaehiger Gesellschaften, Nachhaltige Chemie - elementarer Baustein einer Green Economy. Jahrespublikation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mavromati, Fotini; Ittershagen, Martin [comps.

    2012-05-30

    The Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) sees excellent opportunities to move the economic regeneration forward by means of environmental protection. Under this aspect, the annual report ''Focus 2012'' under consideration presents the following contributions: (1) Green Economy as a new model for economic development; (2) Elements of a sustainable energy supply; (3) Resource efficiency as a key competence for sustainable societies; (4) Green Chemistry as a fundamental building block of Green Economy.

  1. From Product to System Approaches in European Sustainable Product Policies: Analysis of the Package Concept of Heating Systems in Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Calero-Pastor

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Different policies with the goal of reducing energy consumption and other environmental impacts in the building sector coexist in Europe. Sustainable product polices, such as the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives, have recently broadened the scope of their target product groups from a strict product approach to extended product and system approaches. Indeed, there is a potential for greater savings when the focus is at a system level rather than on regulating individual products. Product policies for space and water heating systems have recently introduced and implemented the package label, which is a modular approach, standing between the extended product and the system approaches. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the different system approaches of various policies from an engineering perspective. It analyses in detail the package concept and its features through a practical application using a real case study. It focuses on how the package concept can support decisions made in the building design phase and, in particular, how can support the choice of appropriate components based on estimating system performances. This brings building engineers and regulators closer regarding the use of more consistent data on energy performance. Finally, this paper highlights the need to improve the alignment of the building-related product policies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

  2. Green buildings pay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Naboni, Emanuele; Edwards, Brian

    The new edition of ‘Green Buildings Pay’ authored by Brian Edwards and Emanuele Naboni explores the business and professional benefits which derive from architectural design driven by sustainability. With a new sub-title ‘Green Buildings Pay: design, productivity and ecology’ the book argues...... that environmental design has altered how we design, construct and manage buildings. The book has relevance to those who not only design and engineer buildings but to those who commission architecture and those who occupy the products of this process. Hence, the user is a key consideration. The book examines via...... a number of LEED and BREEAM cases the buildings which flow from corporate environmental responsibility. A number of office and university buildings are examined from three main perspectives- the architect, client and user. One key finding is that architectural innovation has been driven by ecological...

  3. People, planet and profit: Unintended consequences of legacy building materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmer, Anthony T; Ha, HakSoo

    2017-12-15

    Although an explosion of new building materials are being introduced into today's market, adequate up-front research into their chemical and physical properties as well as their potential health and environmental consequences is lacking. History has provided us with several examples where building materials were broadly deployed into society only to find that health and environmental problems resulted in unintended sustainability consequences. In the following paper, we use lead and asbestos as legacy building materials to show their similar historical trends and sustainability consequences. Our research findings show unintended consequences such as: increased remediation and litigation costs; adverse health effects; offshoring of related industries; and impediments to urban revitalization. As numerous new building materials enter today's market, another building material may have already been deployed, representing the next "asbestos." This paper also proposes an alternative methodology that can be applied in a cost-effective way into existing and upcoming building materials, to minimize and prevent potential unintended consequences and create a pathway for sustainable communities. For instance, our findings show that this proposed methodology could have prevented the unintended incurred sustainability costs of approximately $272-$359 billion by investing roughly $24 million in constant 2014 U.S. dollars on up-front research into lead and asbestos. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Investigation Into Informational Compatibility Of Building Information Modelling And Building Performance Analysis Software Solutions

    OpenAIRE

    Hyun, S.; Marjanovic-Halburd, L.; Raslan, R.

    2015-01-01

    There are significant opportunities for Building Information Modelling (BIM) to address issues related to sustainable and energy efficient building design. While the potential benefits associated with the integration of BIM and BPA (Building Performance Analysis) have been recognised, its specifications and formats remain in their early infancy and often fail to live up to the promise of seamless interoperability at various stages of design process. This paper conducts a case study to investi...

  5. Development of Ecological Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrius Keizikas

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The article presents research on ecological buildings and their influence on the constructional sphere. The aim of the paper is to reveal the essence of ecological architecture showing substantial progress and its potential to stimulate architectural and technological growth. The article also describes relations between the ideas of ecological buildings and the ‘passive house’ concepts and aspects of development as well as describes the possibilities of improving building sustainability and energy efficiency. Article in Lithuanian

  6. Natural ventilation systems to enhance sustainability in buildings: a review towards zero energy buildings in schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil-Baez, Maite; Barrios-Padura, Ángela; Molina-Huelva, Marta; Chacartegui, Ricardo

    2017-11-01

    European regulations set the condition of Zero Energy Buildings for new buildings since 2020, with an intermediate milestone in 2018 for public buildings, in order to control greenhouse gases emissions control and climate change mitigation. Given that main fraction of energy consumption in buildings operation is due to HVAC systems, advances in its design and operation conditions are required. One key element for energy demand control is passive design of buildings. On this purpose, different recent studies and publications analyse natural ventilation systems potential to provide indoor air quality and comfort conditions minimizing electric power consumption. In these passive systems are of special relevance their capacities as passive cooling systems as well as air renovation systems, especially in high-density occupied spaces. With adequate designs, in warm/mild climates natural ventilation systems can be used along the whole year, maintaining indoor air quality and comfort conditions with small support of other heating/cooling systems. In this paper is analysed the state of the art of natural ventilation systems applied to high density occupied spaces with special focus on school buildings. The paper shows the potential and applicability of these systems for energy savings and discusses main criteria for their adequate integration in school building designs.

  7. PENERAPAN PRINSIP SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PADA PERANCANGAN PONDOK PESANTREN ENTERPRENEUR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achmad Siddiq Annur

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Unhealthy competition among economic actors, and exploitation of natural resources without preservation,caused a complicated problem in the community. Poor-quality education, especially in moral and religiouseducation, to be one of the causes of these problems. Therefore, the existence of boarding school as aneducational institution based on Islam is expected to be a solution to decline moral values and religion in thisnation. Through a combination of formal and religious education at a boarding school will provide a strongmental training for the formation of individual intelligent and noble. In addition, a boarding school with speechentrepreneurship curriculum in the education system, can provide an added value to the institution.Prospective employers are responsible for each other and the environment, and economic actors are honestand committed. Entrepreneur Boarding can be part of an effort to maintain the sustainability of resources,both natural and human resources. Sustainable development, as the purpose of the object, is a theme thatdescribes every aspect of the design object. Sustainable development has three principles of sustainability; thenatural environment sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability. Starting from the planningof design, the building process, until the use of the building, always accompanied by the consideration of thethree aspects of sustainability. Through the application of sustainable development as the design theme of theboarding school entrepreneurs will produce buildings that are environmentally and socially friendly, in additionto continue to provide investment for owners, users, and the surrounding community.

  8. Green building challenge 2002 in Canada : an overview

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-02-01

    The Green Building Challenge (GBC) in Canada was launched to help the building community meet environmental challenges and improve the environmental performance of buildings. Tools have been made available to the building industry to make informed environmental choices during the conception design stage of a project. The tools help architects, researchers and policy analysts in choosing material mixes and other design options that will minimize a building's potential life cycle environmental impacts and promote sustainable development. Green buildings involve the complete structure and envelope, including cladding, insulation, gypsum wall board, roofing and windows. The type of building and its location is also considered. Long term sustainability also considers energy use and emissions related to a building's energy system. This presentation described the following 3 projects which were selected for assessment in the GBC-2002: (1) the Mayo School in Mayo, Yukon Territory, (2) the Jackson-Triggs Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and (3) the Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The GBC-2002 Canadian Team nominated them as the best buildings being designed in Canada.10 figs.

  9. Small steps to health: building sustainable partnerships in pediatric obesity care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomietto, Mo; Docter, Alicia Dixon; Van Borkulo, Nicole; Alfonsi, Lorrie; Krieger, James; Liu, Lenna L

    2009-06-01

    Given the prevalence of childhood obesity and the limited support for preventing and managing obesity in primary care settings, the Seattle Children's Hospital's Children's Obesity Action Team has partnered with Steps to Health King County to develop a pediatric obesity quality-improvement project. Primary care clinics joined year-long quality-improvement collaboratives to integrate obesity prevention and management into the clinic setting by using the chronic-disease model. Sustainability was enhanced through integration at multiple levels by emphasizing small, consistent behavior changes and self-regulation of eating/feeding practices with children, teenagers, and families; building local community partnerships; and encouraging broader advocacy and policy change. Cultural competency and attention to disparities were integrated into quality-improvement efforts. . Participating clinics were able to increase BMI measurement and weight classification; integrate management of overweight/obese children and family and self-management support; and grow community collaborations. Over the course of 4 years, this project grew from a local effort involving 3 clinics to a statewide program recently adopted by the Washington State Department of Health. This model can be used by other states/regions to develop pediatric obesity quality-improvement programs to support the assessment, prevention, and management of childhood obesity. Furthermore, these health care efforts can be integrated into broader community-wide childhood-obesity action plans.

  10. Using Life Cycle Assessment to Inform Decision-Making for Sustainable Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mieke Vandenbroucke

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Because the student residences of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel built in 1973 are not adapted to current comfort standards, the university decided to construct new accommodation facilities at the border of the campus. However, besides demolition, there was no strategy on how to deal with the existing ones. In the search for a more sustainable strategy, the university’s administration assigned the TRANSFORM research team to define various design strategies and to assess the long-term environmental consequences in order to select the best strategy by the use of Life Cycle Environmental Assessment. Current Life Cycle Environmental Assessments generally include maintenance, repair, replacement and operational energy consumption during use, but do not include future refurbishments. However, it is likely that their impact cannot be neglected either. Therefore, this article offers a framework which takes future refurbishments into account, in addition to the standard use impacts: initial and end-of-life impact. We report on the construction assemblies, the results of the assessments conducted and the advice provided. The results confirm that the impact of future refurbishments cannot be neglected. In addition, we observed that there were significant environmental savings when transforming the residences compared to new construction, and long-term benefits of a design enabling the reuse of building elements.

  11. National strategy of ecological transition towards sustainable development 2015-2020

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-05-01

    In 2015, the energy transition law for green growth is creating a momentum which removes obstacles, boosts initiatives and enables everyone to act. All stakeholders, local authorities, NGO's, businesses and citizens are gradually building a new social model that combines economic, ecological and human progress. Building on that momentum, the national strategy of ecological transition towards sustainable development (SNTEDD) 2015-2020 replaces the national sustainable development strategy 2010-2013 by setting us on a new path to sustainable development. The national strategy of ecological transition towards sustainable development ensures the consistency of public policies and facilitates people's ownership

  12. Building energy governance in Shanghai

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kung, YiHsiu Michelle

    With Asia's surging economies and urbanization, the region is adding to its built environment at an unprecedented rate, especially those population centers in China and India. With numerous existing buildings, plus a new building boom, construction in these major Asian cities has caused momentous sustainability challenges. This dissertation focuses on China's leading city, Shanghai, to explore and assess its existing commercial building energy policies and practices. Research estimates that Shanghai's commercial buildings might become a key challenge with regard to energy use and CO2 emissions as compared to other major Asian cities. Relevant building energy policy instruments at national and local levels for commercial buildings are reviewed. In addition, two benchmarks are established to further assess building energy policies in Shanghai. The first benchmark is based on the synthesis of relevant criteria and policy instruments as recommended by professional organizations, while the second practical benchmark is drawn from an analysis of three global cities: New York, London and Tokyo. Moreover, two large-scale commercial building sites - Shanghai IKEA and Plaza 66 - are selected for investigation and assessment of their efforts on building energy saving measures. Detailed building energy savings, CO2 reductions, and management cost reductions based on data availability and calculations are presented with the co-benefits approach. The research additionally analyzes different interventions and factors that facilitate or constrain the implementation process of building energy saving measures in each case. Furthermore, a multi-scale analytical framework is employed to investigate relevant stakeholders that shape Shanghai's commercial building energy governance. Research findings and policy recommendations are offered at the close of this dissertation. Findings and policy recommendations are intended to facilitate commercial building energy governance in Shanghai and

  13. A Study to Compare the Cost of Operation and Maintenance in Green Building Index (GBI and Non-Green Building Index (Non-GBI Rated Building in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Lee Zheng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Urges for sustainable development had pushed the government and professional bodies to respond and react by implementing regulations where possible to direct development in that manner. However, the outcome in most financial conferences and dialogues on sustainable buildings flagged on high construction and maintenance cost. Thus, this study is conducted to collect and analyze actual building operation and maintenance cost between GBI and Non-GBI rated buildings in Malaysia which are more than 2 years fully operated buildings. There are two categories of selected buildings which are residential and non-residential type of building. Each category of the building consists of similar building’s characteristic such as geographic location, mode of operation, building heights, total numbers of floors and units. The scope of building’s maintenance for this study is mainly on wear and tear of the wall painting, electrical light fittings, ceiling panels, roofing system and mechanical services like water pump system are recorded for their replacement frequency of service and the cost involved within a consistent period of 12 months operation at cost percentage saving of 78.9% and 40.4% for residential and non-residential buildings respectively compare against Non-GBI rated buildings. Electricity consumption for GBI rated buildings are lower than Non-GBI rated buildings which recorded at the cost variance of 23.8% and 6.3% and water consumption at 35.9% and 44.0% for the above mentioned two main categories of selected case study buildings. Results from this study conclude major savings on residential buildings category in term of maintenance cost and electricity consumption for GBI rated buildings. Whereby, non-residential category of buildings, GBI rated building had been proven to obtain significant savings in terms of maintenance cost and water consumption.

  14. The potential green architecture design strategies in Egyptian building culture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    El Fiky, U.; Hamdy, I.; Dansik, van D.; Wit, de M.H.

    2004-01-01

    Regarding the fact that creation of sustainable human settlements through sustainable building is one of the integral processes of sustainable development that demonstrates the four aspects or dimensions of sustainable development: the economical, ecological, social and technical dimension, this

  15. Sustainable built environments

    CERN Document Server

    Haase, Dagmar

    2013-01-01

    Sustainable design is a collective process whereby the built environment achieves unprecedented levels of ecological balance through new and retrofit construction, with the goal of long-term viability and humanization of architecture. Focusing on the environmental context, sustainable design merges the natural, minimum resource conditioning solutions of the past (daylight, solar heat, and natural ventilation) with the innovative technologies of the present.  The desired result is an integrated “intelligent” system that supports individual control with expert negotiation for resource consciousness. International experts in the field address the fundamental questions of sustainable design and landscape management: How should the sustainability of landscapes and buildings be evaluated? Which targets have to be set and which thresholds should not be exceeded? What forms of planning and governance structures exist and to what extent do they further the goals of sustainability?  Gathering 30 peer-reviewed ent...

  16. Promoting Sustainability through Investment in Building Information Modeling (BIM Technologies: A Design Company Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Reizgevičius

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to enhance the understanding of how design companies perceive the benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM technologies application. BIM is recognized in the literature as a (potentially powerful driver leading the construction sector towards sustainability. However, for design companies, the choice to invest in BIM technologies is basically an economic one. Specifically, a design company assesses economic benefits and efficiency improvements thanks to the application of BIM technologies. The article discusses the return on investments (ROI in BIM technologies and reviews ROI calculation methodologies proposed by other authors. In order to evaluate BIM return on investment correctly practical ROI calculations are carried out. Appropriate methods, together with the relevant variables for ROI calculation, are developed. The study allows for adjusting the calculation method making it more accurate and understandable using the Autodesk Revit based ROI calculation of the first year.

  17. Digital Gaming and Sustainable Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahin Vassigh

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The American building industry is one of the major consumers of energy. Buildings use 39% of thetotal energy consumed in the United States, significantly impacting national energy demand andcontributing to global warming. The vast majority of architectural practice in US leads to construction of buildings with a little concern to sustainability leading to environmental degradation. Although the bulk of architecture practice continues to produce unsustainable buildings, there is growing stream of exemplary models of sustainable design. Examining the success of suchpractices leads into two a two-folded finding; first that achieving sustainable design is closelylinked to “integrated Design”1 - a type of practice in which various disciplines involved in building design work together to achieve efficiency and other synergetic benefits. Second is that theadvances in computing and simulation algorithms are paving the way to achieve “integrateddesign”. These technologies are enabling the designers to collaborate, visualize, foresee, andmodify building performance with relatively high accuracy. They are increasing used to analyze complex systems to achieve streamlined structures, reduce dependence on mechanical systems, produce more effective construction processes, and reduce waste.If such practices were to become widespread, the architectural education needs to be restructured.The traditional American architectural curriculum that is based on a schism between“design” and “technology” is inherently in conflict with the principal of integration. Though largescalereform of architectural curricula is a complex, ongoing, and difficult debate; producing teaching tools that can simulate integrated design can impact and promote an understanding of sustainable practice in architecture. The proposed paper will present the progress of a multi-disciplinary team of faculty who arecollectively working on the completion, implementation and evaluation

  18. Focus 2012. Awakening into a new age - Elements of a sustainable energy supply. Ressource efficiency - key competency of sustainable societies, Sustainable chemistry - fundamental building blocks of a green economy. Annual report; Schwerpunkte 2012. Aufbruch ins neue Zeitalter - Elemente einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung, Ressourceneffizienz - Schluesselkompetenz zukunftsfaehiger Gesellschaften, Nachhaltige Chemie - elementarer Baustein einer Green Economy. Jahrespublikation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mavromati, Fotini; Ittershagen, Martin (comps.)

    2012-05-30

    The Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) sees excellent opportunities to move the economic regeneration forward by means of environmental protection. Under this aspect, the annual report ''Focus 2012'' under consideration presents the following contributions: (1) Green Economy as a new model for economic development; (2) Elements of a sustainable energy supply; (3) Resource efficiency as a key competence for sustainable societies; (4) Green Chemistry as a fundamental building block of Green Economy.

  19. L'impegno dell'industria delle costruzioni per promuovere la sostenibilità dei prodotti: un approccio comune europeo per le prestazioni ambientali di prodotto. The building sector commitment to promote the sustainability of construction products: a common European approach for the Environmental Product Performances

    OpenAIRE

    Caterina, Gargari; Chris, Hamans; Maria Chiara, Torricelli

    2013-01-01

    The industry of construction products plays an important role in Europe in promoting the sustainability of the built environment in a life cycle perspective. Within the framework of the European initiatives for a sustainable competitiveness, manufacturers are interested in promoting a life cycle approach along the building chain. However both, institutions and building operators, in general still have to go a long way on designing and applying a sustainable and competitive industrial policy....

  20. How Frugal Innovation Promotes Social Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakhshanda Khan

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available There is a need to develop an understanding of how frugal innovation promotes social sustainability. The objective of this paper is to find the connections between the two concepts of social sustainability and frugal innovation, by reviewing the existing literature concerning both fields. This paper presents a framework that identifies essential themes of social sustainability and explores them through frugal innovation. The framework builds on the important themes of social sustainability and shows their relevance in practice through frugal innovation. The notion of frugal innovation can be viewed as an approach towards realizing social sustainability and fulfilling the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

  1. A call for sustainable practice in occupational therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennis, Carole W; Dorsey, Julie A; Gitlow, Lynn

    2015-06-01

    The ability of the earth to sustain health among humans and in the natural world is under threat from overpopulation, environmental degradation, and climate change. These global threats are anticipated to harm health and human occupation in many direct and indirect ways. Strategies are needed to mitigate the effects of these threats and to build individual and community capacities to foster resilience. This paper links issues of sustainability with occupational therapy philosophy and discusses how employing a sustainability lens with professional reasoning can help practitioners integrate sustainability into their practice. Human occupation is inseparable from the environments in which people live. Human occupation has caused the current environmental crisis, and targeted human action is required to safeguard future health and well-being. Occupational therapists have an ethical obligation to use professional reasoning strategies that, taken collectively, can help to build a sustainable and resilient future.

  2. Key Practice for Green Building Management In Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Aghili Nasim; Bin Mohammed Abdul Hakim; Sheau-Ting Low

    2016-01-01

    This paper identifies the management practices for green building management in Malaysia. A set of practices was ascertained from the reviewed of various established Green Building Standard in the world. Green building practices are significant role in attaining sustainability particularly in the construction industry. Green building is constructed for minimizing impacts to environment as well as decreasing building effects on occupants. To achieve the goals of green buildings, set of managem...

  3. Greening Existing Tribal Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidance about improving sustainability in existing tribal casinos and manufactured homes. Many steps can be taken to make existing buildings greener and healthier. They may also reduce utility and medical costs.

  4. The joint discourse 'reflexive sustainable development'. From weak towards strong sustainable development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsen, Heidi Rapp

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to contribute towards moving the predominant situation of weak sustainable development (WSD) in the direction of strong sustainable development (SSD). More people - academics, politicians, bureaucrats and laymen alike - need to recognize SSD as an alternative to WSD. A joint discourse of WSD and SSD is suggested, called reflexive sustainable development. Here, advocates of WSD and SSD must argue for each specific case why their solution is better. This will expose, amongst other things, the ethical foundations which form part of resulting policy advice. Reflexive sustainable development is to be framed in discourse ethics, thereby remedying the power imbalance and allowing for substantial discussion. Reflexive sustainable development builds on a common theoretical base but will not lead to consensus in all matters. A family metaphor is introduced to inspire a discourse of both consensus and compromise. (author)

  5. Mathematics for sustainability

    CERN Document Server

    Roe, John; Jamshidi, Sara

    2018-01-01

    Designed for the 21st century classroom, this textbook poses, refines, and analyzes questions of sustainability in a quantitative environment. Building mathematical knowledge in the context of issues relevant to every global citizen today, this text takes an approach that empowers students of all disciplines to understand and reason with quantitative information. Whatever conclusions may be reached on a given topic, this book will prepare the reader to think critically about their own and other people’s arguments and to support them with careful, mathematical reasoning. Topics are grouped in themes of measurement, flow, connectivity, change, risk, and decision-making. Mathematical thinking is at the fore throughout, as students learn to model sustainability on local, regional, and global scales. Exercises emphasize concepts, while projects build and challenge communication skills. With no prerequisites beyond high school algebra, instructors will find this book a rich resource for engaging all majors in the...

  6. Facilities improvement for sustainability of existing public office ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined the building design features of a cosmopolitan public office building in Abuja. The features were classified into Spatial Plan, Structure and Facilities, to determine which of the 3 variables requires urgent sustainable improvement from end-users' perspective in existing public office buildings in developing ...

  7. Sustainable Air Handling by Evaporation and Adsorption

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Esfandiari Nia, F.

    2011-01-01

    A considerable fraction of today's energy consumption is due to air-conditioning of buildings, involving both heating and cooling. Energy cost and environmental concerns force designers to find sustainable solutions. Desiccant cooling as a sustainable technology is attractive to be investigated for

  8. Sustainable building and local resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cristina Forlani

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The research comes from the deepest reasons of the crisis, in order to recognize in such reasons themselves the direction to come out, the new needs and the new challenges. The local resources (material and immaterial were reconsidered as patrimony, precious but limited, of each specific area to trace out a path of supportability able to rebuild new relations between project/production and environmental culture. The industrial production becomes a driving force for the economic renewal through an iterative cycle between research/science and economics aiming to smart building, meant as practice in evolution. This practise is careful to the local, environmental, cultural and economic situation, whose parameters are identity, energy, environment, mobility and economics that give back different scale answers.

  9. The Development of Sustainable Buildings in Spain: The Views of the Experts; Desarrollo de la Edificacion Sostenible en Espana: La Percepcion de los Expertos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sala, R; Salabarnada, E; Oltra, C

    2011-11-10

    The improvement in the energy use of buildings can play a role in reducing our energy consumption energy. In order to analyze the state of energy efficiency and its probable future from the perspective of experts, we implemented an online questionnaire to a sample of professionals, mainly architects, engineers and researchers. The results show that there is favorable attitude toward sustainable building. According to respondents, energy efficiency is still in an early state in Spain, and professionals are not aware of the potential for achieving higher energy savings. Participants attribute this current state of the sector to the existence of different barriers such as the belief about the high costs from efficiency measures, a lack of collaboration and communication between stake holders, a low level of involvement in improving energy efficiency, a lack of understanding of existing regulations and a weak demand for more sustainable houses. Participants are positive regarding the likely future: we have to raise awareness about business opportunities, enhance housing rehabilitation and improve communication with the public and potential buyers. (Author) 5 refs.

  10. Project materials [Commercial High Performance Buildings Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2001-01-01

    The Consortium for High Performance Buildings (ChiPB) is an outgrowth of DOE'S Commercial Whole Buildings Roadmapping initiatives. It is a team-driven public/private partnership that seeks to enable and demonstrate the benefit of buildings that are designed, built and operated to be energy efficient, environmentally sustainable, superior quality, and cost effective.

  11. The potential of net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) concept at design stage for healthcare buildings towards sustainable development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazli Abdellah, Roy; Asrul Nasid Masrom, Md; Chen, Goh Kai; Mohamed, Sulzakimin; Omar, Roshartini

    2017-11-01

    The focus on net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) has been widely analysed and discussed particularly when European Union Parliament are progressively moving towards regulation that promotes the improvement of energy efficiency (EE). Additionally, it also to reduce energy consumption through the recast of the EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) in which all new buildings to be “nearly Zero-Energy” Buildings by 2020. Broadly, there is a growing trend to explore the feasibility of net zero energy in healthcare sector as the level energy consumption for healthcare sector is found significantly high. Besides that, healthcare buildings energy consumption also exceeds of many other nondomestic building types, and this shortcoming is still undetermined yet especially for developing countries. This paper aims to review the potential of NZEBs in healthcare buildings by considering its concept in design features. Data are gathered through a comprehensive energy management literature review from previous studies. The review is vital to encourage construction players to increase their awareness, practices, and implementation of NZEBs in healthcare buildings. It suggests that NZEBs concept has a potential to be adapted in healthcare buildings through emphasizing of passive approach as well as the utilization of energy efficiency systems and renewable energy systems in buildings. This paper will provide a basis knowledge for construction key players mainly architects to promote NZEBs concept at design stage for healthcare buildings development.

  12. Estimating building energy consumption using extreme learning machine method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naji, Sareh; Keivani, Afram; Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Alengaram, U. Johnson; Jumaat, Mohd Zamin; Mansor, Zulkefli; Lee, Malrey

    2016-01-01

    The current energy requirements of buildings comprise a large percentage of the total energy consumed around the world. The demand of energy, as well as the construction materials used in buildings, are becoming increasingly problematic for the earth's sustainable future, and thus have led to alarming concern. The energy efficiency of buildings can be improved, and in order to do so, their operational energy usage should be estimated early in the design phase, so that buildings are as sustainable as possible. An early energy estimate can greatly help architects and engineers create sustainable structures. This study proposes a novel method to estimate building energy consumption based on the ELM (Extreme Learning Machine) method. This method is applied to building material thicknesses and their thermal insulation capability (K-value). For this purpose up to 180 simulations are carried out for different material thicknesses and insulation properties, using the EnergyPlus software application. The estimation and prediction obtained by the ELM model are compared with GP (genetic programming) and ANNs (artificial neural network) models for accuracy. The simulation results indicate that an improvement in predictive accuracy is achievable with the ELM approach in comparison with GP and ANN. - Highlights: • Buildings consume huge amounts of energy for operation. • Envelope materials and insulation influence building energy consumption. • Extreme learning machine is used to estimate energy usage of a sample building. • The key effective factors in this study are insulation thickness and K-value.

  13. Designing urban spaces and buildings to improve sustainability and quality of life in a warmer world

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Claire; Levermore, Geoff

    2008-01-01

    It is in cities that the negative impacts of a warming climate will be felt most strongly. The summer time comfort and well-being of the urban population will become increasingly compromised under future scenarios for climate change and urbanisation. In contrast to rural areas, where night-time relief from high daytime temperatures occurs as heat is lost to the sky, the city environment stores and traps heat and offers little respite from high temperatures. This urban heat island effect is responsible for temperature differences of up to 7 deg. C between cities and the country in the UK. We already have experience of the potential hazards of these higher temperatures. The majority of heat-related fatalities during the summer of 2003 were in urban areas. This means that the cooling of the urban environment is a high priority for urban planners and designers. Proven ways of doing this include altering the urban microclimate by modifying its heat absorption and emission, for example through urban greening, the use of high-reflectivity materials, and by increasing openness to allow cooling winds. Buildings themselves can also deliver improved comfort and higher levels of sustainability by taking advantage of exemplary facade, glazing and ventilation designs. In addition, changed behaviour by building occupants can help keep urban areas cool. The technology to reduce the future vulnerability of city dwellers to thermal discomfort is already largely in existence. But there is a need for complementary policy and planning commitments to manage its implementation, especially in existing buildings and urban areas

  14. Analysis of promising sustainable renovation concepts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vanhoutteghem, Lies; Tommerup, Henrik M.; Svendsen, Svend

    This report focuses on analyses of the most promising existing sustainable renovation concepts, i.e. full-service concepts and technical concepts, for single-family houses. As a basis for the analyses a detailed building stock analysis was carried out. Furthermore, as a basis a general working...... method for proposals on package solutions for sustainable renovation was described. The method consists of four steps, going from investigation of the house to proposal for sustainable renovation, detailed planning and commissioning after renovation. It could be used by teams of consultants...... of the building envelope and the electricity required to run the system. Positive impact on the indoor environment can be expected. Thermal comfort will be improved by insulation and air-tightness measures that will increase surface temperatures and reduce draught from e.g. badly insulated windows. A ventilation...

  15. Partnership and leadership: building alliances for a sustainable future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruijn, Theo de [Twente Univ., Enschede (Netherlands); Tukker, Arnold [TNO-STB, Delft (NL)] (eds.)

    2002-03-01

    Sustainable development has become a central perspective in environmental strategies around the world. It is clear that neither governments nor businesses have the capability to bring about sustainability on their own. Therefore, collaboration has emerged as a central concept. At the same time it is obvious that someone has to take the lead in the development towards sustainability. This book focuses on different forms of collaboration emerging between various actors. The objective of the book is to more systematically explore the different roles and relationships between partnership and leadership. Basically, both partnership and leadership can be seen in a positive and negative way: for example, as far as partnership is concerned, we can assume that the path towards sustainability can be paved by parties coming together, taking some initiative collaborating. On the opposite, partnership and consensus-based decisions can be seen as an obstacle to foster radical changes in production and consumption patterns. Similarly, leadership can be seen as an obstacle to sustainable development if leaders form close circles and are not willing to share experiences with other actors; but leadership could also be considered as an important element to keep concepts and practices forward. The book holds this double perspective: explaining, mapping and analyzing different goals/formats/methods of more and less collaborative approaches, but at the same time taking a critical approach to the theme by understanding related risks, effects, prospects and corrective actions. Next to a conceptual part, the book brings together case-studies from around the world. The focus is in describing and understanding various formats of collaboration and critically evaluating its effects and prospects. A concluding chapter discusses the role of partnership and leadership in realizing various levels of environmental innovations: optimization and re-design, that usually affect only a small part of the

  16. Teaching Sustainable Design Using BIM and Project-Based Energy Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Zhigang; Jensen, Wayne; Wentz, Timothy; Fischer, Bruce

    2012-01-01

    The cross-disciplinary nature of energy-efficient building design has created many challenges for architecture, engineering and construction instructors. One of the technical challenges in teaching sustainable building design is enabling students to quantitatively understand how different building designs affect a building's energy performance.…

  17. Performance Based Building and its application to Healthy Buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Bluyssen, P.M.

    2005-01-01

    The European funded Project PeBBu, Performance Based Building, is a Thematic network under the Competitive and Sustainable Growth program, which started September 1st, 2001 andwill run for 4 years. In one of the domains of PeBBu, the domain Indoor Environment, a stateof-the-art on the Performance

  18. COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING FOR REVITALIZATION AND SUSTAINABLE REDEVELOPMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Downing, Melinda; Rosenthall, John; Hudson, Michelle

    2003-02-27

    Capacity building programs help poor and disadvantaged communities to improve their ability to participate in the environmental decision-making processes. They encourage citizen involvement, and provide the tools that enable them to do so. Capacity building enables communities that would otherwise be excluded to participate in the process, leading to better, and more just decisions. The Department of Energy (DOE) continues to be committed to promoting environmental justice and involving its stakeholders more directly in the planning and decision-making process for environmental cleanup. DOE's Environmental Management Program (EM) is in full support of this commitment. Through its environmental justice project, EM provides communities with the capacity to effectively contribute to a complex technical decision-making process by furnishing access to computers, the Internet, training and technical assistance. DOE's Dr. Samuel P. Massie Chairs of Excellence Program (Massie Chairs) function as technical advisors to many of these community projects. The Massie Chairs consist of nationally and internationally recognized engineers and scientists from nine Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and one Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS). This paper will discuss capacity building initiatives in various jurisdictions.

  19. Early-career experts essential for planetary sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Michelle; Lynch, Abigail J.; Fernández-Llamazares, Alvaro; Balint, Lenke; Basher, Zeenatul; Chan, Ivis; Jaureguiberry, Pedro; Mohamed, A.A.A.; Mwampamba, Tuyeni H.; Palomo, Ignacio; Pliscoff, Patricio; Salimov, R.A.; Samakov, Aibek; Selomane, Odirilwe; Shrestha, Uttam B.; Sidorovich, Anna A.

    2017-01-01

    Early-career experts can play a fundamental role in achieving planetary sustainability by bridging generational divides and developing novel solutions to complex problems. We argue that intergenerational partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration among early-career experts will enable emerging sustainability leaders to contribute fully to a sustainable future. We review 16 international, interdisciplinary, and sustainability-focused early-career capacity building programs. We conclude that such programs are vital to developing sustainability leaders of the future and that decision-making for sustainability is likely to be best served by strong institutional cultures that promote intergenerational learning and involvement.

  20. Elements that contribute to healthy building design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loftness, V.; Hakkinen, B.; Adan, O.C.G.; Nevalainen, A.

    2007-01-01

    Abstract Background: The elements that contribute to a healthy building are multifactorial and can be discussed from different perspectives. Objectives: We present three viewpoints of designing a healthy building: the importance of sustainable development, the role of occupants for ensuring indoor