Showing papers in "A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment in 2018"

In-situ and real time measurements of thermal comfort and its determinants in thirty residential dwellings in the Netherlands

Abstract: Reducing energy consumption in the residential sector is an imperative EU goal until 2020. An important boundary condition in buildings is that energy savings should not be achieved at the expense of thermal comfort. However, there is little known about comfort perception in residential buildings and its relation to the PMV theory. In this research, an in-situ method for real time measurements of the quantitative and subjective parameters that affect thermal comfort as well as the reported thermal comfort perception was developed and applied in 30 residential dwellings in the Netherlands. Quantitative data (air temperature, relative humidity, presence) have been wirelessly gathered with 5 minutes interval for 6 months. The thermal sensation was gathered wirelessly as well, using a battery powered comfort dial. Other subjective data (metabolic activity, clothing, actions related to thermal comfort) were collected twice a day using a diary. The data analysis showed that while the neutral temperatures are well predicted by the PMV method, the cold and warm sensations are not. It seems that people reported (on a statistically significant way) comfortable sensation while the PMV method does not predict it, indicating a certain level of psychological adaptation to expectations. Additionally it was found that, although clothing and metabolic activities were similar among tenants of houses with different thermal quality, the neutral temperature was different: in houses with a good energy rating, the neutral temperature was higher than in houses with a poor rating.

Towards a new policy direction for an improved housing delivery system in Nigerian cities: Theoretical, Empirical and Comparative Perspectives

Abstract: In Nigeria, housing units are not adequate for the entire population, especially in cities (Anosike et al. 2011, Makinde 2014). For instance, the deficit grows at an alarming rate, from about 8 million in 1991 to over 16 million in 2000s (Aribigbola, 2000; Aribigbola and Ayeniyo 2012). The challenges of housing provision are not only quantitative but also qualitative and have to be dealt with in a dual institutional perspective: the formal and the informal sector (Makinde, 2014; National Population Census, NPC, 2006). How can the Nigerian housing provision be improved and what are the new roles that policy can play to address the housing shortages in Nigerian cities?

Trajectories of neighborhood change

Abstract: Neighborhoods represent a scale at which inequalities are reflected in the unequal spatial distribution of ethnic and income groups across urban space. However, neighborhoods are not static entities and spatial patterns of socioeconomic and ethnic inequality shift over time as a result of processes of neighborhood change. This dissertation has adopted a longitudinal approach to analyze patterns of neighborhood change on a relatively low spatial scale. This dissertation illustrates that neighborhoods remain relatively stable over time in their socioeconomic and ethnic status and that change takes several decades to take effect. This dissertation finds that neighborhoods exhibit a strong degree of path-dependency and demonstrates how the housing stock influences neighborhood trajectories. In addition, it shows how large-scale changes to the housing stock in the context of urban restructuring affect residential mobility and neighborhood upgrading. This dissertation also reveals the ways in which different population dynamics interact to inhibit or generate neighborhood change to reproduce socio-spatial inequalities. Moreover, the innovative methods that are explored in this dissertation contribute to broadening the scope of statistical methods for the longitudinal analysis of neighborhood change.

Energy performance progress of the Dutch non-profit housing stock: a longitudinal assessment

Abstract: Worldwide, buildings consume a large part of the total energy delivered. In the context of all the end-use sectors, buildings represent the largest sector with 39% of the total final energy consumption, followed by transport in the EU (European Union ). Policy targets and regulations are in force at the EU level to ensure the energy efficiency improvement of the building stock. This research seeks to provide insight into the energy performance progress, of the existing non-profit housing stock in the Netherlands, through the application of energy renovations. The non-profit housing stock comprises 30% of the housing market in the Netherlands and a large part of the policies towards a more efficient housing stock rely on the non-profit housing sector. To that end, we determine the energy renovation rate of the stock and the impact of the applied renovations on both the predicted and actual energy consumption. The difference of predicted and actual energy savings is analysed through longitudinal statistical modelling in renovated and non-renovated dwellings. Based on the knowledge gained on the renovation rates of the non-profit housing stock we compare and evaluate future renovation rates through dynamic building stock modelling and empirical data validation. In essence, we examine the effect that the improvement of thermo-physical characteristics of dwellings has on efforts to make the existing housing stock almost emission-neutral by 2050, as advocated by the European Commission since 2011. The renovation activity is expected to be greater than the construction and demolition activity in the future and as such we need to bring awareness to the actual impact and effectiveness of energy renovations.

Coolfacade : Architectural Integration of Solar Cooling Technologies in the Building Envelope

Abstract: Increasing cooling demands in the built environment present an important and complex challenge for the design of sustainable buildings and cities. Even though the first course of action should always aim to reduce energy consumption through saving measures and passive design; these are often not enough to avoid mechanical equipment altogether, particularly in the case of office buildings in warm climate contexts. Solar cooling technologies have been increasingly explored as an environmentally friendly alternative to harmful refrigerants used in common air-conditioning systems; besides being driven by renewable energy. Nonetheless, building application remains mostly limited to demonstration projects and pilot experiences. The thesis discusses the suitability of solar cooling technologies in terms of their potential for facade integration, exploring current possibilities and identifying main constraints for the development of solar cooling integrated architectural products. The potential for facade integration is assessed considering both the architectural requirements for the integration of building services in the facade development process; and the potential climate feasibility of self-sufficient integrated concepts, matching current technical possibilities with cooling requirements from several climates. Although interesting prospects were identified in this dissertation, important technical constraints need to be solved to conceive fail-tested facade components. Furthermore, several barriers related to the facade design and development process need to be tackled in order to introduce architectural products such as these into the market. The identification and discussion of these barriers, along with the definition of technology driven development paths and recommendations for the generation of distinct architectural products, are regarded as the main outcomes of this dissertation, serving as a compass to guide further explorations in the topic under an overall environmentally conscious design approach.

Energy efficiency measures implemented in the Dutch non-profit housing sector

Abstract: The existing housing stock plays a major role in meeting the energy efficiency targets set in EU member states such as the Netherlands. The non-profit housing sector in this country dominates the housing market as it represents 31% of the total housing stock. The focus of this paper is to examine the energy efficiency measures that are currently applied in this sector and their effects on the energy performance. The information necessary for the research is drawn from a monitoring system that contains data about the physical state and the energy performance of more than 1.5 million dwellings in the sector. The method followed is based on the statistical modeling and data analysis of physical properties regarding energy efficiency, general dwellings’ characteristics and energy performance of 757,614 households. The outcomes of this research provide insight in the energy efficiency measures applied to the existing residential stock. Most of the changes regard the heating and domestic hot water (DHW) systems, and the glazing. The rest of the building envelope elements are not improved at the same frequency. The results show that the goals for this sector will be hard to achieve if the same strategy for renovation is followed.

HyperCell: A Bio-inspired Design Framework for Real-time Interactive Architectures

Abstract: This pioneering research focuses on Biomimetic Interactive Architecture using “Computation”, “Embodiment”, and “Biology” to generate an intimate embodied convergence to propose a novel rule-based design framework for creating organic architectures composed of swarm-based intelligent components. Furthermore, the research boldly claims that Interactive Architecture should emerge as the next truly Organic Architecture. As the world and society are dynamically changing, especially in this digital era, the research dares to challenge the Utilitas, Firmitas, and Venustas of the traditional architectural Weltanschauung, and rejects them by adopting the novel notion that architecture should be dynamic, fluid, and interactive. This project reflects a trajectory from the 1960’s with the advent of the avant-garde architectural design group, Archigram, and its numerous intriguing and pioneering visionary projects. Archigram’s non-standard, mobile, and interactive projects profoundly influenced a new generation of architects to explore the connection between technology and their architectural projects. This research continues this trend of exploring novel design thinking and the framework of Interactive Architecture by discovering the interrelationship amongst three major topics: “Computation”, “Embodiment”, and “Biology”. The project aims to elucidate pioneering research combining these three topics in one discourse: “Bio-inspired digital architectural design”.

Integrated Urban River Corridors : Spatial design for social-ecological resilience in Bucharest and beyond

Abstract: The issue of urban resilience concerns a multitude of urban systems and spaces. This thesis focuses on Urban River Corridors (URCs)—that is, urban spaces where the overlap between the urban systems (carrying the ’social-‘) and the river system (carrying the ‘-ecological’) is at the highest intensity—as strategic spaces with a potentially high contribution to urban resilience. The general hypothesis is that with an integrated spatial understanding, planning and design of rivers and the urban fabric surrounding them, cities could become more resilient not just to flood-related disturbances, but to general chronic stresses as well. Hence, the thesis addresses four spatial problems arising from the loss of synergy between the natural dynamics of rivers and the spatial configuration and composition of urban areas that they cross: (1) river-taming operations combined with riverside traffic corridors have weakened the relationship between fluvial geomorphology and urban morphology, transforming rivers into physical barriers; (2) flood-protection measures aiming for resistance to water dynamics have led to a latent flood risk; (3) the capacity of urban rivers to deliver ecosystem services has been diminished; and (4) rationalisations of the river system have reduced the scalar, (and implicitly) social and ecological complexity of urban rivers. Drawing on theories of social-ecological resilience and urban form resilience, on conceptual and analytical tools from spatial morphology and landscape ecology, and on practical experience in urban river design projects, the thesis constructs a theory of social-ecologically integrated Urban River Corridors, in which it proposes a spatial-morphological definition, an assessment framework, and a set of design principles and design instruments. Framed as a transdisciplinary design study, the thesis integrates knowledge from various disciplines dealing with the problematique of urban rivers and employs a design-driven methodology that includes design explorations and design testing in the research process. The case of Bucharest crossed by URC Dâmbovița and URC Colentina is used to contextualise the spatial-morphological definition, and to demonstrate, develop and test the proposed assessment framework, design principles, and design instruments with a distinct set of methods in each of the three parts of the thesis. In addition to a transdisciplinary literature review of URCs, and a historical review of Bucharest’s URCs, Part 1 presents a qualitative data analysis of 22 expert interviews, used to determine the current state of URC Dâmbovița and URC Colentina. Based on four key properties of URCs identified in literature, Part 2 develops an indicator system and a method for the assessment of social-ecological integration. Informed by key problems and potentials identified by the local experts, the assessment framework is then applied on the two URCs of Bucharest. In the last part, design applications, including urban river projects carried out by the author on other rivers and a design workshop in Bucharest, are used to demonstrate and test the design principles through design instruments.

Spatial Quality as a decisive criterion in flood risk strategies

Abstract: The role of the designer in flood risk management strategy development is currently often restricted to the important but limited task of optimally embedding technical interventions, which are themselves derivatives of system level flood risk strategies that are developed at an earlier stage, in their local surroundings. During this thesis research, an integrated approach is developed in which spatial quality can already be included in the regional flood risk management strategy development, and thus can become a decisive ‘ex-ante’ aspect of flood risk management strategy development. The key principle to this approach is the inclusion of a range of interchangeable (effective) flood risk reduction interventions at varying locations, so that the criterion of spatial quality can become decisive in flood risk management strategy development. As part of the methodology development, an assessment framework is developed, allowing for the assessment of the impact of the different interventions on spatial quality; research-by-design is employed to systematically evaluate different interventions at different locations. The Rijnmond-Drechtsteden area in The Netherlands is used as a case study area for this research.

Seditious Spaces: Protest in Post-Colonial Malaysia

Abstract: The title ‘Seditious Spaces’ is derived from one aspect of Britain’s colonial legacy in Malaysia (formerly Malaya): the Sedition Act 1948. While colonial rule may seem like it was a long time ago, Malaysia has only been independent for sixty-one years, after 446 years of colonial rule. The things that we take for granted today, such as democracy and all the rights it implies, are some of the more ironic legacies of colonialism that some societies, such as Malaysia, have had to figure out after centuries of subjugation. While not suggesting that post-colonial regimes should not be held accountable for their actions, it is ironic to see a BBC commentator grilling the leader of a Commonwealth state about repressive laws and regulations inherited from the colonial era. (Even the term ‘Commonwealth’ is itself ironic, implying shared wealth, in reality it commonly meant a colonised country was contributing to the wealth of the metropolitan centre)...

Open for business : Project-specific value capture strategies of architectural firms

Abstract: Architectural firms can be regarded as creative professional service firms. As such, architects need to navigate creative, professional and commercial goals, while simultaneously attempting to fulfil client, user and societal needs. This complex process is becoming increasingly difficult, as the historically established role of architects has become more blurred, contested and heterogeneous. While attempting to reclaim their role or to take on new roles in collaborations with other actors, architectural firms are challenged to develop business models that are financially viable and professionally satisfactory. These business models need to facilitate firms in capturing both financial and professional value in co-creation processes, and they must also suit the project-based structure of the firm. This research contributes insights into how firms might capture multiple dimensions of value in project-based work. It generates new perspectives on processes of organizational value capture and business model design, and provides concrete, practical insights into the difficulties of and opportunities involved in value capture by creative professional service firms.

Form Follows Force: A theoretical framework for Structural Morphology, and Form-Finding research on shell structures

Abstract: With the springing up of freeform architectures, the key problem to structural engineers is to generate structural forms with high structural efficiency subject to the architectural space constraints during the conceptual design process. In this research, a theoretical framework for Structural Morphology has been proposed, that provides an effective solution to the problem. To enrich the proposed framework, systematic Form-Finding research on shell structures is conducted.

Transformation in Composition: Ecdysis of Landscape Architecture through the Brownfield Park Project

Abstract: This study enlarges on the notion of composition in landscape architecture. It builds upon the ‘Delft method’, which elaborates composition as a methodological framework from its sister discipline architecture. At the same time takes a critical stance in respect to this framework, informed by recent epistemological developments in landscape architecture such as the site-specificity and process discourses. The notion of composition is examined from a historical and theoretical perspective, before turning to an examination of the brownfield park project realised in the period 1975-2015. These projects emerge as an important laboratory and catalyst for developments in landscape architecture, whereby contextual, process, and formal-aesthetic aspects emerge as central themes. The thesis of this research is that a major theoretical and methodological expansion of the notion of composition can be distilled from the brownfield park project, in which seemingly irreconcilable paradigms such as site and process are incorporated. By extension, the study elaborates on the disciplinary specificity of landscape architecture as distinct to its sister disciplines architecture and urbanism, propositioning a ‘radical maturation’ of the foundations of the discipline in the period 1975 – 2015, via the brownfield park project. A metaphor for this process is offered by the phenomenon of ecdysis in arthropods (such as the blue swimmer crab), whereby the growth from juvenile to adult takes place in stages involving the moulting of an inelastic exoskeleton. Once shed, a larger exoskeleton is formed, whose shape and character is significantly different to its forebears. The research sketches the contours of a similar ‘disciplinary ecdysis’ in the period 1975-2015, whereby an evolution of design-as-composition praxis in landscape architecture takes place. In the slipstream of these findings, the research sheds new light on the shifts in the form and content of the city itself in this period, and the agency of the urban park in the problematique of the contemporary urban realm. In the cases studied, the park typology has been able to address problems that much of the traditional apparatus of spatial planning and design has failed to do. By extension, the study reveals that many of the paradigms of urban planning and design are in need of major review in the context of deindustrialization. The urban park typology – in its guise as the brownfield park – also appears also able to shape and qualify larger urban regions. As such, the research highlights the rise of brownfield lands and their impact on the fabric of the city, the life of their inhabitants and the paradigms that dominate urban cultures, in turn fundamentally revising the definitions and agencies of notions such as city, nature and landscape.

Cities for or against citizens? Socio-spatial restructuring of low-income neighborhoods and the paradox of citizen participation.

Abstract: Urban renewal has evolved into an ambitious and sophisticated urban strategy, recognised as urban revitalisation in America and urban regeneration in Western Europe. This new urban strategy, which tends to be area-based and state-sponsored, claims for the most part to coordinate a wide range of resources, partners and public agencies to bring about social, economic and spatial improvements in underdeveloped and impoverished city areas while improving the livelihoods of the local residents. However, as this study asserts, the objectives behind this new urban strategy have considered, for the most part, the interests of those formulating and implementing such efforts rather than local residents and stakeholders, and produced in turn ‘attractive’ neighbourhoods increasing city revenues, boosting real estate prices, attracting new investments and alluring new residents. Most importantly, citizen participation and gentrification have been concurrently promoted in urban...

Residents’ Perceptions of Impending Forced Relocation in Urban China: A case study of state-led urban redevelopment in Shenyang

Abstract: Since 1978, urban redevelopment in China has resulted in large-scale neighbourhood demolition and forced residential relocation, which can severely disrupt established people-place interactions in the demolished neighbourhoods. Urban redevelopment in China has also been criticized by the public and scholars, because the position of the residents in decision-making processes of urban redevelopment is often marginalized. Conflicts have arisen between the residents, local governments and developers, against the backdrop of the uneven redistribution of capital accumulated via urban space reproduction such as the replacement of declining neighbourhoods in which low-income residents reside, with newly-build high-rise dwellings for middle- or high-income residents (Qian and He 2012, Weinstein and Ren 2009). The aim of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of urban redevelopment and its induced forced relocation on residents, by investigating their behavioural and emotional responses to the state-led urban redevelopment in Shenyang, a Chinese city. In particular, it highlights the agency of the affected residents, through exploring their interactions with other stakeholders and through displaying the ambivalence embedded in their neighbourhood experiences.

Synergetic Urban Landscape Planning in Rotterdam

Abstract: In this PhD research, the major environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change, sustainable energy transition and scarcity of resources, are approached from a spatial, landscape-architectural perspective. The goal is to accelerate the transition to liveable, low carbon cities. The focus of the research is at the local scale and attempts to turn challenges into opportunities for a better quality of life and living environment. Since 1857, when Frederick Law Olmsted combined the construction of two large drinking water reservoirs for the city of New York with the design of a beautiful park, these types of assignments are part of a landscape architect's job. At that time, the issue was to solve the problem of drinking water while now we are concerned about solving the combination of very diverse and different flows. This renders the assignment more complex but certainly no less landscape architectonic. As part of this research, many functions, flows, areas and actors in the urban landscape system of Rotterdam have been studied. This research focuses on the development, design and testing of new approaches to strengthen existing urban qualities and to tackle problems in such a way that positive effects for other functions (synergies) arise at the same time in order to improve the quality of life in cities. The themes researched are: Water and climate change: stormwater challenges and water in the city (such as flooding) and how these might provide opportunities for a better environment Energy transition: exchange of residual flows of heat in order to achieve a more sustainable energy supply. Urban agriculture and nutrients: urban waste flows of phosphorus and urban agriculture as related to liveability. All these themes could also be investigated per sector and that is often what is done, however this research looks at their inter-connectedness and the possibility to promote synergies. For this, it is important to know what kind of synergies can be achieved and for whom. As a result, planning for synergies in a structured way is possible. Landscape architectural, urban ecological and governance theories are used to extract building blocks and to set up a so-called Synergetic Urban Landscape Planning (SULP) approach. This is an integrated approach that allows us to explore, imagine and plan synergies so as to accelerate the transition to a liveable, low carbon city. During the research process, SULP has continuously been reinforced by incorporating the results of the separate studies on water, climate, energy, urban agriculture and nutrients. Synergetic urban landscape planning forms the bridge between CO2 and livability goals on the one hand, and principles for sustainable urban development on the other. This research and this approach were fed with, and strengthened by, the results of separate studies on water, climate, energy, urban agriculture and nutrients. To test this approach, SULP building blocks were used in the inner city of Rotterdam. Possible densification and greening strategies were built together with stakeholders. This has resulted in a plan for the various components such as water and energy, which greatly improved multiple liveability aspects of the inner city and reduced CO2 emissions per capita. These results were also used to further develop the SULP approach such as the development of the ‘Smart City Planner’, based on the principles and indicators of sustainable cities, an assessment tool linked to Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This tool can be used to assess the sustainability performance of neighbourhoods as well as to plan for synergies. This research contributes to sustainable urban development and emphasizes the role of landscape architecture in this regard as it provides synergies within urban metabolism (flows in the city). It also leads to closer cooperation with other disciplines. New approaches have been developed through SULP some of which have already been successfully applied, for example, the ‘Rotterdam Energy Approach and Planning’ (REAP) as well as the ‘Smart City Planner’. Approaches that accelerate the transition to a liveable, low carbon city!

Design with forms as well as patterns

Abstract: The research investigates How can the morphological approach in combination with the pattern language approach assist urban designers to achieve historical continuity in urban design both on theory and application levels. This research overviews the developments and applications of the two approaches worldwide with a special emphasis on the Dutch school. The Dutch morphological reduction technique and the Dutch interpretation of a pattern language are used in the case study—Wuhan, a Chinese city—to study the transformation of urban form and life style. The multi-scalar historical morphological analysis results in an atlas that consists of four series of analytical maps on three levels of scale as well as 13 spatial structuring elements of the city; whereas the public life study results in a pattern book consisting of 20 individual patterns and three pattern languages. The practical implications and relevance for -- the design of -- the future of the city are discussed. The research is set up in a systematic and symmetrical manner for comparison of and reflection on the two approaches. It concludes that: 1 The morphological approach can be used to interpret first space (perceived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space), whereas the pattern language approach can be used to interpret third space (lived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space). 2 The morphological approach has a tendency to work from large scale to small scale and the pattern language approach tends to be built up from small scale to large scale, whereas urban design works with multiple scales at the same time. 3 The morphological approach and the pattern language approach provide means for urban designers to systematically recognize historical layers so as to distill the meaning in the physical and non-physical contexts respectively. Consirately adding another layer that contains the contemporary meaning (design intervention) to these recognized layers is the way to pass down and simultaneously generate incremental change in the tradition of the context. This results in historical continuity and thus in permanence in urban design. 4 The morphological approach, the pattern language approach, and urban design are processes in themselves and can be combined into one integrated process. 5 The morphological approach, the pattern language approach and urban design are characterized by reduction, abstraction, interpretation, and communication. 6 Some properties of the two approaches can be seen as counterparts, because the roles these properties play in the design process tend to be similar: –– Individual homogeneous areas vs Individual patterns; –– Structural homogeneous areas vs Anchoring points/ Structuring patterns; –– Secondary connections in homogeneous areas vs Linkages between patterns; –– ? / Typology of homogeneous areas vs Clusters of patterns.

Cities for or against citizens

Abstract: A+BE | Architecture and the Built Environment, No 6 (2018): Cities for or against citizens?

Energietransitie: omarm de complexiteit

Abstract: Sinds de energiecrisis van begin jaren zeventig zijn we al bezig onze woningen energiezuinig te maken. Toch lijken de doelstellingen van een energieneutrale woningvoorraad nog niet binnen handbereik. Er is een transitie nodig. Dit boek presenteert de resultaten van het onderzoek naar de condities voor ontwikkeling en grootschalige toepassing van energieneutrale renovatieconcepten, waarmee bijgedragen kan worden aan de transitie naar een energieneutrale naoorlogse sociale woningvoorraad. Voor het onderzoek zijn twee projecten van het innovatie- en transitieprogramma Energiesprong bestudeerd; Slim & Snel en De Stroomversnelling. Beide projecten hadden tot doel de ontwikkeling en grootschalige toepassing van energiezuinige renovatieconcepten voor de naoorlogse seriematig gebouwde sociale woningvoorraad te stimuleren. Daarbij zetten ze in op product- en procesinnovatie om, gecombineerd met industrialisatie, renovatieconcepten opschaalbaar en betaalbaar te maken. Het resultaat van dit onderzoek is een lijst met acht benodigde condities, die met elkaar samenhangen en niet zonder elkaar kunnen. Hierbij gaat het om de aanwezigheid van experimenteerruimte, de veranderde rol voor corporaties en bouwpartijen, ontwikkeling van integrale renovatieproducten, het werken vanuit de behoefte van de bewoner, een rendabele businesscase, het veranderen van regelgeven en het geven van transitiesturing.

Young People's Housing Opportunity in Post-reform China

Abstract: The inquiry that has culminated in this thesis was inspired by the challenges that many young Chinese people were facing when trying to gain access to affordable housing at the time of study, the early 2010s By then, more than thirty years of housing reforms had completely changed how housing was being provided in China The resulting structure had led young people to access housing in ways that were very different from those of their parents’ generation (Deng, Hoekstra & Elsinga, 2017) These observations prompted the following research question: What are the key factors defining young people’s opportunity to access housing, and how do these factors relate to China’s institutional changes during and after the market reform? The ensuing research has demonstrated that parental resources and intergenerational reciprocity are indispensable to the housing opportunity of young people, as home ownership has come to mediate the exchange of resources between

Acoustically effective façades

Abstract: Today’s city centres in European metropolitan areas are comprised of facades made of steel, glass and stone. These hard reflective facades are amplifying the perception of noise sources by human ears in their vicinity. Up to now in building designs this effect is neglected. Thus the number of people harmed by noise is increasing with the increasing noise levels on the streets caused by more and more hard reflective facades. To obtain control on urban acoustic spaces the focus of architects and engineers must be shifted to acoustics parameters. Several case studies in course of this research give evidence for the possibility of controlling the impact of noise sources on an urban space with modified facades. The experience and results of the case studies were merged to deliver a plot of a process chart for implementing the acoustical point of view in a building design process. Laboratory methods e.g. scale model measurements and impedance measurements were modified in order to be feasible in a building or facade design process. As with modified reflection properties of facade surfaces a sound reduction of up to 8 dB for specific frequency bands is feasible the building of quieter cities is in the responsibility of architects and engineers.

Smart Energy Dissipation : Damped Outriggers for Tall Buildings under Strong Earthquakes

Abstract: The use of outriggers in tall buildings is a common practice to reduce response under dynamic loading. Viscous dampers have been implemented between the outrigger and the perimeter columns, to reduce vibrations without increasing the stiffness of the structure. This damped outrigger concept has been implemented for reducing vibrations produced by strong winds. However, its behaviour under strong earthquakes has been not yet properly investigated. Strong earthquakes introduce larger amount of energy into the building’s structure, compared to moderate earthquakes or strong winds. In tall buildings, such seismic energy is dissipated by several mechanisms including bending deformation of the core, friction between structural and nonstructural components, and eventually, damage. This research focuses on the capability of tall buildings equipped with damped outriggers to undergo large deformations without damage. In other words, when the ground motion increases due to strong earthquakes, the dampers can be assumed to be the main source of energy dissipation whilst the host structure displays an elastic behaviour. These investigations are based on the assessment of both the energy demands due to large-earthquake induced motion and the energy capacity of the system, i.e. the energy capacity of the main components, namely core, outriggers, perimeter columns and dampers. The objective of this research is to determine if the energy dissipated by hysteresis can be fully replaced by energy dissipated through the action of passive dampers. This research is based on finite element (FE) models developed in Diana-FEA software. These analytical models consider the use of nonlinear settings throughout almost the whole FE model. The numerical investigations on passive damped outriggers are based on master Matlab scripts, which run combined parametric analysis within Diana.

Managing Social Condominiums: Strategies for third sector intermediaries to support low‑income homeowners in Chile

Abstract: In Chile, social condominiums are a significant part of the affordable owner-occupied housing stock. However, after decades of occupancy, this housing stock shows rapid signs of deterioration and devaluation due to neglected maintenance. This situation has evidenced a twofold challenge for low-income homeownership in Chile. On the one hand, it includes the financial and social restrictions faced by co-owners that diminish their collective capacity to take care of building maintenance. On the other hand, it includes institutional limitations with regard to housing management in terms of regulations, institutions and actors. This research explores the intermediary role of the third sector in providing support, skills and building capacity among communities to improve the maintenance and administration of their properties. Based on international and local case study analyses, the research proposes a set of management approaches and strategies for Chilean third sector intermediaries to support low-income homeowners in condominium management. Findings show the relevance of multidimensional approaches and strategies, so as to tackle the interrelated challenges by contributing to enhance the community’s capacities and level the built environment conditions. Findings also show the need of partnerships between third sector organisations and municipalities to face complex areas, and the relevance of fostering collaboration and specialisation among third sector organisations.

Menging maakt verschil: Hoe bewoners buurt- en wijkverandering ervaren en waarderen ondanks en dankzij herstructurering

Abstract: Social mix, a mixed population according to income and ethnicity, has been an important paradigm in urban development and housing and became the corner stone of renewal in post-war areas in the Netherlands in recent decades. In public as in academic debate, however, this concept has also been heavily criticized. The assumed positive effects of mixing for social cohesion and mobility would be limited or even negative. In this doctoral dissertation the central research question is: How do residents with different ways of life perceive and assess their changed and changing neighbourhood? The study in the post-war residential district Zuidwijk in Rotterdam focusses on the change as the result of autonomous moving processes in the existing social rental sector (the influx) as well as the result of demolition and new housing construction, often for owner-occupancy (the intervention). In general the residents of Zuidwijk are positive about their dwelling and immediate vicinity. They have experienced their move to Zuidwijk as a step up in their housing career. All residents value the green character and quiet setting of Zuidwijk, but are critical about the (shooting) incidents that happened in the past. The perception of residents from all clusters, be they Dutch natives or not, is that the influx in the existing social rental dwellings mainly, some even say totally, consists of households with a migrant background. The influx of mainly allochthonous households is seen as a problem by all residents. Dutch-native residents emphasize the negative effects on liveability and neighbourhood reputation and regret the loss of decorum and respectability. The allochthonous households emphasize the negative effects on integration and want to live in a mixed neighbourhood with Dutch native residents. In general the residents are positive about the impact of the social mix strategy: demolition and new housing development. Exceptions are found with the households of older allochthonous residents and allochthonous single-parent families. People in both groups have a low income and state that the new-built dwellings are not meant for them. Ethnic diversity is not seen as a problem in the population composition of the new-built houses for owner-occupiers. These residents have to work to be able to buy a dwelling and by doing so they ‘prove’ to be decent and respectable. Mixing makes a difference: it is important that the influx in the social rental dwellings not only exists of households with a migration background and a low income. Throughout the history of restructuring in Zuidwijk, the dominant narrative has been that the newcomers (meaning households with a migration background) did not have ties with the neighbourhood and only came there to obtain a cheap rental dwelling. This study disproves this narrative: a large number of them have come to live in Zuidwijk as youngsters and have grown up there. They identify themselves very strongly with Zuidwijk and, after a number of removals with their families, have rented or purchased a dwelling on their own. Ethnic diversity will become more normal while more and more allochthonous residents will grow up in the neighbourhood. The growing presence of allochthonous middle-class households in the new built houses may reinforce that. On the other hand the tensions and problems in the neighbourhood are heightened by the polarized national political debate about integration. The municipality and housing association do have an important role in acting adequately to signals and complaints of residents and supporting mutual contact of residents, but the austerity of the housing association and municipality in recent years has decreased the possibilities in this regard.

Synergetic Urban Landscape Planning in Rotterdam: Liveable Low-Carbon Cities

Abstract: In this PhD research, the major environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change, sustainable energy transition and scarcity of resources, are approached from a spatial, landscape-architectural perspective. The goal is to accelerate the transition to liveable, low carbon cities. The focus of the research is at the local scale and attempts to turn challenges into opportunities for a better quality of life and living environment. Since 1857, when Frederick Law Olmsted combined the construction of two large drinking water reservoirs for the city of New York with the design of a beautiful park, these types of assignments are part of a landscape architect's job. At that time, the issue was to solve the problem of drinking water while now we are concerned about solving the combination of very diverse and different flows. This renders the assignment more complex but certainly no less landscape architectonic. As part of this research, many functions, flows, areas and actors in the urban landscape system of Rotterdam have been studied. This research focuses on the development, design and testing of new approaches to strengthen existing urban qualities and to tackle problems in such a way that positive effects for other functions (synergies) arise at the same time in order to improve the quality of life in cities.

Towards a Method of Participatory Planning in an Emerging Metropolitan Delta in the Context of Climate Change: The Case of Lower Paraná Delta, Argentina

Abstract: The Parana River is the third largest river in the American continent, after the Mississippi and the Amazon. Instead of flowing directly to the sea, it flows to the Rio de la Plata (located between Argentina and Uruguay) through a complex delta system. This delta is a large and heterogeneous territory that spreads over three provinces of Argentina and that is characterized by different dichotomies along its extension. On the one hand, the islands of the delta are young alluvial lands in constant transformation due to the processes of sedimentation, and are subjected to pulses of floods influenced by the Parana River streamflow, droughts, precipitations and strong southeastern winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Although these alluvial territories seem to be pristine, they have been moderately altered as a result of the development of economic activities. On the other hand, along the edges of the delta, we find the older territories of the mainland, created in the Pleistocene and less dynamic. Here is a network of cities of dissimilar sizes, that establishes the wealthiest corridor of the country. Conurbations such as Rosario (located in the province of San ta Fe) and the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (located in the homonym province), exert different pressures over the territory, generating an increasing impact on the delta system. In other words, this delta shows a contrast between the wild and dynamic condition of the islands and the more stable but strongly urbanized edges. Nevertheless, this dichotomy is not the only one that can be found in the delta. On the contrary, there are other oppositions regarding economic, policy and social realms, expressed through a polarized, unsustainable and unplanned land use, which turns the area into a vulnerable place, given the uncertain context of climate change...

Affordable Condominium Housing: A comparative analysis of low-income homeownership in Colombia and Ecuador

Abstract: As cities grow and more dense communities are built, the meaning of homeownership changes. In a highly urbanized future, it will be critical to know how to make high density housing in condominium ownership sustainable and resilient. A sector of social housing policies in Latin America subsidizes the provision of affordable housing for low and middle income homeownership. A network of professionals, both from private and public sector are involved in this process. In the context of Bogota, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador, dwellings for homeownership are built in multifamily and collective arrangements of land and architecture. The property system involved in these urban housing solutions is the condominium regime. The problem is that affordable condominiums, particularly those subsidized by national housing policy deteriorate over time. The common property elements of housing complexes or buildings are suffering from serious lack of maintenance. Why are low-income homeowners not taking care of their properties? How can we better understand the problem of lack of maintenance of the affordable condominiums? Tenure forms are one of the most important institutions in housing policy and research. This comparative housing research looks at condominiums as a private common property resource and applies Ostrom´s institutional framework (Ostrom, 1990, 2005) to understand both formal and informal institutions involved in management and governance of the affordable condominiums. In condominium housing, owning a home of one’s own implies a more complex configuration of rights and obligations than just the possession of a single unit. The institutions of condominium housing studied in this thesis make a significant contribution to theory and housing policy and positions Latin American social housing policy in a global perspective.

Diffusion and Risks of House Prices in the Netherlands

Abstract: The rate of home-ownership has increased significantly in many countries over the past decades One motivating factor for this increase has been the creation of wealth through the accumulation of housing equity, which also forms the basic tenet of the asset-based welfare system In generating the home equity, house price developments play an important role Generally, house prices show an increasing trend over long time period, however, there are short-term negative appreciations that may have inherent risks for the housing equity Following the 2007-08 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), for example, the collapse of house prices has caused many recent home buyers to run into negative equity Some housing researchers and experts have suggested that a better understanding of the spatial diffusion mechanisms of house prices will aid resuscitating the housing market after the GFC Others also advocated adopting insurance schemes to protect the home equity that yields the welfare benefits Unfortunately, however, little research insight exists on the Dutch house price diffusion process, although there are empirical results for countries such as the UK, US and China, where the contexts differ from the Netherlands Furthermore, the current existing home-value insurance scheme in the literature is found to be less efficient and eliminates only up to 50% of the house price risks This dissertation covers important aspects of house price diffusion and risks in the Netherlands The aim is to better understand the diffusion mechanism and the risks of house prices, while it also contributes to the measurement of these housing risks More specifically, there are three objectives: first, to discover the diffusion mechanism of house prices in the Netherlands and the pattern particularly from the capital Amsterdam; second, to examine the spatial distribution of the house price risk; and third, to investigate the efficiency of the index-based home-value insurance for reducing the house price risk in the Dutch context The diffusion mechanism relates to the so-called ripple or spillover effect, for which movements of house prices in one location temporarily or permanently spread over their influence to other regions The risks analyses capture the probability of selling the residential property below the purchase price The index-based home-value insurance scheme is concerned with the reduction of the house price risk, while its efficiency and loss coverage are analysed The contributions of the dissertation are specifically elaborated in five chapters The chapters are self-contained, four of them having been published separately in international journals and the other being currently under review Chapter 2 is a literature study that presents the general trend and an overview of the risks in home-ownership It particularly discusses the government mortgage guarantee and tax deduction, among other factors, which contribute to home-ownership in the Netherlands Mortgage default risk and house price risk, which are the two important risks from the perspective of the home-owners are also discussed in the context of the Dutch market Chapter 3 investigates the house price diffusion mechanism between the twelve provinces in the Netherlands The methodology adopts a new Bayesian graphical approach which enables a data-driven identification of the important regions where the diffusion may predominantly emerge Using quarterly house price indexes, the findings suggest that house price diffusion exists in the Netherlands with a pattern varying over the period of time Focusing specifically on the period prior to the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the house price diffusion predominantly originated from Noord-Holland House prices in Amsterdam – the capital and an important economic hub of the Netherlands, are more likely to diffuse to other parts of the country Thus in Chapter 4, attention is paid to the house price diffusion pattern from the capital Amsterdam to the other Dutch regional housing markets The Granger causality and cointegration techniques are used, while controlling for the important house price fundamentals The results suggest a possible house price diffusion existing from Amsterdam to all regions in the Netherlands except for Zeeland The strongest long-run impact of Amsterdam house price diffusion potentially occur in Utrecht As one of the largest and most dynamic in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam housing market is itself an interesting case study One part of Chapter 5, therefore, deals with the diffusion pattern by studying the spatial interrelationships between house prices in Amsterdam The other part of the chapter studies the house price risks Using the Granger causality test, a general causal flow of house prices is observed from the central business districts to the peripherals Simple statistics similarly reveal that house prices grow faster and are more risky in the central business districts than those on the peripherals of the city Chapter 6 is concerned with the efficiency and loss coverage of the index-based home-value insurance scheme It proposes a modification of the index-based home-value insurances policy, which seeks to reduce the large idiosyncratic residual house price risks The modification uses aggregate measures of the reference index Using the hedonic and repeated sales indexes, the empirical analysis suggests the proposed modified scheme is highly efficient and may eliminate up to 70% of the residual risks In general, the dissertation adopts innovative empirical methodological approach that combines standard statistical analyses and more recent and complex econometric modelling techniques in the study of the diffusion and risks of house prices in the Netherlands The application of the graphical approach to the study of diffusions particularly in Chapter 3, is the first of its kind in the context of the housing market Furthermore, this dissertation is among the first to entirely provide a comprehensive analysis and the much needed body of knowledge regarding the house price diffusion and risks for the highly regulated Dutch housing market The results have important policy implications and applications for households, commercial investors and financial institutions in the Netherlands The results may also generally apply and replicable in other countries and economies with similar housing market conditions