course material for schools of architecure

COURSE MATERIAL for

SCHOOLS OF ARCHITECURE

CONTENT• Part 1 : Experiences from four Eco-Buildings EU projects

Slide 02-05 1 A - BACKGROUND

Slide 06-35 1 B - The SARA Project

Slide 36-57 1 C - The DEMOHOUSE Project

Slide 58-85 1 D - The BRITA Project

Slide 86-88 1 E - The ECO-CULTURE Project

Slide 89-100 1 F - Codes, Goals and design Strategies

Slide 101-106 1 G - The uncritical use of Glass in Architecture

Slide 107-112 1 H – Daylight in Buildings

Slide 113-124 1 I – Ventilation in Buildings and Energy Efficient Lighting

• Part 2 : Learning to solve similar cases

Slide 125 -157 Learning to solve similar cases

• Further information on each project

Slide 158

Compiled by Harald N. Røstvik

• EU’s Sixth Framework Programme announced calls for proposals within the field of Sustainable energy systems / Ecobuildings.

• Four projects were awarded finance: Brita in PuBs, Sara, Eco-Culture and Demohouse.

• Each of the them include a great number demo-buildings. • Each project also generate a valuable base of experience and tools

that are developed in the projects.

• With support from the EU these experiences are compiled and presented in the format of a Power point presentation that will be used at selected schools of architecture in Europe.

• This work was organised as WP 10 in the BRITA project :

Project leader : Harald N. Røstvik - Norway. Partners : Hans Erhorn - Germany, Euphrosyne Triantis - Greece, Simone Ferrari - Italy , Karin Buvik - Norway.

• In this way the results of the four projects is communicated to future architects at NTUA in Athens by Trianti, Politecnico di Milano by Ferrari, BAS in Bergen by Røstvik, Fiuni in Stavanger by Røstvik and NTNU in Trondheim by Buvik.

1 A : BACKGROUND ECOBUILDINGS Compiled by Harald N. Røstvik

All built forms - no matter how ”natural” they sit in the landscape – have an impact on nature.

How do we minimise the impact ?

Frank Lloyd Wright ”Falling Water” Bear Run USA fits naturally into the setting - it seems.

But : Peter Blume’s ”The Rock” - a gift to ”Falling Water” - tells us otherwise.

While ”Falling Water” may symbolize man and nature in harmony, ”The Rock” possibly suggest man’s

destruction of the elements for his own gain,since this is the painting of the site being

demolished to make place for “Falling Water”.

Step by Step Planning principle : ”The Pyramid”

Finally (at the top) : • Selection of major energy

source.

First (at the base) :• Visualising and controlling

the energy need

• Utilising solar heat

• Rationalising need for electricity

• Reducing heat losses

and the need for cooling

Design strategy

Reduce heat loss and need for cooling

Select energy -source

Display & control energy use

Utilise solar energy

Reduce electricity consumption

1 B : THE SARA PROJECTCompiled by Karin Buvik

• Key aspects

− Innovative yet cost effective and replicable results

− Consideration of end users

− Interdisciplinary team working on various RTD activities

• 6 demo-buildings. Goals:

− Energy savings of 30 % compared to current national standards

− Construction costs no more than 5 % higher compared to conventional public buildings in each country

Sustainable Architecture Applied to Replicable Public Access Buildings

THE SARA PROJECT

SARA involves 6 demonstration buildings:

• Training Centre in Bukhara, UZBEKISTAN

• Supermarket in Ljubljana, SLOVENIA

• Primary School in La Tour de Salvagny, FRANCE

• Primary Health Care Centre in Barcelona, SPAIN

• Office Building and Exhibition Halls in Sinabelkirchen, AUSTRIA

• Municipal Buildings in Napoli, ITALY

• Educational Office Building in Southhampton, UK

LOCATION OF DEMO BUILDINGS

Sustainable Architecture Applied to Replicable Public Access Buildings

Retrofitted buildings:

• Primary School in La Tour de Salvagny, France

• Municipal buildings in Napoli, Italy

• Training Centre in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

• Educational Office building in Southampton, United Kingdom

New construction adjoined to an existing

NEW AND RETROFITTED

DEMO BUILDINGS

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BUILDING CATEGORIES

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Nr Country Participant name

1 Spain Universitat de Barcelona

2 Spain Institut Català d’Energia, Generalitat de Catalunya

3 Spain Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya

4 Spain Departament de Sanitat i Seguretat Social, Generalitat de Catalunya

5 Austria Fertighaus Zentrum “Unser Paradies”

6 Austria Arsenal Research (Österreichisches Forschungs- und Prüfzentrum Arsenal)

7 UK University of Southampton

8 UK Oxford Brookes University

9 Slovenia Poslovni sistem Mercator

10 Slovenia University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and geodetic Engineering

12 France Mairie de la Tour de Salvagny

13 France HESPUL

15 France Association Tessellatus

14 Italy Comune di Napoli

16 Germany Zentrum für angewandte Forschung nachhaltige Energietechnik (zahf.net)

THE SARA CONSORTIUM: 7 COUNTRIES – 16 PARTNERS

ENERGY MEASURES

All demonstration sites work with high thermal insulation, optimisation of glazing surfaces, use of daylight systems and antiglare shields. These measures are easier to archive in new buildings than in the two refurbished buildings.

ENERGY MEASURES

ENERGY MEASURES

Natural ventilation by an atrium will be realised in three buildings (DSSS, TULIP, SOTON).

DEMO BUILDING

Primary School in La Tour de Salvagny, France

• Phase 1 - the construction of 5 new classrooms, a computer room and a new library, as well as the construction of the buried earth pipes, the ventilation treatment and control system and the rain water collection tanks.

• Phase 2 - complete refurbishment of existing building, from insulation to window openings and glazing to floor coverings and the ventilation system.

Facade towards the North

Overall view

The buildings energy consumption has been minimized through good insulation, a high performance condensing gas boiler, innovative automatic lighting and variable speed ventilation. The insulation efficiency will be 26 % better than the legal requirement.

The works were undertaken in two phases:

DEMO BUILDING


Buried heat pipes A system of buried earth pipes modifies ventilation intake air temperature, pre-warming in certain months of winter and cooling in summer.

The system consists of parallel 25 m long 200 mm polyethylene pipes buried in a sand bed with a combined capacity up to 80 m3/h and an air speed of 3 m/s. A system of filters in the ventilation control system ensures good air quality, and a grade of 1 % allows evacuation of condensate. The Building Monitoring System determines if the ventilation air should be taken from the buried earth pipes or the normal inlet, according to the temperature of the two sources.

To evacuate the excess of heat loads accumulated during the day, free cooling (through ventilation) can be used to reduce room temperatures. In the summer of 2005, the buried earth pipes maintained in-building temperatures identical or lower than outside, effectively removing all the heat generated by the building occupants.

First hand experiences

Teachers working in both the new and the renovated part agree that the new spaces, the light, and the acoustics in the classrooms and corridors are significantly improved. Thus creating a more comfortable and pleasant place to work. Access between the classes and rooms has also been improved. The extra comfort has a calming effect on the pace of life in the school and has facilitated learning.

The ventilation is practical in summer and winter but not really adapted for the mid-season that is generally cold and humid. In the new classrooms, ventilation is constant and enters at floor level, and leaves the children (and teachers) with a constant sensation of cold feet.

DEMO BUILDING


DEMO BUILDING

Supermarket in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Context Mercator is the leading retailer company in the south east Europe. It owns more than 1000 shops and hypermarkets of different sizes. It is obvious that the energy costs are becoming more and more significant and they have a direct influence on profit and loss of the company. For this reason Mercator has started to adopt a systematic approach to energy reduction in their shops.

The energy strategy in the Mercator centre in Ljubljana revolves around low energy cooling and displacement ventilation.

ENERGY MEASURES

The installation of Photovoltaics and solar thermal collectors are foreseen in every demonstration site and range from on the roof, roof-integrated to façade-integrated.

ENERGY MEASURES

Example/4: COPENHAGEN [Danmark]Results

The energy savings potential seems to be huge and it has been calculated that better strategies will also provide shorter payback time.

DEMO BUILDING

Student Service (administrative) building. 2600 m2 of new construction adjoined to an existing 2000 m2 building

The picture shows an internal view of the central hall created by joining the new and old buildings

Building Integrated Photovoltaic System The PV system is expected to generate up to a third of the power consumed in the new office floor area, and provides solar shading.

• 177 m2 area. 67 modules PV

• 14 kWp installed power

• 11,314 kWh/year energy production

University Administration Building Southampton, U.K. Nicholas Hare Architects

DEMO BUILDING

University Administration Building Southampton, U.K. Nicholas Hare Architects

First hand experience on PV

«The photovoltaics were a headache, mostly because of the sub-contract supply chain, but didn’t quite delay us; the timber engineering was really impressive; and the key to success was the detailed attention to everything that was given by the architect, who listened to the contractor’s problems, and set about solving them.»

ENERGY MEASURES

MATERIALS

Some of the demo buildings use ecological building construction materials like wood, fired-clay tiles or ecological insulation materials like hemp, cork and reed.

DEMO BUILDING

Municipal buildings in Naples, Italy

ContextThe historical building called Real Albergo dei Poveri will be transformed to become Città dei Giovani (university, research, exposition, cinema, music, theatre, info points for employment, meeting and exchange point, incubator for enterprises, offices, classrooms, auditorium, library, cafeteria, restaurants, etc.)

Principal façade

Refurbishment solutions

• Materials: The building is refurbished using traditional, locally sourced materials.

• Lighting: The 3 upper floors is designed to benefit from the maximum of natural lighting in order to reduce the energy demand for lighting, associated with a good control of avoid overheating in summer.

DEMO BUILDING

Municipal buildings in Naples, Italy

Refurbishment solutions (continued)

• Thermal mass considerations: The building is a massive structure and its walls have very good thermal insulating properties. The aim is to use the thermal mass capability within the energy strategy.

• Natural ventilation: Air conditioning system is not compatible with the monumental building. Ventilation is granted thanks to air exchanges through manual devices.

• Heating and cooling system: Use of high performance gas boiler with low temperature floor heating.

• Renewable Energy Systems: 72 kWp of roof integrated photovoltaic are planned for the first building phase, which has been approved by the relevant ministries.

• Water recovery: Large storage reservoir will be created under the ground to store rainwater from the roof. The collected water will be used for toilet flushing.

• Monitoring: The performance of the photovoltaic system will be monitored. The 3 upper floors will be equipped with irradiation sensors to measure the degree of natural light and with temperature sensor to measure and control the temperature.

DEMO BUILDING

Training Centre in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

ContextThe old school (Medrese Rachid) from the 1700 century, now abandoned, will be transformed to a Training Centre. The building consists of small cells (10 m2) organised around a central courtyard (180 m2). On the South, near the canal, the building has two levels of cells.

Objective of the refurbishment: associate traditional construction methods with energy efficient and bio-climatic design (natural ventilation, plantation of vegetation, ...) to reduce overheating in summer in order to avoid the use of air conditioner, which are more and more used in this region. The walls are in bricks outside and covered by plaster inside. The thickness of the wall (included the plaster) is 60 cm. This kind of construction is adapted to the climate. The space is covered with a brick dome, which will be restored with traditional materials.

Old building with a new extension

The new structure necessary for the new use of the Medrese (‘centre de resources sur le patrimoine’), is made essentially of wood. A source of wood is to be found near to Bukhara; the forest in the south of the country. For the new structure a metal roof will be used.

Photovoltaic: 4.8 kWp roof integrated PV system with additional shading function.

Solar Thermal: 43 m2 solar thermal collectors.

DEMO BUILDING

Training Centre in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

DEMO BUILDING

Primary Health Care Centre in Barcelona, Spain

Context New construction seven floor building with 3,000 m2 gross floor area between adjoining buildings on two facades

Design criteria

• Use of low environmental impact materials with minimum embodied energy for their production, reuse, recycling or disposal.

• Reduction of the building’s energy demand by means of architectural design and special attention to the building envelope, especially shading devices.

• Use of energy efficient systems for HVAC and lighting. Use of a radiant ceiling based heating and cooling system to achieve high coefficients of performance and comfort conditions.

• Inclusion of an innovative energy efficient desiccant dehumidifier liquid with lithium chloride solution in the ventilation system in order to control humidity and prevent condensation on the cooled ceilings.

Design criteria (continued)

• Use of natural resources, including rainwater harvesting and grey water reuse, and use of renewable energy systems: building integrated solar photovoltaics and a solar thermal installation.

• Introduction of a Building Management System to optimize energy and operational performance of the building and to provide data for optimization of control mechanisms, performance monitoring and dissemination purposes.

DEMO BUILDING

Primary Health Care Centre in Barcelona, Spain

First hand experiencesThe search for solutions that offer added value in terms of improved sustainability, was adopted by all the actors involved in the process and contributed to developing a positive team approach. The willingness of all parties to work hard to overcome difficulties and find solutions to the problems encountered proved essential and enabled the initial design to evolve and improve. The end results are a building that serves as a reference point in our construction programme and valuable experience in pushing for performance beyond standard levels.

INFORMATION ABOUT SARA

www.sara-project.net

1 C : THE DEMOHOUSE PROJECTCompiled by Simone Ferrari and Valentina Zanotto

DEsign and Management Options for

improving the energy performance of Housing

introducing:

• Strong need to develop minimum standards for sustainable rehabilitation which does focus not only on technical issues and initial costs, but also on refurbishment strategies and social aspects.

• Renewal of the existing housing stock in Europe has an enormous potential for energy savings and the introduction of renewable energy.

• The demand for sustainable renovation is currently increasing and this development is expected to continue for the coming years.

Sustainable renovation is part of the sustainable development as a European strategy to promote the competitiveness and growth.

The DEMOHOUSE Project

1. Develop minimum standards for sustainable renovation;

2. Develop a decision-making tool to improve sustainable renovation;

3. Create long-time management structures to implement a life time orientation on sustainable renovation;

4. Create long-time communication structures to guarantee ongoing dissemination and training concerning sustainable renovation;

5. Develop, implement and demonstrate technological solutions to reduce energy consumption by minimal 30% compared to the present renovation standards;

6. Develop a multidisciplinary approach of sustainable renovation to improve life quality.

MAJOR AIMS

ADDITIONAL ISSUES

Some non energy related topics have to be carefully addessed:

Financial Factors - In order to remove the financial barriers to large-scale implementation of (new) renovation technologies, new financing models will be developed and demonstrated.

Organizazional Factors - Demohouse aims at finding solutions for organisation and communication barriers by looking at new management systems to ensure effective large-scale rehabilitation of existing building stock.

Social Factors - Technological solutions should contribute not only to energy savings but also to the improvement of life quality including a healthy indoor climate. Technological solutions should be developed with the customer in mind.

1. Inventory and analysis of barriers: identification of technical and organizational barriers concerning sustainable renovation.

2. Inventory of Best Practice: identification of possible technical and organizational suitable solutions for sustainable renovation.

3. Selection of appropriate solutions: selection of existing and generated technical and organizational solutions.

4. Implementation of solutions: application of appropriate solutions in the Pilot projects.

CONTENTS

Innovation in Demohouse can be described in three ways:

1. In most cases the currently available renewable energy technologies can be used just in newly built houses. In the case of existing housing stock there are additional (physical) boundaries for the application of these technologies. This means that these technologies have to be adapted before they are applied to the renovations sector;

2. In addition to energy savings, health and social factors will be taken into consideration;

3. Also the technical, organizational and financial barriers to the implementation of new technologies will be studied.

INNOVATION

APPROACH

The goal of improving energy savings by at least 30% has been measured by defining a Pilot project and a Reference project in each of the participating countries.

The Pilot project is the actual demonstration project, where the recommendations of the investigations are implemented.

The Reference project is a housing complex renovated according to existing local and national standards.

The Examples

COPENHAGENDenmark

BILBAOSpain

GRAZAustria

BUDAPESTHungary

ATTICAGreece

To better explain how the Ecobuilding guidelines can be applied in practice, five exemplary interventions have been carried out across Europe. Let’s see the details.

Example/1: BILBAO [Spain]Project

Renovation; 1910 building, no previous meaningful intervention; Residential building; 870 m2 730 m2; Public intervention, in a framework of local redevelopment project.

Traditional Practice (Reference): Very poor thermal insulation; No awareness about energy savings issue within building renovation.

Current Situation: Uninsulated walls; Single pane windows; Uncontrolled air leakages.

Example/2: BUDAPEST [Hungary]Project

Renovation of 3 buildings; 1955-1960 buildings; Military buildings social housing; 2,100 m2 , 3 storeys; Financed by a Private-Public Partnership scheme, due to the cut of the central subsidy.

Current Situation: Uninsulated masonry walls; Single pane windows; Very bad condition.

Example/2: BUDAPEST [Hungary]Pilot Strategies

Building construction:Plan of a new inhabited roof with a U-value of 0.2 W/m2K;Plan of a flat area of the roof to host solar systems;Insulation of walls with lower heat conductance polystyrene in three different thicknesses (6, 12 and 20 cm);Low-e windows (1.2 W/m2K) with external shading.

Technical Systems: Mechanical ventilation, to make up for the improvement of construction air-tightness; With partial heat recovery connected to the mechanical ventilation, to be previously tested in 3 flats; Combination of biomass wood chip burners (for one building) or regular gas burner with solar collectors (1m2 surface/dwelling, extensible to 2.5m2) for heating and domestic hot water production; Photovoltaic system for electricity, initially sold to the grid (because of economic advantages); Rain water and waste management system.

Example/3: ATTICA [Greece]Results

The proposed techniques deal with the building envelope, the ventilation systems, the use of passive heating and cooling systems and the use of management systems

The main reduction of the energy needs comes from the heating and cooling systems;

The use of ground air exchangers combined with the use of complementary methods of hybrid passive cooling (such as ceiling fans and demand controlled ventilation) could become an example in the southern patterns of Europe where the climatic characteristics impose high cooling loads;

There is the need to grow an environmental awareness among designers and authorities to make energy savings a national issue.

Example/4: COPENHAGEN [Danmark]Project

Renovation; 1965-1969 buildings; Social housing blocks; 43,410 m2 ( 2,880 m2/8,640 m3 per block); Public intervention.

Traditional Practice (Reference): 10cm thermal insulation; Standard specification new windows; New heating distribution system; Simple water saving measures.

Current Situation: Concrete panel assembly construction; The heat is supplied by district heating.

Procedure:In the first phase only 2 blocks have been

taking into account :a. one renovated completely with the

reference method;b. the other has been divided into 3 parts,

each one implemented with different levels of special energy saving measures.

The experience obtained here will be used for the blocks/apartments to follow.

Example/4: COPENHAGEN [Danmark]Pilot Strategies

Level B (in addition to the Reference): Requirement controlled PV assisted air exhaust with effective DC fans from EcoVent; Insulation of the roof; Use of Building Energy Management System (BEMS); Low-energy windows; Wider water saving measures.

Level A (in addition to level B), optimisation towards the decrease of heting needs, with Swedish/EcoVent cooperation: Ventilation with heat recovery with low electricity use from EcoVent; Super low-energy windows with a 0.85 W/m2K U-value; Increased efforts regarding the air tightness in the apartments.Level A+ (in addition to level A) : 64 m2 solar collectors as additional heat source for domestic hot water; 100 m2 PV-modules.

Example/4: COPENHAGEN [Danmark]Results

The energy savings potential seems to be huge and it has been calculated that better strategies will also provide shorter payback time.

Renovation; 1976 buildings; Social housing; 9,857 m2; Public intervention.

Traditional Practice (Reference): 6cm wall thermal insulation; 16cm extruded polystyrene roof thermal insulation; 1.7 W/m2K U-value windows.

Current Situation: Outer walls in wood-fibre coated concrete and isolating plaster (33cm thickness and 1.42 W/m2K U-value); Flat roof with 1.19 W/m2K U-value; Wooden frame windows with compound double glazing (2.3 W/m2K U-value); Space heating and hot water supply provided by the district heating net.

Procedure: The analysis of the energetic performance both of the reference and of the pilot project has been carried out in Energy-10 (dynamic simulation); The simulations and optimisations of the thermal bridges have been carried out with the finite element software THERM.

Example/5: GRAZ [Austria]Project

Example/5: GRAZ [Austria]Pilot Strategies

Building construction: 10cm wall thermal insulation in mineral fibre boards; 25cm roof thermal insulation in recycled cellulose fibre; Low-e glazing windows with 1.3 W/m2K U-value; Reduction of thermal bridges (except for balconies); Use of materials evaluated with a LCA system.

Technical Systems:Nothing has been done because of the low budget.

Example/5: GRAZ [Austria]Results

The budget frame for energy efficient renovation of social housing projects in Austria (in particular Styria) is rather small. Social housing companies are engaged by social housing law to guarantee affordable rentals for the tenants. Therefore the optimisation of technical measures have to go hand in hand with financial issues and the final design has to be based on the comparison of different renovation variants. For innovative technical solutions (e.g. CHP) alternative financial and management models, such as third party financing, have to be developed. To achieve the planned targets, monitoration and quality control (thermography, blower door test) are very important.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Further information can be found on the official Demohouse website:

www.demohouse.net

Example/1: BILBAO [Spain]Pilot Strategies

Building construction: Insulation of external walls with 10cm of mineral wool internally located; Use of low-e 6/12/6 duoble pane windows, which represent the best available technology in Spain; Use of one-piece roller blind boxes connected to window to reduce air tightness; Reduction of air tightness and thermal bridges.

Technical Systems: Floor heating system based on central condensing boiler (can bring to an improvement in thermal comfort); Solar collectors for domestic hot water production; 5.7 kWp photovoltaic system for electricity (sold to the grid); High efficiency lamps, activated (in common areas) by presence sensors; Automated blinds control, aiming a balance between thermal and visual comfort.

Example/1: BILBAO [Spain]Results

Total cost: 460,700 €; Estimated payback time: 25 years; Energy savings potential in Spanish Demohouse building comparing to standard renovation is really huge, since traditional practices are very simple (e.g. poor insulation); There is the need to grow an environmental awareness among both designers and occupants; Unexpected problems in structural reinforcement caused delays in the programme: it seems mandatory to carry out very careful exploratory studies.

1 D : THE BRITA in PuBs PROJECTCompiled by Harald N. Røstvik

• BRITA in PuBs : Bringing Retrofit Innovation To Applicationin Public Buildings

• MAJOR AIM : -Increase market penetration of innovative and effective retrofit solutions.

-Improve energy efficiency and -Implement renewable energy, -With moderate additional costs….. through :

1. Exemplary retrofit demonstration buildings. The Pilots.2. Research work packages. The Tools.3. Dissemination.

THE BRITA PROJECT

www.brita-in-pubs.eu

Tools Developed in BRITA – see www.brita-in-pubs.eu

• Retrofit design Guidelines.

14 guidelines written of 4-8 pages each focusing on technologies like innovative insulation, advanced windows, hybrid ventilation, solar thermal, PV integration and heat pumps among others.

• BIT: Information Tool.An internet based electronic database offering many types of information for decision-makers on public renovation projects.

• BISH: Blackboard Information Sheets.

For different target groups (occupants like pupils and teachers, office workers and caretakers) Simple blackboard information sheets have been developed. The inform on positive and negative influence possibilities to the energy consumption and indoor comfort of buildings.

• Architectural Student CoursesBased on the results of the BRITA and the four

Eco-Building projects course material for schools of architecture have been developed and courses also carried out.

• Quality Control Tool Box

Life-long management using BEMS/REMS – type procedures in electronic/internet based form.

• E-Learning

An intelligent computer learning system is developed. It will assist the user/reader in selecting the most relevant text from the electronic textbook to study for a specific subject.

• Website and Newsletters

9 DEMOBUILDINGS IN 8 COUNTRIES

• 80 % of buildings in Europe, are built before 1980.

• 95 % of energy used in buildings in Europe is used in buildings built before 1980. Most of them will last another 50-100 years.

• This means : Most buildings that will surround us in 2050 are already built.And : Unless we update the energy efficiency standards in the existing building stock,we will probably not be able to reduce the overall energy need and CO2 emissions in the buildings sector at large.

WHY EXISTING BUILDINGS ?

• The building sector including production of building materials, construction, related transport, energy and emissions through its lifetime and end-life demolishing consumes close to 50 % of annual global energy need and emits almost 50% of all CO2 in the world.

• Renovation of existing buildings means taking care of structures of which energy is already spent during constructing. This will often be far less energy consuming than demolishing than to building new buildings.

WHY EXISTING BUILDINGS ?

How can you – as architects – contribute to reduction of energy consumption?

To make better buildings than the minimum (!) requirements

You need to know about:

• Regulatory requirements

• Statistics of energy use

• Ambitious but still realistic goals

• Design strategies

• Concepts and technologies

• Best practice examples

But first of all: • Today’s energy scenario and the building sector’s challenge

Borgen community Centre. HUS sivilarkitekter

Stuttgart, Germany : Nursery

• Office, Filderhofstrasse 1, 70563 Stuttgart, Germany• Owner : City of Stuttgart

• Built 1890, cement plastered brick building, 4 storeys, 2135 m2.• Retrofit : Reduced floor area to 2.131 m2. Envelope insulation, window

replacement, solar thermal, solar PV, daylight atria, combined heat and power unit.

• Measured before retrofit: 268 kWh/m2 a • Measured, after retrofit: 15 (268 - 253)• Saving: 253 ( %)• Pay-back time : 20 years

• BRITA in PuBs : Bringing Retrofit Innovation To Applicationin Public Buildings

• MAJOR AIM : -Increase market penetration of innovative and effective retrofit solutions.

-Improve energy efficiency and -Implement renewable energy, -With moderate additional costs….. through :

1. Exemplary retrofit demonstration buildings. The Pilots.2. Research work packages. The Tools.3. Dissemination.

THE BRITA PROJECT

www.brita-in-pubs.eu

• Architectural considerations resulted in change from planned external insulation to internal to avoid aestetic conflict with façade richness.

• Total space available and flexibility of usage are more important factors for the building owner than compactness and energy efficiency.

• Long planning process and EU project time schedule of many years will result in changes as we proceed, in order to be updated. This results in modifications and amendments that must be discussed with the Commission. Requires extra time for planning.

• Long project period is also a challenge to the many local project partners.

LESSONS LEARNT

Athens, Greece : Library

• Evonymos Ecological Library, 9 Assomaton str. Owner: Ministry of Culture.

• Retrofit responsible :Energy and Environment Unit, NTUA / EuDiti

• Built 1890s, 60 cm stone walls, three storeys as 910 m2 residence, now library 1000m2.

• Retrofit : Walls and roofs 10 cm envelope insulation, window replacement to double glass with night insulation aluminium rollers, shading with wooden pergolas and outdoor planting, hybrid ventilation and ceiling fans, heat pump with heat recovery system, improved day lighting, solar thermal for DHW, solar PV in pergola shading.

• National benchmark for library: 252 kWh/m2 a (not measured)

• Measured after retrofit 53

• Saving 199 (79 % saving)

Pay-back time : 23 years

Copenhagen, Denmark : Cultural & Sports

• Prøvehallen, Valby Langgade, within Copenhagen.• Client : Copenhagen Municipality. Architect : RIA Consult Engin. and Architects.• Retrofit responsible : Cenergia Energy Consultants and Municipality.

• Built 1930s, brick building, one high storey factory 765 m2 before retrofit.After retrofit 2300 m2.

• Retrofit : Inside envelope insulation, window replacement, 70m2 solar thermal, 25kWp solar PV, hybrid ventilation system, daylight measures, advanced controls.

• National benchmark for schools: 65-155 / Average 115 kWh/m2 a • Measured before retrofit: 185 (calculated, irrelevant, was 1 storey factory) • Measured after retrofit 96 kWh/m2 a • Saving 89 kWh/m2 a (48% saving from nat bench)• Pay-back time : 14 years

• By pushing and trying hard one can move ”what is possible” further than expected.

• The competition between the window manufacturers made it possible to come up with quite low U-values for the whole window.

• As always the first reaction of the contractors were that “this is too expensive”. Through negotiations, however, the process was positive and costs acceptable.

LESSONS LEARNT

School Asker, Norway :

• Borgen Community Center / School, Borgenveien, 1388 Borgen, Asker• Owner: Municipality of Asker. Architect : Hus Arkitekter• Retrofit responsible : Municipality of Asker.

• Built 1970s, brick, timber, steel building, one storey, Heated 5590 m2.• Retrofit : Envelope insulation, window replacement, solar shading, geothermal

heat/heat pump for space heating and ventilation air heating and DHW, advanced controls, new hybrid natural ventilation system, new daylighting openings, advanced lightingand movement sensor controls. No cooling necessary.

• National benchmark for schools: 220 kWh/m2 a • Measured before retrofit: 280 • Measured after retrofit 111• Saving 169 (60 % saving)


• Ventilation culvert underground caused challenges : Constructing underground culverts along existing buildings is complicated and expensive. Designs should focus on preventing moisture from entering ventilation culverts. Other solutions than such culverts should be sought.

• Sound carried from room to room through ventilation culverts.

• Moisture from rain and snow enters the ventilation system from air inlet towers.

• Extensive use of daylight : Very succesful.

• Extensive use of hybrid ventilation system : Very succesful.

LESSONS LEARNT

• Too short distance from inlet tower to the filter- and heat recovery housing, use of wrong materials and the lack of a properly slanted floor towards the drain, has resulted in development of some fungus. Design should focus on preventing water from entering ventilations culverts.

• IR sensors for light regulation combined with burglar alarm has caused problems because unwanted light hits the sensor and triggers the alarm. These should be separate systems.

• Extensive and complicated BEMS system requires a long testing and adjustment period.· Technical personnel should be educated during the building period to get acquainted with the technical installations before the building is opened.

LESSONS LEARNT

• During the renovation aiming at energy saving measures, modifications occurred.Some flexibility accepting modifications must be expected and prepared for.

• Because of financial shortages the ventilation system was not foreseen.However, as savings were made in window costs, it was decided to includethe refurbishment of the ventilation system. The overall costs were still held.

LESSONS LEARNT

Brno, Czech republic : Student cultural centre

• Bozetechova 1, Brno. Owner: Brno University of Technology. A• Retrofit responsible : Brno University.

• Built 1971, 60 cm thick brick walls walls, four storeys, 2300 m2 before, 2660 after.• Retrofit : Envelope insulation, window replacement, heat pump with underground

water reservoir as heat source, solar shading, advanced controls, solar PV 180 m2,

solar thermal, new ventilation system.

• National benchmark for : 611 kWh/m2 a • Measured before retrofit: 358 • Measured after retrofit 171• Saving 187 ( 52 % saving)


• Application of a Building Energy Management System (BEMS) brought significantenergy savings, even in the retrofit of a very old building.

• Monitoring of occupancy, while being an effective energy saving measure, is not easy to implement in a cost-effective way.

• Even a very old building in a really bad condition can be retrofitted in a way to exceed the requirements of the contemporary building codes.

• The cost of a retrofit is only a fraction of what a new building with similar parameters would cost.

LESSONS LEARNT

• In Norway listed buildings are under the protection of the antiquarian authorities.

• To propose changes to a listed building causes resistance and ”noise”.• Change is defined as anything that interferes with the building and its

surroundings at a radius of 65 meters.• Be prepared for many rounds of applications and appeals and create alliances,• The project alliance with the bishop was the turning point, since the

antiquarian authorities only have advisory status and the Bishop can refuse to follow the advice. In this case she did arguing that environmental issues also had a high position on the church’s agenda. She overruled them.

• The technical retrofit works went quite well according to plan and within budget. It was the bureaucratic hurdles that cost time and hence money.

• A well organised, knowledgeable caretaker is a valuable resource.• Extremely slow payment procedures in Brussels. Took years to get money.

LESSONS LEARNT

• Application of a Building Energy Management System (BEMS) brought significantenergy savings, even in the retrofit of a very old building.

• Monitoring of occupancy, while being an effective energy saving measure, is not easy to implement in a cost-effective way.

• Even a very old building in a really bad condition can be retrofitted in a way to exceed the requirements of the contemporary building codes.

• The cost of a retrofit is only a fraction of what a new building with similar parameters would cost.

LESSONS LEARNT

CASE STUDY

Hol Church- Norway

Built 1924

Presentation

BySivilarkitekt Harald N. Røstvik AS

www.sunlab.noStavanger - Norway

Client : Hol Kirkelige Fellesråd.

http://www.demohouse.net/

OVERALL CHALLENGEof cultural heritage listed buildings

• What do you do when you are hardly allowed to do anything ?

- Not allowed :

• No new external features on building skin.• No visible internal features.• All changes to be approved by Riksaktikvaren.

- Allowed :

• Features at external distance

or hidden internally.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

WORKS

• Insulation-Sloping roof-Flat roof-Floor

• Air leakages-Roofs, floor-Windows

Basement - height : One meter

• Plan : Insulating under the floor planks from basement side.

Double windows, but air leakages

• Plan : Reducing ait leakeages by insulation and gaskets

Insulating the roof

• Plan : Insulating flat roof from loft side, sloping roof from outside

1 E : THE ECO-CULTURE PROJECTCompiled by Hans Erhorn

The ECO-Culture Project:

- Demonstration and dissemination of ECO-concepts for high-performing European cultural buildings

Major Aims:

- Reduction of the cooling energy consumption and related CO2-emission by 75-80 %

- Reduction of the heating energy consumption and related CO2-emission by 35-50 %

- Reduction of the energy for ventilation and related CO2-emission by 35-50 %

- Use of renewable energy sources: - sea water

- ground water

- solar energy

- Use of intelligent control for maximised utilisation of the used technologies

- Analysis of design methodologies of energy concepts:

“The energy performance of a building is determined

when the architect has concluded his first draft”.

Opera House, Oslo

Royal Theatre,Copenhagen,

Central Public Library,Amsterdam

1 F : CODES, GOALS, DESIGN STRATEGIESCompiled by Karin Buvik, Anne Grete Hestnes and T.Kleiven

How can you – as architects – contribute to reduction of energy consumption?

To make better buildings than the minimum (!) requirements

You need to know about:

• Regulatory requirements

• Statistics of energy use

• Ambitious but still realistic goals

• Design strategies

• Concepts and technologies

• Best practice examples

But first of all: • Today’s energy scenario and the building sector’s challenge

Borgen community Centre. HUS sivilarkitekter

Energy scenario – EU

• The building sector accounts for 40 % of the EU’s energy requirements*

• The building sector offers the largest single potential for energy efficiency*

• Research shows that more than 20 % of the present energy consumption (30–45 MT of CO2/Year) could be saved by 2010 by applying more ambitious building standards – contributing considerably to meeting the Kyoto targets*

But first of all: Area efficiency

An area efficient plan and a compact building volume is the most important factors to achieve low energy consumption.

Zoning of functions relative to temperature needs is also an important means for energy efficient design.

The building owner and the architect are the most important decision makers regarding area use and plan lay-out.

Borgen Community Centre 2004 «Offices», common areas and workshops

Gym.Youth club

Open kindergarten

Base area

Base area

Base area

Admin. and pers.

Arts and crafts

Health care

Bibliotek

Pers.

Canteen

ExtensionThe pupils are organised in basic groups of 15

Borgen Community Centre

Common areas in the renewed building

Traffic area in the old school. The old building was poorly ventilated, had minimum daylight, and was not suited for modern working methods and cultural and social activities.

Studies of alternative daylight design

HUS sivilarkitekter

BRITA in PuBs Guideline: Innovative Insulation

Eliminate or minimize cold bridges

• Rockwool’s new research centre has a highly insulated building envelope with 45cm/50cm/25cm insulation in the walls/roof/floor and triple glazing windows.

• It was therefore both surprising and astounding that the building ended up using over three times as much energy for heating as the simulations indicated (50 kWh/sqm instead of 15 kWh/sqm)

• Serious cold bridges along the foundation and around the window frames accounted for the higher than expected energy need for heating.

Eliminate or minimize cold bridges

Higher thickness of insulation material in order to achieve a lower U-value

Graphite embedded EPS

High performance plaster systems

Vacuum insulation systems

Transparent insulation systems

Light wedges

BRITA in PuBs Guideline: Innovative Insulation

Solar walls

Insulation systems

Sealing

1 G : THE UNCRITICAL USE OF GLASS IN ARCHITECTURE

Compiled by Harald N. Røstvik

Bjørvika as case study - Oslo, Norway 2005 International Architectural Competition

Europe´s most energy efficient office building - 20.000 m2

• Sivilarkitekt Røstvik AS + Alexandros Tombazis, Meletitiki. Consultant : Max Fordham

Net energy need : 36 kWh/m2/year - minus solar PV (7) and Thermal (8)

= Delivered energy need 21 kWh/m2/year (Benchmark 230)

The Winner :

A Glossy,Glassed Building.

”200 kWh/m2/year.”SINTEF

A Major Challenge -the uncritical use of glass

results in overheating

in the summer, and

huge cooling loads in winter.

Example : Chicago

1 H : DAYLIGHT IN BUILDINGS Compiled by Karin Buvik, Anne Grete Hestnes and T. Kleiven

Daylight in buildings• Glazing is an essential component for energy efficiency, related

to both thermal and lighting energy needs

• Appropriate choice of glazing requires to balance heat gains and losses as well as daylight issues

• Due to a fast technical evolution in this field, glazing is generally out of date in buildings facing retrofitting

Bang & Olufsen’s Headquarter, Struer, Denmark. 1998. KHR AS Architects

Daylight and energy – Issues and definitions

• Improving the glazing quality is among the most energy efficient measures

• Sometimes the glazing area can be modified

• A glazing should be chosen according to the climate, orientation and exposure, in order to balance the heat gains and losses

• Attention should be paid to solar protection, and possible ventilation air inlets placed in window frames

• The three important characteristics of windows/glazing: - the heat loss factor (U in W/m2/K) - the light (t) transmittance factor - solar (g) transmittance factor

Glazing properties

• Insulation : U-value (W/m2/K) Argon filling reduces the heat losses, xenon and krypton even more but expensive

• Solar factor g = proportion of solar radiation transmitted + absorbed and emitted inwards. Higher g value for low iron glass but expensive

} g

Borgen Community CentreOne objective is to increase daylight levels

Low solar altitude: sun shading is a challenge

Lindenberghatelier (Nickl & Partner) München. Ref. Intelligent Architektur 34:17

1 I : VENTILATION IN BUILDINGS Compiled by Karin Buvik, Anne Grete Hestnes and T.Kleiven

Why ventilation in buildings?

• Fresh air supply Smell and pollutants removal (indicator: CO2)

• Humidity Control

• Temperature control

Natural ventilation Balanced ventilationExhaust ventilation

Heat recovery

Ventilation systems Natural supply, natural exhaust

Natural supply, mechanical exhaust

Mechanical supply, mechanical exhaust

Ref. EU-project TREES Chiel BOONSTRA, Loes JOOSTEN

Hybrid ventilationNatural driving forces (wind and buoyancy)

+ auxiliary fans

Depth up to 2–2,5 multiply by room height

Depth up to 5 multiply by room height

Depth up to 5 multiply by room height

Natural ventilation

principles

Single-sided ventilation

Cross ventilation

Stack ventilation

Natural ventilation – saving energy?

In the Norwegian climate it is essential for a low energy building design to have a well insulated and air tight building envelope with efficient heat recovery of the ventilation air.

A purely natural ventilation concept is not suited for a low energy design!

Natural ventilation – saving energy?

• Apply low pressure drop air pathsUse atria, stairwells, corridors and rooms as air path when possible to minimise pressure drop and reduce SFP (specific fan power), energy use, noise, draught …

• Natural ventilation for cooling purposesNatural cooling by air movement (replacing warm air with fresh air)

Utilisation of thermal mass in combination with night ventilation

Thermal mass as energy reservoir

A thermal heavy construction acts as an energy reservoir, with properties depending on:

• Ability to store heat (heat capacity)

• Ability to conduct heat (conductivity)

To illustrate …

Mineral wool conducts heat poorly, and has poor thermal capacity. This material does not constitute a real reservoir.

Steel has very good thermal capacity but conducts heat to well. This reservoir is charged and discharged to quickly compared to the diurnal cycle.

Wood has also relatively good thermal capacity, but conducts heat poorly. The poor conductivity causes the reservoir to charge and discharge to slow compared to de diurnal cycle.

Concrete and bricks has good thermal capacity and moderate heat conductivity. The combination make the energy reservoir charge and discharge in accordance with the diurnal cycle.

Thermal mass challenges

• Acoustics Hard surface give long reverberation time

• Building details Eliminate or minimize cold bridges

• Surface finish Good craftsmanship

Bang & Olufsen’s Headquarters, Struer, Denmark. 1998. KHR AS Architects

Example: Hybrid ventilation

Borgen Community Centre

• Preventing moisture from entering ventilation culverts.

• Preventing sound to be carried from room to room through ventilation culverts.

• Preventing moisture from rain and snow to enter the ventilation system from air inlet towers.

Lessons learnt:The hybrid ventilation system function very well.

Design should be focused on:

And lastly … Don’t forget to order energy efficient lighting and equipment

Part 2 : LEARNING TO SOLVE SIMILAR CASES Compiled by Ephrosyne Triantis

1. Introduction

• Since existing buildings form a large majority of the building stock, the inclusion of environmental considerations in building renovation can have a considerable influence on human eco-systems.

• Renovation is a complex process, with many drawbacks due to: - limited budgets - building and site restrictions- service and use particularities and- lack of energy conservation experience from the part of the designer

• The results of the socio- economic research ( WP1) of BRITA in Pubs, shows that designers play a crucial role as direct or indirect decision makers to influence the inclusion of low-energy technologies in the retrofitting of public buildings, but they often lack the necessary information to do so.

The role of designers in energy performance of buildings

Comparative energy performance of office buildings (U.K.)

Source: BRESCU (I)

2. Objectives

• The aim of this course is to provide structured information on low

energy retrofitting of public buildings, stemming largely from the

results of BRITA in Pubs and the three other Eco-buildings

projects.

• The course is addressed to designers of all levels, including

graduate and undergraduate students in architecture, so that they

are better prepared to integrate low energy solutions into the

refurbishment process of public or private buildings of all kinds

and to tackle environmental issues in retrofitting design.

3. Description of course material• The course material is based on results from the 4 E.U. 6th Framework projects demo

buildings (Brita in Pubs, Sara, Demohouse, Eco-culture), supplemented by examples from Annex 36 as well as other energy retrofits to be used as case- studies for the successful integration of innovative low energy technologies in public buildings of selected typologies.

• Specific problems and experiences will be discussed in each case w.r.t. the main factors influencing retrofitting design, such as financial, administrative, institutional, and technical aspects, as well as users’ attitudes. Finally performance assessment and methodological guidelines will be analysed, including a discussion of the environmental impact of materials and products comprising LCAs.

• The work is mostly focused on the preparation of a complete set of power – point presentations to be used either as a specialized course on environmental retrofitting of public buildings addressed to designers on a professional or graduate student level, or as a series of individual seminars or conferences for advanced audiences of professionals in the public sector.

4. The Integrated approach to architecture

• Architecture is considered not a static “work of art”, but a dynamic environment intended to respond to changing conditions of climate, place and use patterns.

• The design process should therefore be based less on geometric and physical aspects and more on the experience of architectural space both from the point of view of the architect and the user.

• Hence a building is not complete in itself without consideration for the occupants’ points of view in terms of its commodity for their life patterns, including the quality of thermal and visual comfort provided.

Design strategy

Reduce heat loss and need for cooling

Select energy -source

Display & control energy use

Utilise solar energy

Reduce electricity consumption

Design strategy

• Reduce heat losses Building shape, zoning of room categories, area efficiency. Well insulated and tight building envelope without cold bridges. Efficient heat recovery of ventilation air.

• Reduce electricity consumption Exploitation of daylight. Energy efficient lighting and equipment. Low pressure drops in the ventilation system. Reduce the need for cooling by utilising thermal mass in combination with night cooling and efficient solar shading.

• Utilise solar energy Optimum window orientation, thermal mass activation, solar collectors, photovoltaics.

• Display and control energy use Feedback on consumption. Smart house technologies. i.e. demand control of heating, ventilation, lighting and equipment.

• Select energy source Heat pump, district heating, firewood, gas, electricity …

Design strategy

Typology of low energy retrofits used as case-studies

1. Educational buildings

2. Office buildings

3. Social, cultural and religious establishments

4. Sports centers

5. Housing complexes and dormitories

6. Hospitals and health centers

7. Hotels

8. Commercial and exhibition buildings

9. Traditional buildings

6. Basic Comfort Issues

• Recent research, proves that environmental comfort is closely related to environmental awareness and the active participation of the user in shaping his own environment.

• Low energy architecture should offer possibilities for the user to adapt his own behavior as well as some aspects of his immediate environment to changing comfort requirements, so that he feels he can actively influence comfort levels.

• The direct involvement of the user in shaping his own environment has considerable repercussions on his level of satisfaction, since active participation reduces complaints and assures improved operation of low energy systems.

• Each building should thus offer different points of intervention for users, in order to induce participation and control depending on their own preferred level of involvement.

7. Learning to solve similar challenges.

• A new methodology is developed for this course on interdisciplinary

sustainable retrofitting of public buildings for architecture students where the

analysis of environmental parameters is based not only on performance

assessment, but also on the evaluation of thermal, visual and acoustic

comfort for users of existing buildings.

• Existing buildings are used by the students as case-studies for the

comprehension of environmental factors involved in their design and

operation.

• They also become a basis for proposed interventions to improve their

performance in terms of sustainability criteria, including energy consumption

and environmental impact as well as thermal and visual comfort.

The course methodology includes:

A. Background information

1. Lectures on significant sustainability issues 2. Lectures on selected technologies used in low-energy retrofitting3. Discussion of building typologies presented in the course4. Presentation of case-studies from EU Ecobuilding projects offered as

examples of successful integration of sustainable issues in public buildings. The case studies are based on data of the 4 EU Ecobuilding projects (BRITA-in-pubs, SARA, Demo-house, Demo-culture) and other selected low energy retrofitting projects

B. Project description

1. Selection of existing buildings to be used as case-studies

2. Collection of existing information on each building

3. Analysis of use patterns in the building

C. Diagnosis

1. Auditing conducted by the students (including temperature, humidity and daylighting measurements)

2. Interviews of users on thermal, visual and acoustic comfort conditions in the building

D. Sustainable retrofitting strategies

1. Scenaria of environmental retrofitting interventions

2. Evaluation of integrated retrofitting scenaria, according to a pre-determined set of sustainability principles

3. Development of the best integrated design solution for each building

E. Final retrofitting scenarios

1. Final design and construction details of basic retrofitting components.

Case studies of sustainable retrofittingExample of project analysis

Building typology: Educational Buildings

Environmental strategies in retrofitting of University Buildings

TRIANTIS Euphrosyne, BOUGIATIOTI Flora, OIKONOMOU Aineias

Architects, National Technical University of Athens, Greece

[email protected]

E. Trianti, NTUA, Greece

SummaryIntroduction

Project description

The Chemical Engineering Building

The Administration Building

The Rural and Surveying Engineering Building

Diagnosis




Environmental retrofitting strategies




Conclusion

Project description


Typical floor plan of the building

Northern façade Southern façade

N

Project description


Schematic diagram of the building

Internal courtyards

Western façade and southern façade before retrofitting

Project description


Typical floor plan of the buildingNorthern façade

Southern façade

N

Diagnosis


Air temperature measurements

Daylighting measurements

Diagnosis






Retrofitting of southern facade.

South façade retrofitting detailsNorth façade retrofitting details



Integration of sunspaces on the southern facades of laboratories

Integration of PV system on the southern façade of the building



Solar roof over the northern atriumE. Trianti, NTUA, Greece



Reconversion of light-shafts into a/ solar-chimneys b/ light-ducts



Retrofitting of the Multi-Purpose Hall cupola. Daylighting simulations

Examples of student work NTUA on sustainable retrofitting of buildings

Retrofitting of architecture design studios, University of Patras



Retrofitting of central light-shaft.

Night ventilation and cooling of east-facing offices

Retrofitting of the Multi-Purpose Hall cupola.

Housing retrofits into cultural spaces

Retrofitting of the Public library building of Patras

Retrofitting of Patras Bus-Station

Further information on Each project :

• BRITA : www.brita-in-pubs.eu

• DEMOHOUSE : www.demohouse.net

• ECO-CULTURE : www.cowiprojects.com/ecoculture

• SARA : www.sara-project.net

• ECO-BUILDINGS: www.ecobuildings.info

http://www.brita-in-pubs.eu/

http://www.demohouse.net/

http://www.cowiprojects.com/ecoculture

http://www.sara-project.net/

http://www.ecobuildings.info/

course material for schools of architecure

Documents

sara projectslide

demonstration buildings

brita projectslide

rstvik norway

conventional public

ecobuildings eu projectsslide

energy savings

ecoculture projectslide