Carlos Rubio-Bellido

Development policy in social housing allocation: Fuel poverty potential risk index:

Fuel poverty is commonly associated with fuel price, energy consumption, income and building features to maintain comfortable conditions. Most studies are based on existing conditions with future macro level predictions. Therefore, there are a lack of micro scale policies and further in-depth research is needed based on the multivariable complexity of social justice. In this context, public housing policies have a challenge in order to meet not only the right to housing but also an affordable and comfortable use. The intention of this research is to develop an index to help the decision-making process in the early stages of social housing allocation. The analyses were based on the applicability of adaptive comfort, urban context and building features, considering energy use and the ability to pay utility bills. By means of these factors, the FP potential risk was set as crucial in public building sector decision-making and housing allocation. Methodologies based on dynamic simulations and current adaptive comfort standards were applied to social housing in the Central-South of Chile. Results reveal that within the urban context, energy consumption differs significantly due to boundary conditions, with fuel poverty potential risk index being an effective index to allocate appropriate housing for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of society.

Spanish Fortifications In Asia: A Case Study Of Intramuros District In Manila – Current Situation And Future Prospects

This paper analyses the morphological characteristics and the historical evolution of the Spanish fortification in the city of Manila, which is known as Intramuros. In turn, an analysis for future prospections, which leads to its revalorization, is also produced. This case study constitutes a unique example of the Spanish expansion in Asia, with strong ties to other cultures present in this territory. After the establishment of Manila as the capital city of the first Spanish colony in Asia in 1571, the construction of the permanent fortification system was approved, following the designs that the Ordinances of Phillipe II established for the Spanish settlements in the New World. This part of Manila has been the epicenter of the historical affairs that affected the whole country since the 16th century. In turn, this historical background has left a strong footprint in this fortification system as well as in its inner grid city, which, in fact, has been partially destroyed and rebuilt several times. Our study focuses on the actual condition of the fortification system in relation to its original conception and historical evolution; it was accomplished through a field study of the Intramuros district in Manila conducted in 2010, together with an analysis of available historical cartography and historical records. This up-to-date situation of the fortification leads to a proper understanding of its morphological evolution in relation to historical events, and also establishes a frame to understand the hints for its preservation and revalorization for the future.

Multiple Linear Regressions

This chapter intends to develop a mathematical model that allows predicting, with an acceptable degree of uncertainty, the energy consumption and CO2 emissions for the office buildings in Chile. Through the multivariable regression method, diverse equations will be produced that will bear in mind the parameters mentioned for the different locations. In this way, the designers will be able to know the consequences that their decisions will have on the energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This research has an eminently practical nature and is susceptible to being applied in the future design and construction of buildings.

Artificial Neural Networks

This chapter intends to demonstrate the performance and reliability of ANN in predicting large scale data not only for a single parameter, but for three of them (energy consumption, energy demand and CO2 emissions) in relation to a large-scale sample of buildings, with all the issues associated to them, such as the nonlinearity of problems related to building design and performance.

Energy Demand Analysis

The energy demand analysis is performed following a methodology that comprises three main stages (Fig. 3.1). In the first stage, the input data for the simulation process is set up, making a distinction between two groups: Climate data and what has been called “test models”. On one side, the 9 different climate zones in which Chile is divided into by the Chilean building standard are considered; these zones cover all the existing climate contexts in the country and have been called “climate scenarios”. For each of these 9 zones, files containing the current climate data have been compiled. These files have been “morphed” according to the predicted climate scenarios for 2020, 2050 and 2080, producing a new set of climate files for these future years. These files will be used as the external conditions for the calculation of the energy demand. On the other side, test models have been defined following the parameters of the TDRe standard; some variables have been fixed while those related to the building shape and the enclosure will be set as free and studied in this research.

Study on Envelope in Office Buildings Under the Influence of Climate Change in Santiago, Chile

In recent years climate change has brought to light a rising interest on its potential impact amongst the various human activities, in which building sector is included. Local climate determines the external conditions that buildings have to adapt to, having a direct influence on their energy demand for heating and cooling. In this context, computer aided simulation provides with handy tools that help in assessing this impact. This research investigates how a change in climate data for future scenarios will affect energy demand in office buildings in the city of Santiago (Chile). Climate data has been generated for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080, following the acknowledged A2 ‘medium-high’ emissions Greenhouse Gases GHG scenario, according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC. Predicted energy demand for buildings is calculated by means of an implementation of the calculation procedure of ISO-13790:2008, taking as external conditions the three aforementioned scenarios. Finally, the effect of climate change in the energy demand for office buildings is clarified and then optimized, based on iterations of its envelope and form. As a result, this research clarifies how future climate scenarios will affect energy demand for different types of office buildings and how their shape and enclosure can be optimized to counteract this effect.

El control adaptativo en instalaciones existentes y su potencial en el contexto del cambio climático.

espanolEn la actualidad, la mayoria de los edificios de oficinas tienen un elevado consumo energetico provocado principalmente por el uso de los sistemas de HVAC, en los que se logra el confort termico sin considerar las implicaciones energeticas. Los objetivos de la investigacion que aqui se expone es reducir la demanda y consumo energetico, manteniendo altos niveles de confort termico adaptativo, en base a la aplicacion de temperaturas de consigna adaptativas calculadas segun la norma EN 15251, como tambien identificar el potencial de estos procedimientos en el contexto del cambio climatico de los anos 2020, 2050 y 2080. Para ello, se desarrolla una metodologia que contempla fases de (1) recopilacion de datos; (2) trabajo de campo –monitoreo de las temperaturas del edificio y realizacion de encuestas de confort termico-; (3) validado del modelo de simulacion, en base a temperatura, voto medio predictivo (PMV) y consumo energetico; (4) simulaciones; y (5) obtencion de resultados. Como aplicacion del metodo se selecciona un edificio de reciente construccion en Sevilla (Espana) que cumple la normativa vigente. Los resultados muestran reducciones muy importantes en la demanda y consumo energetico, con valores entre 52% y 63% y entre 51% y 61%, respectivamente, dependiendo del escenario climatico analizado. EnglishCurrently, energy consumption is high in most office buildings mainly due to the use of HVAC systems, which achieve thermal comfort without considering the energy implications. The objectives of this research are to reduce energy demand and consumption while maintaining high levels of adaptive thermal comfort, based on the application of adaptive setpoint temperatures calculated according to CEN Standard EN 15251, and to identify the potential of these procedures for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080, in the context of climate change. To that end, a five-stage methodology was carried out, which consisted of: (1) data collection; (2) field work involving monitoring building temperature and conducting thermal comfort surveys; (3) validation of the simulation model, according to temperature, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), and energy consumption; (4) simulations; and (5) results. The method was implemented in a recently constructed building in Seville (Spain) that complies with current regulations. The results reveal important reductions in energy demand and consumption, with values between 52% and 63%, and between 51% and 61%, respectively, depending on the climate scenario analyzed.

Understanding climatic traditions: A quantitative and qualitative analysis of historic dwellings of Cadiz:

Many historical European cities are home to houses of great heritage value. These structures have been able to provide comfort throughout history without the use of artificial conditioning systems. Even though such dwellings were influenced by academic styles, by contradicting vernacular architecture, their adaptation to local climate in order to achieve thermal comfort is commonplace. They were mostly built within compact urban tissues, making use of local materials, workforce and construction technologies. Learning from the past knowledge of these design strategies that are specifically adapted to specific climates can play a significant role in reducing the energy demand of extant buildings. Likewise, this paper thoroughly investigates the remaining urban conglomerate of Cadiz from a scientific approach. An original simulation software, duly tested with on-site measurements, was used to analyse the passive design strategies that were applied effectively. The results of this study indicate that historic neighbourhoods in Cadiz are creatively adapted to their natural conditions. In this sense, the main conclusion is that in mild climates, the combination of a compact urban tissue and climate responsive dwelling design should be sufficient to maintain acceptable indoor comfort levels.

Management of the Building Process in Temporary Constructions: Case Study of the Unicaja Exhibition Pavilion

Temporary constructions demand further research in the management of their building process, as standard procedures are not able to give an adequate response to their special characteristics, in terms of their short completion schedule, their highly specialized construction systems and the obtaining of both building permits and public activity licenses. The authors present their on-going research in this field through the superb example of a 700 m2 temporary exhibition pavilion commissioned by the Spanish Savings Bank UNICAJA. Having been installed in representative locations in 6 Andalusian cities, this structure welcomed more than 150,000 attendees during 8 months, from 2010 to 2011. Through the continuous work as part of a multidisciplinary team, the leading role of building engineers and architects, as effective managers of these sorts of commissions, has been proved. Innovative management schemes are hereby presented, with which the authors strive to pave the way for appropriate management procedures for these types of constructions.