Doris Catharine Cornelie Knatz Kowaltowski

Environmental Comfort in School Buildings: A Case Study of Awareness and Participation of Users.

This article describes the results of a study on user behavior in relation to environmental comfort conditions. A case study was conducted in school buildings in the region of the city of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The methodology adopted was based on field observations of technical aspects of the school environment and of types of user behavior (interventions) that introduced changes in the classroom space. Questionnaires were applied to users. A follow-up study evaluated user perception of possible interventions. User knowledge on environmental comfort concepts was also assessed. The results of the case study showed few interventions by users in favor of their own comfort. Low participation results may, in part, be attributed to the context, where users, schoolchildren, are subject to discipline codes with restricted spontaneous behavior in favor of individual comfort. Environmental awareness should therefore be stimulated by teaching concepts of environmental comfort in primary and secondary schools.

Bioclimatic and vernacular design in urban settlements of Brazil

Abstract Brazilian regional traditional architectural features are analyzed, especially with regard to the new emerging vernacular of self-built urban settlements. Bioclimatic design is discussed as to its scientific and technical features with respect to the subtropical climate of the city of Campinas in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The main goal of this work is to analyze a specific self-building house phenomenon and its response to climate. From this analysis thermal comfort should be addressed in terms of correct architectural elements. An appropriate new architecture for the urban poor should be based on bioclimatic design principles and the positive elements of the new urban vernacular.

A house design assistance program for the self-building process of the region of Campinas, Brazil: Evaluation through a case study

Abstract This paper evaluates a technical assistance program for house self-builders in the region of the city of Campinas, Brazil. The assistance given is in the form of an individualized house design, distributed to self-builders, based on an automated computer aided design (CAD) generated design method. A case study is used to demonstrate the efficacy of the assistance program. The transfer process of a population from an environmental protection area to a new location and their need for rapid house construction is the specific case presented. Houses are evaluated as to satisfaction and environmental comfort conditions. As a result, lessons are learnt about assistance programs and their success in improving housing quality.

Aesthetics and self-built houses: an analysis of a Brazilian setting

Abstract Aesthetic considerations on the appearance of low-income family houses in a specific Brazilian setting, Campinas, Sao Paulo, are discussed in this work. Houses built by owner families in private subdivisions are analyzed. Formal aspects of architecture are shown to have limited application in relation to this self-building process. Specific house facades are preferred by the population studied. The sample showed diversity of construction and comfort quality. Low building quality and slow construction evolution in the self-building process of houses suggest the need for some technical aid. The complexity of the meaning of aesthetics and the environment of economic constraint call for restricted professional intervention. Technical aid should concern neighborhood design, siting of individual dwellings, house plan configurations, and construction detailing guided by knowledge on aesthetic preferences.

Cost reallocation in social housing projects considering the desired values of end-users

Purpose – Challenges in social housing projects (SHP) in Brazil are mainly related to design and construction quality and cost constraints. Value delivery to end-users must be a goal, however, jointly considered with the restrictions of such developments. In the SHP context, tight cost constraints frequently have a negative impact on delivering value to end-users. The purpose of this paper is to put forward the proposition that value enhancement can be achieved by reallocating costs to better meet the attributes most valued by end-users, without increasing initial project costs. Design/methodology/approach – A set of tools used in value methodology (VM) is adopted to assist a systematic process with the goal of attaining an optimal functional balance between costs and value delivery to end-users. Desired values were indicated by users in a previous study, resulting in an Index of General Significance. A single case study was carried out to test the approach in a SHP. Opportunities for improvement guided b...

Understanding school design processes

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the design process of school buildings in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil. The study was based on structured interviews with the architects who in the last decade designed schools for the local school building agency – Fundacao para o Desenvolvimento da Educacao (FDE). Guiding principles for the questionnaire were extracted from the literature on high-performance school design processes. The results show that the design process is primarily influenced by the agency FDE. This process was compared to recommendations found in the literature. Some opportunities for change could be identified and the characterisation indicates the need for better assessment tools and access to technical information directly applicable to design issues. The results showed a predisposition for change by professionals. New building projects are opportunities to question the status quo. The characterisation of the local design process and understanding the positive attitude of its architects in detail is seen here as an important, however small, step to bring about improvements in education as a whole in the conditions described.

Ensino do projeto arquitetônico: a teoria traduzida em exercícios no processo criativo

This paper describes two examples of structured design education, in a new Architecture course and for Civil Engineering students. Basic architectural theory is presented and exercised in incremental stages. The heuristic richness of the creative process is practiced. Limitations are imposed in specific exercises to demonstrate the strength and influence of limits on design development.

A critical analysis of research of a mass-housing programme

ABSTRACT A recent expansion of mass-housing programmes has occurred in emerging economies. The analysis of research on programmes raises questions about what type of research is produced and what its impact is on housing. The Brazilian ‘My House, My Life’ (Minha Casa, Minha Vida – MCMV) programme demonstrates that more of the same type of housing is produced and that the focus of most research repeats the same mistakes. Three million homes have been built and the research community has examined the programme’s social, economic and environmental impacts. A total of 2477 scientific studies on MCMV are analyzed. Few studies were found to assess living conditions from a user perspective at the residential unit scale. Although improvements have occurred on some social issues, the siting of housing on the urban periphery is problematic for urban mobility, social segregation and aesthetic monotony. Also, the design model does not respond to the diverse needs of inhabitants. Opportunities are identified for actions and essential missing research on mass housing. Retrofit strategies are urgent and social cost studies should induce change to the design model. Evidence-based research is needed to support policies and design processes for affordable and quality housing solutions that value users, their needs and aspirations.

Programando espaços de aprendizagem: uma contribuição para a educação brasileira

This article focuses on the design process of school buildings, with a goal of creating better quality learning environments for Brazilian primary and secondary education. Design requirements were organized to support the architectural programming phase of the design process of school buildings. The main goal of the study is to identify and to organize design requirements that guide the designing of learning environments, by relating the learning environment as it was built to both human behavior and pedagogical activities. To accomplish this task, a database was created to facilitate the access to relevant information regarding the design of learning environments. A 1 Trabalho apresentado no IV SBQP 2015. Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.18540/2176-4549.6057 literature research was conducted to identify data on: learning environments, school architecture, environmental behavior, teaching and pedagogical methodologies and laws concerning the Brazilian education. The Problem Seeking tool to support the architectural programming phase was chosen for the organization of information. In the database each information is presented as a text with drawings, diagrams and other illustrations. Every item is referenced for further studies. The database will be implemented as a computer application, using ACCESS by Microsoft, a specific software to create database. Validation will occur through testing with architects and educators. Ultimately, the tool should stimulate an architectural quality for new school buildings that can then improve education as a whole.

CAD - o lado criativo duas experiências educacionais visando mudar a forma como estudantes de arquitetura usam o CAD

O presente artigo descreve um sistema inovador de educacao em arquitetura, experimentado em duas escolas brasileiras; cada uma delas com um enfoque diferente no que se refere ao ensino do CAD. Os dois cursos experimentais aqui descritos tiveram dois objetivos principais: (1) explorar o uso de operacoes logicas no processo de projeto, como a simetria, a recursao, a parametrizacao e a analise combinatoria; (2) a aplicacao pratica dessas tecnicas pelo uso do computador, com a utilizacao do CAD nao apenas como ferramenta de representacao, mas como um assistente do processo criativo altamente adaptavel e programavel. As duas experiencias resultaram em um grande numero de interessantes composicoes abstratas, projetos arquitetonicos e programas de computador. Os questionarios de avaliacao aplicados revelaram que houve, de fato, uma mudanca de atitude com relacao ao papel do CAD em arquitetura por parte dos alunos.