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Buildings
Special Issues
Building Design: Robust and Human Centered
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Building Design: Robust and Human Centered

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2019) | Viewed by 41210

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Thomas Auer

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, Technische Universität München (TUM), München, Germany
Interests: climate responsive design
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Knaack

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands;
TU Darmstadt, Germany
Interests: Building envelopes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, building design has gone through significant changes in order to increase energy efficiency—architectural changes, as well as changes in building technology. Both the complexity and capital costs have increased, while it seems that user satisfaction has decreased. In addition, it has been recognized that the desired level of energy performance is not often achieved. This effect is called the “performance gap” and has been the subject of several scientific studies and journal papers. The performance gap is primarily caused by building systems (mainly building control systems and hydronics for energy supply systems) and/or user behavior. Building design goes through an optimization process; however, we recognize that the final product is not yet robust. The interface between users and building systems is complex and not fully understood yet. The variations in user behavior are not properly considered in building design.

Therefore, research aims to understand how users interact with building systems and how to integrate this knowledge into a methodology for a robust building design. Robust optimization describes a methodology that is already standard in other industries. Applying this methodology to the building sector would provide the potential to significantly reduce the performance gap while improving user satisfaction and well-being.

Prof. Thomas Auer
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Knaack
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Climate responsive design
  • Climate design
  • Façade design
  • Robust optimization
  • Environmental quality
  • Building simulation
  • Building envelopes

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 19546 KiB  
Article
A Holistic Decision Support Tool for Facade Design
by Sinem Kültür, Nil Türkeri and Ulrich Knaack
Buildings 2019, 9(8), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings9080186 - 14 Aug 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5085
Abstract
This paper presents a holistic decision support tool developed for use during the early stages of facade design. The tool is based on the interdependent relationships between facade performance, facade parameters, and conditions (environmental and spatial). It assumes that a decision maker has [...] Read more.
This paper presents a holistic decision support tool developed for use during the early stages of facade design. The tool is based on the interdependent relationships between facade performance, facade parameters, and conditions (environmental and spatial). It assumes that a decision maker has the ability to enhance the performance of a facade by making proper decisions on the design parameters in line with the conditions. However, since facade performance has various aspects (sometimes conflicting) to be considered at once, it is hard to predict the impacts of decisions on the overall performance. A single design decision may increase the performance in one aspect while decreasing it in other aspects. The tool aims to function as a guide to decision makers by indicating the impacts of design decisions on different functional aspects of facade performance from a holistic point of view. Functional requirements included within the tool are safety requirements such as structural stability and fire protection, health-related requirements such as weather protection (protection against water, air, and moisture), and requirements related to the well-being of the users such as thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort. Information provided in the tool is based upon an extensive literature review and structured as an Excel spreadsheet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Design: Robust and Human Centered)
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13 pages, 567 KiB  
Article
Architectural Design: Sustainability in the Decision-Making Process
by Margarida Feria and Miguel Amado
Buildings 2019, 9(5), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings9050135 - 27 May 2019
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 10899
Abstract
This article discusses the potential of introducing sustainability in the architectural design method so that building solutions can contribute to sustainable development. Sustainability has introduced a new pattern to the architecture practice, which involves important modifications in the teaching of architecture in what [...] Read more.
This article discusses the potential of introducing sustainability in the architectural design method so that building solutions can contribute to sustainable development. Sustainability has introduced a new pattern to the architecture practice, which involves important modifications in the teaching of architecture in what regards to the design methods to students but also practitioners, in order to provide more comfort for present and future generations. In the design phases of the architectural design, the subject of the three pillars of sustainability—economic, social and environmental factors—are not always considered by the architect in the decision-making process. The topic involves actions that will influence the overall performance of the building throughout its lifecycle. Sustainability has not been a priority in the training of the architect. The existing tools, Sustainability Assessment and Certification Systems, although adequate to evaluate the sustainability component of a building, do not prove to be the most appropriate tool to support architects during the design process. Therefore, the implementation and evaluation of strategies that integrate the sustainability principles need to be included in the early stages of the architectural design method. In addition to collecting data through literature review, a survey was conducted among 217 architects and architecture students in order to access the need for a tool that supports architects in the issue of sustainability. The results concluded that, although all the respondents agree about what concerns the implementation of sustainability principles in the architectural design method, only few respondents guarantee that these principles are implemented by means of a rigorous evaluation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify a set of guidelines that can help architects to change the current approach of architectural practice towards more sustainable strategies in building design. This means the introduction, implementation and evaluation of sustainability principles in different phases of the architectural design method. The proposal stresses the main strategies that need to be considered in each phase of the architectural project and defines a level of recommendation in each guideline that allows the architect to evaluate the implementation of sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Design: Robust and Human Centered)
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28 pages, 26513 KiB  
Article
A Study of Regional Assertions in the Architecture of Delhi from the 1970s to the present
by Sanyam Bahga and Gaurav Raheja
Buildings 2019, 9(5), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings9050108 - 1 May 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 24341
Abstract
Critical regionalism is an architectural approach that seeks to correct sterile and abstract modernism by using contextual forces that focus on local needs and potential. As globalisation disrupts and displaces local building traditions in India’s metropolitan cities, critical regionalism offers resistance to the [...] Read more.
Critical regionalism is an architectural approach that seeks to correct sterile and abstract modernism by using contextual forces that focus on local needs and potential. As globalisation disrupts and displaces local building traditions in India’s metropolitan cities, critical regionalism offers resistance to the homogenising forces of global modernism. This paper analyses five key architectural works realised in Delhi in the past four decades that incorporate the ideas of critical regionalism in their designs. The different approaches adopted by regionalist architects in dealing with local climate, topography, materials and sociological complexes have been presented. By limiting itself to regionalist works in Delhi, the paper attempts to highlight that critical regionalism is not a set of aesthetic preferences but a philosophical framework capable of producing diverse forms of architecture despite analogous external influences arising from similar site conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Design: Robust and Human Centered)
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