This report includes all the research conducted during the last phase of the Master of Science Building Engineering within the faculty of Civil Engineering. The main aim is to form a strategy for designing demountable unitized curtain walls; one that could actually be used in practice by future engineers and architects. This is why this graduation project includes an application on 4 chosen adaptive concepts. Having already been applied in a comparison study of these quite complicated and costly designs, this framework can provide one extra consideration that will be critical in the near future at the very early stages of designing a building: the Design for Disassembly.

The combination of the monumental building, the Rotonde, and the panoramic painting ‘Panorama Mesdag’ is one of the few remaining exhibitions of its kind. The organization of the museum aims to preserve the building and painting while also wanting to decrease the carbon footprint of the museum. The objective of this research is to design a sustainable climate solution using thermal buffering that creates an indoor climate that preserves the panoramic painting and reduces energy consumption of the minimally insulated building. The potential thermal buffering solutions were defined through literature research and the option of a PCM system secured to the interior façade was further elaborated on by estimating its effect on the indoor climate of the Rotonde through software simulations in DesignBuilder using EnergyPlus. The simulation results of multiple PCM types and thicknesses showed that the current indoor temperature of the Rotonde is too inconsistent during summer months for a PCM to reach the intended cooling effect. A simulation of a combination of improvements to the building envelope and the most effective PCM showed a cooling effect of two ° C on warm summer days and a decrease of 50% in heating demand during the winter. This research amplifies the importance of a well-insulated building envelope for a qualitative indoor climate and climate systems should be an additional step. The outcome of this research has the potential to be relevant for other monumental museums or other spaces that seek sustainable solutions to stabilize the indoor climate.

Designing energy-efficient facades can have a significant impact on reducing the building's energy consumption while providing comfort for the occupants. While highly-insulated buildings have good thermal insulation and high airtightness, they deal with the risk of overheating issues. Dynamic insulation, a technology consisting of porous materials, is a responsive building element that has been introduced to the built environment to tackle these problems. Due to the current lack of information and available resources on dynamic insulation, and its possible contribution to the built environment, the presented research focuses on the effect of complex geometries as the air channels in dynamic insulation, and as part of the overall building wall. This thesis aims to discover whether and how a designed microstructure (now possible by Additive Manufacturing) in dynamic insulation can offer a solution for controlling the airflow passing through the wall and therefore, improving the performance of the dynamic insulation. The methodology of the thesis started with the literature review and studying different articles and books. Then in a design-through-research approach, various parameters were identified that could affect the airflow rate and pattern. These parameters were categorized in two groups with relation to geometry and texture. The dominant factors were then selected to be further analyzed. Next, different geometries were generated using the 3D sampling method, based on different textures with different properties. The engineered geometries are texture-based metamaterials with cavities. To investigate the behavior of airflow in these geometries, CFD simulations were performed in Ansys Fluent. The results were evaluated based on their correspondence to the research objectives and conclusions were drawn to answer the research questions. Keywords: Texture-based metamaterials with cavities, complex geometries, dynamic insulation, porous materials, airflow behavior, responsive building elements.

Energy consumption has become a significant global issue due to climatic and environmental challenges, a lack of energy resources, and rising energy prices. The building stock accounts for 40% of the total energy consumption. Therefore, efforts should be made to explore possibilities to reduce energy consumption and related CO2-emissions, not only by the construction of modern and energy-efficient buildings but also through energy retrofitting existing buildings. Historic buildings often have thermal discomfort, cold draughts close to the exterior walls, and high energy consumption due to heat losses. Hence, the improvement of energy efficiency of historic buildings is important. Moreover, preserving architectural heritage can reduce our reliance on new materials for new buildings and reduce energy use in manufacturing processes. The potential for energy efficiency of historic buildings depends on an appropriate compromise between the need to conserve cultural heritage inherited in the building and energy efficiency measures. Reducing energy consumption and raising thermal comfort is possible by adding thermal insulation to the building envelope. Most historic buildings have facades with cultural, historic and aesthetic value, therefore, internal insulation is proposed as a suitable measure. The application of internal insulation changes the hygrothermal behaviour of a facade significantly and might result in hygrothermal risks such as frost damage, interstitial condensation and mould growth. The change in hygrothermal behaviour depends on the type of internal insulation system. Nowadays, vapour-tight and vapour-open, capillary active, internal insulation systems are mostly used for historic buildings.There is no consensus about the third internal insulation system: a vapour-open, non-capillary active due to a lack of knowledge about the hygrothermal behaviour of this system from theoretical and practical perspectives. The aim of this research is to gain insight into the most influential hygrothermal properties of vapour-open, non-capillary active, internally insulated historic solid brick masonry. Through literature review, background information is obtained on the hygrothermal behaviour of vapour-open, non-capillary active internal insulation of historic solid brick masonry by exploring the factors that influence this behaviour. Prerequisites for the risk-free hygrothermal performance of a vapour-open, non-capillary active, internally insulated historic solid brick masonry wall are defined based on the risk of mould growth due to interstitial condensation and taking moisture-sensitive wooden elements into account. This approach is sufficient for one-dimensional and two- or three-dimensional situations. The influence of hygrothermal properties on the hygrothermal behaviour of vapour-open, non-capillary active, internally insulated solid brick masonry of historic residential buildings is studied by a parameter study, which is carried out through Heat, Air and Moisture simulation software WUFI 2D.4. To gain insight into the influence of the hygrothermal properties on the hygrothermal performance, the boundary condition of the outdoor environment is simplified by excluding solar radiation and wind-driven rain. In the parameter study, four hygrothermal properties were studied: the μd-value of the finishing layer, the μd-value of the insulation layer, the thermal performance of the insulation layer and the moisture storage capacity of solid brick masonry. Finally, a prediction method of the hygrothermal performance of a building component is explored, which can be a useful tool to quickly assess the hygrothermal performance of a building component, without conducting advanced Heat, Air and Moisture simulations which might not be available. From the research, it can be concluded that for the studied hygrothermal properties and boundary conditions, the moisture storage capacity of historic solid brick masonry has the most influence on the hygrothermal behaviour of a vapour-open, non-capillary active internally insulated historic solid brick masonry facade. The outcome of this research shows that a high moisture storage capacity of solid brick masonry has a lower risk on mould growth due to interstitial condensation at the interface between the solid brick masonry and insulation layer. Furthermore, the explored prediction method shows quite adequate predictions for the single variation of the parameters.

The sustainability of high-rise buildings is always a point of debate and doubt in current research and literature. Several studies have been performed about the zero-energy potential for skyscrapers, however taking into consideration single functions, particularly office and housing buildings. Realistic and modern tall building design however always involves a combination of uses (offices, accommodation, commercial and retail) for the project to be economically viable. On the basis of the Trias Energetica, the primary goal of the early design for sustainable buildings must be to minimize the demand for energy (heating, cooling, hot water, electricity) by means of active or passive techniques. This translates into design guidelines for the shape, orientation, building envelope and climate properties, parameters that have been already widely investigated by researchers and designers in practice. However, an important feature in order to improve the sustainable profile of a building is to employ circular techniques that aim to avoid wasting energy and re-use / re-purpose it. The main objective of this graduation research is to determine the zero-energy potential for high-rise buildings by taking advantage of a mixed-use scheme and examining the possibilities for energy exchange and cooperation between different functions by means of storing energy in the form of warm and cold-water tanks. This research aims to determine which synergetic combinations between functions can be performed, what type of building systems and technology can be used and, by establishing a complete energy simulation, conclude on what are the energy benefits for the building on a yearly basis . The results will be an important addition to the sustainable design for “MEGA” scale projects, according to the forthcoming Dutch regulation that after 2020 all newly built buildings must comply with the nearly zero energy guidelines.

A traditional Trombe wall is known as a high thermal-mass wall, situated behind a window of a room and separated by an air cavity. The idea behind using a Trombe wall is that heat, ventilation and comfort can be passively generated by using the ‘free’ energy of the sun. The surface of the wall absorbs solar radiation when the sun shines, stores the energy and releases the heat at night to the room, when the occupants need it (Saadatian, Lim, Sopian, & Salleh, 2013). In addition, a Trombe wall can be used as natural ventilation system, of which its power is generated by the buoyancy effect in the cavity. Because a traditional Trombe wall is heavy, blocks daylight and cannot be adjusted to changing environmental conditions and seasonal differences, a new and innovative version was devised by the Double Face research team (4TU). The innovative version is called a lightweight translucent adaptable Trombe wall (LTATW) and is about five times lighter than a traditional Trombe wall. In addition, the wall is translucent and can rotate around its axes. The lower weight and translucent character are achieved by applying a phase change material in combination with aerogel, instead of stone or bricks. Phase change materials can store a large amount of (latent) heat during the change from solid to liquid state and thus, increase the thermal inertia of the system. The translucent elements are located in front of a glass façade and act as a thermal buffer in both winter and summer by rotating the elements towards the source of incoming heat or towards the sink for heat release (4TU.Bouw, 2014). In the winter, the layer of PCM is oriented towards the outdoor environment at daytime and is thermally charged by the low winter sun. At night, the system rotates and releases the accumulated heat to the interior. In the summer, the LTATW is oriented towards the interior at daytime to store the interior heat loads and during the night, it rotates again and releases the heat to the outside environment by means of (passive) night ventilation (4TU.Bouw, 2014).In this thesis, the results of a numerical spin-off study of the Double Face research project are shown, in which the influence of eight parameters (climate, building function, orientation, age, building method, room size, window size and type of glazing) on the energy and comfort performance of the innovative Trombe wall has been studied. First, an initial simulation model was developed in Matlab/Simulink, which was subsequently validated using a cross-comparison with results from DesignBuilder. After validation, the initial model has been extended to a suitable and reliable final version, with which more than 6000 different situations were simulated. The results of the simulations are values for the reduction or increase in energy demand for heating and cooling, expressed in percentages or in kWh. All results are processed in multiple designer tables, which interested designers can consult to assess whether installing the Trombe wall is useful for his or her situation, or not. In addition to the development of designer tables, the influence of each individual parameter on the performance of the Trombe wall was investigated using modeFRONTIER. It was found that in case of heating only a cold and temperate climate support a proper operation of the Trombe wall, since no heating is required in the other climate types. From the analysis, it was concluded that in relative sense (%), the Trombe wall performs best in a temperate climate, and that in absolute sense (kWh), the Trombe wall performs best in a cold climate. In case of cooling, the system performs best in a temperate climate and in a dry climate. Because the LTATW is designed to be both a passive cooling system in the summer and passive heating system in the winter, it has clearly been proven that only the temperate climate is the most logical choice. The average reduction of the heating energy demand in a temperate climate equals 36.1% (or 181.3 kWh per year) and the average reduction of the cooling energy demand equals 49.9% (or 115.0 kWh per year). Analysis of the second parameter, building function, has shown that in case of heating the function is not of great influence. The system performs well in both an office and a residence. In case of cooling, higher reductions of the energy demand are achieved in residences. Thirdly, the influence of the orientation of the Trombe wall was investigated and it was found that the best performance in case of heating occurs on a southern orientation. In case of cooling, the orientation is of less importance. The study shows that the age of a building does not have a major influence on the performance of the Trombe wall. Only in case of cooling, a slight preference can be expressed for new buildings. Studying the influence of the construction method on the performance of the wall has shown that this parameter has the least influence of all studied parameters. In both light-weight, medium-weight and heavy-weight buildings, a good performance can be achieved. For the size of the room, it was found that both room sizes perform equally well. It could be concluded that a Trombe wall can be installed in both small rooms and big rooms, but that when a room is too big, the capacity of the Trombe wall will no longer be useful to reduce a large amount of the initial energy demand. The same applies to cooling. Research has shown that for heating purposes, a room with a smaller window is more often preferred and for cooling purposes, a large window. Because the innovative Trombe wall will have to serve as both a passive heating and cooling device, an average size window will therefore probably be the most suitable. Finally, the influence of type of glazing was studied. It became clear that in relative terms the largest reductions of the heating energy demand are achieved with clear glazing. In case of cooling, the type of glazing is of less influence. Multiple sensitivity analyses were carried out to study the influence on the results of conditions that are easily affected by building occupants, and finally, a side-study was carried out into the influence of the Trombe wall on the energy demand for artificial lighting. It was found that even under slightly different circumstances the same conclusions can be drawn with regard to the influence of the parameters. The influence of the Trombe wall on the energy demand for artificial lighting is not negligible and should be carefully considered too.

Ensuring good living accomodation is a constitutional duty of the government, but there is now a shortage of 300,000 homes. Demand for housing has grown sharply in recent years. In the last two years, the housing market issue has been high on the political agenda again. In it, the issue of starters regarding home ownership occupies a prominent place. The importance of first-time buyers and the benefits of home ownership has therefore not remained underexposed. The inflow of ‘new’ households into the owner-occupied housing market not only stimulates movement but also provides the necessary liquidity. Partly due to quantitatives shortage, the position of first-time buyers is said to have continued to deteriorate. In the formulated housing policy, the quantitative housing demand is therefore emphatically central. Being able to realise the stated policy objectives - suitable and affordable housing for starters - depends on the demand exercised. Such policy requires accurate knowledge about the position occupied by first-time buyers in the (owner-occupied) housing market. This research focuses on the (changing) position of first-time buyers in the Dutch housing market. The research question answered in this respect is: What is the position of first-time buyers in the Dutch housing market and how has this position developed from 2009 to 2021? To arrive at this position, an insight needs to be gained into how first-time buyers operate on the housing market. For this, the ‘housing market’ needs to be explored first. Therefore, this research firstly discussed the background developments prior to the data analyses. The data research is divided into three parts. Firstly, the concept of ‘first-time buyer’ is explored in more detail whereby various profiles are identified. Next, the various distinct households are researched with respect to the demand for owner-occupied housing. Finally, a model-based analysis of housing market accessibility and success rates for these households is provided. The research results conclude to five main findings. Firstly, whereas the absolute market entrance declines lightly, the relative influx decreases sharply. The total demand for housing from both aspiring first-time buyers as well as homeowners has grown sharply. Secondly, the most current houses are not current, meaning the demanded housing is scarcely available in the most demanded regions. Thirdly, the results show that it is increasingly the high-potential households that find their way into the market. Fourth, the position of first-time buyers has been increasingly determined by the total competition, as the affordability seems not to be the issue. This is mainly rooted in low interest rates. Lastly, the general succes rate among first- time buyers decreased while the diversity among these households has increased.

People are feeling more and more lonely, especially in cities. This has negative effects on mental and physical well-being as well as on the economy. Feeling lonely is not just caused by internal factors like genetics and social skills, as many people think. The environment we live in contributes 52% to the feeling of loneliness. This environment is something changeable, especially for urbanists. Therefore, this thesis aims to bridge the gap between the existing theories about loneliness and the practical applications of these in the built environment of Linkeroever. Linkeroever is a deprived modernist neighbourhood in Antwerp separated from the rest of the city by the Scheldt River, where urban loneliness is a serious issue. This thesis will propose spatial and programmatic interventions through different scales and grounded in literature and empirical research that stimulate social cohesion and collective development on a legible human scale, countering urban loneliness. This will be done by answering the research question: how to improve spatial and programmatic conditions in Linkeroever that stimulate social cohesion and collective development, countering urban loneliness? Methods including research by design, literature analysis, and field trips helped by answering this question and resulted in an urban design for Linkeroever. Key takeaways from this research and design are that to counter urban loneliness important topics are social cohesion, social interaction, collective and personal development opportunities, and a legible and human scale. Spatial elements like hybrid zones, collective courtyards, and better public transport connections, together with programmatic solutions like a diverse public space offer, providing people with choices regarding social and development spaces, and making people proud through landmarks, can be used by urban designers and planners to counter urban loneliness all over the world.

Daytime radiative cooling (DRC) is a very novel passive cooling method for buildings that utilises the recent technological advance in wavelength selective-emittance material research and takes advantage of a transparency window that exists in the atmosphere between 8 and 13 μm. Application of DRC in locations where warm weather prevails for most of the year and cooling requirements of dwellings outweigh the respective heating ones could result in saving significant amounts of energy. Such a location is the small Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Designing an ideal radiative cooler is a challenging task and so it is to design an appropriate system that exploits the benefits of DRC. In such a design, a stratified thermal storage water tank can have a detrimental role. To identify whether it is possible to apply such a system in Cyprus, this project exploits the use of Matlab Simulink which has been used to run more than 6000 simulations, for a sensitivity and a varied analysis, taking into consideration different parameters with particular emphasis on the physical properties of the radiative cooling apparatus According to the data obtained, for the efficiency of a daytime radiative system to be maximized, the longwave transmission and emissivity coefficients of the cooler should be maximal while the shortwave transmission coefficient and the effective heat transfer coefficient to the environment should be minimal. Additionally, larger volumes of storage tanks achieve better results.

The Why Factory’s research design studio operates on the exchange of collective work and individual project. Implementing from the studio’s common framework, The Blockmaker, the studio’s research explores the notion of what makes a housing block? Through data to design approach and parametric software thinking, the Blockmaker is a research software that allows one to generate multiple design solutions by transforming mass, reconfiguration of programs, accessibilities, porosity and generating options for façade and structure responsively to a climate condition. My research question speculates on a scenario where a housing block would be self-sufficient with solar energy. How would it look like? How would it performs for power generation and at the same time generate better housing qualities for views, daylight and terraces? Can it create better qualities for a dwelling? In this studio, we add one parameter to observe the changes in our design intervention. In my case, for a block to be self-sufficient with solar panels, a parameter of energy demands with solar panel surfaces would be a primary aspect to consider. However, to make a housing block, it requires multiple parameters of housing qualities to finalise an optimised design decision.

To reach the European Union climate targets of 2020 the rate of refurbishment must increase. The problem is that there are many barriers to refurbishment, which causes a low rate and low quality. The objective is to overcome these barriers and stimulate facade refurbishment. This thesis looks at the improvement, that can be made when replacing an existing skin by a new facade focusing on improving the structural efficiency and touch upon building physics. The main driving forces of this thesis are parametric design and optimisation. A parametric design is crucial for this thesis to perform a variation study. Different shapes of the facade are simulated with a custom made genetic algorithm to optimise the shape of the facade. First of all, the cost can be influenced by minimising the amount of material by altering: cross-sections, beam distances, etc. Secondly, by changing the shape of the facade a more aerodynamic building can be created. When the curvature increases, the wind load can be reduced which can make the structure more efficient. The wind load on the facade is determined with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The part about building physics focusses on ventilation. A ventilation system is designed which emphasises the importance of integrating the ventilation system with the second skin. The design builds upon the results of the CFD simulation and the structural model. The performance of the system is quantified by determining the usage of natural resources.

In this thesis the passive humidity control of indoor air is laid under review. This is primarily interesting for museum rooms, where strict requirements apply to the indoor air humidity. Passive humidity control is promising to contribute to stabilizing the relative humidity levels in a room. Besides, the use of passive humidity control can potentially reduce energy demand for (de)-humidification, and reduce HVAC dimensions as a consequence. This work has zoomed in on the (de)-humidification of air lead through a packed bed with silica gel beads. Silica gel is very promising to use as a buffer material for humidity control as a result of its high hygroscopic capacity, or slope of sorption isotherm. The work started with uptake rate measurements on different silica gel samples, referred to as Experiment 1. This has yielded adsorption and desorption isotherm between 20 and 80 %RH. The obtained isotherms provide insight in the sorption capacity of different samples, as well as the presence of sorption hysteresis. Samples with promising sorption and desorption behaviour were selected to include in an experiment with a packed bed. In this experiment, referred to as Experiment 2, silica gel was contained in a packed bed (column) and exposed to cyclic input: alternating high and low levels of relative humidity, using a step function. Both short (1h/1h) as well as long (8h/16h) cycles are executed in the experiment. In both types of experiments, significant dehumidification and humidification of air in the packed bed was measured. Next to experiments, a numerical model of the packed bed is developed. The results of this model are compared to experimental data from literature and to the experimental data obtained in Experiment 2. The model proves to be able to simulate the course of both temperature and humidity of outlet air exiting the packed bed in a reliable way. The main discrepancy between model and experimental results is found in the response time of the model: it reacts faster to changing inlet compared to measurements. Furthermore the model is sensitive to the inputted isotherm polynomial, RH(w). This polynomial describes the equilibrium of gaseous water in the air and adsorbed liquid water in the silica gel. This equilibrium applies at the interface of air and silica gel surface. Experiment 2 has shown silica gel is able to both adsorb and desorb water in the humidity range of 40 to 60 %RH. An important observation in the long runs of Experiment 2 is that more water is adsorbed than desorbed in the Ąrst cycles. Two issues can be mentioned to explain this: the samples can experience ŠprimaryŠ hysteresis: some water is permanently retained in silica gel during the Ąrst adsorption/desorption cycle. This is a plausible explanation for the difference in primary and secondary isotherms. The other potential explanation is sway-in behaviour: it takes some time before the effect of initial conditions is eliminated in a cyclic experiment. In this case, it is possible that some water is stored in the deeper layers of a silica bead. The moisture uptake and release by silica gel converges to an equal value. The performance in buffering moisture is expressed in the Moisture Buffering Value (MBV) in [g/m3/%RH]. This MBVτ accounts for the time period of the expected humidity fluctuations. The maximum, or theoretical, MBV∞ is derived from the equilibrium isotherm. For a given time period of the expected humidity fluctuations, the part of the hygroscopic capacity of silica gel that is effectively used is expressed as: ξeffective = (MBVτ / MBV∞) · ξtheoretical (1) The MBVτ is determind based on experimental results in this project. The numerical PGC model can serve as a tool to simulate MBV (and ξeffective) for different geometries of the silica gel container and different humidity input. Concluding, silica gel is well able to reduce Ćuctuations in relative humidity of indoor air. It is important that the silica gel is well reachable by indoor air. Uniform utilization of the silica gel will increase the effective part of the (theoretical) hygroscopic capacity, ξeffective in [kg/m3], of the silica gel. It is best to avoid long lengths of silica, since the effectiveness of ŠupperŠ silica gel is reduced. Relative humidity fluctuations can occur either due to changes in absolute humidity (hygric loads) or due to temperature Ćuctuations in a room. If relative humidity fluctuations are due to changes in absolute humidity, performance of the packed bed could be improved by cooling the silica during adsorption (dehumidification of air) and heating during desorption (humidification of air). Energy demand for temperature control of the silica gel should be limited, to not mitigate the profits in energy demand for passive humidity control.

Since 3D printing is relatively new in the architecture applications, exploring how it could be integrated with environment-friendly materials as clay could lead to a more sustainable approach for materialising complex building components. This research is investigating the answer to the research question “What are the printing techniques and tools that can help integrate the clay as an environment-friendly material, into the 3d printing of building components, while maintaining the required indoor and outdoor performance quality?”. The research was divided into four aspects of exploration and design. Clay as a printing material to find the most suitable type for architectural components, as well as material experiments to find the best mixture for printability. Displacement ventilation system as a Wall component to be prototyped, it was designed and CFD analysis verified the designs. Robotic fabrication as the process considered while designing, from Grasshopper environment and creating a slicer algorithm to robot program generation. Lastly, an Extrusion system and hardware tools for printing to materialise a prototype design. Out of this process, a final prototype was created. Eventually, a design guide was created and recommended process developments were illustrated. Lastly, the aspects that require further development and the limitations were concluded. This research sets a base for whoever is interested in pushing the limits of sustainable materials, like clay, to new boundaries within the new digital fabrication technologies evolving.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ’s 2021 report, the recent sea level rate has nearly tripled in the last few decades compared with 1901-1971. It estimates that the sea levels may rise by 20 cm in the next thirty years or up to 80 cm by the end of 2100. The increase in sea levels poses serious questions and challenges to the housing infrastructure in flood-prone areas. Two locations that have been severely affected by the tidal and fluvial floods and typhoons are the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga in the Philippines region. There is a ground level subsidence of up to 5cm per year because of the uncontrolled ground-water level conditions prevalent worsening the floods. The high levels of stagnant waters causes unsanitary conditions in these areas. In 2017, Pieter Ham, co-founder of Finch Floating Homes, developed a floating house model suitable for the Philippines’ climatic conditions. After the prototype construction was proven successful, they are now venturing into creating a floating neighborhood in Hagonany, located on the island of Luzon. This research topic aims to study the urban physics context of the floating homes neighborhood. Alazne Enchaniz Jurado, as part of her master thesis in 2021 at Delft University of Technology, designed resilient coastal neighborhoods for the city of Hagonoy, Philippines. After extensive research on the geographical, social, and cultural context, she designed floating neighborhood models suiting the needs and requirements of the people. However, the urban physics parameters of these concepts are to be further studied to determine the thermal and wind comfort of the occupants in the outdoor areas. This is because of the high-temperature tropical climate present in that region. Therefore, the primary focus of the present project, this MSc thesis, is to understand the role of urban physics in floating community development. It focuses on the influence of vegetation and urban form configurations on the outdoor thermal comfort and outdoor wind comfort of the open spaces, as they serve as the primary gathering locations for the residents. After analyzing the results, it concludes that increasing vegetation decreases the daytime temperatures, thereby improving the comfortability index. Additionally, the urban form also significantly plays a role in influencing the micro-climate of the region.

This project is based on two sustainable construction methods, namely up-cycling (reuse of materials) and vertical farming (green facades). These two concepts are combined to form a ‘Do It Yourself’ double skin façade, a double skin façade made with re-used sliding doors, which is aimed to be capable of developing ‘Edible Green’, which refers to the placement of edible vegetation in the façade of an office building. As two sustainable methods are combined into one project, the investigation of the performance of this ‘Do It Yourself’ double skin façade arose as an objective. Hence the aim of this research was to investigate the climatic performance of the façade for the growth of plants, as well as its influence in the indoor environment of the office. The façade was divided into 6 modules across two floors, capable of accommodating vegetation individually. These modules were assigned different design strategies based on ventilation, shading system, watering system and the placement of plants. Five different types of plants were placed on each module. Three types of ventilation strategies were adopted as parameters for the modules, namely minimally ventilated, naturally ventilated and mechanically ventilated. The configuration of plants were such that all modules had a total of 9 plants, with 7 short growing and 2 tall growing plants. The watering strategy was adopted in the form of drip irrigation system, where the modules in the top floor received constant rate of irrigation whereas the modules in the bottom floor received varied rate of irrigation. A measurement system was developed using a microcontroller, namely the Arduino UNO. The parameters were evaluated by the placement of measurement sensors in each of the modules. The measurement was done over a period of three weeks where the temperature, relative humidity, illuminance, CO2 and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) were measured. The obtained values were studied and analysed based on the expected behaviour from the literature. The condition of the plants in the cavities were evaluated by determining the yield produced by each of the module, and also by a visual inspection of the plants. It was observed that the plants play an influential role in increasing the humidity in the cavity, especially in the cavities of the non-ventilated modules. This was evaluated by comparing the relative humidity and absolute humidity of all the modules. It was found that the humidity in the minimally ventilated modules was higher compared to the rest. Moreover, it was found that the shading in the façades highly influence the temperature in the cavity. The performed experiments suggested that the use of plants in the double skin façade, along with an external shading strategy can decrease the temperature in the cavity by up to 13°C and can increase the relative humidity of air in the cavity by 38%. Moreover, the experiments with respect to mechanically ventilated modules show that the cavity preheats the air by up to 6°C during night time and pre cools the air by up to 10°C during high outdoor temperatures (summer afternoons). Based on the theoretical and real time evaluation, it was concluded that the minimally ventilated modules perform relatively better with respect to the condition of the plants, whereas the mechanically ventilated modules perform better with respect to the indoor environment in the office. However, the influence of the double skin façade alone on the indoor environment of the office could not be determined, as there were external influences on the climatic conditions inside the office building. Based on the results, a design strategy was successfully formulated and the performance of each module was investigated. The research answered the question with respect to maintenance of the double skin façade for the growth and health of the vegetation. Moreover, the research helps to provide ideas on different design strategies that can be used, based on different sustainable design requirements.

This thesis investigates the potential for natural ventilative cooling strategies to improve the cooling and comfort of residential midrise buildings in the Netherlands. Ventilative Cooling is “the application of the cooling capacity of the outdoor air flow by ventilation to reduce or even eliminate the cooling loads and/or the energy use by mechanical cooling in buildings, while guaranteeing a comfortable thermal environment”. The effect of Day and Night ventilation strategies on the indoor environment of two common typologies of midrise apartments seen in the Netherlands was evaluated. The project investigated window and stack ventilation using dynamic energy simulations coupled with airflow network (AFN) modelling. EnergyPlus airflow network model was used for simulations with Grasshopper and Rhino as the user interface. Honeybee and Ladybug plug-in for Grasshopper translated the model into the EnergyPlus-readable input format. Various performance indicators were used to evaluate the apartments' comfort and cooling. These included temperature limit exceedance hours, GTO hours, Cooling requirements reduction ratio, Climate Potential for Natural Ventilation (CPNV), Natural Ventilative Cooling Effectiveness (NVCE) and Climate Potential Utilization Ratio (CPUR). Ventilative cooling simulations yielded favorable results. There was a significant reduction in the peak temperatures and GTO hours within the rooms when the windows were opened, compared to when they were closed. Out of the tested two typologies of apartments, the number of hours when the temperature exceeds 28°C reduced by 50-70% when the windows were fully opened in typology 1 apartments and was reduced by 36-70% in typology 2. GTO hours reduced by 70-80% when the windows were opened for ventilative cooling in typology 1 apartments and reduced by 55-60% for typology 2 apartments in comparison to when they were closed. Apartments with the capability of cross ventilation performed better than those with only single-sided ventilation. The cooling effectiveness of the existing building designs was also evaluated. The results showed that there is room for improvement of design to utilize the site’s potential for natural ventilation. When passive stack is used along with the opening of windows in an apartment, there was a slight reduction in temperature when compared to using only open windows for the same apartment. However, the reduction was not very significant. The findings are presented in a comparative and quantitative manner, providing valuable insight into the relevant field.

The objective of the thesis is to reduce the cooling load of the offices in Delhi, India by integrating passive strategies and low-ex cooling (evaporative) technology through facades as a decentralized ventilation system. The cooling demand in India is going to increase up to 8 folds by 2030. Almost 50% of the energy is spent on space cooling for offices in Indian climatic conditions. In order to reduce the cooling demand alternative low ex cooling technologies are being researched and implemented. In this thesis, various types of evaporative cooling and their various properties and its application on Delhi’s climatic scenario and its limitations were studied as one of the low-ex techs. The study concludes by choosing Dew-point indirect evaporative cooler because of its high wet bulb effectiveness with no addition of humidity. For continuous operation, the humidity in the air needs to removed before supplying it to the cooler. So, the design involves a combination of Dew-point Indirect evaporative cooler (D-IEC) coupled with Desiccant coated heat exchanger (DCHE). The system also requires a source for heating and cooling down the water for Regeneration cycle and Dehumidification cycle, evaporative cooler respectively. The cooling demand of the building needs to be addressed by multiple devices in a decentralized ventilation system. The total number of devices required determines the cost of installation and ease of maintenance over the years and it depends on the cooling load. So, it is necessary to reduce the cooling demand of the building using passive strategies before integrating the evaporative cooler. The building’s cooling load has been reduced to 50W/m2 by adapting suitable passive strategies like shading systems, reducing U values of walls, glazing and roof, reducing infiltration and the internal heat gain. The above-mentioned strategies result in 146.41kWh/m2/yr with a water-based chiller (CENTRALIZED), and it is efficient when compared to the recommended national figure of 180 kWh/m2/yr. But using the De-VAP systems (DECENTRALIZED) cuts down the energy by even much further to up to 40% (92.26kWh/m2) in which almost 1/3rd of the energy can be generated by installing PV on the roof. This design takes us further one step closer to the NET ZERO building.

The air-conditioning of commercial buildings accounts for approximately 50% of the total energy consumed in India’s commercial sector. Reducing this load is a key step towards minimizing India's greenhouse gas emissions. One culprit is the routine use of fully glazed façades which are chosen for aesthetics but are neither energy efficient nor effective at providing adequate thermal comfort. A double skin façade (DSF) can help reduce the heat gain of a building by exhaustion heat through cavity ventilation, while still providing the aesthetics of a fully glazed façade. The higher thermal resistance can also help provide better indoor thermal comfort to occupants. However, due to the high cost of DSFs, their complex thermal behaviour and overheating risk in the cavity an assessment of the effectiveness of the system in warmer climates of India is needed. This study evaluates the energy saving potential and thermal comfort enhancements with mechanically ventilated DSFs in different climate zones of the Indian subcontinent. A numerical model created in the MATLAB/Simulink platform, employing the zonal approach and verified against Design Builder was used for simulating the thermal behaviour. Optimization of the façade design was based on three parameters: 1) cavity width, 2) cavity ventilation rate and 3) glazing systems. The sensitivity of these design parameters to the performance of the DSF was analysed before proposing optimized configurations for different sites based on their local climate. These optimized configurations are then evaluated against a single skin fully glazed façade. The parameters used for evaluating the energy saving potential are annual heat gain and annual heat loss. For thermal comfort and overheating risk, the temperature distributions were analysed. In comparison with a single skin façade, it is found that the façade orientations with the highest incident solar radiation, usually the South, East and West facing façades, provide the most improvement, up to 50% reduction in heat gain annually. Heat loss was reduced by 25-35% at each site, however, this proves to be irrelevant for sites with mild winters. This corresponded to the arid, semi-arid, humid subtropical and montane climate zones found in India. Thermal comfort was maintained by the DSF for both warm and cool walls. This was also found to be the case for the single skin façade, hence, no additional improvement to thermal comfort was achieved with respect to radiant asymmetries. Overheating in the cavity was mitigated through the application of tinted glazing in the external envelope, ventilation rates of up to 80AC/hr and larger cavity widths. Optical properties of the external envelope have the largest impact on the reduction in heat gain regardless of the façade’s spatial orientation and façades with low direct solar radiation were found to be insensitive to changes in cavity width and ventilation rate. The findings of the study suggest that DSFs have an important energy saving potential in warm climates and the design recommendation can be utilized to mitigate overheating and excess heat gain which is seen as an issue even in cooler climate zones.

Usually in a renovation design process one of the first main tasks of the architect is to distribute effectively the program of requirements (spaces with their corresponding areas) in the building. To do so the architect inserts in the existing floorplan the spaces in the form of circles; the so called “bubble diagram”. The purpose of this project is to propose a methodology to wave proximity relationships with illuminance requirements. The designer inserts existing geometry of the building in the software. An illuminance analysis of the room is performed so as to determine the ideal light locations for each room according to regulations. The user inserts the desired proximity and illuminance requirements of the rooms in the form of points and lines and prioritizes them. Given these inputs the goal is to place the rooms in positions that the objective function (potential energy) is minimized. The tool finds the optimal position of the rooms regarding proximity and illuminance requirements in the given boundaries without overlapping themselves by simulating it as a spring network and produces the bubble diagram. The diagram produced serves as the starting point for the designer to further develop the layout into a proper floorplan manually.

This projects addresses the social aspect of daily life, how different people in a community get to meet each other and how the community as a whole, and in a larger context the city, can benefit of these festive social qualities.