Economic globalisation is enabling India to reinvent itself as a development crucible, providing previously unrealised opportunities for economic transformation. One crucial transformation of economic success is the rapidly growing middle class. Whilst the growth in the middle classes indicates improvement in the quality of life of many, the rate of consumption has also been increasing exponentially. If they, the middle classes consume resources at the same rate as the British and Americans, India will become the world’s number one producer of carbon emissions. The attitudes and aspirations of the growing middle classes are a major factor in the increased, and perhaps impulsive consumption patterns. It is therefore the aim of this research to consider the bottom-up approach, which validates this thesis by examining middle class homeowners’ preferences in Mysore, a south Indian city. Mysore used to be recognised as having socially cohesive and inclusive housing typologies that were climate responsive and calibrated to local, social and economic needs. Changes in social conditions, cultural practices and lifestyle can be seen in the way homeowners use their homes to demonstrate affluence and status. A key challenge is to research ways in which sustainable housing in an Indian context can both mitigate carbon emissions and at the same time address the material aspirations and desires of a fast-growing middle class. Baseline characteristics and homeowners’ attitudes are established by means of literature research and fieldwork. The output of this stage is triangulated with further research to narrow the focus towards boundary conditions and transition spaces for an in-depth study of relevant factors contributing towards consumption, aspiration and sustainability. The second stage points to the importance of the external boundary of the site and the edge of buildings in terms of aligning meaningful, sustainable design strategies with the concerns and aspirations of the emergent middle-class. This thesis argues that, in the domain of sustainable housing, both a qualitative approach and quantitative strategies are essential to the understanding of social and cultural dynamics as well as to measure and benchmark performance. Because of the nature of this multi-threaded approach, mixed method research practices have been followed using triangulation methodologies and grounded theory. This has resulted in the revisiting and refining of the research focus and objectives throughout the research. During the research process, spatial scenarios for housing were developed to harmonise preferences and different sustainability agendas. The research focused on identifying and testing the critical building characteristics of the boundary location. Homeowners’ preferences were qualified by a multi-sorting task analysis and study model performance tested by sophisticated environmental simulation. This was triangulated with fieldwork studies to help propose sustainable housing strategies. The methodology adopted has been critical to supporting the architectural response to the cultural and economic condition on one hand (social methods) and the climate responsive, traditional design and simulation models (environmental design methods) on the other. Different sets of fieldwork were conducted at two stages that involved archival searches and detailed interaction with architects, builders, users, academics and government agencies. In total, 240 respondents answered a questionnaire survey and 146 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The outcome of this research demonstrates how, in the absence of any counterbalancing regulations, social perception and economic aspirations limit the acceptability of sustainable design and construction strategies. In India, middle class demographics and value systems are complex; where safety and security, and display of wealth have to go hand in hand. In this context, this research provides new insight into the way sustainability can be understood in the Indian context with qualitative values that are complemented by quantitative measurements. Finally, this research suggests ways of introducing sustainable practices through a negotiated understanding that balances aspirations with more responsive design. India has identified housing as one of the eight national missions to reduce carbon emissions as part of its commitment to reduce people’s vulnerability to the impact of climate change. In a geo-climatically, regionally and culturally diverse country like India, the top-down national policy can only be successfully implemented with an understanding of the local context. A bottom-up approach to identify sustainable strategies that acknowledge homeowners needs and aspirations should be a useful contribution to achieving carbon reduction and sustainable housing in Mysore. With minor adjustments, the methodology and research process could be adopted in other Indian cities.

As demand for energy is skyrocketing around the globe, environmental challenges are becoming more severe than ever before. Carbon dioxide, methane gas and other greenhouse gases are rapidly contributing to global warming and ozone depletion phenomenon. Buildings are among major contributors of greenhouse gases. They are consuming more than 40% of total energy and three quarter of the total electricity in the United States. It is to some distance the responsibility of building design professionals to address the impacts of their practice on the environment by reducing the energy consumption and carbon emission of their projects. This thesis aims to create a practical design guideline to help architects design energy-neutral homes in North America. The study's primary emphasis is on reducing building energy demand by implementing core principles of building physics into the design process throughout a case study project. What makes this process unique compared to other existing green design programs is its focus on architect's knowledge to implement core energy saving design strategies into design and evaluate their performance with a normative simulation tool. Selection and analysis of building systems, financial evaluation of cost effective systems and materials, uncertainty analysis of building systems, construction cost estimating and marketing analysis of the case study project, demonstrate simple strategies for designers to use in projects with higher sensitivity. In conclusion, the idea behind this methodology is building marketable energy-neutral homes in the current market with existing materials and none-complex technologies. The success of this design method is depends on the knowledge and skills of architects in building science, architectural design, and building construction. Despite barriers and many uncertainties embedded in this process, moving toward energy-neutral homes will have positive impacts on environment even if it could not reach the Net-Zero balance.

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Mimarlık Anabilim Dalı, 2009. / Kaynakça var.

Sustainable development has been variously defined as: "the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity" (Gissen 2002:185), and as society's ability to meet its current needs and fulfil its greatest potential without compromising its ability to address its needs and potentials in the future (WCED 1987). It is a far reaching concept which calls for action by the entire spectrum of society. It implies a focus on more than just financial profits, and is more holistic and systemic than simple environmentalism. Approaches to the subject differ depending on the global context, that is, the North sees the issue as leaning more toward conscientious environmental resource use and rehabilitation, whereas the South sees sustainable development more in terms of providing for the basic needs of the poor, which often takes priority over doing so in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. Implementation of sustainable development tends to be implemented by governments in a number of ways, firstly by moving the indicators of development away from Gross Domestic Product and toward more holistic indicators such as Quality of Life indicators, in order to internalise factors that are typically considered external to normal economic pricing factors. The implementation of sustainable development into the architecture and construction industry requires architects to be aware of the issues involved and the solutions available. Then clients need to be educated in their role in the process, with particular emphasis on the advantages available to them. These advantages include lower running costs, improved corporate image, and improved worker contentment and productivity. Practical measures for sustainable architectural design are primarily environmental in nature, and include water, energy, and material resource efficiency, as well as indoor environmental quality. These can however, largely be validated in economic terms. Existing literature that are intended as 'design guides', are however, lacking in practical measures in which to implement the more social and economic sides of sustainable development, and for that, the designer needs to look toward various architectural assessment tools, of which South Africa's Sustainable Building Assessment Tool is useful because of the broad scope of its approach. Built examples have demonstrated greatly improved environmental performance in buildings, as well as improved worker and client satisfaction. In terms of architectural quality, they range from offices which look very similar to other 'non-sustainable' offices built in the North, to a more experimental and low-tech approach practiced by a number of architects from the South, which see this approach as an opportunity for a new architectural expression. Sustainable architecture requires acknowledging sustainable development goals from the very start of the project. Following this, the interrelationship between different components of a design is examined, particularly with respect to allowing advantages attained from one component or system to benefit other systems. A holistic approach of concurrently focusing on environmental, social and economic factors will be shown to benefit all of these factors rather than just the one being designed for - for example, environmental interventions can have economic benefits. Because of the wide scope of factors that need to be considered, it will be found that often there are conflicting issues. This can be resolved through analyses such as life-cycle-analysis and value judgments can be made by comparing different solutions. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The intension of this dissertation was to investigate why architectural environments were not healing, but harming people, and what factors could be looked at in order to provide healing environments for mankind. The human living and working environments are contributing more to illness and the aesthetic, than to creating environments that comfort, engage and heal the human beings. Buildings needed to become more attuned to people’s physical and mental well-being and by providing an architecture that incorporates water and finds ways to heal while being functional. Nature’s principles incorporate networks of complexity while remaining harmonious and by looking towards, and using nature in architecture is where inspiration can be found for a solution. The aim of this dissertation was to create an appropriate architecture that respects nature, while providing the essential resourceful, sensitive, delightful and therapeutic environments for the betterment of those who suffer from illnesses. The challenge was that creating balance between architecture and nature is difficult but necessary for producing healing environments for human well-being. A research investigation was carried out in the form of a literature review that covered nature, water and architecture and the factors and elements that these categories contribute to healing. Precedents and case studies where investigated and analyzed to prove these theories of healing of a successful collaboration between nature and architecture. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with medical professionals to establish the relevance of water in healing for humans through hydrotherapy. The research concluded that healing environments were possible and greatly enhanced when nature, water and architecture were combined. What can be contributed on a large scale is that healing environments is achievable and should be implanted in every society and city for the overall well-being of mankind, and specifically, can contribute medically to healing certain diseases and conditions. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This thesis is the story of my five year journey developing a practice in integrating ‘green’ innovation within the built environment—mainly in new buildings. It is an exploratory thesis based on qualitative observation and documentation of my experience and detailed reflection on the successes and failures of this practice as I moved from naïve novice to expert. Initially I identified a great deal of desk-based and survey research on ‘green’ buildings, but little research actually looking at the field from within the practice of a building project. I thought that exploring this would create some understanding of why some ‘green’ initiatives were not taken up at the rate many people expected. / Through the telling of the over fifty stories which make up this thesis, I hope that I can create vicarious experiences in readers thus enabling them to use my journey to reflect on their own paths and to therefore learn with me. A number of useful tools and methods I developed to support my practice are presented, along with the key insights I extracted from my experience: that different types of ‘green’ information are relevant at particular stages of the building life cycle; that reflective practice is an essential tool in a facilitative practice working in a discursive, dynamic and complex field; that the power, culture and nature of the agents play a role in the ability to successfully integrate ‘green’ innovation; and, most importantly, that there is a need for all agents to have a voice in the integration of ‘green’ innovation into a project.

Diss. Stockholm : Kungliga tekniska högskolan, 2006.

Thesis (M.Arch.) - Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-99). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2009. / "24 April 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 101).

Thesis (M.E.S.)--Evergreen State College, 2009. / "May, 2009." Title from title screen (viewed 4/15/2010). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-53).