University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Humans are designed to move. Movement is a key component of physical and mental maturation in children. It can take place in various settings, with different levels of intensity. During the developmental years of a child, it is imperative that a child is active. Most often movement and play are thought to occur outdoors. The idea of the"playground" activity does not have to be isolated to the outdoors. Children should be encouraged to be physically active in structured play, allowed free play with peers for social and emotional development, as well as learn through hands-on experiments that are important for their cognitive development. Play is how children experience their world and create new discoveries about themselves and others. This thesis will be explored through the design of an elementary school for Alexandria, VA. An elementary school creates the perfect setting for which these elements of movement and learning to combine. This thesis explores the way in which the movement of the outdoor school yard can occur within the school building. The school grounds serve as demonstration to the community for active learning. Incorporating active design through elevation changes, material changes and the transition between indoor and outdoor allow the school to be a model for "learning through movement." This school also begins to address the larger issues of our society's unhealthy lifestyle by designing three levels of active design for the community, building, and individual child. / Master of Architecture

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How might interior environments play a role in promoting life long well being? According to Passarino, et al., genetic variety only accounts for about 25% of the variation of human longevity. A combination of diet, environment and exercise comprise the greatest factors. The amount of time Americans spend indoors presents a challenge to increasing physical activity: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that Americans spend 93% of their lives indoors (Roberts, 2016). Therefore, if physical activity is crucial to living longer, the design of interior environments could logically be a critical factor in promoting natural movement and sustaining lifelong well-being. National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner identified five “Blue Zones” throughout the world where people naturally live longer: Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Oligastra Region, Sardinia; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. These regions have unusually high concentrations of centenarians who had grown old without noticeable signs of heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes (Buettner, 2015). Buettner identified nine common principles that universally characterize well-being in the Blue Zones. The first, and most crucial to design in the built environment, is to “move naturally.” Healthy centenarians, Buettner says, “live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving” (Buettner, 2015). This research will seek to translate Blue Zone principles aimed at promoting continued well-being through natural movement that can inform principles for the creation of interior environments. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES Further analysis of Blue Zones principles will address specific conditions and behaviors that encourage natural movement. A literature review and case studies will be presented that show a correlation between natural movement within the built environment and measurable increases in healthy outcomes. The example projects include La Maison de Verre, Paris, France; L’Unité d’Habitation à Marseille, France; and Tea House, Bethesda, Maryland. Interior design that encourages regular natural movement occurs primarily in the design of a building’s major circulation systems and its program (Center for Active Design, 2010). Corridors, elevators and lobbies that connect other spaces in the program encourage walking. Elements like stairs, bicycle storage and furniture that produces micro-movement promote activity when they are visible, safe and attractive. Programmed spaces that encourage physical activity like dance/movement studios and those that promote healthy diets also lead to increases in healthy behaviors, which ultimately lead to increased longevity. Using these guides, a building in Richmond, Virginia will be redesigned as a micro-Blue Zone that could be used as a model for promoting increased life long well being. This two-level adaptive reuse, mixed use commercial project will address vertical transitions, social spaces and outdoor relationships that encourage residents and visitors to move throughout the day.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-10-11T12:44:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Aline Freitas Meotti_.pdf: 15947079 bytes, checksum: 4d884cfb0e5aa6402d166fe1e7516613 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-11T12:44:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Aline Freitas Meotti_.pdf: 15947079 bytes, checksum: 4d884cfb0e5aa6402d166fe1e7516613 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-11 / Nenhuma / Deslocar-se a pé é uma atividade intrínseca ao ser humano, o homem quando caminha estabelece relações com o espaço, conhecendo ou reconhecendo o território onde circula. Nas cidades, os locais destinados ao deslocamento de pedestres são os passeios públicos e, ao caminhar, as calçadas são percebidas como um recinto urbano, no qual é possível compreender o espaço por meio dos quatro planos que envolvem o ambiente pelo qual se está circulando, ou seja, plano do piso, plano da via, plano da cobertura e plano da edificação. Por meio desse entendimento, esta pesquisa tem o viés qualitativo com objetivo de investigar as calçadas da cidade de Santo Ângelo por meio de seis aspectos fundamentais do design ativo para impulsionar o movimento de pedestres. O método consiste em análise técnica do espaço para identificar o índice de qualidade das calçadas e relacionar à percepção do pedestre em planos determinados pela pesquisa. Após o conhecimento desse índice, e, também, por meio da percepção dos pedestres e das fichas de análise técnica, foi possível comparar estudos, identificar oportunidades e desafios para elencar ações prioritárias para intervir nesse espaço urbano, o que resultou em possíveis formas de utilizar esses dados para o planejamento urbano em aspectos pontuais que optam por dar preferência ao pedestre, melhorando questões relacionadas ao bem-estar e à saúde das pessoas. / Walking is an intrinsic activity for the human being, when people walk around they establish relations with the space, knowing or recognizing the territory that circulates. In the cities the place that is destined for the pedestrians to move are the sidewalks, which are perceived by the pedestrians as an urban room, walking through it is possible to understand the space by four planes that surrounds the environment – ground plan, roadside, canopy and building walls. Through this understanding this research has qualitative bias with the objective to investigate the sidewalks of Santo Angelo city by six fundamental aspects of the active design to promote pedestrians movement. The method consists on technical analysis of the space to identify the quality of the sidewalks and relate it to the perception of the pedestrians in plans determined by the research. After perceiving this data through the pedestrian perception and technical files analysis, it was possible to compare studies, identify opportunities and challenges to list priority actions to intervene in this urban space, resulting in possible ways of using this data for urban planning in specific aspects that choose to give preference to the pedestrian, improving issues related to the well-being and people’s health.

Decisions made at the early stage of building and settlement design can greatly influence the energy performance of the built environment. However, the type of feasible design intervention and their impact strong depends on project: if it is a new development or a re-development, whether the setting of the project is urban or rural, etc. Utilizing Bysjöstrand EcoVillage as a case, the aim of this thesis is to improve the energy performance of a new development at its early design stage through the passive and active use of solar energy. The study evaluated the energy saving potential of various passive solar design strategies as well as the solar energy potential of the new development. The steps taken to reduce the energy consumption are focused on the annual heating demand of buildings, since it accounts for more than a half of the total energy consumed by the village. The energy saving potential of the following passive solar design approaches were considered: building siting, building orientation, windows-to-wall ratio (WWR) analysis and insulation thickness optimization from the economic perspective. Furthermore, an assessment of energy generation potential from on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems was conducted. The financial viability of each building’s PV system was also conducted. According to the results, the evaluated passive solar design strategies can reduce the annual heating energy consumption close to 17 %. Regarding onsite energy generation, electricity from roof-installed PV systems can cover over 100% of the annual energy consumption estimated for the residential lighting and equipment within the eco-village. In summary, this study has demonstrated that with the above design considerations a 50 % reduction of energy consumption from the utility grid is possible. This study is useful for architects, energy engineers, and other parties who are involved in residential buildings energy performance optimization.

Decisions made at the early stage of building and settlement design can greatly influence the energy performance of the built environment. However, the type of feasible design intervention and their impact strong depends on project: if it is a new development or a re-development, whether the setting of the project is urban or rural, etc. Utilizing Bysjöstrand EcoVillage as a case, the aim of this thesis is to improve the energy performance of a new development at its early design stage through the passive and active use of solar energy. The study evaluated the energy saving potential of various passive solar design strategies as well as the solar energy potential of the new development. The steps taken to reduce the energy consumption are focused on the annual heating demand of buildings, since it accounts for more than a half of the total energy consumed by the village. The energy saving potential of the following passive solar design approaches were considered: building siting, building orientation, windows-to-wall ratio (WWR) analysis and insulation thickness optimization from the economic perspective. Furthermore, an assessment of energy generation potential from on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems was conducted. The financial viability of each building’s PV system was also conducted. According to the results, the evaluated passive solar design strategies can reduce the annual heating energy consumption close to 17 %. Regarding onsite energy generation, electricity from roof-installed PV systems can cover over 100% of the annual energy consumption estimated for the residential lighting and equipment within the eco-village. In summary, this study has demonstrated that with the above design considerations a 50 % reduction of energy consumption from the utility grid is possible. This study is useful for architects, energy engineers, and other parties who are involved in residential buildings energy performance optimization.