Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

M.S.

M.S.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

To mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, unthinkable restrictions and measures were enforced. In a few weeks’ time, the greatest part of the global population went under strict lockdown policies. In this new reality, Italians took advantage of their balconies and started engaging in collective actions of communal and national solidarity. Unable to be outdoors in any other way they reinvented the balcony as the focal point of their everyday interactions in times that called for social distancing and became ‘viral’. Balconies are a common feature in dense urban settings of South Europe, and transformed into an outdoor territory, which demonstrates architectural innovation, bridging dipoles, of interior and exterior, of individual and collective, but mostly of private and public. Given the circumstances, one can provocatively suggest that balconies are public spaces, especially under the scope of pandemic urbanism. Recognizing public spaces as open, publicly accessible places that facilitate popular activities necessary for community building, we introduce balconies as hybrid and heterotopic spaces mediating the private and public realm. Defined by clear and strict borders, yet accessible in terms of sight and sound, balconies potentially create a wider social network within the city, which should be enhanced. In terms of methodology, besides the literature review, ‘on a balconé’ (sic). ‘Balconer’, in French translates to watch closely from a balcony, without taking part in what is happening and such methodological practice complemented the research, by recording direct and indirect personal observations. As a result, an online international survey was conducted in April 2020, open to subjects both having and not having balconies. Firstly, the perception of balconies in general was investigated, along with an effort to map out regular activities and objects that synthesize such places. Moreover, it was explored whether the viral scenes from all over the world were more than a momentum and an ‘Instagrammable’ trend or whether new synergies underlain beyond, especially in the scope of social interactions and solidarity. The research advocates reconsidering balconies as an important element of building structures, especially in cities. Comparing how previous pandemics and diseases shifted urban planning and design principles, it is high time to discuss the proliferation of balconies as a feature of pro-equal societies. Nevertheless, balconies should be understood as spatial manifestations rather than merely architectural typological elements. In that sense, porches, patios, terraces and rooftops bear the same opportunities. Placemaking and urban policies calling for dense public life should start taking into account places that exceed the street level perspective. Finally, in some languages, balcony is a slang word for female breasts. Reversing this metaphor, as breasts are life-giving, balconies also are life-supporting elements of the buildings and of cities and should be regarded as such.

A large portion of the existing building stock in North America is comprised of post-World War II high-rise apartment buildings, particularly in the Greater Golden Horseshoe in Ontario. They are home to a large portion of the Canadian population. These buildings are nearly 50 years old and reaching the end of their useful lifespan. Significant deterioration has lead to life safety concerns, poor standards of living, and aesthetic degradation. They also consume a significant amount of energy resulting in contributing to Canada’s high per capita greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis investigates the impact of various retrofit strategies on the energy consumption, durability, and occupant comfort of the towers. The building enclosure is the primary focus. The impacts were analyzed using three approaches. Whole building energy consumption was simulated by adapting a spreadsheet based Building Energy and Loads Analysis (BELA) model, originally intended for office buildings. Heat flow and temperatures across the enclosures were modeled using a two-dimensional finite element model (Therm 5.2). A single, theoretical building dubbed the, “Archetype”, was developed to define the characteristics of a “typical” tower using details extracted from four sets of drawings for towers built in Toronto during the late 1960s. Various quantities and configurations of thermal insulation were added to the Archetype and the resulting effective thermal resistances were modeled. Adding insulation to the interior significantly reduces the effectiveness of any added thermal resistance. Insulating on the exterior allows the insulation around the balconies to reach 80% of its rated value, even without insulating the balconies. Energy efficiency measures (EEMs) including retrofitting the walls, windows, appliances, or HVAC equipment were simulated and it was found that each on its own did not have a major impact on annual energy consumption. Packages of EEMs were created and simulated. It was found that a basic and high-performance whole building retrofit packages would save approximately 40% and 55% of the annual energy consumption, respectively, based on the Archetype. An analysis and discussion of the enclosure retrofit impacts on freeze-thaw potential, interior surface and interstitial condensation, occupants’ thermal comfort, and passive thermal comfort was completed. An interior versus exterior enclosure retrofit comparison summary illustrated that an exterior enclosure retrofit has significant benefits relative to an interior retrofit including ease of construction, greater durability, and improved comfort. The difference in annual energy reduction between an interior and exterior enclosure retrofit was small.

A large portion of the existing building stock in North America is comprised of post-World War II high-rise apartment buildings, particularly in the Greater Golden Horseshoe in Ontario. They are home to a large portion of the Canadian population. These buildings are nearly 50 years old and reaching the end of their useful lifespan. Significant deterioration has lead to life safety concerns, poor standards of living, and aesthetic degradation. They also consume a significant amount of energy resulting in contributing to Canada’s high per capita greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis investigates the impact of various retrofit strategies on the energy consumption, durability, and occupant comfort of the towers. The building enclosure is the primary focus. The impacts were analyzed using three approaches. Whole building energy consumption was simulated by adapting a spreadsheet based Building Energy and Loads Analysis (BELA) model, originally intended for office buildings. Heat flow and temperatures across the enclosures were modeled using a two-dimensional finite element model (Therm 5.2). A single, theoretical building dubbed the, “Archetype”, was developed to define the characteristics of a “typical” tower using details extracted from four sets of drawings for towers built in Toronto during the late 1960s. Various quantities and configurations of thermal insulation were added to the Archetype and the resulting effective thermal resistances were modeled. Adding insulation to the interior significantly reduces the effectiveness of any added thermal resistance. Insulating on the exterior allows the insulation around the balconies to reach 80% of its rated value, even without insulating the balconies. Energy efficiency measures (EEMs) including retrofitting the walls, windows, appliances, or HVAC equipment were simulated and it was found that each on its own did not have a major impact on annual energy consumption. Packages of EEMs were created and simulated. It was found that a basic and high-performance whole building retrofit packages would save approximately 40% and 55% of the annual energy consumption, respectively, based on the Archetype. An analysis and discussion of the enclosure retrofit impacts on freeze-thaw potential, interior surface and interstitial condensation, occupants’ thermal comfort, and passive thermal comfort was completed. An interior versus exterior enclosure retrofit comparison summary illustrated that an exterior enclosure retrofit has significant benefits relative to an interior retrofit including ease of construction, greater durability, and improved comfort. The difference in annual energy reduction between an interior and exterior enclosure retrofit was small.

The need for the public areas within urban environments is increasing day by day. This thesis focuses on urban balconies as one of the important element of public open areas. Their historical backgrounds, contribution to the cities, categorization and exemplification form important topics for explaining the concept. The study also searches the important natural features that effect the urban development of Bursa and questions the place of urban balconies between them. While explaining the past and the present situations, types and the usages of urban balconies&amp / #8217 / of Bursa / this thesis emphasizes their existing but neglected qualitative and quantitative values, that have the potential to play an important role for the physical shaping of the city so as the formation of urban image. Related to this, also the importance of the revitalization of the urban balconies as public open areas takes part in this study. Key Words: Urban Balconies, Vista Points, Topographical Features, Public Open Areas, Bursa.

In regions with hot and humid tropical climate, as Maceió-AL, the use of daylight, natural ventilation and shading should be thought from the initial stages of the project. To enhance shading, architectural elements as brises-soleil, perforated blocks and balconies are essential to buildings. In the case of balconies, today we see the use of random on environmental issues. As a consequence, and solution for the discomfort caused by the absence of appropriate elements of weather, the use of artificial means to ensure the thermal and visual comfort is intensified contributing to wasted energy. Given this context, this study aims evaluat the use of balconies in vertical multifamily residential apartments buildings located in Ponta Verde, Maceió-AL, as shading and daylighting. To achieve this, the methodology was a comparative analysis of recurring types of balconies on the shading and daylight devices, through the techniques of data collection, generation of shadow masks and simulations in the program Sketchup and Tropilux. The analysis of results provided an understanding of the behavior of shading and daylighting in the typologies examined and also the comparison between the simulation results of heatstroke and the results of simulation of daylighting. Since opting for a better strategy of shading, using the balconies, it is not always achieved a good result in the performance of daylight indoors. Finally, the use of balconies in residential buildings of Maceió, that can be worked to achieve better results in environmental comfort and to enrich the formal aspect of the buildings, should be considered at an early stage of the architectural design / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas / Nas regiões de clima tropical quente e úmido, como é o caso de Maceió-AL, o aproveitamento das fontes de iluminação e ventilação naturais e o uso do sombreamento devem ser pensados desde as etapas iniciais do projeto. Para favorecer o sombreamento, elementos como brises, cobogós e varandas são indispensáveis às edificações. No caso das varandas, atualmente, percebe-se a sua utilização de forma aleatória quanto às questões ambientais. Como consequência disso e para sanar o desconforto gerado pela ausência de elementos adequados ao clima, intensifica-se o uso de meios artificiais para garantir o conforto nos ambientes, contribuindo para o desperdício de energia. Diante desse contexto, esse trabalho tem como objetivo geral avaliar o uso de varandas em apartamentos de edifícios residenciais verticais multifamiliares localizados no bairro de Ponta Verde, em Maceió-AL, quanto ao sombreamento e à iluminação natural. Para alcançá-lo, a metodologia utilizada consistiu de uma análise comparativa entre tipologias recorrentes de varandas, quanto ao sombreamento e a iluminação natural, através das técnicas de levantamento de dados, geração de máscaras de sombra e simulações nos programas computacionais Sketchup e Troplux. As análises dos resultados possibilitaram a compreensão do comportamento do sombreamento e da iluminação natural nas tipologias examinadas e ainda a análise comparativa entre os resultados das simulações de insolação e da iluminação natural. Constatou-se que, uma vez optando por uma melhor estratégia de sombreamento, utilizando as varandas, nem sempre será obtido um bom resultado no desempenho luminoso dos ambientes internos. Enfim, o uso de varanda nos edifícios residenciais de Maceió pode ser trabalhado para alcançar melhores resultados no conforto ambiental e para enriquecer o aspecto formal dos edifícios, devendo ser pensado desde a fase inicial do projeto arquitetônico

I samband med EU-direktivs mål att reducera energikonsumtionen med 20 % fram till år 2020 har kraven i Boverkets byggregler skärpts för energianvändningen i Sverige. Dessa krav håller den totala energiförbrukningen i sektorn bostäder och service på jämn nivå trots att det sker en ständig ökning av antalet bostäder.   Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka om det finns möjlighet till att minimera energiförluster i infästningen mellan inspända balkonger och bjälklaget. Detta utfördes för att ge samtliga aktörer inom byggbranschen en uppfattning om hur stor inverkan en optimering av de oftast försummade detaljerna i ett projekt har.   Glasfiberförstärkta polymerplaster (GFRP) isolerar ca 120 gånger bättre än konstruktionsstål och klarar samtidigt av att ta upp dragkrafter i en betongkonstruktion om de formas som armeringsstänger. Från ett urval har flera GFRP produkter granskats där ComBAR har valts att studeras och kontrolleras som en ersättningsprodukt för stålarmering i balkonginfästningar. ComBAR uppfyller samtliga konstruktionskrav för att fungera som armering i betong och har egenskaper som är att föredra framför stål vilket även gör den användbar i flera andra konstruktionsdelar i en byggnad eller anläggning.   Utförandet av beräkningar och analyser är indelat i tre delar som är analys av byggstatik för att bestämma den erforderlig armering i balkonginfästningen, simulering av energiflöde mellan balkongen och bjälklaget samt ekonomisk kalkyl för att uppskatta avkastningstiden. I den ekonomiska kalkylen knyts resultaten ihop från analysen av byggstatik och beräkning av energiflödet för att sedan kunna avgöra om en investering är lönsam.   Ur resultaten från analysen av byggstatik som består av handberäkningar och simuleringar i beräkningsprogrammen Concrete Beam och FEM-Design kan vi dra slutsatsen att det behövs en armeringsstång mindre av ComBAR än stål för att bära upp balkongen i studien. Ur statisk synpunkt är det lämpligt att använda glasfiberbaserade armeringsstänger i balkonginfästningen. Energiflödesberäkningarna har utförts i programmet Comsol för att erhålla ett noggrant resultat på energiflödet igenom infästningen. Återbetalningstiden på över 100 år för det pris som ComBAR ligger på i dagsläget anses inte vara rimligt och det behövs en halvering av priset innan det kan komma på tal att användas.