To design with a changing ecosystem requires examining and understanding site dynamics, extracting guidelines for making architectural decisions and defi ning processes that allow for change. Sable Island National Park is an ideal case study to test this method because its simple and dynamic ecosystem defi nes clear guidelines and requirements for adaptation. The proposed National Park infrastructure remodels human interaction with Sable Island by replacing and remediating existing settlements. Designed to be sensitive to and participate in the island’s natural processes, the new architecture protects the delicate ecosystem and facilitates low impact visitation. The systems, spaces and experiences serve to deepen understanding of human interdependence with the environment. / The thesis is a architectural case study for designing with dynamic ecosystems. To test a methodology for designing in dynamic ecosystems, a National Park infrastructure is designed for Sable Island, Canada. The exercise requires learning from the dynamic ecosystem, extracting guidelines for making design choices and developing designs with the capacity to adapt to their surroundings.

Bewertung und Untersuchung einer Nachhaltigkeitszertifizierung im Bauwesen

Thesis (D.Eng.)--Cleveland State University, 2008. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 8, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-343). Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center. Also available in in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University, Construction Management Program, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 12, 2008). Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-286).

Thesis (M.A.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 01, 2010). Creative project (M.A.), 3 hrs. Includes bibliographical references (p. [27]-30).

xv, 277 p. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call number: SCIENCE TP1180.V48 V46 2007 / This dissertation examines the political, scientific, social, environmental, and health debates surrounding the use of polyvinyl chloride (commonly called vinyl), a plastic many public health advocates and activists contend has a toxic lifecycle with deleterious human and ecological impacts at every stage. Using extensive documentary research and in-depth interviews, I answer a basic question: how and why have major stakeholders politicized PVC in recent decades? I find the strength of the anti-PVC movement lies largely in its broad based constituency: it includes professionals within the health care and green building industries, as well as labor unions and environmental health advocates. However, I raise critical questions about the movement's strategy of situating itself as a market-based movement where limited analysis is given to the greater environmental and health impacts of the health care and building industries as a whole. / Adviser: Gregory McLauchlan

A implantação de práticas de gestão ambiental nos canteiros de obras se tornou de fundamental importância para o setor da construção civil. Nas obras de edificação que visam obter a certificação LEED, são implementadas práticas que buscam a minimização e o reaproveitamento dos resíduos de construção civil, representando uma possibilidade de redução dos impactos ambientais produzidos pelo setor. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo comparativo sobre a geração de resíduos de quatro obras de edificações no município do Rio de Janeiro, sendo que duas delas implantaram práticas para obtenção da certificação LEED. Complementarmente, foi realizada uma pesquisa através de questionário com profissionais da construção civil buscando identificar a sua percepção sobre construções sustentáveis e gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos. Desconsiderando o solo de escavação, o entulho foi o resíduo mais gerado em todas as quatro obras, seguido pela sucata metálica, resíduos não recicláveis e madeira. A obra com certificação LEED apresentou o menor índice total de resíduos, 119,23 kg/m2, sendo este valor próximo às médias de países desenvolvidos. / The implementation of environmental management practices at construction sites has become crucial for the construction industry. In the works aimed at building achieving LEED certification, are implemented practices that seek to minimize waste and reuse of construction, representing a possibility of reducing the environmental impacts produced by the sector. This paper presents a comparative study on the generation of waste from the works of four buildings in the city of Rio de Janeiro, two of which have implemented practices to obtain LEED certification. In addition, a survey was conducted through a questionnaire with construction professionals seeking to identify their understanding of sustainable buildings and solid waste management. Disregarding the soil excavation, dump the waste was generated over all four works, followed by scrap metal, wood and non-recyclable waste. The LEED-certified project presented the lowest total waste, 119.23 kg/m2, this value being close to the average of developed countries.

A implantação de práticas de gestão ambiental nos canteiros de obras se tornou de fundamental importância para o setor da construção civil. Nas obras de edificação que visam obter a certificação LEED, são implementadas práticas que buscam a minimização e o reaproveitamento dos resíduos de construção civil, representando uma possibilidade de redução dos impactos ambientais produzidos pelo setor. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo comparativo sobre a geração de resíduos de quatro obras de edificações no município do Rio de Janeiro, sendo que duas delas implantaram práticas para obtenção da certificação LEED. Complementarmente, foi realizada uma pesquisa através de questionário com profissionais da construção civil buscando identificar a sua percepção sobre construções sustentáveis e gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos. Desconsiderando o solo de escavação, o entulho foi o resíduo mais gerado em todas as quatro obras, seguido pela sucata metálica, resíduos não recicláveis e madeira. A obra com certificação LEED apresentou o menor índice total de resíduos, 119,23 kg/m2, sendo este valor próximo às médias de países desenvolvidos. / The implementation of environmental management practices at construction sites has become crucial for the construction industry. In the works aimed at building achieving LEED certification, are implemented practices that seek to minimize waste and reuse of construction, representing a possibility of reducing the environmental impacts produced by the sector. This paper presents a comparative study on the generation of waste from the works of four buildings in the city of Rio de Janeiro, two of which have implemented practices to obtain LEED certification. In addition, a survey was conducted through a questionnaire with construction professionals seeking to identify their understanding of sustainable buildings and solid waste management. Disregarding the soil excavation, dump the waste was generated over all four works, followed by scrap metal, wood and non-recyclable waste. The LEED-certified project presented the lowest total waste, 119.23 kg/m2, this value being close to the average of developed countries.

abstract: Since its launch by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification has been postured as the "gold standard" for environmentally conscious, sustainable building design, construction and operations. However, as a "living measurement", one which requires ongoing evaluation and reporting of attainment and compliance with LEED certification requirements, there is none. Once awarded, LEED certification does not have a required reporting component to effectively track continued adherence to LEED standards. In addition, there is no expiry tied to the certification; once obtained, a LEED certification rating is presumed to be a valid representation of project certification status. Therefore, LEED lacks a requirement to demonstrate environmental impact of construction materials and building systems over the entire life of the project. Consequently, LEED certification is merely a label rather than a true representation of ongoing adherence to program performance requirements over time. Without continued monitoring and reporting of building design and construction features, and in the absence of recertification requirements, LEED is, in reality, a gold star rather than a gold standard. This thesis examines the lack of required ongoing monitoring, reporting, or recertification requirements following the award by the USGBC of LEED certification; compares LEED with other international programs which do have ongoing reporting or recertification requirements; demonstrates the need and benefit of ongoing reporting or recertification requirements; and explores possible methods for implementation of mandatory reporting requirements within the program. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2013

Le secteur du bâtiment est considéré comme un gros consommateur d'énergie et une source de pollution majeure parmi tous les secteurs économiques. Il représente entre 16 et 50 pour cent des consommations nationales d'énergie. La réduction de ces consommations et des émissions est donc une étape importante vers un développement durable. Récemment, la transition vers la construction des bâtiments à faible consommation d’énergie a conduit à de nouvelles exigences en matière de performance et de durabilité, et ainsi encore complexifié le processus de conception des bâtiments. Le comportement des occupants est maintenant considéré comme un facteur déterminant de la performance énergétique d’un bâtiment, particulièrement dans le cas des bâtiments basse consommation (BBC). Pourtant, les outils de simulation utilisés dans l'industrie des bâtiments ne sont pas aujourd'hui en mesure de fournir des estimations fiables de la demande d'énergie des occupants. Par conséquent, les experts en énergie et bâtiments portent une grande attention à développer des méthodes plus précises pour la modélisation et la prévision de l’influence des occupants sur la performance du bâtiment. Ces modèles doivent pouvoir fournir des estimations plus précises des consommations d’énergie et évaluer la variabilité de ces consommations. En conséquence, l’objectif visé est de permettre aux experts en construction d’améliorer leurs solutions techniques, améliorer la performance de leurs services, et promouvoir des incitations mieux ciblées vers les usagers afin de réduire leurs consommations énergétiques. L'objectif de cette thèse est de proposer un modèle pour estimer la consommation d'énergie liée aux comportements des occupants de bâtiments résidentiels, en prenant en compte la variabilité des modes de consommation au travers de la diversité des profils socio-démographiques et économiques des occupants. Une approche stochastique basée sur la notion d’activité est donc adoptée. Avec ce modèle, la consommation d'énergie d'un ménage est estimée en additionnant la consommation d'énergie des différentes activités domestiques (comme faire la cuisine, le lavage du linge, etc.). La nature stochastique du modèle est due aux relations probabilistes établies entre les attributs des ménages d'une part (type de ménage, nombre d'occupants, etc.) et la possession des équipements domestiques, les caractéristiques des appareils, leur puissance, et les quantités d'activité d’autre part. Afin d'établir ces relations stochastiques, un nombre suffisant d'attributs est pris en compte pour caractériser un ménage. Le modèle proposé a été appliqué pour deux activités domestiques, à savoir regarder la télévision et laver le linge. Des simulations de Monte Carlo sont effectuées pour fournir des estimations de consommation d'énergie pour ces deux activités dans trois cas de figure : pour un ménage spécifique, pour des ménages générés aléatoirement avec des contraintes sur leurs attributs, et pour des ménages totalement aléatoires représentatifs de la population française. Une comparaison entre les résultats de la simulation de modèle d’une part et des données de consommation d'énergie réelle d’autre part, a permis de valider le modèle pour les deux activités considérées. Un cadre de généralisation du modèle pour d'autres activités domestiques a été introduit, et sa possible intégration dans le processus de conception des bâtiments a été discutée et illustrée au travers d’un certain nombre d’exemples. / Résumé en Anglais : The building sector is considered as a major energy consumer and pollution source among all economic sectors. It accounts for important shares, ranging between 16 and 50 percent, of national energy consumption worldwide. Reducing these consumptions and emissions is thus an important step towards sustainable development. Recently, the shift towards constructing low-consuming and nearly zero-energy buildings lead to further requirements with regard to performance and sustainability, and thus caused the design process of buildings to be more complex. Occupants’ behavior is now considered as a key determinant of building’s energy performance especially in the case of green buildings. Yet, energy simulation tools used in buildings industry nowadays are not capable of providing accurate estimations of occupant-related energy demands. Therefore, buildings and energy experts are devoting considerable efforts on developing more precise methods for modeling and forecasting occupants influence on whole building performance. Such models can provide accurate energy estimates and can assess future consumption variability. Consequently, building experts may improve their technical solutions, ameliorate their service performances, and promote targeted incentives. The objective of this dissertation is to propose a model for forecasting occupant-related energy consumption in residential buildings, while accounting for variability in consumption patterns due to diversity in occupants’ socio-demographic and economic profiles. A stochastic activity-based approach is thus adopted. By activity-based, it means that energy consumption of a household is estimated by summing up the energy use of different activities performed (such as cooking, washing clothes, etc.). The stochastic nature of the model is due to the probabilistic mapping established between household attributes from one side (household type, number of occupants, etc.) and the corresponding appliance ownership, appliance characteristics and power rating, and activity quantities from the other side. In order to establish these stochastic relations, a fairly sufficient number of households’ characterizing attributes is taken into account. The proposed model is applied for two domestic activities, namely watching TV and washing laundry. Three types of Monte Carlo simulations are performed to provide energy estimates for these two activities: for a given specified household, for randomly generated households with constraints, and for totally random population-wise households. A comparison between model’s simulation results and real measured energy consumption data enables validating the model for the two considered activities. A generalization framework of the modeling approach for other domestic activities is sketched, and its possible integration into buildings design process is discussed and illustrated through a number of examples.