This thesis covers a variety of analytical approaches that validate the use of the EvacuatioNZ model on high-rise building analysis. Through performing a number of sensitivity analyses, several model deficiencies as well as functional limitations were improved upon and part of the model developments are continued based on the previous research done by two Master's students at the University of Canterbury. In this thesis, data from three evacuations were considered for different validating aspects. These evacuations were, a hypothetical 21-storey hotel building located in the United States of America, which was previously simulated using Simulex and EXIT89; a trial evacuation that was carried out in a 13-storey office building located in Canada; and a fire drill conducted at a 21-storey office building located in Australia. Overall, the results indicated that the EvacuatioNZ is able to produce reasonable predictions of the total evacuation time regardless of the number of floors involved. The component testing also showed satisfactory outcomes regarding the involvement of disabled occupants, complexity of node configurations, and different pre-movement time distributions. However, the current model still has a number of limitations that need to be verified and tested. These include the preferred route function and the connection problem for long stairs. Further research should also be carried out on the use of the Evacuation model on other types of building structures so as to increase the confidence level of utilizing the EvacuatioNZ model for general applications.

Welcome to CityPlace. Thirty-five hectares of formerly unoccupied rail-lands in downtown Toronto are currently undergoing a transformation into an instant neighbourhood. Eventually, CityPlace will be the home to over 15,000 people within 23 buildings, sequestered by the Gardiner Expressway on its southern border and by the still functioning rail-lines on its northern border, it is truly an island of suburban stacked living which is at once surrounded and yet at a distance from downtown Toronto. In CityPlace we are witnessing what the Belgian philosopher Lieven De Cauter describes as the rise of the capsular civilization. Impossible to ignore, condominiums have become the dominant form of new housing in the city of Toronto; a process that has been driven by demographics, political imperative and most of all by the pursuit of profits in the high-stakes game of real-estate development. But lost in this torrent of development is a genuine dialogue about the city we are building. This thesis explores the current state of condo development in downtown Toronto; from the myriad of political, economic and physical factors that have led to Toronto’s vernacular condo typology to the marketing onslaught that targets the base consumerist hyper-individual within all of us and aims to hide the fact that these buildings are more similar than distinct. From the optimistic aims of a city council which seeks to achieve civic benefits from increased density, to the cynical de urbanizing and social polarization that the type typically brings into the downtown. The thesis explores the promise of downtown condominium living and the hybridisation of programme that accompanies the rising real estate values of the downtown core. Programmatic promiscuity and complexity are exploited to bring different user-types from the outside city into the tower. With its unique vertical properties and inherent density, the residential high-rise tower presents new opportunities for urban collective spaces. From introvert to extrovert, the new condo becomes a catalyst for urbanity in the instant neighbourhood of CityPlace.

This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between the provision of spatial order and perceived sense of community in high-rise housing developments in Korea from a socio-spatial and architectural perspective. It also considers relationships between the perception of neighbourhood, provision of facilities, design aspects, and socio-economic characteristics and sense of community. The study uses a questionnaire survey as the main research instrument conducted across four case studies in Bundang new town, in metropolitan Seoul, Korea. Two of the cases were selected as having a high provision of spatial order and the other two low provision according to the concepts of Altman (1975) and Newman (1972, 1975). Quantitative analysis is carried out using the Kruskal-Wallis/Mann-Whitney test and Spearman???s rank correlation to identify differences and correlations between cases. The results indicate that there is no clear evidence that a sense of community has a direct relationship with the provision of spatial order in the selected cases. However, in the high provision cases outdoor common spaces appear to have a role in contributing to social interaction. Among Buckner???s (1988) three sub-variables of his concept of neighbourhood cohesion, ???neighbouring??? appears to be more associated with the provision of spatial order rather than ???attraction-to-neighbourhood??? or ???psychological sense of community.??? A greater number of opportunities for social interactions occur in an intermediate space located between private dwelling units and public open space in cases with a high provision of spatial order. However, this is likely to be due to the location of shared facilities and their frequency of use. In terms of the relationship between design and a sense of community, ???landscaping??? was found to be the most important variable, followed by the ???design of streets/footpath??? and ???facilities for children???, ???parking???, and ???recreational activities???. Despite the lack of a clear relationship between design and a sense of community, a strong demand was found for improved outdoor amenity and greater provision of facilities. Socio-economic status appears not to be a significant factor directly influencing the sense of community however, age and the existence of children are associated with the perception of neighbourhood.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-96). Also available in print.

abstract: Buildings and other structures, all components and cladding thereof, shall be designed and constructed to resist the wind loads are required in all wind codes. Simple quasi-static treatment of wind loads, which is universally applied to design of low to medium-rise structures, can be either overly conservative or erroneous under-estimated for design of high-rise structures. Dynamic response, vortex, wind directionality, and shedding from other structures are all complicated key factors suppose to be considered in design. Meanwhile, wind tunnel testing is expansive, difficult and sometimes inaccurate even if it is a widely used method in simulation of aerodynamic response. Computational Fluid dynamics (CFD), historically, were two-dimensional (2D) method using conformal transformations of the flow about a cylinder to the flow about an airfoil were developed in the 1930s. A number of three-dimensional (3D) codes were developed, leading to numerous commercial packages, which is more accessible and economical for wind load analysis. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014

Across the world, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we must change the way we live as human beings. Our population is over seven billion, and the natural world simply cannot sustain this large of a population unless we learn to live within its means. Buildings, the structures that house us and provide us with shelter every day, are responsible for nearly half of the energy consumption across the United States (eai.gov, 2008). As cities continue to grow and available land diminishes, buildings will only get taller and consume even more energy. This energy requires vast amounts of water, so as our population grows, we are using more energy and more water, two of the most critical components of human prosperity. Renewable and sustainable energy production is now more of a reality than ever, especially as people become aware of the impending shortage of natural resources.I propose to offer a modified renewable energy source in a new environment. The use of hydropower turbines for renewable energy generation is something common to many places across the globe, but the use of hydropower turbines in a building is not. In this paper I propose a system that utilizes greywater from high-rise residential buildings to create energy with hydropower turbines at the base of the building. Calculations show the system can produce energy, but improvements and changes need to be considered for this to be a commercially viable renewable energy source.