This thesis examines the possibility of passive house standard construction of public buildings in the countryside of the Czech Republic, the possibility of application of natural materials in their construction and in the end set of architectural principles for their design. Examines the situation of expansion of this type of buildings in the surrounding countries as well as in our country, differences in their architectural and technical characteristics and possibilities of natural materials use in their construction so that the newly proposed public buildings meet not only the technical and architectural design principles of passive houses, but at the same time reflect using of traditional local natural materials.

Globally, there is a need for alternative building materials that require less energy to produce than conventional materials. These alternative materials have gained popularity in recent years, however there is a need to better understand their physical properties in order to increase confidence in their use. As such, a testing program was undertaken to investigate the structural properties of some of these materials. A series of compressed earth blocks made from a mixture of earth and cement compressed to 8 - 12 MPa were tested for their compressive capacity in masonry prisms. The blocks had been weathered for one to two years. The blocks with no cement had a capacity of 2.22 MPa, while cement stabilized blocks had a capacity of 8.11 MPa. Weathering did not result in any significant reduction in the strength of the blocks. Bales of high density straw were tested both with and without cement plaster skins. Unplastered bales exhibited a stiffness between 0.3 - 0.7 MPa when oriented Flat, and 1.2 MPa on edge. The bales had a dilation ratio between 0.1 - 0.3 in the Flat orientation and averaging 3.5 in the Edge orientation. The high density bales plastered with cement plaster exhibited ultimate strengths averaging 171.2 kN/m. Capacity was heavily dependent on plaster strengths, and when normalized for plaster strengths, high density bales had capacities lower than those of regular density bales tested previously (34.1 kN/m/MPa compared to 44.3 kN/m/MPa). Three walls made of straw with cement plaster were constructed with pin-ended conditions to study the effects of buckling in straw bale walls. The average capacity was 12.8 kN/m/MPa when normalized for plaster strength. Pin ends resulted in plastic hinges forming more easily in the walls, and pin ended specimens had a 75% reduction in strength compared to previous tests of "standard" end conditions. Taller walls also resulted in reduced strengths. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-10-30 09:26:46.491

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. This landlocked country in the west has an extremely warm climate. Temperatures over 45°C are not uncommon and there is an almost constant need to keep the buildings cool to maintain a temperate indoor climate. Air-conditioning is an option to maintain the temperature but it overloads the power grid and only a few people can afford it. This thesis examines, through laboratory experiments, the thermal and mechanical properties that can be obtained by vibrating clayey soil and mixing it with water, lime or cement and organic fiber (Bissap). The report also examines different building projects utilizing local materials, both of a traditional and more modern nature.Energy required to produce building elements of soil is negligible compared to that of concrete and steel. Soil can be used in constructing houses but it is sensitive to water.The insulation is inadequate for a passive house so an extra layer of insulating material is required.The experiments performed during this project were inconclusive so it is impossible, from the results in this paper, to say if vibration is a good method for forming a building material of soil. The high water content needed, is however a major problem, shrinkage was about 20% and cracks were hard to avoid. Further investigations into the subject is necessary. / Burkina Faso är ett av de fattigaste länderna i världen. Som ett kustlöst land beläget i Västafrika har det ett extremt varmt klimat. Temperaturer över 45°C är inte ovanligt och det är ett nästan konstant behov av att kyla byggnader för att behålla ett behagligt inneklimat.   Idag byggs det två typer av byggnader i Burkina Faso; de traditionella lerhusen och de mer moderna husen med väggar av cementstenar och plåttak. Cementväggarna har ett U-värde på 3W/m2K och tillsammans med plåttaket så bildar det ett undermåligt klimatskal utan möjligheter att skydda mot hettan. Det leder idag till endera ett obehagligt varmt inneklimat eller en hög och kostsam energianvändning av luftkonditionering. Överbelastningen på elnätet på grund av luftkonditionering är påtaglig under den varmaste säsongen med frekventa strömavbrott till följd.   Denna rapport undersöker via laboratorieexperiment vilka termiska och mekaniska egenskaper man kan erhålla genom att vibrera lerjord och blanda med vatten, organiska fibrer samt kalk och/eller cement. Litteraturstudier och fältbesök i Burkina Faso har gjorts för att undersöka och förstå vilka svårigheter som kan uppkomma genom att bygga med lera. Rapporten tar även upp konkreta exempel på byggnader i Burkina Faso gjorda av lokala material, historiska såväl som moderna projekt.   Lerjord behöver extremt lite energitillförsel för att bilda ett byggmaterial och den negativa miljöpåverkan är försumbar jämfört med betong och stål. Det kan användas för att bygga energisnåla hus men det är känsligt mot vatten, vilket måste beaktas noga under projekteringen. Värmeledningsförmågan är för hög för att vara tillräcklig som isolering för att erhålla ett inneklimat enligt dagens standard, utan tillförsel av energi, så någon form av extra isolering krävs.   Experimenten som gjordes gav inte tillräckligt exakta resultat för att visa om vibrering är en bra metod att göra byggmaterial eller inte. Den höga vattenhalten som krävs för vibrering är ett stort problem. Krympningen var ungefär 20 % och sprickor var svåra att undvika. Vidare studier på området rekommenderas.

Today, buildings consume 40% of total energy demand in the EU and are responsible for 36% of GHG emissions. For this reason, and due to the delicate situation of climate change that planet Earth is experiencing, solutions are being sought to make the building sector more sustainable. In the current project, the use of natural materials has been chosen as a solution in line with the EU 2050 long-term strategy. This research broadens the knowledge on sustainable building with natural materials as an alternative to conventional construction. To this end, first, an extensive state of the art has been carried out to gather information and identify research gaps on natural building materials and energy efficiency, proving the suitability of natural construction materials. Special emphasis has been put on straw bale construction and rammed earth construction, which have been studied individually. In addition, geometrically identical building models of both building techniques have been developed and simulated in Stockholm and Valencia in order to see how they would perform in different climates. Total energy demand for the straw-bale building of 140.22 kWh/(m2·year) in the case of Stockholm and 37.05 kWh/(m2·year) in the case of Valencia has been obtained. For the rammed earth building, a total demand of 301.82 kWh/(m2·year) has been obtained in Stockholm and 78.66 kWh/(m2·year) in Valencia. Once passive measures are applied in the different models, a reduction in demand for the straw bale building of 77.8% and 36.3% has been achieved for Stockholm and Valencia, respectively. In the rammed earth building, in contrast, the demand has been reduced by 86.3% in Stockholm and 73.9% in Valencia. Heat recovery ventilation and high insulation level have been identified as imperative needs in Stockholm, in contrast to Valencia. Other improvement strategies such as windows substitution, air permeability improvement, or natural ventilation for cooling have been implemented. Apart from that, better performance of the straw-bale buildings has been identified for both climates. Additionally, focusing on thermal inertia, its influence has been identified as not completely significant in terms of annual demand in the simulated climates.

This diploma thesis is focused on a comparison of construction cost of the house made of classic materials with the equivalent made of natural building materials and consequently on comparison of both construction variants. In order to perform those tasks, the used natural building materials were defined. Furthermore, the specific options of usage of these natural building materials as well as the used composition structures were introduced. The thesis concludes with a price calculation of the constructions made of natural building materials which were not available in the common budgetary software. The appendix of the thesis contains budgets for the first variant, where the house is made of natural building materials, and also for the second variant, where the house is made of classic materials.

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New agricultural constructions in Czech Republic happen, in better case, privilege of civil engineer, in the worse case only privilege of the investor, in the past. While architects or enlightenment project architects with inventive and feeling for architecture, rarely interfered to their projection. In the practice, the preferred and implemented misconception, that it is a purely purpose-built buildings with economical advantageous solution type, when external design of the building and his effect in landscape plays just a minor role, meant a huge mistake, which disfeature face of a lot of villages. With the gradual development of organic and sustainable agriculture is obvious, that to the design of these buildings gets back the idea of invention and emotion of construction into the landscape. Essence of a dissertation is how to proceed with the draft of a new or completion of original organic farm in conditions of the Czech Republic and on which specific points to focus in the design. Objective of thesis is generalization of rules design new modern organic farm or new buildings on the existing organic farm, using the principles of organic architecture and architecture undemanding of energy, renewable source of energy and non-waste management and verification on the specific examples in the Czech Republic and neighboring Europa countries. Where else should apply the principles of organic architecture more than in the construction of organic farms. Moreover, organic farm offers a great number of functions and with related different operations with requirements for specific areas. This is an added bonus, diversity of construction and the possibility of building creativity in architectural solutions. It is then mainly limited functionality of the building, legislative, public health, fire and traffic regulations, with which any proposal must cope. Organic farms are a phenomenon, but also the future of sustainable agriculture in the Czech Republic, as well. Not only production side of organic farms, but also neglected building stock deserves the attention of experts. Only organic farm with the right comprehensive created building and energy concept on an ecological principle is becoming a well-functioning self-contained unit connected with the cycle of nature, the surrounding landscape and regional tradition.

While I spent 7 years of study, experience and dedication to this work, the building construction has passed evolution from construction boom to contemporary building crisis. Demand for cheap building construction, materials and family housing increased sharply. Energy prices are rising every year... It seems that we will all have to deal with our essential task today or in the near future . This task is mean to prevent the current rate of degradation and destruction of our planet's climate and our environment. In this point of view, it looks the question of energy-saving construction very topical. By entering the study was to examine the possibilities of environmental friendly housing in rural areas in terms of environmental issues. My hypothesis was if can I determine the suitable candidate for the construction of passive houses themselves by comparing their characteristic of pre-defined construction samples. My objective is to offer builders and designers overview of suitable building systems with the possibility to compare the various factors influencing the decision on the selection of a builder´s construction for a house. The thesis presents the comparison of seven structural systems as a basic element of architecture. In the implementation of energy-efficient house is an architectural form often conditioned by structure. For this reason it is necessary to offer this kind of overview with options and parameters of individual building systems, which can then be used by architect to design a house for the builder - free and easy realization of his own, let´s say DIY (do it yourself). For builders (mean investors) of DIY houses is economy and finance a crucial question, therefore, for this reason I will evaluate suitable building system which is relative performance vs. price in the end. It is necessary to take into account the architecture of the house and especially the space layout and design and the attitude with the context of the rural areas environment. My pupose was to prove that good architectural design can be used with of low-cost, energy-saving and environmental friendly house built in DIY way.

More and more research studies are being conducted on the quality of architectural space as a factor affecting our mental, social and physical health. In the past, this topic was often overlooked in its complexity. The establishment of the specialized fields of building biology, biophilic architecture and the works of Christopher Alexander and Nikos Salingaros now allow us to consider various facets of this subject. This dissertation aims to analyse the topic of vitality in architectural space by studying the abilities and perceptions of its users. Therefore its aim is not to develop a new theory of “vitality-enhancing architectural space”, but to describe how this phenomenon is perceived by the users themselves. Users can provide feedback on which features of architectural space they see as the most important for the feeling of vitality. These features have been hierarchically organized based on their perceived importance, analysed and described in detail to allow their relatively easy application in practice. This dissertation will also allow a comparison with other existing works on the studied topic.

The subject of diploma project is the design of complex of buildings using hemp lime composite, in English known as Hempcerete. Four detached houses are completed by building of facilities. Buildings have one to three floors. The composite fiercly reduces carbon footprint in building industry. The design is focused on different construction systems using hemp lime composite as a wall filling. Detached houses are made of load bearing timber frame with cast-in-situ hempcrete, building of facilities is made of reinforced concrete with precasted blocks. All buildings are cellarless. Detached houses are shed roofed, building of facilities is gable roofed.