Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / Marine Corps forward operating bases (FOBs) operate in austere conditions where the reliance on resupply from main bases is a necessity. A FOB in Afghanistan requires at least 300 gallons of diesel fuel a day, in which each gallon delivered requires 7 gallons of fuel to get it there by convoy. Extensive resupply convoys offer a tactical disadvantage, especially when there is one Marine casualty for every 50 convoys. Private sector innovations in energy efficiency can offer a solution to inefficient energy use and Marine casualties from IEDs – improvised explosive devices. Data analysis of private sector innovations in the fields of flexible solar, fuel cells, and atmospheric water generation, provide direction into the future of sustainable forward operating base design. Each of the proposed innovations outscore current systems by vast margins in a weighted energy efficiency scale and therefore have the potential to elevate the energy efficiency of forward operating bases. Energy efficiency, in the case of the Marine Corps, is a combat multiplier. If they are able to free themselves from the burden of their increased energy use, they gain the ability to operate more aggressively, push deeper, and fight as a lighter, more lethal force.

Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone / The subject matter of this report regards the overall efficiency of two University of Arizona Dormitories from a cost, energy, materials, and construction techniques point of view. Essential to this study was also the social habits of residents within the dormitories, and how they effected the energy use. The two dormitories are considered “pre – LEED” as they were built prior to the recent certification system. Both Manzanita – Mohave, and Coronado Residence Halls were examined in a case study, and interview with the Director of Residence Life, Alex Blandeburgo. In the case study portion, the dormitories’ refrigeration, electricity, steam, and water consumption rates were investigated and compared. These 4 energy types were then looked at from a cost perspective. Lastly, the use of sustainable materials was compared, as well as the construction techniques, and design of each dormitory, and how this could affect social habits, as well as energy use in the dorms. There were some very interesting findings that can be taken from this report. To begin, Manzanita – Mohave was deemed the more sustainable dorm, as its overall energy consumption rates per square foot were much lower than Coronado’s (refrigeration, steam, electricity, and water). In addition to this, Manzi – Mo had less of a cost burden on energy, and its construction methods facilitated less energy use. Additionally, the social habits of Coronado’s residents seem to favor much higher energy uses, which were attributed to their response to the construction methods of the Coronado. These essential results and theories were supported by the experiences of Alex Blandeburgo, and quintessentially mean that a residence hall’s energy efficiency is effected more by the residents that live in it and their habits, rather than its construction techniques, or LEED certification.

To achieve the goal of sustainable development, the building energy system was evaluated from both the first and second law of thermodynamics point of view. The relationship between exergy destruction and sustainable development were discussed at first, followed by the description of the resource abundance model, the life cycle analysis model and the economic investment effectiveness model. By combining the forgoing models, a new sustainable index was proposed. Several green building case studies in U.S. and China were presented. The influences of building function, geographic location, climate pattern, the regional energy structure, and the technology improvement potential of renewable energy in the future were discussed. The building’s envelope, HVAC system, on-site renewable energy system life cycle analysis from energy, exergy, environmental and economic perspective were compared. It was found that climate pattern had a dramatic influence on the life cycle investment effectiveness of the building envelope. The building HVAC system energy performance was much better than its exergy performance. To further increase the exergy efficiency, renewable energy rather than fossil fuel should be used as the primary energy. A building life cycle cost and exergy consumption regression model was set up. The optimal building insulation level could be affected by either cost minimization or exergy consumption minimization approach. The exergy approach would cause better insulation than cost approach. The influence of energy price on the system selection strategy was discussed. Two photovoltaics (PV) systems – stand alone and grid tied system were compared by the life cycle assessment method. The superiority of the latter one was quite obvious. The analysis also showed that during its life span PV technology was less attractive economically because the electricity price in U.S. and China did not fully reflect the environmental burden associated with it. However if future energy price surges and PV system cost reductions were considered, the technology could be very promising for sustainable buildings in the future.

It is becoming increasingly relevant that designs address sustainability requirements. The objectives of any sustainable design are: to reduce resource depletion of energy, water, and raw materials; prevent environmental degradation caused throughout the building lifecycle; provide a safe, comfortable and healthy living environment. Currently, the sustainability of a building is judged by standards codified in a rating system. (1) Although compliance with a sustainability rating system is not mandatory, increasingly, it is becoming a goal that many designers and authorities would like to achieve. However, there are impediments to the pervasive use of sustainable design rating systems. 1. Certification is expensive. ( 2 ) It is labor intensive, involving large volumes of data aggregation, information accounting and exchange, which, can be a deterrent to designers and the design process. 2. Ratings systems are periodically reviewed; as our understanding increase and technology improve, sustainability requirements on designs become more extensive and, sometimes, more stringent. (3) 3. Sustainable building design rating tools are not readily integrated into the design process whereby the design solution can be developed by different disciplines. 4. The design information model associated with a building may not contain the data (attributes) necessary to evaluate its design. 5. Information is disparate and distributed—requiring it to be supplemented, augmented from various sources, and managed for the different stages of a building design process In practice, designers tend to employ commercial (and reasonably stable) design tools, making it imperative to develop an approach that utilizes information readily and currently available in digital form in conjunction with rating system requirements. This research focuses on supporting sustainability assessment where designers need to evaluate the information in a design in order to fulfill sustainability metrics. The main research objective is an approach to integrating sustainability assessment with a design environment. This comprises: identifying informational requirements from rating systems; representing them in computable form; mapping them to information in a commercial design tool; and assessing the performance of a design. An overall framework for organizing, managing and representing sustainability information requirements is developed as the demonstrator. Case study of an actual project demonstrates the flow of information from a commercially available building information modeler and a sustainable building rating system. The process developed bridges sustainability assessment requirements with information from the model for preevaluation prior to submission for certification. Contributions include a technical implementation of sustainable design assessment for pre assessment through a process of identifying information availability, augmentation, representation and management focused on two credits (Reduce indoor water use and Minimum energy performance) over evolving rating standards, namely (LEED 2.1, LEED 2009 and LEED v4). These contributions are intended to enable designers, stakeholders, contractors and other professionals to communicate strategies and make informed decisions to achieve sustainability goals for a project from design through to operation. (1) Design choices are validated, by measuring design performance against criteria specified by the rating system. See Chapter 2: Research Background. (2) “Shame on you for perpetuating this myth that green design costs more even if integrated properly. LEED certification does, but green design need not.” (Kats, 2010) (3) “Sustainability is not static–it is iteratively changing, based on knowledge that connects science and design.” (Williams, 2007)

Thesis (MEng) -- Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The lack of adequate housing becomes an increasing concern as the human population increases, which is not only restricted to Africa, but worldwide. With the world becoming more environmentally aware, the aim towards more sustainable development has become more essential. This results in alternative building technologies (ABT’s) being investigated to address the backlog in housing. This study investigates plastic materials as structural elements in low-income housing to address the housing backlog in a structurally stable, cost efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. The viable plastic materials that were identified are FFC (foam-fibre composite) and WPC (wood-plastic composite) as structural elements and EPS (expanded polystyrene) as a core infill panel. Material parameters were obtained experimentally which were used in a numerical analysis to validate the structural stability of a modular WPC housing unit. The experimental work includes a direct compression, direct tension, compressive creep and a four-point bending test for the WPC. With the sandwich panels a push-though shear and four-point bending test were done. The compressive strength of the EPS as well as a relative bond strength of the selected adhesives was also tested. Furthermore, a comparative study was conducted on the fire performance (fire rating), cost efficiency as well as the environmental sustainability of three housing units constructed of FFC, WPC and block and mortar, respectively. In terms of structural stability, a modular plastic housing unit was devised and validated by both experimental work and plastic material investigations which showed that WPC can be used for load-bearing walling (with EPS as core infill panel), roofing and flooring systems. From the comparative study, it was found that the fire rating of the block and mortar housing unit met the requirements of 20 and 30 minutes for the internal and external walls, respectively, prescribed by SANS 10400-T (2011). The fire rating of the block and mortar housing unit was met in terms of integrity, insulation and stability. The two modular plastic housing units, however, only met the fire rating in terms of integrity and insulation, but failed to meet the requirements in terms of stability. The approach used to determine the fire behaviour of a housing unit is not as accurate as the physical fire test, since assumptions are made in terms of the fire properties. However, the approach gives an indication of the fire performance of a housing unit. FFC and WPC are laminated with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which emits hydrochloride acid (HCl), when burning. Hydrochloride acid is a toxic gas. Thus, according to one of the minimum norms, stipulated by the NHBRC Home Building Manual and Agrément, an adequate housing unit should not emit harmful gasses. Although these regulations are not mandatory, in terms of this, WPC and FFC are not viable building materials for an adequate housing unit, especially when human behaviour and smoke control are considered. However, this aspect can be improved by adding additives to control, and in some cases prevent, smoke production. The comparative study also indicated that the cost efficiency of the FFC housing unit is comparable to that of the block and mortar design. The modular WPC housing unit has a cost which is substantially greater than that of the FFC as well as the block and mortar housing units. The modular plastic housing units, FFC as well as WPC, typically utilise unskilled labour to construct a housing unit, which can lead to the socioeconomic conditions of a community being improved by means of job creation. Due to the relative ease of construction of a modular plastic housing unit as well as a construction period of approximately three days, the demand for housing can be reached at a more rapid pace than by using conventional methods. In terms of the environmental sustainability, the plastic materials showed less negative environmental impacts as well as improved energy efficiency compared to the block and mortar unit. / AFRIKKANSE OPSOMMING: Die tekort aan voldoende behuising raak ʼn kommerwekkende probleem in die huidige samelewing soos die wêreld populasie aan hou toeneem, waar hierdie probleem nie net tot Afrika beperk is nie. Soos die wêreld meer omgewingsbewus raak, word daar gestrewe na meer volhoubare ontwikkeling in die boubedryf wat aanleiding gee tot die ontwikkeling van alternatiewe bou tegnologieë (ABT’e) om die behuisingsagterstand op te los. Plastiese materiale word ondersoek vir hul gebruik as strukturele elemente in lae-inkomste behuising om die behuisingsagterstand in ʼn struktureel stabiele-, koste effektiewe- en omgewingsvolhoubare manier op te los. Geskikte plastiese materiale is geïdentifiseer as SVS (skuim-vesel samestelling) en HPS (hout-plastiek samestelling) vir gebruik as strukturele elemente en uitgesette polistireen is gebruik as ʼn invul paneel. Materiële eienskappe was eksperimenteel bepaal, wat in ʼn numeriese analise gebruik was om die strukturele stabiliteit van ʼn modulêre HPS behuisingseenheid te verifieer. Die eksperimentele werk sluit ʼn direkte druk, direkte trek, druk kruip en ʼn vier-punt buig toets in, wat uitgevoer is met HPS. Vir die saamgestelde paneel was daar ʼn druk-deur skuif en ʼn vier-punt buig toets gedoen. ʼn Druk toets met die uitgesette polistireen en ʼn relatiewe verband sterkte vir die geselekteerde gomme was ook getoets. Verder, is ʼn vergelykende studie gedoen op die vuur uitvoering (vuurbestand waardering), koste effektiwiteit en die omgewingsvolhoubaarheid van ʼn SVS-, HPS- en blok-en-mortel behuisingseenheid. ’n Ontwerp is bepaal en geverifieer deur beide eksperimentele werk en analitiese ondersoeke, wat gewys het dat HPS gebruik kan word as ʼn lasdraende muurpaneel (met uitgesette polistireen invul), so wel as ʼn dak- en vloer sisteem. Daar is gevind, vanaf die vergelykende studie, dat die vuur uitvoering van die blok-en-mortel behuisingseenheid voldoen aan die vereiste van 20 en 30 minute onderskeidelik vir die interne en eksterne mure, soos voorgeskryf deur die SANS 10400-T (2011). Die vuur waardering van die blok-en-mortel behuisingseenheid het in terme van integriteit, insolasie en stabiliteit voldoen. Die twee modulêre plastiek behuisingseenhede het erger aan die vuur waardering slegs in trems van integriteit en insolasie voldoen. Hul het misluk in die voldoening in terme van stabiliteit. Die benadering wat gebruik was om die vuur gedrag van ʼn behuisingseenheid te bepaal, is nie so akkuraat soos ʼn fisiese vuur toets nie. Dit is omdat vir die benadering aannames in terme van die vuur eienskappe gemaak is. Die benadering gee egter ʼn indikasie van die vuur uitvoering van ʼn behuisingseenheid. SVS en HPS is gelamineer met PVC (poliviniel chloried) wat hidrochloried suur (HCl) afgee wanneer dit brand. Hidrochloried suur is ʼn giftige gas. Volgens een van die minimum norms, gestipuleer deur die NHBRC Home Building Manual en Agrément, moet ʼn voldoende behuisingseenheid nie giftige gasse afgee nie. Al is die regulasies nie verpligtend nie, in terme hiervan, is SVS en HPS nie ʼn uitvoerbare boumateriaal vir ʼn voldoende behuisingseenheid nie, veral wanneer menslike gedrag en rook beheer aangespreek word nie. Nietemin, die aspek kan verbeter word deur die byvoeging van bymiddels om die rook produsering te verminder en in sommige omstandighede te voorkom. Die vergelykende studie het ook gewys, dat die koste effektiwiteit van die SVS-behuisingseenheid vergelykbaar is met die van ʼn blok-en-mortel behuisingseenheid. Die HPS-behuisingseenheid se koste is aansienlik hoër as die van SVS-en die blok-en-mortel behuisingseenheid. Die modulêre plastiese, SVS en HPS, behuisingseenheid maak tipies gebruik van ongeskoolde werkers om die behuisingseenhuid op te rug, wat tot ʼn verbetering in die sosio-ekonomiese toestande in ʼn gemeenskap kan lei, deur dat dit werk skep. Aangesien die modulêre plastiese behuisingseenheid met relatiewe gemak en in ongeveer drie dae opgerig kan word, kan die aanvraag tot behuising vinniger bereik word, as wanner die konvensionele boumetodes gebruik word. In terme van omgewingsvolhoubaarheid, het die plastiese materiale minder negatiewe omgewingsimpakte en is meer energie-doeltreffend in vergelyking met die blok-en-mortel onwerp.

A new wall construction technique utilizing concrete filled PVC tubes, adobe, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and cabling was designed, analyzed and implemented. The system was designed as an alternative to traditional earthen buildings in Honduras that are vulnerable to hurricane winds and seismic activity. Six prototype panels were constructed at the Alternative Village located at the University of Manitoba to evaluate the wall system for racking and transverse load capacity. A kitchen was then constructed at an elementary school in western Honduras. / October 2015

Die Verknüpfung von Theorie und Praxis, von universitären Forschen und der realen Wirtschaft, ist ein Pfeiler gesellschaftlicher Entwicklung. Mit der finanziellen Förderung des FOSTER Programms der TU Dresden ist mir diese anzustrebende Verbindung, noch bevor sich der erste Staub auf meiner Abschlussarbeit bequem gemacht hat, gelungen. So konnte ich mit der Unterstützung der Professur für BWL, insb. Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement und Betriebliche Umweltökonomie meine Diplomarbeit von der Theorie in die Praxis, von der Universität in eine renommierte Fachzeitschrift, überführen. In meiner Abschlussarbeit habe ich mich mit den Hemmnissen im Zertifizierungsprozess der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB e.V.) beschäftigt. Das DGNB System im Neubau hat den Anspruch eine ganzheitliche Beurteilung eines Gebäudes im Sinne des nachhaltigen Bauens sicherzustellen. Ich habe untersucht, welche Hemmnisse aus Sicht der DGNB Auditoren im Rahmen des Zertifizierungsprozesses bei der Bewertung der ökologischen Qualität auftreten können. Experteninterviews mit drei Auditoren bildeten die Basis für einen strukturierten Fragebogen, der an alle registrierten DGNB Auditoren verschickt wurde. Während die Interviews der explorativen Identifizierung und Systematisierung von Störfaktoren dienten, prüfte der Fragebogen empirisch, inwieweit sich diese auf den zeitlichen Verlauf der Zertifizierung und das Erlangen der höchstmöglichen Bewertungspunktzahl auswirken. Als entscheidendste Hemmnisse gehen die Schnittstellenkooperation und ein später Integrationszeitpunkt des DGNB Konzeptes in der Neubauplanung hervor. Die Analyse legt den Grundstein für die Überwindung etwaiger Hemmnisse und kann folglich einen Beitrag für die Optimierung des Zertifizierungsprozesses leisten. Dies kann Gebäudezertifizierungen als strategisches Instrument nachhaltigen Bauens darin unterstützen sich in der Bauwirtschaft zu etablieren und ihre Marktverbreitung zu steigern. Gleichzeitig wird damit dem übergeordneten Ziel der Förderung einer nachhaltigen Bauweise und Bauwirtschaft gedient. Weiterführende Ergebnisse sind 2021 in einem Artikel der Fachzeitschrift „Bauingenieur“ veröffentlicht. So ist es mir, in enger Abstimmung mit der Professur und der FOSTER Förderung, gelungen meine Forschung vor der Schublade zu bewahren und meine Ergebnisse stattdessen zu publizieren. / Linking theory and practice, university research and the real economy, is a pillar of social development. With the financial support of the FOSTER program of the TU Dresden, I succeeded in this desired connection, even before the first dust on my thesis has settled down. With the support of the professorship for business administration, especially sustainability management and corporate environmental economics, I was able to transfer my diploma thesis from theory to practice, from the university to a renowned specialist journal. In my thesis, I dealt with the obstacles in the certification process of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB e.V.). The DGNB system in new buildings aims to ensure a holistic assessment of a building in terms of sustainable construction. I have examined which obstacles, from the point of view of the DGNB auditors, can arise in the course of the certification process when assessing ecological quality. Expert interviews with three auditors formed the basis for a structured questionnaire that was sent to all registered DGNB auditors. While the interviews served the explorative identification and systematisation of disruptive factors, the questionnaire empirically examined the extent to which these affect the course of certification over time and the achievement of the highest possible score. The interface cooperation and a late integration date of the DGNB concept in the planning of new buildings emerge as the most decisive obstacles. The analysis lays the foundation for overcoming any obstacles and can consequently make a contribution to optimizing the certification process. This can support building certification as a strategic instrument for sustainable building in establishing itself in the construction industry and increasing its market penetration. At the same time, this serves the overriding goal of promoting sustainable building methods and the construction industry. Further results will be published in an article in the specialist journal 'Bauingenieur' in 2021. So, in close coordination with the professorship and the FOSTER funding, I managed to keep my research in a drawer and to publish my results instead.

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Baigiamajame magistro darbe analizuojami visuomeninių pastatų eksploatacijos periodai, vertės kitimo priežastys ir pasekmės, nusidėvėjimo tipai, pastatų gyvavimo trukmės teoriniai ir statistiniai duomenys bei jų reikšmė Lietuvai. Apibendrinamas ir pateikiamas visuomeninių pastatų Lietuvoje konversijos pagrindimas, tikslas ir reikšmė. Išskiriama ekologijos ir darnios statybos plėtros reikšmė visuomeninių pastatų rekonstrukcijos procese. Suformuluojama optimaliai visuomeninių pastatų konversijai įtaką darančių veiksnių bei motyvų schema. Atlikta pasirinktų XX a. pab. Europos ir kitose pasaulio šalyse konvertuotų visuomeninių pastatų architektūros ir konstrukcinių sprendinių analizė. Nagrinėjami šiuolaikiški ir modernūs pastatų rekonstrukcijos metodai. Remiantis teoriniais visuomeninių pastatų konversijos aspektais, analizuojama idėjinė kino teatro ,,Lietuva“ konversijos schema, atsižvelgiant į sociologinius, ekonominius, funkcinius, estetinius, darnaus vystymo principus, pateikiami pastato konversijos sklypo plano, architektūros, funkcinės, konstrukcijų dalies sprendinių pasiūlymai. Darbą sudaro įvadas, analitinė – metodinė, eksperimentinė tiriamoji, eksperimentinė projektinė dalys, išvados, naudotos literatūros sąrašas, priedai. Darbo apimtis – 65 psl. teksto be priedų, 36 iliustracijos, 35 bibliografiniai šaltiniai, 2 priedai. / The main thesis of the exploitation periods of public buildings, causes and consequences of building value changes, depreciations types and possible theoretical and statistics appliance with their importance for Lithuania are analyzd in the final master‘s study. The summarized substantiation, purpose and meaning of public building conversion is given. The environment and sustainable developments for the construction of public buildins reconstruction process are excluded. The combination of factors and reasons scheme for public building conversion process optimization is formulated. Modern architectural and structural solutions of selected converted public buildings in twentieth century end in Europe and other countries were analysed. Based on the theoretical aspects of the conversion of public buildings, ideological analysis of cinema building ,,Lietuva“ conversion landscape, architecture, functions, structural solutions deals scheme with sociological, economic, functional, aesthetic, sustainable development are made. The conclusion of analysis are formulated and recommendations for futher scientific researches are presented. The final paper consists of 65 p. exploratory text without appendixes (an introduction, analysis – methodological, experimental research, experimental design sections, conclusion), 36 pictures, 35 bibliographical entries. Appendixes included.

Environmental sustainability in regards to infrastructure and the built environment is a significant consideration for the Department of National Defence (DND). As the 2nd largest landowner in Canada, the DND is making great efforts to operate in a sustainable manner through the creation and implementation of sustainable building policies. Meeting the green/sustainable buildings requirements of the recent Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, and the 2006 DND Sustainable Development Strategy to achieve accreditation within generic green building systems, has proven to be extremely challenging given the mandate and the nature of Canadian Forces (CF) operations, both domestically and overseas. This line of research was conducted in order to identify the unique requirements and the sustainability factors/criteria that are applicable to the CF / DND and to investigate how to best align these requirements within the context of sustainable development strategies. Input data was obtained through an analysis of literature and relevant documents, as well as a series of interviews with individuals at all levels within the Federal Government. The result of this research undertaking was, in part, the creation of a Sustainable Development for DND based on a thorough, comprehensive and internationally-investigated factor selection process. These results illustrate the importance for the DND to consider implementing a department-specific sustainable building strategy; one that is more representative of the unique type of infrastructure DND owns and operates. The results of such an investigation can surely be used to assist with best practices and strategic policies within DND and to potentially influence policies at the Federal level of governance in this regard. The ultimate goal of this thesis was to establish the policy framework with a view for DND to develop and implement its own unique Sustainability Standard. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-11-29 14:21:37.63