published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Com a virada do século XX para o século XXI, a devastação ambiental se tornou a principal ameaça a sobrevivência da humanidade no planeta. Descobrimentos alarmantes sobre o aumento do aquecimento global e a finitude dos recursos naturais trouxeram um novo desafio para o desenvolvimento mundial, crescer economicamente e ao mesmo tempo preservar o meio ambiente. A atividade de construção, como parte das atividades que colaboram para o agravamento do problema ambiental, começa a ser repensada como forma de produção e esforços têm sido feitos para torná-la menos impactante ao meio ambiente e ao espaço urbano. Nesse contexto de incertezas que envolve o desenvolvimento sustentável, um conceito ainda recente para a maioria da população, diversas empresas procuram adaptar-se para produzir produtos ecologicamente corretos e ter atitudes ambientalmente responsáveis, porém, sem ter ainda conhecimento suficiente para propor soluções eficazes. No mercado imobiliário brasileiro, tem crescido o volume de empreendimentos que são lançados como empreendimentos sustentáveis, considerados mais eficientes no consumo de recursos naturais e menos agressivos para o meio ambiente, ao passo que cresce, também, o interesse da população pelo consumo desse tipo de produto. Mostra-se, portanto, necessário fazer uma avaliação da real eficiência desses edifícios, pois, a observação da maneira impactante como esses empreendimentos se inserem no espaço urbano e sua baixa qualidade arquitetônica, indicam que há uma distorção do conceito de sustentabilidade no mercado. Este estudo pretende contribuir para o melhor entendimento do termo sustentabilidade e alertar para a maneira incorreta como ele tem sido, atualmente, inserido na produção do mercado imobiliário de edifícios residenciais, no Brasil. / With the turn of the century XX to the XXI, environmental devastation became the main threat to survival of humanity on the planet. Discoveries about the alarming increase in global warming and finite natural resources have brought anew challenge to world development: to promote economic growth while preserving the environment. Construction activity, as part of activities that contribute to the worsening environmental problem begins to be reconsidered as a means of production and efforts have been made to make it less harmful to the environment and urban space. In this context of uncertainty surrounding the sustainable development, a relatively new concept to most people, several companies trying to adapt to produce environmentally friendly products and be environmentally responsible, but without yet having enough knowledge to propose effective solutions. The brazilian real estate market has grown the volume of projects that are launched as sustainable business as more efficient consumption of natural resources and less harmful to the environment, while growing, too, public interest in the consumption these products. It is apparent, therefore, necessary to evaluate the real efficacy of these buildings, therefore, the observation of the way significant as these developments fall within the urban space and its low architectural quality, indicate that there is a distortion of the concept of sustainability in the market. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the term sustainability and alert to incorrectly as it has been currently inserted in the production of the property market of residential buildings in Brazil.

Traditional architectural and urban artefacts are showed over the centuries as a powerful imprint of human actions and practices and are being developed on the basis of concrete socio-cultural factors and environmental rationalities. Spatial and morphological patterns of traditional environments have exceedingly evolved to fulfill and accomplish the social and cultural needs of the populace in their dialectical interplay with the surrounding environment. This relationship conceptualises the man-made environment, as the repository of meaning, in users‟ reciprocal relation with the surrounding environment. In the context of history, the human tends to dwell when experiencing the built environment as meaningful. Traditional contexts are highlighted as physical and spatial interpretations of human activities, skills, thoughts and resources creating identifiable and meaningful realms related to space/place, time and society. The study uncovers the process of the formation of the house and mahalla in order to shed light on how the built environment responds to inhabitants‟ socio-cultural determinants and everyday lives. It unfolds how changes in the nature of Iraqi society and its priorities affect the architecture of home and mahalla by reference to the impact of modernity with all its alien socio-cultural principles. This thesis focuses on the architecture of home and mahalla within the traditional core of Kadhimiya city and similar Iraqi socio-cultural contexts. At the macro analytical level, the research investigates the spatial and physical formation of the mahalla as a whole through detecting the socio-spatial aspects of its realms, and how its spontaneous form has responded to the socio-cultural aspects of the community in an integral pattern. At the micro level, the research will go deeper in the perception of the basic aspects of the individual and the family. It investigates how the traditional house reflects and satisfies the personal values of the individual, and achieves his socio-cultural beliefs and everyday life on the basis of inherent norms and conventions. In this vein, public, semi-public/private and private domains are investigated to highlight the mutual interplay between these spheres as key factors in understanding the architecture of the house and mahalla. The research discusses indigenous aspects and principles contained or embedded in the structure of the traditional environment, such as privacy, social solidarity and stability, neighbourliness and so on. It reveals insight into the male-female relationship in the social life of the traditional context, and how the position of women and their idle qualities impact the structure of the house and the hierarchical sequence and organisation of spaces. Identity, tradition, sustainability and everyday life are the main fields discussed with a specific end goal to outline and uncover the role of social factors, cultural beliefs and daily practices in the creation of this particular form. Building on these values, the research adopts an interpretive historical method in revealing the characters of the traditional environment referring to residents‟ habits, customs, rituals and traditions. Several approaches to the built and home environment are discussed for paving or detecting reliable one in the methodological inquiry within which many tools and methods have been utilised and used i.e. archival records, interviews, historical narratives, personal observation and photographic surveys. Data generated consists of photos, maps, interviewees‟ comments, analytical diagrams and historical and travellers‟ descriptions. Research findings indicate many of the inherent and underlying principles upon which the architecture of Iraqi traditional house depends. Within this context, the study has tried to unfold how the formation of the traditional house and the mahalla responded to the socio-cultural aspects of the community and the daily life of its members. Findings, concerning the design principles of the traditional mahalla, were realised as indigenous norms and standards embedded in the structure of society, which can be useful for architects, designers and planners to reconcile traditional and contemporary urban forms through the application of former rules and conventions in City‟s conservation or redevelopment plans. The study reveals that the traditional environment had less socio-cultural contradictions, active day-to-day practices and clear, identifiable and meaningful identity compared with contemporary built environments. Research findings, thus, lead to a set of relevant recommendations addressed to many of the community categories, architects, planners, stakeholders and those interested in this field. They aim to promote the impressive role of socio-cultural factors and strengthen users‟ competence in their physical and spatial settings for home. Moreover, research recommendations discuss how social factors, cultural values, beliefs, practices and rituals can be re-employed in our approach to achieving a more sustainable living environment. Recommendations relating to identity and tradition aim to draw attention and shed light on the significance of traditional built environments in the development of special identity, which played a big role in the sustainability of these contexts for centuries.

A atual situação de degradação ambiental tem sido muito discutida nos últimos anos. Um dos principais fatores agravantes dessa situação é a crescente demanda energética e suas atuais formas de produção. O petróleo, matriz energética mundial, é altamente poluente, e um combustível finito com o preço sempre crescente. A energia elétrica brasileira está baseada nas hidrelétricas, considerada fonte de energia limpa e renovável, porém o custo ambiental para sua construção é bem alto. Atualmente já existem tecnologias alternativas que podem servir essa crescente demanda energética sem prejudicar o meio ambiente. Na arquitetura, como em todas as áreas, houve um aumento com preocupação, e o estudo sobre o desempenho energético das edificações para reduzir a demanda de energia se tornou um assunto em pauta. Medidas e soluções estão sendo tomadas na decisão dos projetos mais sustentáveis. Mas para isso, o profissional deve estar atento às novas tecnologias alternativas de produção e distribuição de energia. Quando em um projeto é considerado o uso de fontes alternativas e o uso de técnicas de iluminação e ventilação natural, pode-se economizar não só nas despesas direcionadas para as fornecedoras de energia, mas poupar recursos naturais, ajudando a preservar o meio ambiente, fundamental para a nossa sobrevivência. Este trabalho traz algumas definições sobre sustentabilidade e a relação que a arquitetura tem com a problemática ambiental através da energia. Foi feita uma procura de novas tecnologias de produção e geração de energia e então, composto um estado da arte dos principais centros mundiais em P&D e dos projetos de demonstração envolvendo células à combustível, uma nova tecnologia que gera energia limpa in loco, descrevendo as características mais importantes destes projetos e compilando os resultados para uma possível adaptação aqui no Brasil, a fim de que diminua a participação das edificações no consumo de energia elétrica produzida a partir de hidrelétricas. O objetivo desta pesquisa é contribuir com a disseminação do conhecimento sobre energias alternativas e renováveis no meio arquitetônico, e demonstrar os principais centros mundiais em P&D e os projetos de demonstração que envolvam a geração de energia limpa através das células à combustível para uma adaptação no contexto brasileiro. Os resultados dessa pesquisa foram a constatação de que em todos países desenvolvidos há um forte apoio governamental para introdução dessa nova tecnologia de geração de energia para possibilitar futuramente a \"Economia do Hidrogênio\". A maioria dos projetos pesquisados são de células de tecnologia tipo PEM e abastecidas à gás natural (GN), pois esses países já possuem uma infra-estrutura formada para o GN. No contexto brasileiro, o apoio governamental à essa nova tecnologia ainda é pouco, salvo o fomento de algumas instituições como FAPESP, CAPES, CNPQ e centros universitários. Esta ausência governamental deixa espaço para respostas a curto prazo às novas demandas de energia elétrica ocasionando o preenchimento com outros tipos de fontes de energia poluentes e fósseis como é o caso do aumento das termelétricas ultimamente. / The current situation of environmental degradation has been much discussed in recent years. One of the main factors aggravating this situation is the growing energy demand and its current production methods most used. The oil, world energy matrix, is highly polluting fuel and a finite with the ever-increasing price. The Brazilian energy matrix is based on hydro, considered a clean and renewable source of energy, but the environmental cost and its construction are very high. Nowadays, there are alternative technologies that can serve this growing energy demand without harming the environment. In architecture, as in all areas, there was an increase in concern, and the study on the energy performance of buildings to reduce energy demand has become a subject matter. Measures and solutions are being taken in deciding the projects more sustainable. But for this, the practitioner must be aware of new alternative technologies of production and distribution of energy. When a project is considered the use of alternative techniques and the use of natural lighting and ventilation, you can save not only the costs directed for energy providers, but save natural resources, helping to preserve the environment, essential for our survival. This study offers some definitions of sustainability and the relationship that architecture has with the environment through energy. It was made a demand for new production technologies and power generation and then made a \"state of the art world\'s main centers of R&D and demonstration projects involving fuel cells, describing the most important features of these projects and compiling the results for a possible adjustment in Brazil, in order to decrease the participation of the buildings in the consumption of electricity produced from hydropower plants in Brazil. The research aims to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge on alternative and renewable energy among architectural and demonstrate the major world centers in R & D and demonstration projects involving the application of clean energy through fuel cells to adapt Brazilian context. The results of this research was the finding that in all developed countries there is strong government support for the introduction of this new technology to generate energy to enable a future \"Hydrogen Economy\". Most projects are cell PEM technology and supplied with natural gas because these countries already have an infrastructure set up to NG. In the Brazilian context, government support to this new technology is still little, except the promotion of some institutions like FAPESP, CAPES, CNPq and universities. This government leaves no room for short-term responses to new demands for power resulting in filling other types of no clean energy clean and fuels such as increasing the thermal power plants.

As a result of widespread urban development over the past two decades, global wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. This thesis develops a series of strategies for protecting wetland ecosystems from the ecological consequences that cascade through an ecosystem as a result of such development. This thesis is based on the paired assumptions that ecosystems represent networks of linked processes that operate across both local and global scales, and that the ecological integrity of any ecosystem can be maintained (a) only if the physical integrity of an ecosystem’s constituent processes is maintained, and (b) only if damage occurring at one ecological scale is prevented from affecting processes occurring at another. Thus, the strategies proposed here are multi-scalar and implemented at both the scale of the site and at the broader watershed scale. The strategies developed in this thesis focus on maintaining the physical integrity of the local wetlands as a means of protecting the processes that occur within the broader wetland ecosystem. The thesis proposes that wetland sites might be best protected from the effects of urban development by implementing a series of landscape interventions that provide the ecosystem with the means to reorient itself in new ecological relationships. Instead of attempting to recreate and control a complex set of conditions by imposing a deterministic architectural solution on the site, this strategy seeds new processes and new structural relationships such that the ecosystem reorganizes itself according to its own structural logic and grows into new stable relationships according to conditions that arise out of those processes. Because this approach generates a series of self-sustaining processes, human intervention is minimized beyond the initial stages. The stategies proposed here will be explored in the context of proposals recently announced by oil companies to develop ecologically sensitive wetland sites located on the Athabasca River in north-eastern Alberta.

Breaking Through the First Cost Barriers of Sustainable Planning, Design, and Construction John W. Mogge Jr. 377 Pages Directed by Dr. Rita Oberle The research integrates elements of the bodies of knowledge for sustainability, planning, design, and construction to create an understanding of green project first cost drivers. It extends conceptual models for sustainable infrastructure and the built environment process by creating a framework based linkage to analyze first cost impacts of sustainable project planning, design, and construction decisions. The framework functions as an analytical bridge between the built environment process and sustainability and is the principal contribution of this research. Through a preliminary analysis of fourteen projects, the work draws out relevant planning, materials and methods, and estimating and scheduling best practices and guiding principles. The work then proposes a first cost impact framework derived from the preliminary analysis as a decision support tool and tests the framework using an expert system derived linguistic database. The test results support the functionality of the framework. The test linguistic database was developed through an interdisciplinary professional expert practitioner interview process using common green project planning, design and construction strategies. The qualitative, interpretative, multi-criteria analysis of the data used fuzzy set theory and presents findings helpful in understanding green project first cost drivers. The work concludes with an assessment and a discussion of parallel research, and ten recommended areas for further research.

This thesis describes improvements on newly-discovered high-strength pozzolan-based materials fabricated via a low-cost chemical reaction that takes place between 90 and 115 ℃ for 3 to 24 hours. The reported results focus on pozzolan constituents acquired from Coal Combustion Products (CCPs) such as cenospheres, fly ash C and F, as well as bottom ash. The thesis reports on various types of these materials with specific gravity ranging from 0.5 to 1.6; compressive strength ranging from 300 to 3600 psi, and compressive modulus ranging from 50 to 240 ksi. In addition to their good mechanical properties under compression that are attractive for the building and construction industries, the materials further exhibit great potential for applications as energy absorption cores in sandwich construction that could extend their value in other industries including the automotive and aerospace industries. For example, the load-displacement curve exhibits a short elastic zone followed by a long load-plateau; while the materials crush through a controlled vertical cracking process. Additionally, an attempt was made to further decrease the manufacturing cost of the material by investigating incorporation of chemicals that accelerates dehydration of the mixture. One such successful chemical reported in this thesis is aluminum phosphate; while it is not conclusive how the chemical improves any major property.

The green building market has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Organizations such as the US Green Building Council have emerged to become a dominant leader in the building industry. Although the green building rating systems are cross-disciplinary, much of the focus has been directed towards design-related input. General Contractors play an important role in delivering successful sustainable construction projects. If an integrated project delivery method is chosen, the General Contractor may offer insightful preconstruction assistance by providing ideas on green construction methods and materials. As sustainable building practices become more prominent in the construction industry, General Contractors must remain knowledgeable on current green building standards in order to stay competitive. Two of the most important aspects of business for a General Contractor involve time and money. Through qualitative literature review and quantitative results from a case study, this research analyzes time and cost in sustainable construction projects from a General Contractor's perspective. The research also examines whether the management of a sustainable construction project is substantially different than a non-sustainable construction project for a General Contractor. Finally, because the green building process involves multiple parties, the collaboration effort from all parties involved in a green building project will be studied.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / A substantial proportion of the African population is deprived of access to safe and reliable food. Many people in Tshwane currently live with long-term malnutrition, seeing that food insecurity is growing most rapidly in formal urban areas, referred to as food deserts, due to their limited access to food. Designing urban environments for local food security has become imperative. This dissertation presents the design of a research centre to promote a resilient urban food systems in Sunnyside, Pretoria. A combination of high- and low-intensity cultivation methods is integrated into the building to create a balance between optimised crop yield and community participation and education. The holistic integration of systems, people and the built environment aims to create a building that is not merely a machine for living, but a living machine.

As a result of widespread urban development over the past two decades, global wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. This thesis develops a series of strategies for protecting wetland ecosystems from the ecological consequences that cascade through an ecosystem as a result of such development. This thesis is based on the paired assumptions that ecosystems represent networks of linked processes that operate across both local and global scales, and that the ecological integrity of any ecosystem can be maintained (a) only if the physical integrity of an ecosystem’s constituent processes is maintained, and (b) only if damage occurring at one ecological scale is prevented from affecting processes occurring at another. Thus, the strategies proposed here are multi-scalar and implemented at both the scale of the site and at the broader watershed scale. The strategies developed in this thesis focus on maintaining the physical integrity of the local wetlands as a means of protecting the processes that occur within the broader wetland ecosystem. The thesis proposes that wetland sites might be best protected from the effects of urban development by implementing a series of landscape interventions that provide the ecosystem with the means to reorient itself in new ecological relationships. Instead of attempting to recreate and control a complex set of conditions by imposing a deterministic architectural solution on the site, this strategy seeds new processes and new structural relationships such that the ecosystem reorganizes itself according to its own structural logic and grows into new stable relationships according to conditions that arise out of those processes. Because this approach generates a series of self-sustaining processes, human intervention is minimized beyond the initial stages. The stategies proposed here will be explored in the context of proposals recently announced by oil companies to develop ecologically sensitive wetland sites located on the Athabasca River in north-eastern Alberta.