This thesis explores the notion of site as a generative basis for architecture. Site is conceived not only as a plot of land where a building is located, but also as something that is the result of agency: the architectural intervention. Site is thus constructed with architecture; it is as much a consequence as a thing. Still Creek was chosen as a provocative site in which to explore this idea. Once Vancouver's largest salmon-bearing stream. Still Creek now exists in a barren, degraded state — the result of a century of urbanization. In its fragmented course from its headwaters to Burnaby Lake, Still Creek flows above and below ground through a diversity of site conditions, ranging from a primeval ravine to a polluted industrial area. Recently, sensibilities about the stream have changed. There are presently a variety of groups interested in Still Creek, not only as a public amenity, but also as an urban ecosystem. In response, it was proposed that (1) an urban trail be located along the discontinuous course of the stream, and (2) a facility be located along the stream that addresses some of the needs of these interested groups. The Still Creek Interpretive Facility marks both the beginning of the stream and the start of the urban trail. Located at the edge of the Renfrew Ravine where the stream first emerges from a subterranean culvert, the building makes apparent the many forces present on the site. An initial gesture of excavation reveals the culvert and demarcates a constructed and a natural edge. The constructed edge of the excavation is heightened with a veil of translucent solar panels that diffuse sunlight and help power the building. A wood screen along the natural edge of the excavation acts as a foil to the alder forest, allowing the building to maintain a quiet presence in the ravine as well as creating shimmering views of colour and light. The stream fills the lowest part of the excavation, mitigating high runoff flows and making a reflective pool for light, precipitation, and sound. The excavation and screen walls form a vessel into which mute volumes are inserted, creating a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces, some relating more to site, others relating more to programme. Exterior building circulation winds through the whole assembly — an extension of the urban trail — forming a rich experiential descent from street...through building...to stream beyond...

This thesis explores the notion of site as a generative basis for architecture. Site is conceived not only as a plot of land where a building is located, but also as something that is the result of agency: the architectural intervention. Site is thus constructed with architecture; it is as much a consequence as a thing. Still Creek was chosen as a provocative site in which to explore this idea. Once Vancouver's largest salmon-bearing stream. Still Creek now exists in a barren, degraded state — the result of a century of urbanization. In its fragmented course from its headwaters to Burnaby Lake, Still Creek flows above and below ground through a diversity of site conditions, ranging from a primeval ravine to a polluted industrial area. Recently, sensibilities about the stream have changed. There are presently a variety of groups interested in Still Creek, not only as a public amenity, but also as an urban ecosystem. In response, it was proposed that (1) an urban trail be located along the discontinuous course of the stream, and (2) a facility be located along the stream that addresses some of the needs of these interested groups. The Still Creek Interpretive Facility marks both the beginning of the stream and the start of the urban trail. Located at the edge of the Renfrew Ravine where the stream first emerges from a subterranean culvert, the building makes apparent the many forces present on the site. An initial gesture of excavation reveals the culvert and demarcates a constructed and a natural edge. The constructed edge of the excavation is heightened with a veil of translucent solar panels that diffuse sunlight and help power the building. A wood screen along the natural edge of the excavation acts as a foil to the alder forest, allowing the building to maintain a quiet presence in the ravine as well as creating shimmering views of colour and light. The stream fills the lowest part of the excavation, mitigating high runoff flows and making a reflective pool for light, precipitation, and sound. The excavation and screen walls form a vessel into which mute volumes are inserted, creating a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces, some relating more to site, others relating more to programme. Exterior building circulation winds through the whole assembly — an extension of the urban trail — forming a rich experiential descent from street...through building...to stream beyond... / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

This research is about the role of sustainable urban design principles in delivering high density mixed use schemes in Amman. It builds on previous work developed in the 2010 Amman Master Plan to propose, a first for the city, sustainable high density mixed use (HDMU) development in three distinct geographical areas in the city. High density mixed use developments conceived as part of the master plan is a new approach for the city of Amman and for Jordan.

This thesis is an investigation into the implications that a warming climate has for the housing retrofit programme recently completed at Rushenden on the Isle of Sheppey that was the subject of the EU Interreg research project IFORE (Innovation for Renewal, 2010- 2014). The aim of this thesis is to inform UK public policy on social housing retrofit, as to whether we are pursuing the correct goal by retrofitting with insulation and air-tightness, a strategy to conserve heat, rather than one that would also combat summertime overheating. The community of Rushenden was used as a case study to develop a specific adaptation strategy for retrofitted social housing in the South-East of England. Gaps in knowledge were identified relating to the role that insulation and air-tightness has in reducing or increasing the overheating risk, and the analysis of a wider range of shading strategies. The measures were discussed with sixteen households during completion of the adaptations questionnaire and three focus groups. Six households completed daily a longitudinal comfort questionnaire, over a period of two months. Monitoring of internal and external temperatures was carried out as part of IFORE but in addition questions about overheating were included by the author within the three IFORE questionnaires that were submitted to one hundred households during the timescale of the project. Two models were built in ESP-r, a European standard building simulation tool: a singlestorey and a two-storey house type. Dynamic thermal modelling, incorporating future weather files, was used to evaluate different specifications of insulation and air-tightness and the climate change adaptation measures. Future heating and cooling loads were calculated and the overheating risk was assessed using the adaptive comfort algorithm. The first results from the simulations showed that the light type of retrofit installed by IFORE will reduce both the heating load and the cooling load in 2030s, 2050s and 2080s. On the other hand, a deeper type of retrofit that complies with the Passivhaus standard U-value for wall insulation, and air-tightness, will reduce the heating load but increase the cooling load. Despite reduction of overheating risk using the lighter type of retrofit, the living room of the single storey house will not meet the adaptive comfort set of criteria and should be classed as “overheating”. The installation of internal white, opaque roller blinds, will meet the adaptive comfort criteria and eliminate the need for cooling in both the single and two storey houses. The adaptation measures were discussed in terms of their practicality, affordability and the interaction between occupant and technology. The discussion arising from this work is to judge the wider application of its results as a guide to retrofit decision-making.

Architecture is a creative process that relies on representational tools (drawings, physical scale models, digital models etc.), which describe what is being designed. Such tools are useful in showing the position of the solid elements that make up a building, their shape and size, as well as the physical boundaries of the space. Even though these tools are “immaterial” representations, they are different to the immateriality that is associated with space when experienced by users. This research is interested in theoretical debates relating to immateriality as part of the users’ spatial experience and how these can inform the design process. Firstly, this study discusses the relationship between architecture as a creative process, and the lived experience of people as a way of consuming space. Space is seen as a product of the design process and the context in which architecture exists. The particular context that this research is interested in is that of Bahrain, as a typical example of a geo-cultural part of the world, whose economic conditions and cultural values are changing fast. Given that Bahrain is part of the Islamic world, the discussion of the context is extended to Islamic architecture. The thesis will delve into how Islamic architecture, which is informed by religious and cultural values, combines both material functions and immaterial aspects. However, the economic and social transformation that the Gulf region has seen over the last few decades has impacted on people and their relationship with the everyday space, the city, its design and the way it is experienced. Using both the place of dwelling, as a private space, and public spaces in the city, this thesis looks at the spatial experience of city dwellers to consider how that experience relates to the context in which those spaces exist. This thesis is particularly interested in the immaterial aspects of the users’ spatial experience, which is often overlooked or naively assumed to be part of the design brief. This study uses qualitative research approaches, as it aims to explore people’s lives and to identify and clarify its underlying meanings. Firstly, case studies from the literature were referred to in order to gain a sufficient understanding of architecture, culture, context and their impact on people’s lived experience. Subsequently, fieldwork-based primary research was undertaken using a variety of methods including semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, organised walks with participants and observations. It is anticipated that the discussion would lead to a better understanding of some of the issues around immateriality in architecture that could inform architecture as a practice and a discipline. Such a practice would reflect the social, cultural and environmental conditions of this particular context. In this respect, the design process will be informed by both material and immaterial consideration of the users and their context.

The regeneration of urban places is a major force in the landscape of previously declining industrial cities. The processes and policies of regeneration have received considerable research over the years, with a particular emphasis on quantitative indicators to capture large-scale effects. One major change has been the rising role of culture within regeneration. In this thesis, a closer, qualitative view is taken to investigating urban regeneration, to uncover a narrative of two particular and related concerns within cultural urban regeneration. On the one hand, the risks of homogenisation as standardised practices are transferred globally; on the other, the demand for distinctiveness, and for regenerated areas to demonstrate unique and appealing characteristics to mediate global processes, and attract inward investment of economic, social, and human capital. The thesis focuses on the iconic space of the waterfront, and studies three major regenerating cities in the United Kingdom, studying the dynamics of culture, homogenisation, and distinctiveness. From an initial synthesis of theories, a thematic framework is constructed. The thesis then captures the understanding of those themes as articulated by forty-seven elite actors who work within cultural regeneration in the three case study waterfronts, exposing the continuing impact of place in the face of homogenising forces.

The persistent increase in the price of energy, the clamour to preserve our environment from the harmful effects of the anthropogenic release of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels and the need to conserve these rapidly depleting fuels has resulted in the need for the deployment of industry best practices in energy conservation through energy efficiency improvement processes like the waste heat recovery technique. In 2006, it was estimated that approximately 20.66% of energy in the UK is consumed by industry as end-user, with the process industries (chemical industries, metal and steel industries, food and drink industries) consuming about 407 TWh, 2010 value stands at 320.28 TWh (approximately 18.35%). Due to the high number of food and drink industries in the UK, these are estimated to consume about 36% of this energy with a waste heat recovery potential of 2.8 TWh. This work presents the importance of waste heat recovery in the process industries in general, and in the UK food industry in particular, with emphasis on the fryer section of the crisps manufacturing process, which has been identified as one of the energy-intensive food industries with high waste heat recovery potential. The work proposes the use of a dual heat source ORC system for the recovery and conversion of the waste heat from the fryer section of a crisps manufacturing plant to electricity. The result, obtained through modelling and simulation, shows that the proposed technology can produce about 92% of the daily peak electricity need of the plant which is currently 216 kW. Also, the economic analysis shows that the proposed technology is viable (even at an inflation rate of 5.03% and discounted rate of 6%), with a payback period of approximately three years and net present value of over £2.2 million if the prices of electricity and carbon is at an average value of £0.16 and £13.77 respectively throughout the 30 years service life of the plant. The life cycle assessment study shows that the proposed technology can reduce the CO2 emission by 139,580 kg/year if the electricity produced is used to displace that which would have been produced from a conventional coal-fired power plant.

The construction industry suffers from a time predictability problem. To address this, previous research has investigated various improvement strategies, including the exploitation of innovations. An innovation is some ‘thing’, unfamiliar to an entity, which can facilitate product, process or systemic improvements. Innovation diffusion theory (IDT) is the body of work concerned with explaining how some innovations successfully ‘stick’, whilst others fail to propagate. These phenomena occur across society, but construction is particularly perceived to suffer from a low ‘innovation rate’. 4D BIM is an innovation with potential to provide construction planning improvements that can address the time predictability problem, but there are concerns around its prospective industry absorption. This research investigates the applicability of classic IDT to the adoption of 4D BIM by the UK construction industry. A mixed-method study was undertaken, informed by a pragmatist philosophy. It combines an initial exploratory stage that uses case study and questionnaire survey research, with a subsequent explanatory stage concurrently employing a second questionnaire survey with semi-structured interviews. Classified as a modular technical process-based innovation, use of 4D BIM is found to advance construction planning. It increases feedback opportunities, planning efforts, and the quality and validity of the plans produced, whilst also having potential for improving project time performance. It is established that 4D BIM usage is principally limited to work-winning, methods planning, and the visualisation of construction processes, alleviating problems of communication and understanding. The importance of existing diffusion concepts of compatibility and trialability, are reinforced, and several new contributions are made. These include: how organisations using BIM risk employing hybrid project information delivery processes, resulting in duplication of effort and inefficiency; how personal use of 4D BIM is linked to organisational characteristics; and what the usual time lag between first awareness and adoption is. Furthermore, an existing innovation-decision process model is built upon, with additional stages, decisionaction points and outcomes added. This new model can assist in the future adoption/rejection decisions of such modular technical process-based innovations.

My work, published essays and books listed below, provides new insights into architects’ approaches to housing design since the beginning of the twentieth century. Drawing on methods from both history and practice the work uses primarily drawn building studies familiar in professional journals for comparative analysis. Two interrelated issues, housing designed to be adaptable (or flexible) and housing designed for families other than the norm of the static, nuclear family, characterise the approach to the work implicit through the selection of case studies. A reflective essay considers the work in the context of attempts to introduce flexible housing typologies and the potential impact on the role of the architect and the consumer. Further context is provided in an appendix setting out an annotated chronology of relevant legislation, reports and recommendations, to raise questions about its complexities and the contemporary renewed focus on minimum space standards as the primary tool to improve housing quality.

Retrofit programmes for installing energy efficient technologies in social housing are a key part of efforts to reduce UK carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. This requires a reduction in CO2 emissions by an average of 80%, from all housing, in order to assist the UK’s long term goals. The UK’s turnover of housing stock is relatively slow compared to most developed countries and approximately 87% of the current housing stock will still be standing in 2050. Therefore, to meet carbon emissions targets, existing buildings must be refurbished or ‘retrofitted’ with technologies which reduce carbon emissions on a huge scale. The Government intends to achieve this by driving energy efficiency in households and businesses predominantly through the proposed Green Deal framework. This represents a shift in policy approach since the 2010 elections, towards a private finance and private industry approach, as rather than the previous Labour Governments predominately state managed and grant-aided social retrofit approach. The influence of the economic recession at the time of this transition is also likely to be a key driver of the Governments changing approach to financing the retrofit of millions of UK homes. Other strategies such as the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy are also intended to dove-tail with this national push to retrofit housing stock, due to reduced energy costs and increased thermal comfort. There is great potential for the proposed national retrofit mobilisation to reduce carbon emissions from homes, contribute to economic growth and provide other benefits such as the reduction of Fuel Poverty. However, the amount of energy used in homes is largely dependent on the behaviours of the occupier(s) and occupant behaviour can determine the effectiveness of retrofit programmes and thus impact on the potential of this significant mobilisation to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions from housing. Thus, occupant behaviour is increasingly recognised as a critical element to be acknowledged and addressed in order to meet carbon reduction targets, both within the literature (excluding the policy literature) by and those delivering retrofits on the ground. This research provides a unique insight into occupant energy use behaviour by evaluating a ‘live’ project to retrofit energy efficient being implemented by Gentoo Group which includes construction and social landlord roles. The literature review relevant to the research focuses on Psychological theories of behaviour and Practice Theory. This provides insights from both paradigms provide two viewpoints on behaviour: an insight into the nature of individual behaviour (Psychological theories of behaviour), and; a consideration of how the framework and structure of society (including aspects such as technology) interacts with the individual’s practices (Practice Theory). The research methodology utilised an inductive approach, underpinned by a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were conducted before and after specific interventions (a technical intervention and informational interventions) took place, these interviews were recorded and transcriptions were thematically organised and analysed using the template analysis technique. This process first identified ‘patterns of behaviour related to energy use’ arising due the project interventions and secondly based on the frequency of these occurring, identified ‘key patterns’. The theoretical perspectives of the Psychology and Practice Theory literature were drawn on in order to contextualise the findings of the research, but it this thesis does not attempt to apply them in an empirical approach. The analysis process instead draws on specific elements from both of the disciplines to assist the interrogation of the ‘key patterns’ so they may be better explained or understood. Key findings of the research highlighted that energy use behaviour is impacted by the introduction of technology, and tenant behaviour can potentially impact on the energy saving effectiveness of retrofit projects. Significant impacts were identified specifically where tenants had an interaction with the technology being introduced and the informational intervention had no significant impact on behaviour. ‘Key patterns’ indicated several factors which influence tenant energy use behaviour and of these the barriers to retrofit effectiveness were identified as: limited access to knowledge and skills; habits preventing behaviour change to utilise introduced technologies; the quality of installation and function of the technical intervention; convenience of introduced technology potentially increasing energy use, and: the need or desire for thermal comfort. The thesis concludes that energy use behaviour is pivotal factor in determining retrofit effectiveness and that behaviour, and in particular behaviour-related barriers to retrofit effectiveness, should be acknowledged and addressed as part of the UK retrofit strategy, especially in the light emerging policies such as the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, which intend to drive retrofit on a huge scale. Recommendations are made inform retrofit practitioners and academic and policy debates on behaviour in the context social housing retrofit, and suggestions are made for future research to explore this research area further.