Urban form and function as building performance parameters

Abstract

The climate in cities differs significantly from those found in the surrounding area. These differences results from modifications of the Earth's surface that alters the disposition of "natural energy balance" at a micro-scale and the concentration of activities that results in anthropogenic emissions that change the composition of the atmosphere. These urban effects have distinctive temporal and spatial properties with different impacts on building energy performance depending on their purpose, which are rarely accounted for. This paper examines performance implications of a change-of-use (from office to residential) in the context of the UK government's proposal to encourage regeneration and to meet housing needs. However , the diurnal occupation and activity patterns of these uses are distinct. For office buildings, with daytime occupation, focus is on the diurnal heating cycle driven by solar energy gains to which internal energy sources must be added. For residential buildings occupation and activity are primarily associated with the diurnal cooling period, and lower levels of activity that results in a primary heating need. This paper highlights the link between the timing of the urban climate effects, the urban setting and energy performance in a typical city street, where buildings are currently designed for commercial use. It employs London's current and projected climate to simulate heating and cooling demands. By studying the role of urban form and its implications on the suitability of a buildings function we find that a 'form first' approach should be considered in the early design stages over the standard 'fabric first' approach.

Urban population agglomeration in view of complex ecological niche: A case study on Chinese prefecture cities

“…Although this supports the conclusion that SCEN and ECEN have a positive relationship with UPA, it suggests that classifying the samples by considering their SCEN and ECEN level would be worthful. Clue 3: according to the experience from cities in developed countries, usually there is a division of functions among cities (Futcher et al, 2013); some have a function of production, whereas others, for livelihood and social services, such as entertainment and hospitals (Puissant and Lacour, 2011). Although the division of functions for different cities was not clear in China, it is worth considering such a distinction as a way of classifying them.…”

A review of current and future weather data for building simulation

“…Furthermore the effects of the urban heat island are frequently also ignored. This can have a dramatic impact on the timing and magnitude of energy use within buildings [156].…”

Performance standard for tropical outdoors: A critique of current impasse and a proposal for way forward

“…for every 1°C rise ambient temperature rise, the electricity consumption in Hong Kong was estimated to increase by 9.2%, 3.0%, and 2.4% in domestic, commercial and industrial sectors, respectively - Fung et al, 2006) a recent study in Malaysia found that every 1°C increment in outdoor temperature will cause a 2% drop in the coefficient of performance of split-type air conditioners (Yau and Pean, 2014). This is in sharp contrast to heating in urban areas, where, wasted heat tends to reduce the heating load for surrounding buildings (Futcher et al, 2013). The current increase in temperature due to air conditioner use was estimated to be 0.5°C but could be up to 2°C if the air conditioner use is to double (de Munck et al, 2013: 210).…”