ABE Architecture and the Built Environment最新文献

{"title":"African New Towns: An adaptive, principle-based planning approach","authors":"R. Keeton","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.18.5198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.18.5198","url":null,"abstract":"The New Towns (mixed use urban developments planned and built from scratch) initiated across the African continent since 1990 are overwhelmingly designed and built according to urban planning models from the previous century (Watson 2013; Marcinkowski 2018; Keeton and Provoost 2019). This has produced a generation of New Towns with rigid physical infrastructure and strict building regulations, that do not support the spatial manifestations of the ‘informal’ sector. As a result, these New Towns may become insular enclaves and informal settlements may develop adjacently to them. Residents of these adjacent areas may not have access to the services and amenities offered within the New Towns (Keeton and Provoost 2019). Coupled with the implicit vulnerabilities of emerging and threshold economies, the contextual mismatch of the imported urban models exacerbates spatial segregation at an urban scale. Additionally, contemporary New Town models often do not take current climate variability or future climate change threats into account. As implemented in the African context, they rarely respond effectively to surrounding natural landscapes or environmental sensitivities (Keeton and Nijhuis 2019). \u0000Building on the arguments that (1) equal access to resources is a key component of sustainable development and that (2) urban planning benefits from new linkages between critical social theory and environmental science, this research proposes that applying adaptive urban planning principles to New Towns in the African context can increase ecological sustainability and social inclusivity (WCED 1987; Fainstein and Campbell 2012). The objective of this research is therefore to address the spatial challenges of African New Towns by developing an alternative planning and design approach that acknowledges both social and environmental dimensions, as well as the constant state of change that all cities exhibit. This is done by addressing four main research questions: (1) What are the spatial problems of African New Towns caused by the application of common planning approaches? (2) What are the principles of a more adaptive and sustainable planning and design approach and how can they address these problems? (3) How and to what extent can the adaptive planning and design principles be improved and applied? And finally, (4) As a result of the findings, how can adaptive planning approaches and the related principles be implemented? \u0000The research first identifies the spatial challenges specific to contemporary African New Towns through a combination of empirical data collection and literature review. The research moves forward to bring these shared spatial challenges together with a set of guidelines for New Towns originally written by Michelle Provoost as an addition to UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda (Provoost 2016). The analysis of shared spatial challenges is used to revise, expand and refine these guidelines into a set of adaptive planning and design principles specific","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-368"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49311491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Countercurrent Heat Exchange Building Envelope Using Ceramic Components","authors":"J. Vollen","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.05.5190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.05.5190","url":null,"abstract":"Research and development in building envelope design have promoted the convergence of two system types, Thermo-Active Building Systems and Adaptive Building Envelopes, that re- conceptualize the envelope as a distributed energy transfer function that captures, transforms, stores, and even re-distributes energy resources. \u0000The widespread deployment of Thermo-Active Building Systems as a building envelope will depend on several factors. These factors include the value of the design attributes that impact energy transfer in relation to the performance of the building envelope assembly and the return on investment that these attributes individually or in the aggregate can provide as a reduction in Energy Use Intensity. The research focus is on the design development, testing, and energy reduction potential of a Thermo-Active Building System as an adaptive countercurrent energy exchange envelope system using ceramic components: the Thermal Adaptive Ceramic Envelope.","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-296"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41912640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energetische upgrading van Nederlandse Wederopbouw flats","authors":"F. Schultheiss","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.12","url":null,"abstract":"Problem definition \u0000According to the European Union, the future (2050) will be completely energy neutral and circular. Renovation concepts are needed for making existing homes more sustainable, taking into account the housing qualities of the existing stock, changed requirements and housing requirements, accessibility of the concepts on a large scale and simultaneous technical, social, energetic and circular renovation. For terraced houses, many energy concepts and strategies are available for the energy transition in the direction of energy neutral, while for high-rise houses, little knowledge is available. In the area of renovation to circular, as far as feasible, little knowledge is available. The research, therefore, focuses on high-rise system houses from the Reconstruction period 1950-1975, with a focus on the energetic spatial part of the renovation concept. \u0000Aim \u0000The research aims to develop possible strategies for energetically upgrading existing Dutch high-rise system houses from the Reconstruction period to energy-neutral for large-scale application with a view to circularity. This objective has practical relevance: society benefits from large-scale upgrades to achieve European climate objectives. Corporations, which primarily own the Reconstruction high-rise flats for social rental, owners’ associations and residents, benefit from new insights that can contribute to the circular energy upgrade of this stock. The theoretical relevance is to increase scientific knowledge in the field of energetic and circular upgrading. \u0000Research methods \u0000The existing high-rise housing stock from the Reconstruction Period (Flat 1.0) is mapped based on literature research and case studies to provide an answer to possible strategies for energy upgrading. The theoretical framework studies general system theory and various layers approaches to support the research. The essential concepts are defined using literature research. Flat 2.0 categories energetic adjustments focused on ‘comfort upgrading’. The focus of a new generation of adaptations of Reconstruction of high-rise flats (Flat 3.0) is on spatial energy upgrading to energy-neutral apartments and on which design principles and technical and energetic principles they are based. \u0000Conclusions \u0000The system theory provides tools for determining the choice of modular or integral upgrading. The scale-up of upgrades requires a modular approach because of a few relationships beyond a specific system boundary of upgrade elements. Accessibility and a layered approach are essential conditions. \u0000The simultaneity of the necessary technical, social, energetic and circular renovation, with the approximately 650,000 porch houses and 250,000 gallery houses that have to be renovated in a short time, provides an entirely different approach to the Flat 3.0 upgrade concept. This forces a radical approach in which an incremental approach is no longer sufficient. Scaling requires industrially oriented, innovative ideas. \u0000Flat","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-518"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46145780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiscale spatial contexts and neighbourhood effects","authors":"A. Petrović","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.15.5194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.15.5194","url":null,"abstract":"This thesis has developed alternative methods of operationalising neighbourhoods at multiple spatial scales and used them to advance our understanding of spatial inequalities and neighbourhood effects. The underlying problem that motivated this thesis is that many empirical studies use predefined administrative units, and often this does not align with the underlying theory or geography. Despite the extensive literature on neighbourhood effects and, more generally, on sociospatial inequalities, spatial scale remains an under-analysed concept. As a response to this research gap, this thesis takes a multiscale approach to both theory and the empirical analysis of neighbourhood effects, highlighting the multitude of spatial processes that may affect individual outcomes of people. To operationalise this, we created bespoke areas (centred around each residential location) at a range of one hundred scales representing people’s residential contexts, primarily in the Netherlands but also in multiple European capitals. Using microgeographic data and a large number of scales combined with small distance increments revealed subtle changes in sociodemographic characteristics across space. In doing so, we provided new insights into ethnic segregation, potential exposures to poverty, and neighbourhood effects on income, all in light of the fundamental issue of spatial scale: The analyses of sociospatial inequalities are substantially affected by the scale used to operationalise spatial context, and this varies within and between cities and urban regions. The aim of this thesis was therefore not to find a single, ‘true’ scale of neighbourhood, but to acknowledge, operationalise, and better understand the multiplicity of spatial scales.","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-192"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42052283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Control Shift: European Industrial Heritage Reuse in review","authors":"T. C. Rodopoulou","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.13.5195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.13.5195","url":null,"abstract":"The legacy of industrialisation counts only a few decades of being accepted as cultural heritage. The change of perceptions over its connotation and significance, from a menace to historic landscapes to an outstanding historical resource, took place in an era of massive sociocultural and economic upheavals. Those far-reaching developments reshaped both the theory and the practice of heritage conservation. \u0000Since the 1970s, new conservation approaches started emerging and being employed, next to the long established strategies of preservation and restoration. Adaptive reuse was included in the repertoire of conservation and quickly gained ground, as a strategy which allowed both the preservation of heritage values and sustainable development. The incorporation of adaptive reuse as an alternative conservation approach marked a noteworthy shift in heritage care. Contemporary conservation seized aiming at the prevention of change. Instead, it embraced it, following the new axiom: ‘Managing change’. \u0000This dissertation, positioned in the crossroads of the heritage conservation, architectural and spatial planning fields, focuses on Industrial Heritage Reuse practice in Europe. Despite widely employed in the last half century, Industrial Heritage Reuse still remains particularly challenging and highly confusing, hiding internal and external risks. Those resonate from the conditions of present times, the ambiguities of the contemporary framework of conservation, the embedded dilemmas of the Reuse practice as well as from the particularities of this special heritage group. \u0000This vastly complex yet fascinating topic has not yet been studied holistically under the circumstances dictated by the contemporary era. A deeper and broader understanding of the practice has assumed greater urgency in the 21st century, as it is the stepping stone for the enhancement of the practice -a demand that is increasingly stressed by academic and professional circles. \u0000The aim of this dissertation is to explore the potential of enhancement of the Industrial Heritage Reuse through the identification and analysis of its influencing Aspects, under the light of the contemporary theoretical conservation concepts, the current demands of the field of practice and the rising challenges of the 21st century context. \u0000This research addresses a topical issue, drawing from the concepts of the contemporary theory of conservation, challenging outdated theoretical notions and conventional practical and methodological applications. Furthermore, it sheds light to a hazy and confusing subject, addressing the tensions and the unresolved issues, highlighted by the existing literature on multiple disciplines. It revisits and reinterprets the standing axiom ‘Managing Change’, providing the scientific community with missing answers on the way, the Actors and the criteria based on which this can be achieved. Drawing upon both theory and practice on an international level, this inquiry gives a holistic ","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-630"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49101833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Architectural Record 1942-1967","authors":"Phoebus Ilias Panigyrakis","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.11.5191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.11.5191","url":null,"abstract":"This PhD thesis examines the editorial policies and publishing history of the American periodical Architectural Record in the quarter century from 1942 to 1967. Operating since 1891, the Architectural Record is the longest-living and most circulated professional magazine of architecture, with a strong and lasting impact on the development of the discipline and the profession in the US and abroad. As an archive of architectural knowledge, its history during the mid-20th century is revealing the paradigm shift that occurred in-between the emergence of Modernism in pre-war Europe and its transition to Post-Modernism in the second half of the 20th c., as a largely American issue. The success and influence of the magazine was due to the resources of its parent corporations, F.W. Dodge and McGraw-Hill, its support and acknowledgement by professional and academic organizations and the connections, commitment and inventiveness of its editors. The editorial campaigns of the magazine trace the struggle for the adaptation of the modern movement in the American context and through that to its subsequent global eminence as “contemporary architecture,” a term popularised by the Record. \u0000In the midst of the media revolution, the architectural magazines saw the transformation of the profession to an information-based business, beyond an art and an engineering science. At a time when “architectural composition” was redefined into “architectural design.” Amongst the greater media revolution emerging aggressively in the US, the Architectural Record undertook the task of catering for the needs of the practising architect in the post-industrial, managerial and information age. And while initially the magazines were following the architectural developments, reporting on literal images of architecture, by 1967 its editors were educating, managing, consulting and navigating the profession trough its new markets. This trajectory pinackled in the Record's editorial campaign for “the image of the architect” that exemplified the phenomenon of how magazines were lobbying for the profession. A phenomenon that is still largely inexplored and that defines 21st architectural practice and design. \u0000But more than any theoretical sub-narrative, this thesis is dedicated to the history of the people and events that took place behind the pages of this era-defining magazine through the archives and living records of their time.","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-348"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49336074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Individually controlled noise reducing devices to improve IEQ in classrooms of primary schools","authors":"Dadi Zhang","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.10.5113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.10.5113","url":null,"abstract":"It is well-known that the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) at schools affects the health, comfort and performance of school children. Considering the need for a more effective way to improve both the IEQ in primary school classrooms and children’s satisfaction, along with the positive potential of individual control, this thesis aimed to propose a new way - individual control - to improve the IEQ in classrooms of primary schools and to increase children’s satisfaction in the Netherlands. First the main IEQ problem in classrooms as well as IEQ perceptions and preferences of the school children were identified through literature and field studies. The outcome showed that noise was the main IEQ problem in classrooms of Dutch primary schools, children could be clustered in according to their IEQ perceptions and preferences, and the reported IEQ-improving actions of the teachers could not effectively improve the IEQ for each child. As a follow-up, lab studies were performed in the SenseLab to explore the effect of background sound on children’s sound perception and performance. Together with the outcome of the field studies, results suggested that individual control is a better way to improve IEQ in classrooms. Therefore, to address the main problem – noise - in classrooms, an individually controlled noisereducing device was designed, prototyped and tested with school children in the SenseLab. The results obtained from the simulations, measurements, and children’s feedback on the prototype of the device, demonstrated the feasibility of such devices in classrooms at primary schools.","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-258"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41332573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ThinkingSkins: Cyber-physical systems as foundation for intelligent adaptive façades","authors":"Jens Böke","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.08.5035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.08.5035","url":null,"abstract":"New technologies and automation concepts emerge in the digitalization of our environment. This is, for example, reflected by intelligent production systems in Industry 4.0. A core aspect of such systems is their cyber-physical implementation, which aims to increase productivity and flexibility through embedded computing capacities and the cooperation of decentrally networked production plants. This development stage of automation has not yet been achieved in the current state-of-the-art of facades. Being responsible for the execution of adaptive measures, facade automation is part of hierarchically and centrally organised Building Automation Systems (BAS). The research project ThinkingSkins is guided by the hypothesis that, aiming at an enhanced overall building performance, facades can be implemented as cyber-physical systems. Accordingly, it addresses the research question: How can cyber-physical systems be applied to facades, in order to enable coordinated adaptations of networked individual facade functions? The question is approached in four partial investigations. First, a comprehensive understanding of intelligent systems in both application fields, facades and Industry 4.0, is elaborated by a literature review. Subsequently, relevant facade functions are identified by a second literature review in a superposition matrix, which also incorporates characteristics for a detailed assessment of each function’s adaptive capacities. The third investigation focuses on existing conditions in building practice by means of a multiple case study analysis. Finally, the technical feasibility of facades implemented as cyber-physical systems is investigated by developing a prototype. The research project identifies the possibility and promising potential of cyberphysical facades. As result, the doctoral dissertation provides a conceptual framework for the implementation of such systems in building practice and for further research.","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-286"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46694738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Securing Healthy Circular Material Flows In The Built Environment","authors":"Bob Geldermans","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.06.5038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.06.5038","url":null,"abstract":"Departing from two problem statements, one concerning circularity in the built environment and one concerning flexibility in the built environment, this dissertation sets out to answer two main research questions: – In an Open Building division of support and infill, to what extent can the infill contribute to sustainable circular material & product flows? – Which qualitative and quantitative criteria and preconditions are central to integrating the notions of user health & well-being, circularity, and flexibility in infill configurations? In view on these research questions, this dissertation revolves around multiple topics and disciplines, addressing material properties, material flows, product design, and user benefits, relating to a specific building component: non-bearing partitioning. The research follows a mixed-method approach, primarily qualitatively driven and supported by quantitative data and tools. Literature studies, workshops and expert consultations are applied throughout the trajectory to derive, test and adjust criteria, guidelines and design concepts. The dissertation is structured around four research chapters (each set-up as a separate academic article), preceded by a general introduction and background sketch, and followed by an overarching evaluation of the findings. The results from the first research chapter (Chapter 3) concern the distinction of various intrinsic and relational properties, as well as an inventory matrix based on building layers and material reutilisation routes. In the next chapter (Chapter 4), a first set of criteria is derived (Circ-Flex I) in order to integrate flexibility, circularity and user benefits. In Chapter 5, criteria are further elaborated, including assessment guidelines that pinpoint health, well-being, and operational performance (Circ- Flex II). The following chapter (Chapter 6) is aimed at design aspects: a design conceptualisation trajectory is laid out, applying design preconditions rooted in the criteria that were shaped in the preceding chapters. Furthermore, a novel flow analysis and modelling method is utilised with respect to secondary raw materials: the Activity-based Spatial Material Flow Analysis (AS-MFA). This stage revolves around materialisation and operational propositions for an innovative partitioning configuration of side-panel and insulation. The innovations are based on renewable material and reversible adhesive technologies. \u0000The following conclusions are derived from the research: \u0000Circularity in the built environment can only occur if flexibility is fully integrated in the whole building (component) value network, and conversely, flexibility in the built environment increasingly depends on the handling and management of materials designated for healthy, circular applications. \u0000– Infill parts, implemented in an Open Building context, enable multiple short to medium length cycles within the longer service lives of multi-family building structures, following changes i","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-284"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45997029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In-Situ Determination of Buildings’ Thermo- Physical Characteristics: Method Development, Experimentation, and Computation","authors":"A. Rasooli","doi":"10.7480/ABE.2020.07.4989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7480/ABE.2020.07.4989","url":null,"abstract":"Ever since the introduction of energy conversion systems in the built environment, buildings have become responsible for a considerable share of global energy consumption. Many countries have therefore aimed to invest on buildings’ energy efficiency plans to reduce the depletion rate of the fossil resources and the CO2 emissions associated with them. In this context, accurate determination of building’s thermo-physical characteristics is a necessity in the processes which lead to execution of energy conservation strategies in existing buildings. These characteristics are the essential inputs for buildings’ thermal modelling, quality control, energy audits, and energy labelling, the results of which are determinant for energy renovation decisions and policies. In practice, the values of these parameters are not always available because the current determination methods are time-and-effort-expensive, and consequently rarely used. In accordance with the large deviations observed between the in-lab and in-situ thermal behaviour of building components, a special attention is laid on in-situ methods. This thesis aims at developing and testing different in-situ determination methods and approaches at different levels. Theories, simulations, and experiments, are combined for determination of a number of buildings’ most important thermo-physical characteristics. \u0000Transmission losses through the facades are known to be responsible for a significant portion of heat loss in buildings and consequently are investigated in all standard energy calculation methods. Thus, the major part of the thesis is dedicated to the thermal behaviour of exterior walls. The exact construction of existing walls is generally unknown. Consequently, the estimation of their thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, and volumetric heat capacity can be erroneous. Later, the attention is upscaled to the building level where rather than local characteristics, global characteristics are determined. \u0000At the first stage, the walls’ in-situ determination of thermal resistance has been examined. Despite the advantages of the existing standard method, “ISO 9869 Average Method” for measuring this parameter, two problems have been pointed out: long duration and imprecision. Accordingly, this phase describes and demonstrates how the simplest modifications to this standard method can improve it in terms of solving these problems. Heat transfer simulations and experiments in a variety of wall typologies have been applied to show the effect of using an additional heat flux sensor, facing the first one, installed on the opposite side of the wall. Three estimations of thermal resistance based on either indoor or outdoor heat fluxes, and the average of the two values are then defined. It is shown that one of these values satisfies the convergence criteria earlier than the other two, leading to a quicker insitu determination of thermal resistance with a higher precision. \u0000To further shorten the measure","PeriodicalId":30436,"journal":{"name":"ABE Architecture and the Built Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-228"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49444634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}