scholarly journals Towards Sustainable Construction Practices: How to Reinvigorate Vernacular Buildings in the Digital Era?

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Christina Priavolou ◽  
Nikiforos Tsiouris ◽  
Vasilis Niaros ◽  
Vasilis Kostakis

The starting point of this article is the critique on socioeconomic and environmental implications of conventional construction practices around sustainability. The focus is on exploring the sustainability dynamics of the emerging “Design Global, Manufacture Local” (DGML) configuration with emphasis on building construction. Combined with the concept of conviviality which we identify in aspects of vernacular architecture we explore how it can foster meaningful sustainability practices in the construction sector. We introduce a framework of “open construction systems”, an expression of DGML in building construction, as a way to foster the conjunctive use of the digital commons and local manufacturing technologies for the construction of buildings through three interlocked elements—modularity, sharing and adaptability. We suggest that the “open construction systems” framework may point towards more sustainability in building construction.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-70
Author(s):  
Milica Madanović

The name and the achievements of Aleksandar Deroko shine brightly in the constellation of Serbian architectural history. Deroko actively contributed to the Serbian twentieth-century architecture as a distinguished professor at the University of Belgrade, a prolific author, esteemed scholar, designer, and a highly driven heritage enthusiast. However, though recognised by his contemporaries and successors alike, Deroko's design activity has not yet been thoroughly examined. Exploring residential buildings designed for Deroko's Belgrade clientele, this paper widens the knowledge of his architectural production. Deroko's well-known passion for architectural history and extensive research of the Serbian vernacular buildings serve as a starting point for the study of his residential structures in Belgrade. Was Deroko's design process influenced by his deep appreciation for architectural past, and by the results of his findings? Or has he only adopted the formal characteristics of historic styles and vernacular architecture in his work? If so, to what extent? Discussing five structures built in the interwar period - house of Colonel Elezović, the Rakić villa, the Simić villa, the Marinković villa, the Stakić villa and the architect's personal villa - the paper traces transformation of Deroko's architectural inspiration, from typical academic historicist eclecticism to vernacular construction.


2011 ◽  
Vol 368-373 ◽  
pp. 3069-3073
Author(s):  
Sheng Hui Chen ◽  
Hui Min Li ◽  
Xin Ma

In order to improve construction site management, we make the architect’ position as the starting point for our research ,analyze the similarities and differences between the project manager and the architect and transform the traditional building construction management system from centralized system into flat -like system. Furthermore, we propose that the implementation of the system must be assisted with the construction of credit system and the establishment and implementation of personal practice insurance system.


Author(s):  
Maryam Khatibi

The study presents the results of typological analysis and simulation modeling analysis of traditional courtyard residential houses in the cold semi-arid climate of Iran. The purpose of the research has been to analyze and evaluate traditional passive environmental strategies and their elements to provide implications for the design of sustainable residential buildings in contemporary time. Five existing traditional courtyard houses in the city of Tabriz, Iran, are used as case-studies to analyze the typology and the solar zoning conditions and to develop simulation models. The Ecotect simulation program is used to calculate the solar gains of the buildings and to analyze the effectiveness of the natural passive systems along with native design strategies in terms of potential solar gains of main and secondary living spaces. However, in the vernacular, not only the awareness of the climatic and topological considerations is important, but also the values, rituals, and beliefs that shape the design of the dwellings need to be considered. The research is based on the hypothesis that vernacular buildings (courtyard houses) of Iran have been environmentally sustainable structures. However, an important challenge of the study has been to avoid the technological bias and to consider the cultural and social aspects and embodiment of the studied houses, as well. The study also addresses the potential shortcomings that limit the reliability of Iranian vernacular architecture at present in order to arrive at a more holistic understanding of the sustainability of the vernacular architecture in the country. 


CONVERTER ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Tian Hu, Wenbin Gong

This paper divided the evolution of modern Chinese vernacular architecture (1949–2010) into 3 stages: early exploration, confine and confusion, and modern development, by taking time line as the clue, vernacular characteristics of modern architecture in Xi’an during different phases as the support, and combining literature research and field investigation. On this basis, it reviewed historical background, relevant context and typical features of modern vernacular architecture in Xi’an during different phases, and further concluded the evolution laws and research level of modern Chinese vernacular architecture.


As a fundamentally hybrid medium, cinema has always been defined by its interactions with other art forms such as painting, sculpture, photography, performance and dance. Taking the in-between nature of the cinematic medium as its starting point, this collection of essays maps out new directions for understanding the richly diverse ways in which artists and filmmakers draw on and reconfigure the other arts in their creative practice. From pre-cinema to the digital era, from avant-garde to world cinema, and from the projection room to the gallery space, the contributors critically explore what happens when ideas, forms and feelings migrate from one art form to another. Giving voice to both theorists and moving image practitioners, Cinematic Intermediality: Theory and Practice stimulates fresh thinking about how intermediality, as both a creative method and an interpretative paradigm, can be explored alongside probing questions of what cinema is, has been and can be.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Somayeh Roshanfekr ◽  
N.M. Tawil ◽  
N.A. Goh

This research work is an introduction to sustainable construction. A few significant indicators and many related subsets, which are crucial to green sustainable construction and also to green buildings, are mentioned in this study. An ecocity is one that utilizes all the critical elements of the environment. Urban sustainable construction is a vital criterion in this context. Sustainable construction paves the way for the building industry to progress towards achieving realistic standards of performance, particularly in view of economic, environmental, and social concerns. Sustainability is a popular expression that has given rise to various activities throughout the world once people began to grasp the implications of sustainable construction. Sustainability, which is an important factor in reducing the negative environmental effects of construction, includes improving the control and efficiency in the use of raw materials, land and power consumption. The lifetime of a building is based on some factors that are prognostic regarding the manufacture, remodelling, support, utilization, and administration of the building, and finally, the sources of utilization and waste formation, annihilation and devastation. All of these give rise to a range of ecological issues in the life of a building. Generally, a sustainable building and construction involves a reduction in the utilization of energy and also wastage from the beginning of the construction process and throughout the lifecycle of the building. Moreover, the environment is faced with mounting devastation due to the exploitation of natural resources for building construction and the replacement of agronomic regions by residential areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Krídlová Burdová ◽  
Iveta Selecká ◽  
Silvia Vilčeková ◽  
Dušan Burák ◽  
Anna Sedláková

The presented study is focused on the verification of a Building Environmental Assessment System (BEAS). A total of 13 detached family houses representing typical construction sites in Slovakia were chosen for analysis, evaluation and certification by using a BEAS which contains several main fields: A—Site Selection and Project Planning; B—Building Construction; C—Indoor Environment; D—Energy Performance; E—Water Management; and F—Waste Management. The results of this study show that the current construction method for family houses does not respect the criteria of sustainable construction as much as it possibly can. The reason for this is that investment costs for construction are prioritized over environmental and social aspects. Therefore, one house with a score of 1.10 is certified as BEAS BRONZE, ten family houses with scores of 1.56–2.88 are certified as BEAS SILVER and only two family houses with total scores of 3.59 and 3.87, respectively, are certified as BEAS GOLD. The overall results show that the weakest fields of sustainability are Waste management, Energy performance and Building construction. The best-rated fields are Site Selection and Project Planning, Indoor Environment and Water Management. In the future, it is essential to pay attention to those areas where the sustainability criteria have not been reached, as well as to raise project teams’ awareness of sustainability issues and subsequently to transfer them to building practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 328
Author(s):  
Marwa Dabaieh ◽  
Dalya Maguid ◽  
Deena El-Mahdy

The mounting climate change crisis and the rapid urbanization of cities have pressured many practitioners, policymakers, and even private investors to develop new policies, processes, and methods for achieving more sustainable construction methods. Buildings are considered to be among the main contributors to harmful environmental impacts, resource consumption, and waste generation. The concept of a circular economy (CE), also referred to as “circularity”, has gained a great deal of popularity in recent years. CE, in the context of the building industry, is based on the concept of sustainable construction, which calls for reducing negative environmental impacts while providing a healthier indoor environment and closing material loops. Both vernacular architecture design strategies and circular economy principles share many of the same core concepts. This paper aims at investigating circular economy principles in relation to vernacular architecture principles in the built environment. The study demonstrates how circular principles can be achieved through the use of vernacular construction techniques and using local building materials. This paper will focus on Egypt as one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a wide vernacular heritage, exploring how circularity is rooted in old vernacular settlements and how it can inspire contemporary circular practices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10153
Author(s):  
Ji-Myong Kim ◽  
Kag-Cheon Ha ◽  
Sungjin Ahn ◽  
Seunghyun Son ◽  
Kiyoung Son

This study aims to quantify the losses to third-parties on construction sites by determining the loss indicators and identifying the relationship between the losses and the indicators to improve the sustainability on building construction sites. The growing size and intricacy of recent construction projects have resulted in the growth of losses, both in quantity and frequency. Notably, third-party losses are rapidly increasing owing to the urbanization of the environment and increases in construction scale. Therefore, for efficient and sustainable construction management, a financial loss assessment model is essential to mitigate and manage such loss. This study uses the third-party losses on construction sites obtained from a major South Korean insurance company to describe the difference from the material losses and to disclose the loss indicators based on actual economic losses. ANOVA analysis and multiple regression analysis are adopted to identify the variance and define the loss indicators and to make prediction models, respectively. Several groups of loss indicators are investigated, including construction information and the occurrence of natural disasters. The findings and results of this research afford an essential guide to sustainable construction management, and they can serve as a first stage loss assessment model for construction projects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 510-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Tziantopoulos ◽  
Naoum Tsolakis ◽  
Dimitrios Vlachos ◽  
Loukas Tsironis

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