A Novel Dynamic Approach to Cost-Optimal Energy Performance Calculations of a Solar Hot Water System in an nZEB Multi-Apartment Building

This paper presents the methodology for conducting a cost-optimal energy performance calculation of a solar hot water system, used for space heating and domestic hot water needs. The calculation is based on dynamic hourly methods, according to the new Energy Performance of Buildings’ (EPB) set of standards EN 15316:2017, and a revision of the standard EN 15316-5:2017 from the year 2021, dealing with storage-tank water temperature calculations. The paper provides proposals for modifications to these newly introduced standards, in order to overcome the observed ambiguities and shortcomings. The calculation of annual energy performance of a building was performed on an hourly basis over a year for the reference of an nZEB multi-apartment building, for a climate area of the city of Zagreb, taking into account water temperature change in the layers of the storage tank connected to solar collectors and hot water boilers. The cost-optimal solution was then determined by varying individual parameters of the building technical system. The influence of these parameters on the energy efficiency of the building was analyzed in detail. Furthermore, the results were compared against those obtained by the Croatian calculation algorithm based on the previous set of EPB standards, EN 15316:2008, currently used EU-wide for the energy performance certification of buildings. The results indicated that the calculation methods of the present algorithm underestimated the consumption of building primary energy by 12%. The energy delivered by solar collectors was underestimated by 18%.

Social Cohesion and Neighbor Interactions within Multifamily Apartment Buildings: Challenges of COVID-19 and Directions of Action

Relations among neighbors are a key indicator of the strength of a local social community, contribute to social cohesion and are an important factor in achieving a higher level of social sustainability. On the other hand, the environment in which people live plays an important role in encouraging social contacts and developing relationships between people. In order to establish social interactions between neighbors within a multifamily apartment building (MFAB), it is necessary to provide adequate spaces for communication between residents. This was especially emphasized during the mobility restrictions caused by COVID-19, although this necessity is permanent. This paper analyzes the influence of the physical characteristics of common spaces in MFABs on the quality and intensity of contacts among residents of MFABs in the City of Niš, Serbia. In order to determine the current quality of these spaces as a physical framework for interactions among residents and to identify the wishes of users regarding interactions with neighbors in these spaces before and during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, a survey was conducted. The analysis of the survey results and numerous examples of housing design led to (1) the formation of guidelines for future designs of MFABs and (2) recommendations for redefining the standards regulating the field of housing construction in the region, both applicable during the period of the pandemic and after it.

Attributing and Defining an Unbuilt 1859 Architectural Plan for the Site of Trogir’s Medieval Walls

This paper discusses the attribution of an anonymous and unbuilt 1859 plan for a four-storey apartment building with commercial spaces on the ground floor, located on the site of the old town walls in Trogir. It proposes Josip Slade as the architect of the plan, interpreting Slade’s architectural language and the development of his approach to architectural heritage. An analysis of the project in a historical socio-political and spatial context, moreover, supports the conclusion that this was intended as rental property, and this paper therefore offers insights into the first known example of the tenement housing building typology in the nineteenth-century Trogir

Complementary Building Concept: Wooden Apartment Building: The Noppa toward Zero Energy Building Approach

Increasing the construction of wooden apartment buildings has its place as part of preventing climate change. This chapter aims to explore the possibilities of expanding the construction of wooden apartment buildings on plots owned by the City of Helsinki in the Mellunkylä area by developing a series-produced wooden apartment building concept suitable for complementary construction—The Noppa concept. The sustainability of this approach is considered from the perspective of materials, construction methods, adaptability of the designed spaces, and housing design flexibility. In this study, the Noppa wooden apartment building concept with cross-laminated timber (CLT) elements has been developed varying in its facilities and architectural design features through architectural modeling programs to be used for complementary construction. The research findings are based on a theoretical approach that has not yet been practically tested but is proposed considering existing construction practices that need further investigation. It is believed that this chapter will contribute to the spread of wooden apartments to achieve a low-carbon economy as one of the key tools in tackling climate change problems. Particularly, proposed architectural design solutions will contribute to decarbonization of buildings as well as zero energy building (nZEB) approach.

INDIVIDUAL DISTRIBUTION OF THERMAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING: PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

The cost of thermal energy production is constantly growing, on average, tariffs in the regions of Ukraine have tripled in recent years. The component of payment for heating in utility costs is the main one for most apartment buildings, but due to the peculiarities of district heating systems, residents do not have an impact on heat consumption, and there is a problem of uneven heat distribution: some rooms are overheated, others unheated. The normative documents of Ukraine indicate the installation of metering and regulation of energy consumption as one of the main measures to increase the level of energy efficiency of buildings. Modernization of heating engineering systems with the installation of thermostats and heat distributors is one of the most discussed energy saving measures at the general meeting of condominiums, which is of interest to most residents of buildings in operation. Experience shows that after the installation of such devices, the consumption of thermal energy by buildings is reduced, which leads to a reduction in heating costs. The relevance of the topic of this article is to study modern methods of individual distribution of thermal energy in apartment buildings, in particular in houses with a vertical heating system. The object of the study is an existing apartment building in Kyiv, where, starting in 2019, thermal energy distributors were put into operation. The subject of the study is the methods of heat distribution between apartments and the analysis of the practical results of the implementation of such a project in the existing serial building in Kyiv. The following research tasks were set: collection of general information about thermal energy distributors, their types and principles of operation; analysis of the current regulatory framework regarding the problem of individual accounting of thermal energy; analysis of the method of heat energy distribution adopted in Ukraine with identification of the main problems that arise during its application; analysis of practical results of thermal energy distribution in an apartment building in Kyiv.

TYPOLOGY OF ELDERLY WOMEN BY THE NATURE OF INTERACTION WITH HOUSING AND COMMUNAL SERVICES

В статье предложена социальная типология пожилых российских женщин, вынужденных адаптироваться к требованиям жилищно-коммунальной сферы (ЖКС), переполненной проблемами и конфликтами. В основу типологии положено сочетание параметров адекватности отражения пожилыми окружающей их проблемной ситуации в ЖКС и выраженности их активности. Выделены следующие типы: социально адекватные и активно действующие (по отстаиванию личных и коллективных интересов); социально адекватные, но пассивные - группа пожилых, которые хорошо понимают уровень и качество предоставляемых им жилищно-коммунальных услуг, но ничего не предпринимают; социально неадекватные, но активные, предрасположенные к инициации конфликта с управленцами ЖКС; социально неадекватные и пассивные. Из среды пожилых выделены активно действующие и адекватные, располагающие свободным временем и необходимыми компетенциями активистки, которые готовы представлять интересы всех жителей многоквартирного дома. Этот тип активисток старается выйти на стратегию равноправного партнёрства с управленцами ЖКС, но сталкивается с недружественной или безразлично настроенной средой, формально-бюрократическим подходом государственных контролирующих организаций. Теоретико-методологической рамкой исследования послужило рассмотрение пожилого возраста как периода раскрытия, проявления новых возможностей в самореализации, проявляющихся прежде всего в решении повседневных проблем. The article proposes a social typology of elderly Russian women who are forced to adapt to the requirements of the housing and communal services sector, overflowing with problems and conflicts. The typology is based on a combination of the parameters of the adequacy of the reflection by the elderly of the problem situation surrounding them in the housing and communal services and the severity of their activity. The following types are identified: socially adequate and active (in defending personal and collective interests); socially adequate, but passive - a group of elderly people who understand well the level and quality of housing and communal services provided to them, but do nothing; socially inadequate, but active, charged with conflict with managers of the housing and communal sphere; socially inadequate and passive. Active and adequate activists with free time and the necessary competencies who are ready to represent the interests of all residents of an apartment building are singled out from among the elderly. This type of activist is trying to enter into a strategy of equal partnership with managers of the housing and communal services sector, but is faced with an unfriendly or indifferent environment, a formal bureaucratic approach of state regulatory organizations. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study was the consideration of old age as a period of disclosure, the manifestation of new opportunities in self-realization, manifested primarily in solving everyday problems.

A House in Wilmersdorf, Berlin

The seven-story apartment building in Emser Straße designed by Sebastian Treese Architekten stands in the vibrant district of Berlin Wilmersdorf. Currently under construction, its dark brick façade is a tribute to the expressionist architecture of early 1920s Berlin found widely in the area. In a world of increasingly industrialized building techniques and disappearing craftsmanship, Sebastian Treese Architekten tries to show that it is possible to combine both worlds. This essay describes the spatial and organizational context of the building and how it was designed to fit into and be part of its neighborhood by considering some of the compositional and material resources involved.

‘A very exclusive experiment in communism’: the radical origins of the Manhattan co-op

Though it has long been the residence of choice for Manhattan's rich, the co-operative apartment building has an intellectual lineage that originates in pre-Marxian communitarian socialism. In the early nineteenth century, radical philosophers Charles Fourier and Robert Owen first theorized a multifamily dwelling owned in joint stock by its residents that could deliver economies of scale in the production and delivery of household necessities. Using previously untranslated French sources and archival material (New Harmony Working Men's Institute), this article demonstrates how early socialist ideas about housing, domestic labour and ownership evolved into the idea for the New York City co-operative apartment building.