Impacts of Neighboring Buildings on the Cold Island Effect of Central Parks: A Case Study of Beijing, China

Urban parks have been considered as an effective measure to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effects. Many studies have investigated the impacts of shape, size and interior components on the cold island effect (CIE) of parks, while little attention has been given to the impact of neighboring buildings. Thus, taking twenty-two parks in Beijing as samples, this study investigated the impacts of the neighboring building on the CIE of central parks. The results showed that the average land surface temperature (LST) of parks are 30.98 °C in summer and −1.10 °C in winter. Parks have a strong CIE in summer, and average cold island footprint (CIF) and LST difference are 0.15 km2 and 2.01 °C higher than that in winter. The components of the building in the CIF of parks are dominated by middle-rise building (MRB), followed by low-rise building (LRB), and high-rise building (HRB) is the least dominant. The percentage of landscape (PLAND) and landscape shape index (LSI) of MRB, and perimeter area fractal dimension (PAFRAC) of LRB are significantly related to CIF in summer and winter. This study could extend scientific understanding of the impacts of neighboring buildings on the CIE of central parks, and could guide urban planners in mitigating the UHI effects through the rational allocation of buildings.

BREAKING STUDENTS’ COMFORT ZONE: LEARNING FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, A STRATEGY WITHIN THE AEC EDUCATION

In order to address pressing issues such as climate change, energy crises, and economic disparity, it is pertinent to include local community members within AEC education. In this paper, we explore how breaking the comfort zone of students can facilitate a broader perspective on sustainability. This new perspective can cultivate innovative and creative solutions to 21st century problems. This paper documents the experience and impacts of student participation in an education abroad program focused on sustainable buildings and infrastructure. The program took place in January 2019 in Costa Rica with the collaboration of Colorado State University (USA) and EARTH University (Costa Rica). In this program, students directly communicate with low-income community members who worked with a local developer during the construction of a new neighboring building. Qualitative interviews with students, as well as ethnographic observations of class discussions, illustrates that this partnership helped students see a new perspective on how to deal with the life cycle of construction projects. The preliminary results indicate that the collaboration between the community members and the developer was a key component of expanding students’ perspectives. This research illustrates the importance of building community collaborations that are mutually beneficial in the classroom and beyond. In particular, the results suggest that educational experiences which integrate community concerns into solutions are key to expanding students’ worldviews.

Exploring the effect of neighboring building on land surface temperature of central park

<p>Urban parks can effectively mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Many studies have investigated the relationship between the shape, size, interior components and cooling effect of the park, little attention have been given to explore the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) of central park and buildings in the neighboring areas. This study has explored the effect of the neighboring building on LST of central park, taking Beijing as the study area. The results showed that the cold island footprint of the park in summer was larger than that in winter (with an average area of 0.15 km<sup>2</sup> larger). The components of building in cold island footprint of the park were dominated by middle-rese building (MRB). LSI of MRB and AREA_SD of LMB were identified as the key explanatory variables in summer and winter, respectively, which could explained 16.8% and 13.9% of the variance in the park’s LST. This study could extend scientific understanding of the effect of building on park’s LST, and could provide guidance to urban planners on how to mitigate the UHI effects through the rational allocation of buildings.</p>

Experimental study on the interference intensity produced by the presence of neighboring buildings in the wind action in a tall building

The average strain on a building due to the action of the wind, can be significantly altered when considering the presence of one or more neighboring buildings. Such changes can be considered through the use of coefficients that take into account the distance that the neighboring building is from the building being studied. The present work was developed in order to verify the values currently adopted by the Brazilian standard that regulates the wind action in buildings. With the use of a wind tunnel, several tests were carried out in a standardized building considering the presence of other buildings with similar dimensions close to it. The distances between the buildings, the quantity and the layout of the neighboring buildings were taken into consideration. It was possible to conclude that, in general, the presence of the neighboring buildings produced an increase on the strain. Interference, in many situations, increased strain above the rates suggested by the current Brazilian wind action standard.

Wind Interference Effect for Overall Design Load on Mid-Rise Building

The constructed building in the urban area is subject to wind characteristics due to the influence of surrounding buildings. The residential complexes currently being built in Iraq represent a case study for the subject of this research. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the interference effect because of adjacent buildings effects on the mid-rise building. The speed and pressure of the wind have been numerically simulated as well as wind load has been simulated by using a virtual wind tunnel which is available in Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis, RSA, software. Two identical adjacent buildings have been simulated and many coefficients were included in this study such as the spacing, directionality, and elevation of adjacent building coefficients. The results of the study showed that the neighboring building could increase or decrease the wind pressure significantly so that it cannot be neglected.

Reflections on sustainable Ålidhem

Purpose This work is initiated under the premise that reliable evaluation methods are necessary to ensure investments in energy conservation, and the purpose of this paper is to contribute to that literature. It describes some pilot changes and their impact in an actual field study oriented toward upgrading municipal public housing (MPH) units. Design/methodology/approach The research for this paper was connected to an MPH refurbishment project situated in northern Sweden. The overall energy efficiency goal within the project was a 40-50 percent reduction in the supplied energy for central electricity, domestic hot water and space heating. In order to evaluate if these goals were feasible, a measurement system was installed in a pilot building and in a neighboring building used as a reference. The evaluation was conducted by comparing the post-retrofit performance of the pilot building with the performance of the reference building when it was kept in its initial state (a comparison possible because both buildings had initial similarities). Findings Impacts could be quantified insofar as a reference (control) building in the same environment was sustained for comparison purposes. A 43 percent improvement was observed in energy utilization in the pilot building compared to its reference companion (99.8 vs 174.5 kWh/m2 per year). When the approach described herein was applied to new construction, the present goal of 65 kWh/m2 was approached as measured by Swedish standards. Practical implications Results should be of interest to academics in the housing field, professionals involved in refurbishment and residents themselves, renting MPH flats. Originality/value This study is unique in the following ways: first, it really was a field experiment with a control, thus it did not have any exogenous interference in interpreting results. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind. The second interesting characteristic was that results were subsequently used in the refurbishment of other buildings in the complex and in the construction of others. The major value of the paper may be associated with its timing. It comes at a time when the Kyoto agreement has raised concerns about sustainability, but also at a time when many buildings are facing a need for refurbishment.

FOX: Modular Approach to Crystal Structure Determination from Powder Diffraction

Program FOX for ab initio crystal structure determination from powder diffraction uses global optimization algorithms to find the correct structure by making trials in the direct space. It is a modular program, capable of using several criteria for evaluating each trial configuration, e.g. combining neutron and X-ray diffraction patterns. The program describes the structural building blocks (polyhedrons, molecules etc.) with their internal coordinates (Z-matrices), thus allowing natural constraints on interatomic distances and angles. Identical atoms shared between neighboring building blocks, and special positions are handled with an automatic, adaptive method (Dynamical Occupancy Correction). Several algorithms (Simulated Annealing, Parallel Tempering) are currently available. The program is based on an object-oriented crystallographic library ObjCryst++(programming language c++). The program and the library are available for Linux and Windows on http://objcryst.sourceforge.net. Inorganic and organic structures with the complexity up to 26 independents atoms are routinely solved from laboratory X-ray, synchrotron or neutron data.