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Building walls are responsible for the highest share of environmental impact among other building elements and the whole building envelope is linked to nearly half of the energy embodied in the building. One of the sustainable materials that may be applied in building envelopes to reduce their impact is paper, e.g. corrugated cardboard or paperboard. Although environmental qualities are considered the key advantage of paper, the environmental properties of previously proposed designs were rarely assessed nor compared to conventional building envelopes. Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyse the performance and environmental impact of selected paper-based envelopes, compare them with conventional alternatives based on steel and timber, and indicate key factors influencing their environmental performance. Moreover, the article proposes two original paper-based envelopes with favourable environmental characteristics. The environmental analysis was conducted via Life Cycle Assessment, using the midpoint CML method and the endpoint ReCiPe method with a single indicator. LCA was based on the Ecoinvent 3.8 database and supplemented with sensitivity analysis. LCA results were compared with performance assessment. It has been shown, that replacement of conventional envelopes with paper-based ones, especially in buildings with a limited lifespan, may reduce their environmental impact and the amount of waste generated. In conclusion, a series of recommendations for sustainable paper-based envelope designs are formulated. [Display omitted] • Paper-based building envelopes may reduce buildings' environmental impact. • A combination of LCA and performance analyses may be used for envelopes' assessment. • Envelopes with embedded structural elements are preferable to sandwich structures. • Durable yet sustainable claddings are crucial for paper-based envelopes' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides optimal correlated color temperature and illuminance to increase comfort and reduce fatigue by considering psychological and physiological quantities when working with paper and electronic devices. Task performance was not affected by devices and lighting conditions. The subjective evaluation revealed no significant differences between devices. The participants felt tired with an illuminance of 300lx and preferred a correlated color temperature of 5000K or 6500K and an illuminance of 750lx. However, the participants were more comfortable at 3000K and 750lx than at high correlated color temperature and low illuminance. The adjustment method demonstrated that comfortable illuminance does not show a significant difference in correlated color temperature and that paper requires significantly higher brightness levels than a screen. The adjustment method and subjective evaluation found consistent results for comfortable illuminance. Physiological measurements revealed that oxygenated hemoglobin was higher for computer than for paper use. In addition, illuminance of 500lx and correlated color temperature of 5000K resulted in the least fatigue. Although the subjective evaluation found no significant differences in fatigue, physiological measurements revealed that illuminance and correlated color temperature were accompanied by the least fatigue. Therefore, the results of this study highlight the necessity of creating a work environment that considers psychological and physiological quantities based on the work medium. • Illuminance and color temperature with computers and paper were examined. • Objective and subjective measurements were used for comfort and fatigue. • Comfort level with different types of lightning was identified. • Differences between perceived and measured comfort were found. • The importance of device and task content was discerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Biocide-free and biocide-treated plasterboards as well as aluminum plate as a reference material normally considered as being insensitive to mould growth have been used as substrate to check the influence of different common wall coverings, i.e. paints and wall papers, on fungal growth. The results described in this paper show that any non-biodegradable material (such as aluminum) can become a substrate to fungal infestation once painted or wall paper applied, depending on the type of paint or wall paper used. Moreover, a biodegradable material treated with a biocide (biocide-treated plasterboard) offers partial resistance to fungal growth at a biodegradable surface covering. The main conclusion of this study is that composition of the surface covering applied on building materials is as important as the substrate itself when considering the bioreceptivity of this material to potential fungal infestation. Accordingly, any discussion on the ability of a given building material to resist or not to fungal infestation must refer to the exact composition of the surface covering (paint, varnish, wall paper, etc). This has not often been the case in many of the previous studies published on the topic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The reuse of by-products or waste from industrial processes in construction is an increasingly common practice. In this article, we present an experimental study aimed at evaluating the reuse of paper pulp waste generated in the manufacture of paper for non-structural elements in the form of a plaster–pulp composite material. The analysis of several variables, such as the proportion of pulp added or the mix procedure, in respect to aspects relating to the properties of the fresh and hard material, has demonstrated that it is feasible, although the natural state of the waste material used, with high water content and extensive caking, makes prior treatment advisable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The conservation of historic libraries can be referred towards both the ancient book collections and the buildings themselves. Heritage collections made of paper are threaten by climate-induced deterioration risks such as cellulose hydrolysis. Several studies have investigated the microclimate inside historic libraries but comparisons are difficult due to the lack of long-term microclimate observations and uniformity in the use of standards and risk assessment methods. For the first time, the long-term microclimate observations collected in three historic libraries in Italy were comparatively studied to outline differences and similarities of their microclimates in terms of paper preservation. A multidisciplinary approach was applied to assess the building performance (a) and the deterioration risks for the collections (b). As for a), a common feature of the libraries was the high thermal inertia and low indoor-outdoor air exchanges. As for b), the Time Weighted Expected Lifetime (TWEL) was defined to account for an average chemical risk on a seasonal and yearly basis. TWEL allowed to highlight the impact of the most adverse conditions on the overall chemical risk for acidic paper preservation (e.g., temperatures above 20 °C reached naturally in summer/artificially in winter). It resulted that the measured microclimate conditions in the libraries would lead to the loss of their acidic collections in less than 300 years. Demographic plots were finally used to inform about the risk resulting from the synergy between handling and microclimate as well as to explore the effectiveness of possible preservation measures such as the deacidification of 10% of the collections. [Display omitted] • The long-term microclimate data in three historic libraries in Italy are comparatively studied. • The investigation includes microclimate characterisation and conservation risk assessment. • A multidisciplinary approach is used to evaluate building performance and paper deterioration. • The current microclimate in the libraries reduces the expected lifetime of acidic collections. • Restoration interventions might not be effective if the current microclimate is maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, effects of urea formaldehyde–melamine formaldehyde resins pick-up percentages, raw paper weight, impregnation/coating process and total resin pick-up (TRPU) percentage on the resistances to the scratch (SR), abrasion (AR) cigarette burns and staining of melamine-impregnated papers (melamine coaters) were investigated. As the urea formaldehyde resin pick-up in the impregnation was increased, the scratch and abrasion properties significantly decreased. Raw paperweight did not affect these properties, statistically. Increasing the TRPU improved the SR and AR. One-step process had higher SR and AR values than those of two-step process. Impregnation process caused important changes in the resistances to the staining and cigarette burns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Indirect evaporative cooling, by using water evaporation to absorb heat to lower the air temperature without adding moisture, is an extremely low energy and environmentally friendly cooling principle. The properties of the wet channel surface in an indirect evaporating cooler, i.e. its moisture wicking ability, diffusivity and evaporation ability, can greatly affect cooling efficiency and performance. Irregular fibres help to divert moisture and enlarge the wetted area, thus promoting evaporation. A range of fabrics (textiles) weaved from various fibres were experimentally tested and compared to Kraft paper, which has been conventionally used as a wet surface medium in evaporative coolers. It was found that most of the textile fabrics have superior properties in moisture wicking ability, diffusivity and evaporation ability. Compared with Kraft paper, the wicking ability of some fabrics was found to be 171%–182% higher, the diffusion ability 298%–396% higher and evaporation ability 77%–93% higher. A general assessment concerning both the moisture transfer and mechanical properties found that two of the fabrics were most suitable for indirective evaporative cooling applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To solve the problem of the waste generated by the natural stone industry, several technical solutions consider the incorporation of this type of waste in other industrial activities as a by-product. This paper presents an overview of current solutions and the results of a research project where natural stone slurry is used to replace fine aggregates in concrete mixtures. The concrete mechanical properties are presented and the technical viability of this new construction material is illustrated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Harbin Subway is the northernmost subway line in China. In winter, outdoor temperature can reach −37.7 °C. Cold protection has emerged as a critical priority for subway operations in the region. In this paper, taking the aisle of a typical island station in Harbin as the research object, long-term and short-term field experiment on the thermal environment of the aisle were carried out. The field test data of the station and the full-scale model were used to conduct numerical simulations on the effect of supply air temperature, speed, and angle on the aisle environment. The modified PET temperature scale and average power consumption during the operation of the hot air curtain were used to evaluated the cold protection solutions of the air curtain. The results revealed that the average temperature of the cross-sections in the aisle without cold protection measures dropped by 5.4 °C–6.3 °C from its initial level after the train left the station. Without increasing average power consumption, changing the supply air angle of hot air curtain can improve the thermal environment in the aisle. Considering the three aspects of cold protection effect, passenger thermal comfort and power consumption, this paper recommends that the cold protection solution for aisles with a length less than or equal to 76.7 m, L-shaped and similar layouts is 35 °C for the supply air temperature, 9 m/s for the wind speed, and the range of the difference between the supply air angle and the aisle inclination angle is 6° < θ-α < 11°. • The thermal environment of subway aisles was field measured and simulated. • Comfort PET range in Harbin is 11.5–21.1 °C, showed people's strong adaptability. • Changing the air curtain angle alone can increase PET by 5 °C and save energy. • Recommended parameters of hot air curtain: T = 35 °C, V = 9 m/s, 6°< θ-α <11°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates the potential of representing and reading environmental data captured for immersive visualization of indoor built environments. This study introduces methods for qualitative representation of light and heat in aligned viewing directions in immersive scenes. It employs a novel technique for capturing High Dynamic Range (HDR) and thermal images in 360-degree directions. This technique allows visualization of radiant temperature and integrative lighting variations associated with the viewing direction and time. The highlight of these visualizations is the identical viewing points in studying the indoor ambiances. The paper provides visualizations derived from hourly data captures in architectural studios through a 360-degree thermal-visual capturing device. The paper aims to present these results through various visualization formats, including architectural planar presentations, diagrams, and colour maps, showing surface temperature and Photopic and Melanopic illuminance intensities. Architectural insights gained from each of these visualizations are highlighted and discussed. Specifically, the results of this research illustrate the potential of the immersive image-based environmental assessment and visualization method for representing indoor ambiances regarding their non-visible thermal and lighting conditions through time and across all viewing directions within the space. • 360° Visual Representations: Presents visual representations of thermal and lighting capture images in 360 directions from mutual viewing points in indoor spaces. • Novel Analytical Approach: Introduces a novel approach for investigating thermal and lighting conditions in indoor environments through temporal analyses. • Integrated Data Visualization: Interpreting multiple data types in single views, aligned with different spatial directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automotive industry has recently seen significant advancements, making cars a dominant form of urban transportation. This development has led to increased focus on thermal comfort within vehicles. This paper reviews past research on automotive thermal comfort, starting with a literature review that highlights the non-uniform and transient nature of cabin environments. It then details the primary evaluation methods for thermal comfort: field surveys and model predictions. The paper discusses various models within the predictive framework, including environmental indices, and physiological and psychological models, outlining their applications and prediction accuracy. Given the importance of cost-effectiveness and convenience in vehicle air conditioning design, this paper supports the use of numerical simulation as a future direction. It introduces the numerical simulation method, discusses its accuracy and potential errors, and examines emerging techniques like machine learning and EEG testing in thermal comfort assessment. Additionally, it suggests three future directions for numerical simulation and suggestions for air conditioning design in new energy vehicles. • Vehicle thermal comfort influences the alertness of drivers and satisfaction of passengers. • Non-homogeneous and transient are two features of cabin thermal environment. • Thermal comfort evaluation needs to couple environmental and physiological parameters. • Numerical simulation of thermal comfort is promising in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban building stock has a high demand for materials and energy, exerting tremendous pressure on natural resources. A current research trend is to integrate Building Material Stock (BMS) analysis with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate energy use, material stock/flows, and related environmental performance associated with the life cycle of building stocks. Compared with urban building energy modelling (UBEM), material-related analysis is a relatively new topic. Some studies applied new techniques and tools to improve the modelling and the dynamic evolution of the BMS system. However, there is a lack of comprehensive review studies summarising the recent publications on these applications. Therefore, this study conducts a comprehensive literature review, primarily focusing on examining the tools and techniques employed for integrating "BMS-LCA" at the urban scale. This review includes 99 articles chosen from a pool of 557 related papers (in the recent decade), systematically retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science , along with additional manual searches. Through a comprehensive bibliometric and content-based synthesis analysis of selected literature, this paper synthesises the techniques/tools used for effectively completing various analysis phases of "BMS-LCA", including data collection and processing, stock modelling and analysis, and result evaluations. Key findings highlight the significance of integrating artificial intelligence and geospatial technology in optimising data collection, machine learning and data-driven models in enhancing building stock aggregation and classification, and innovative application of relevant LCA software and databases in facilitating BMS's LCA, etc. This review provides a valuable reference for researchers in future investigations, as it identifies novel ways of applying techniques/tools and opportunities for methodology improvement in the urban-level "BMS-LCA" study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognized that the sustainability of the built environment is one of the key strategies to tackle global crises such as climate change, resource depletion, and human health. An environmentally driven approach to architectural design and urban planning through simulations has been around for many decades. However, architects and planners haven't fully taken advantage of its potential yet due to the complexity of the tasks and the fragmentation of tools and methods in different fields of expertise. This paper aims to demonstrate how the nascent field of environmental architectural design exploration is a viable answer to complex tasks and challenges through the integration of sustainable design, environmental simulations, building performance analysis, and computational procedures leveraging parametric design environments. After defining the context that favored its development, the ten questions answered present the environmental metrics and design parameters, propose a taxonomy of simulation tools and methods, present optimization processes, identify the required data, and introduce a classification of co-simulation and design exploration workflows, emphasizing their potential for the design of sustainable buildings and districts. Then focus is given to the scales and domains of application and to the potential of machine learning methods. The paper concludes by presenting applications in practice and discussing challenges and future opportunities. Strategies and operational procedures emerge from the ten questions. They emphasize the use of holistic approaches and the selection of balanced design solutions allowed by environmental architectural design exploration for the development of a sustainable built environment. [Display omitted] • The paper introduces environmental architectural design exploration. • Metrics, design parameters, tools and methods are presented and classified. • Optimization and machine learning processes are presented. • Integration of simulation and design exploration tools and methods is discussed. • Examples from practice, challenges and opportunities are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities can substantially contribute to European Green Deal targets by accelerating their transition towards smarter, more efficient, and renewable-based energy models. In that context, European cities need to increase their self-sufficiency and the resilience of their energy system especially through the promotion of district and neighbourhood scale energy projects such as positive energy districts (PEDs). Despite the increasing interest for PEDs experienced in the last years, their deployment is currently hindered by the absence of an energy planning culture and the lack of adequately skilled personnel in cities. Indeed, there is a strong need for practical tools and guidelines that support practitioners in the design and implementation of PEDs. In that context, the present paper introduces PlanPED, a framework for the conception of methodologies for PED planning, design, and implementation, to support municipalities in their energy transition. PlanPED aims at providing a multiple perspective approach based on the most important elements from existing methodologies. In that sense, the paper begins with an overview of the state of the art, leading to the identification of trends, gaps, and good practices of current research. Then, based on this analysis, the novel framework PlanPED is introduced. It consists of three interconnected workflows that, if followed, enable to know which steps and resources need to be put into practice to initiate the transition towards PED, while recognizing the variability of contexts and necessities. By doing so, PlanPED seeks to facilitate the elaboration of tailored and practical roadmaps for the deployment of PEDs in cities. [Display omitted] • Presentation of theorical framework of methodologies for PED design and planning. • Analysis of eight methodologies to identify trends, gaps, and good practices. • A framework to guide municipalities in the conception of methodologies is proposed. • This approach for holistic PED design encompasses three interconnected workflows. • It is baseline proposal to be further defined depending on local requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hotels are designed to provide high levels of comfort for guests; however, frequent complaints related to uncomfortable thermal environment and inadequate indoor air quality (IAQ) appear. On the other hand, there is little research concerning IAQ audits of hotels up to now. This study is aimed to establish and demonstrate the comprehensive IAQ audit approach for hotel buildings, based on Portugal national laws. A 4-star hotel building in Portugal is used as a case study to demonstrate the IAQ audit application and evaluate its comprehensiveness and usefulness to the hotel or facility managers. The systematic approach involves the measurement of physical parameters – temperature (dry bulb), relative humidity and the concentration of the suspended particulate matter (PM10) – the monitoring of the concentrations of selected chemical indicators – carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) – and the measurements of biological indicators (bacteria, fungi, Legionella). In the present case, air exchange rates are measured by the concentration-decay method using metabolic CO2 as the tracer gas. The comprehensive IAQ audit revealed four main problems in the hotel building: (1) insufficient ventilation rate; (2) too high particle concentration in some rooms; (3) contamination by Legionella of the sanitary hot-water circuit; (4) poor filtration effectiveness in all air handling units (AHUs). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The distribution of PM2.5 concentrations at the neighborhood scale is interfered with not only by spatial morphology, but also by spatial functions, and this effect shows heterogeneity in different urban locations due to differences in spatial dynamics. Taking the area within the Fourth Ring Road of Beijing in 2020 as an example, this paper provides urban planners with an evaluation framework for fine-grained prediction of neighborhood-scale PM2.5 distribution based on the Pix2PixGAN model and the multi-source data with crowd-source data at its core. Through the crowd-source data, the spatial functions and corresponding spatial dynamics in the neighborhood scale can be characterized in detail. Then the framework utilizes Geographically weighted poisson regression (GWPR) to screen spatial functions with significant geographic correlation with PM2.5 distribution and their heterogeneity coefficients. Based on the filtered functions, heterogeneity coefficients, and PM2.5 distribution raster, the dataset of Pix2PixGAN model is composed, and the optimal model with the most accurate PM2.5 distribution prediction is trained and selected. Finally, the paper illustrates how to analyze the qualitative and quantitative impacts of planning proposals on the distribution of PM2.5 through the optimal model, using six planning scenarios as examples. • Use Pix2PixGAN with crowd-source data and GWPR to predict fine-grained PM2.5 distribution. • Assist planners in recognizing the impacts of planning scenarios on the distribution of PM2.5 • Add the spatial heterogeneity to include spatial functions' dynamics in the prediction model. • Generate a transferable optimal model for predicting PM2.5 distribution in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life Cycle Assessment is necessary for evaluating the environmental impacts of buildings throughout their life cycle, considering factors such as energy consumption, emissions, and resource utilization. However, Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment introduces a temporal dimension, acknowledging that a building's environmental performance evolves due to technological advancements, occupancy behavior, and changing environmental conditions. This paper reviews DLCA, focusing on uncertainties arising from parameter, scenario, and model variability, and emphasizes the integration of technologies like Building Information Modeling, the Internet of Things, and machine learning to enhance real-time data collection and predictive analytics. An extensive review of 430 papers, refined to 180, reveals that 55 % of publications are in environmental sciences, with significant contributions from the United Kingdom (27.8 %), France (24.1 %), and China (18.1 %). Key findings include significant variations in embodied greenhouse gas emissions for materials like aluminum and the dynamic aspects of transportation impacts, which extend beyond traditional metrics to include operational efficiency over time. Uncertainties in all LCA stages (A1 to D) are addressed, focusing on service life, operational energy and water use, and transportation needs. Advanced methodologies, including a proposed framework for a hybrid LCA approach that integrates process-based and input-output methods, are suggested to enhance the comprehensiveness of assessments. The integration of real-time monitoring and predictive analytics further improves the adaptability and precision of LCA models, emphasizing the necessity of continuous updates and scenario analyses to capture future conditions accurately. This study paves the way for future research aimed at mitigating major sources of uncertainty, promoting more sustainable building practices, and advancing the field of dynamic LCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) plays a critical role in creating Thermal Resilient Communities (TRCs) by mitigating the adverse climate change impacts and enhancing thermal resilience. In this paper, we consider a range of UGI types, from street trees, urban parks, green spaces, and building-integrated UGI components, such as green roofs and green walls. It is intended that the thermal/aerodynamic effects of UGI be analyzed and the influence of UGI at three spatial scales within urban communities be provided; more specifically: microclimate scale, building scale, and individual scale. The study discusses the findings of 218 papers published since 2010 to elaborate on recent progress in this field. This review delves into three fundamental aspects related to UGI: a) the underlying mechanisms allowing UGI to affect the environment and human health, b) the modeling efforts undertaken to simulate these effects, and c) measurement studies providing empirical data and verifying the models. Additionally, the effects of UGI across the three scales and related aspects are discussed, and the importance of integrative mechanisms and coupled modeling approaches is emphasized. Key methodologies for integrating microclimate and building simulations are summarized, highlighting the data exchange protocols and software tools. In contrast to previous reviews, this study has analyzed major measurement studies, categorizing them into full-scale and sub-scale studies. As a conclusion, several potential directions for future research are identified, including advanced physical and data driven UGI models, enhanced coupled simulations for indoor-outdoor interactions, establishment of measurement datasets for benchmarking both UGI modeling and coupled simulations. • Reviewed 218 post-2010 Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) studies for Thermal Resilient Communities (TRC). • Analyzed UGI effects on three spatial scales of microclimate, building and individual. • Discussed UGI effects in terms of mechanism, modeling and measurement. • Summarized co-simulation methods for microclimate and buildings with UGI. • Outlined and compared full-scale and sub-scale measurements studies with UGI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations such as ASHRAE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have proposed guidelines for controlling infectious aerosols in buildings, which can be met through measures such as modified operation of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system or incorporating air-cleaning technologies. However, more research is needed to understand the trade-offs between health, energy, and comfort aspects when designing measures for these guidelines. To address this gap, this paper presents an analysis using new models for air-cleaning technologies, including in-duct and in-room germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) systems and portable air cleaners (PACs). These models are incorporated into an existing prototypical office building model and six measures are designed to meet ASHRAE Standard 241 and CDC clean air targets: MERV 13 HVAC filtration, maximum outdoor air supplied to the building, PACs, and in-duct, upper-room, and whole-room GUV. The measures are simulated for an office building in a cool and humid climate compared against a baseline simulation using MERV 8 filtration. The results show that all measures, except for the maximum outdoor air case, can meet the ASHRAE 241 standard without significant impacts on energy or comfort. The HVAC system measures were not able to meet the CDC target with the default system sizing and lead to significant energy increases, while the in-room measures were able to meet the CDC target with small impacts on energy consumption. This paper consolidates the simulation findings and provides practical guidance for building operators to meet clean air targets while limiting energy and comfort impacts. • Created new models for air-cleaning technologies using Modelica Buildings library. • Designed pathogen mitigation measures to meet ASHRAE 241 and CDC clean air targets. • Simulated increased ventilation, in-duct and in-room air-cleaning for an office building. • In-room measures meet clean air targets without significant energy impacts. • HVAC system measures do not meet CDC target and lead to large energy increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing aims to provide society with comfortable, healthy living spaces and its built form ultimately shapes the built environment. Consequently, its design, operation, and interactions with infrastructure systems are a powerful determinant of environmental, economic, and social impacts. This paper highlights the importance of assessing housing built forms by answering ten critical research questions. Throughout this paper, we refer to housing built form as the physical properties (e.g., residential density, floor area ratio) of residential buildings and their interactions with adjoining properties (e.g., setback, shading). In Q1 and Q2, we summarize the planning policies that led to current built forms associated with housing and their sustainability impacts, with specific focus on North America and some countries in Australasia. Q3 describes the adverse sustainability impacts of detached single-family houses, while Q4 examines future economic, demographic, and climatic changes that will warrant rethinking housing built form. Q5 summarizes the methods to assess the environmental, economic, and social impacts of housing built form. In Q6 and Q7, we discuss various system boundaries and functional units that are considered for housing life cycle assessment. Q8 and Q9 describe the temporal uncertainty and contextual circumstances underlying housing projects that need to be considered in life cycle assessments. Lastly, Q10 provides a summary of future policy directions to promote housing with lower environmental impact. This paper supports decision-making around meeting housing targets without compromising the environment. • Ten relevant questions on housing built form considering planning policies and impact assessment tools are posed. • Housing built forms are determinant of environmental, economic, and social impacts. • Past, present, and future housing built forms are reviewed. • Life cycle assessment is a useful tool for analyzing the environmental impact housing built form. • Planning policies to support and increase competitiveness of low impact housing built form are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are emerging as a new symbol for sustainable urbanism and energy transition in the built environment. The pursuit of PED development is increasingly rooted in several EU policies and initiatives, sparking discourse on the interplay between governance, technological and non-technological solutions, multiple stakeholders, and the dynamics of urban and climatic contexts. As their name suggests, PEDs are characterized by surplus renewable energy generation; however, recent developments in urban environmental science emphasize the critical need for an integrated approach to achieve the key performance indicators of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consequently, PED designs must dynamically integrate several stakeholders. These complexities intersect with urban challenges such as urban heat islands, microclimates, nature-based solutions integration, future climatic conditions, resource availability, social vibrancy, connectivity, walkability, economic activity, and more. Current tools are fragmented, severely limiting their ability to support such a multifaceted design process. This paper describes a holistic framework for tools and methods for PED design through a set of relevant questions. Drawing upon the expertise of nine researchers with complementary practical and scientific experience in various aspects of district-scale environmental performance analysis, we offer a comprehensive overview of the scopes, methods, metrics, and toolchains for PEDs, along with available tools to integrate them into different phases of the design process. This paper highlights both the challenges and opportunities ahead, emphasizing the cutting-edge methods and tools necessary to achieve robust, resilient, and data-driven processes for PED designs in a dynamic, multi-scale, and multi-disciplinary urban environment. [Display omitted] • A comprehensive review and classification of PED tools is introduced. • PED tools navigate complex urban aspects beyond energy balance. • Integrated modeling for holistic PED explores diverse domains and scales. • Converging analytical tools enhance PED tools performance and robustness. • Further innovation, challenges and opportunities for PED tools is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frost damage is one of the most important degradation phenomena of brick facades. Evaluating the risk of frost damage in advance is of utmost importance considering the difficulty of repairing frost damage without replacing the materials, which may not be an option for protected heritage facades. Various performance criteria and methods have been developed over the past decades to assess the risk of frost damage. However, these methods are derived from frost tests under extreme conditions, such as high saturation levels and very low freezing temperatures, and do not represent realistic conditions for mild climates. In 2019, Feng et al. tested four different bricks under milder conditions to understand the relationship of frost damage with freezing temperature and saturation degree. The research in this paper combines the results of Feng's study with hygrothermal simulations, which prove to be a valuable tool for assessing the risk of deterioration of facades of masonry buildings. In this paper, the frost decay assessment methods like the Fc-index, GC-factor and counting the critical freeze-thaw cycles are examined, discussed and finally dismissed. Finally, a more representative frost decay risk assessment method is proposed. • Assess frost risk with response-based methods, not material sensitivity methods. • Hygrothermal simulations provide relevant insights on frost damage understanding. • Various frost assessment methods yield diverse climate response outcomes. • More freeze-thaw cycles do not necessarily result in higher frost damage. • Offering a time-resource dependent framework for accurate frost damage assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of nighttime sleep is crucial. The common practice of air conditioners' sleep mode is to recommend a fixed sleep curve or suggest a pre-trained temperature curve based on geologic location. However, these models neglect the user preference and dynamic changes in the room's thermal environment, making it difficult to satisfy people of different ages and genders and resulting in discomfort during sleep. Demanding user to input their preferences or private data causes privacy issues, which leads to a bottleneck in solving this problem. Therefore, the paper proposes a new dynamic thermal parameter model for sleep, which learns the users' metabolic rate and thermal resistance of clothing and bedding through the user's undetected setting before sleep and simple feedback after waking up. These parameters fully reflect the inherent preferences of users and the thermal environment of rooms. After 1–2 rounds of feedback, the model can simulate the needs of users pretty well. In addition, we have optimized the PMV sleep model based on the dynamic thermal parameter model to regulate the temperature of air conditioner. In the controlled experiment, 84% of the participants expressed satisfaction with the regulated sleep temperature environment using the new model, which is 17% higher than that of the fixed curve. This model establishes a personalized model for users without obtaining their privacy information. In future research, wind speed control and humidity control can be introduced, and other sleep monitoring devices can be added to achieve more precise air conditioning temperature control. • The paper proposes the ROSITA model, considering metabolic rate and thermal resistance of bedding and clothing. • The model considers user preferences and dynamic thermal changes in the room to meet the needs of various populations. • Users can give feedback to get the most suitable model without sharing personal information after 1-2 times of feedback. • The adjustment model, based on user-set sleep temperature curve, achieves 17% higher satisfaction than the fixed curve. • The mean value of absolute PMV in the temperature adjustment experiment was 0.41, and the corresponding PPD was 8.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arcade design has been widely used in the architecture design since it can provide space for commercial retails and improve local thermal comfort. However, the influences of different arcade design parameters on wind and thermal environment under realistic solar heating conditions are not fully understood, which hinders further application of the arcade design. This paper aims to investigate the effects of different arcade design parameters on wind and thermal environment under different solar heating conditions. Numerical wind flow, solar radiation and heat transfer simulations of a two-dimensional deep street canyon with aspect ratio of three are performed. The steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes model with standard k − ε turbulence model is employed in this investigation, while considering solar radiation model. Moreover, the realistic solar heating simulations are achieved by setting different local solar times, i.e., LST0900 (leeward wall heating), LST1200 (street ground heating) and LST1500, (windward wall heating). Under realistic solar heating conditions, the building wall heating and the street ground heating are shown to evidently influence the strength and location of the predominant recirculation inside the street canyon, especially for the windward wall heating. Moreover, analysis results have shown that the arcade width has larger influences on wind and thermal environment than that of the arcade height. Particularly, the wind velocity increases 2.1 to 3.8 times, the air temperature decreases 0.42–2.24 °C and the Physiological Equivalent Temperature value drops between 2.2 °C and 7.0 °C when the arcade width increases to half of building width. • Impacts of various arcade design parameters on wind/thermal environment are studied. • Three realistic solar heating conditions are considered in this paper. • Arcade width has larger influences on wind/thermal environment than arcade height. • Wind/thermal environment reach their optimum state when arcade width is 12 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the influence of illuminance variations on visual responses to suggest permissible dimming ranges of lighting control systems in office. A series of experiments were conducted with 33 participants for workplane illuminances of 500 lx, 650 lx, and 800 lx in real office environments under five levels of illuminance variations. Paper-based and computer-based reading tasks were conducted for each condition. The results indicated that none of the constant workplane illuminance caused visual discomfort or dissatisfaction. Illuminance variation was perceived most strongly under the workplane illuminance of 500 lx, and the effect of illuminance variation on the perception of glare was the weakest under the workplane illuminance of 800 lx. As the variation ranges in illuminance increased, the degree of perceived visual satisfaction diminished stably compared with the degree of perceived glare and illuminance change. Strong linear relationships existed between illuminance variation and visual comfort. The maximum permissible ranges of illuminance variations that maintained visual comfort were 150.0 lx, 135.2 lx, and 121.9 lx for paper-based tasks and 126.9 lx, 115.8 lx, and 80.8 lx for computer-based tasks when the workplane illuminance were 500 lx, 650 lx, and 800 lx, respectively. The perception of eye fatigue was a common factor that affected the perception of visual comfort when illuminance variations occurred under the three workplane illuminance conditions. The influences of glare, visual stimuli, and eye fatigue were the factors that degraded the perception of visual comfort. • The effects of illuminance variation on visual response were investigated. • Statistical prediction models between illuminance variation ranges and visual perception were suggested. • Permissible ranges of illuminance variations for dimming control that ensure visual comfort were proposed. • The differences in visual comfort owing to the illuminance variation under different base level illuminances were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dense configuration and rapid proliferation of high-rise buildings in central Hong Kong have led to increasing stagnation of pedestrian-level airflows, lowering the wind speed and exacerbating issues in wind and thermal comfort. Addressing these problems can be difficult without significant building renovations and urban re-planning. This paper introduces a novel framework for the real-time enhancement of the local urban wind environment using motion-controlled billboards, or smart urban windcatchers, managed by a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) agent. The DRL agent determines the windcatchers' optimal positions based on street-level sensor data, independent of meteorological data. The framework's effectiveness was assessed using a simplified city grid model, where two windcatchers aimed to optimize the pedestrian-level wind environment on a specific street. Simulation results indicated that the windcatchers could effectively alter the flow direction in the streets, promoting or diverting air passages per demand. The DRL agent also gave accurate instructions to the windcatchers under various weather conditions, achieving near-optimal wind environment scores. This paper introduces the conception and confirms the feasibility of the windcatcher system, laying the groundwork for future research—as it is much needed and welcomed—to enhance the system and overcome the acknowledged challenges in large-scale, real-world implementation. • Smart urban windcatchers use motion-controlled billboards to enhance local wind environment. • Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) agent determines optimal positions of windcatchers based on sensor data. • Test results show windcatchers can alter street-level airflow direction and improve wind comfort. • The proposed framework confirms feasibility of windcatcher system and invites future research for real-world application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Façade engineering is facing an era of extraordinary challenge to meet the surge in demand for buildings that are environmentally sustainable and enhance occupant wellbeing. Facades, also known as building envelopes, play a major role in the resource-efficiency of buildings and the quality of its indoor environment. Consequently, the development of effective design approaches is crucial for generating appropriate façade solutions. Façade design is complex and multi-disciplinary involving several and oftentimes conflicting performance criteria. Systematic and holistic design procedures are, therefore, required to achieve optimal trade-offs. Over the last decades, researchers in this field have used computational tools and power to address this challenging problem within the context of multi-criteria design approaches. This paper reviews the existing research in this field, and presents the state-of-the-art review from simple to advanced decision-making procedures currently used at the early design stages, where decisions have a disproportionally large impact on the façade performance. The paper provides a complete description of the design variables and objectives typically involved. Alternative multi-criteria design methodologies regarding discrete decisions and automated optimization are reviewed, each with salient pros/cons, and overall conclusions are drawn. Finally, the paper discusses ongoing trends and research needs, namely, the development of uncertainty-based procedures to enable more informed decision-making; the inclusion of structural/seismic safety considerations in the design process to achieve higher socio-economic benefits; the integration of smart building information modeling and processing technologies to facilitate smarter design decisions; and the adoption of integrated design approaches to promote climate-adaptive solutions that enhance resilience. • Facades require effective design with conflicting criteria & project constraints. • Alternative decision-making procedures are explored, with their pros and cons. • Multi-attribute decision-making effectively ranks predetermined façade options. • Multi-objective optimization, often with machine learning, seeks optimal facades. • Research needs involve uncertainty, safety factors, automation, resilience design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban-scale flows such as urban heat island circulation dominate the dissipation of heat and pollutants in urban areas under calm and stable weather conditions. The study of such buoyancy-driven flows at an urban scale is commonly conducted using water tank modeling and numerical simulations. This paper adopts an approach called "numerical water tank" which utilizes computational fluid dynamics to simulate the water tank model. By adopting this method, the research aims to investigate and analyze urban-scale buoyancy-driven flows. This paper proposes an evaluation criterion to assess eight turbulence models in various aspects. The results show that the SST k-ω model and LES perform well. LES is more accurate than RANS, and compared with LES, SST k-ω model can save 1/3-1/2 of the calculation time. For two-equation turbulence models (k-ε and k-ω), which are known for their easier convergence, it is recommended to maintain a Courant number equal to or below 1 (time step 0.5 s). In the case of LES, which is known for its challenging convergence, it is recommended to maintain a control Courant number below 0.2 (time step 0.1s). On this basis, the numerical water tank method based on large eddy simulation is applied to quantitatively study the effect of canopy heat flux attenuation on urban-scale wind field characteristics in valley cities. This paper combines the strengths of water tank modeling and numerical simulation, resulting in a more efficient approach for studying large-scale flows driven by natural thermal pressure. • A more efficient and reliable method for studying large-scale buoyancy-driven flows is needed. • The SST k-ω model and LES performs well for numerical simulations of urban-scale buoyancy-driven flows at reduced-scale. • k-ε type turbulence models should be avoided when dealing with buoyancy-driven flows. • Urban canopy heat flux attenuation affects the urban diffusion conditions and environmental capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising cooling energy demand, caused by the increase in global average temperature and the frequency of heat waves, is currently leading to a significant increase in global electricity consumption. Passive cooling strategies, such as ventilative cooling, can provide acceptable indoor thermal comfort with no or minimal energy consumption, offering an alternative to air conditioning systems in buildings. This paper investigates the effectiveness of natural ventilation in an iconic post-modernist high-rise building in India: Charles Correa's Kanchanjunga Apartments. The research, employing CFD simulation paired with building energy simulation, demonstrates how cross-ventilation can improve the ventilative cooling efficiency in buildings, ensuring affordable indoor thermal conditions even in adverse climatic conditions like the Indian one. Thanks to night-time structural cooling, a maximum reduction in the operative temperature of up to 5.3 °C was achieved compared to the scenario without natural ventilation and up to 6.4 °C compared to the outdoor temperature peak on the hottest day. Consistently with the Indian Model for Adaptive Comfort, cross-ventilation ensures a reduction in discomfort hours of up to 58 % on the hottest day and a total reduction in discomfort hours on a typical monsoon and winter day. The paper aims to assist architects and policymakers in quantifying the cooling potential of natural ventilation in high-rise buildings, suggesting passive solutions for cooling energy saving. [Display omitted] • A novel methodological approach to assess NV potential in buildings was presented. • A combined CFD analysis with building energy simulation software was performed. • IMAC is used to assess thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings in India. • Building design tips for more efficient indoor ventilation performance were proposed. • NV reduces the operative temperature by up to 5.3 °C and the discomfort hours by 58 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the embodied environmental flows of built assets is becoming increasingly important and is a key priority for actors in the built environment to improve life cycle environmental performance. Policies and related targets for embodied environmental flow reductions are emerging. Despite this, tools for quantifying the life cycle embodied environmental flows of built assets are limited in variety and scope. Parametric life cycle assessment (LCA) tools have emerged to address some of these limitations. These tools can enhance decision making, be embedded directly into CAD programs, and offer real-time LCA calculations across multiple design variations. Yet, existing parametric tools for LCA rely on process-based material environmental flow data, limited geometries, limited real-time data visualisation capacity, and often require specialised technical expertise to use. These gaps limit their ability to provide transparent, robust, and rapid assessments. This paper introduces EPiC Grasshopper, an open-source, open-access, bottom-up, parametric tool that enables the quantification of life cycle embodied environmental flows at the early stages of built asset design, bridging the aforementioned gaps. The key characteristics and functionalities of the tool are described, followed by verification (checking that calculations are correct), validation (checking that results are representative of reality), and demonstration of its application to two built asset case studies, i.e. parametrically-defined Australian house and road. The paper shows how the tool can be used to generate designs to meet specific embodied environmental flow targets as well as streamline and increase the uptake of embodied environmental flow assessment and considerations in built asset design workflows. • We review parametric tools to quantify embodied flows for built assets. • We identify gaps in data, visualisation and computational aspects. • We detail the EPiC Grasshopper tool which addresses these gaps. • We verify, validate and demonstrate the tool on various case studies. • Using EPiC Grasshopper helps improve environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is general agreement on the importance of green roofs as ways of reducing GHG emissions, reducing overall costs and improving sustainability in urban areas. This systematic literature review highlights life cycle sustainability assessment as an essential criterion to evaluate green roofs. A bibliometric analysis was used to quantitatively review relevant literature. The Scopus database was chosen as a bibliographic database of academic publications. Thes period of search started from 2003 and final search was conducted on February 15, 2023. Based on further in-depth reading, 88 publication records which met the selection criteria, including 74 papers and 14 conference papers. Researchers from the United States contributed almost 31 % of the documents. We evaluated leading studies in this field and discussed assessment method, system boundaries and research gaps through a critical literature review and a systematic search review. Finally, we propose a framework and identify a gap and future research. The environmental aspect of green roofs have received more attention than economic issues. We found that most economic evaluations of green roofs are limited to their construction stage. As yet there is no comprehensive social study on green roofs. We considered a unified study of the economic, environmental impact and social evaluation of green roofs to be warranted. Additionally, various measurement methods should be used to assess the economic profitability of green roofs over the long term. In summary, this study provides a deeper understanding of the environmental, social, and economic performance of green roofs and identifies research gaps as well as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind-driven rain (WDR) is a significant contributor to indoor moisture in buildings, directly impacting the thermal and moisture performance of facades. Previous research on WDR in China focused on a limited number of low-rise pilot buildings, whose materials, shapes, and environmental settings are not entirely representative of typical applications. Aim to improve the accuracy of WDR predictions on low-rise building facades, there is a need for assessing different WDR calculation methods under various rain events. The paper presented high-resolution WDR measurements from a low-rise concrete building in Chongqing to investigate the distribution of WDR on building facades under local meteorological conditions. The study compared the performance of numerical simulations and two semi-empirical models with different meteorological data averaging techniques. The results indicated that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations using the Eulerian multiphase (EM) model more closely matched the actual catch ratio across various locations and the WDR amount across the facade, with errors ranging between 10%-25 % and 2%–23 %, respectively. Furthermore, the ISO model with weighted averaging (WA) technique outperformed others in estimating catch ratios at various locations and the WDR amount across the facade, particularly when estimating the midline catch ratio. When considering both cumuliform and stratiform rainfall, the arithmetic averaging (AA) technique was a viable method for the ASHRAE model to forecast WDR. The ISO model's predictions corresponded to 54%–81 % of the field measurements, while the ASHRAE model's estimates varied more widely, ranging from 33 % to 229 % of the measured values. • Field measurements of wind-driven rain are conducted on a low-rise building in chongqing. • Numerical simulations and semi-empirical models with averaging techniques are compared. • CFD simulations using Eulerian multiphase model accurately predict WDR distribution. • ISO model with weighted averaging technique outperforms in catch ratio prediction. • ASHRAE model with arithmetic averaging technique is viable for partial rain events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building-Integrated Lighting Unit (BILU) is a new type of LED lighting product that is organically integrated with building elements and components. To promote the digital design, standardized production, and assembly construction of new lighting forms, it is necessary to establish Preferred Sizes (PSs) of BILU that are coordinated with building modules. With the aim of reduction in quantity and strength in universality, PSs were selected from BILU modular arrays in this paper. Based on the preliminary survey, a set of target sizes involving building, furniture, and home decoration elements was established to cover all application scenarios of PSs. Through a traversal search of feasible splicing methods of all PSs, the distribution of alternative PSs was analyzed with their universality quantified. Then, multidimensional metrics of alternative PSs were established, including the average feasible scheme proportion and feasible PS proportion of Line-BILU, as well as the feasible coverage-rate proportion and average coverage rate of Surface-BILU. A weighted Euclidean distance method was applied in the multi-criterion decision-making, realizing a quantitative optimization of PSs in multiple scenarios and under multiple objectives. A total of nineteen Line-BILU preferred sizes and sixty-five Surface-BILU preferred sizes were finally obtained, with their feasibility and advantages validated based on existing modular coordination standards and actual lighting project examples. These results can provide data support for establishing product specifications and design standards of BILUs, promote building industrialization from the lighting perspective, and stimulate the sustainable construction of architectural lighting. • Sub-metrics for PSs were created based on the universality in splicing sizes of indoor components. • Comprehensive metrics for PSs were created based on the weighted Euclidean distance method. • 19 PSs for Line-BILU and 65 PSs for Surface-BILU were selected from the modular arrays of BILU. • PSs reduce joints and varieties number required for BILU splicing, and almost remove custom sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling the urban climate using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is essential for assessing urban thermal comfort and developing heat wave mitigation solutions. One mitigation strategy may rely on the enhancement of urban ventilation and the use of porous urban environments, as the lift-up, or on pilotis, buildings. Lift-up buildings have their ground floor in whole or in part supported by columns and shear walls, allowing wind flow through the building at pedestrian level. CFD modeling of these intricate geometries is computationally challenging for large urban neighborhoods. Simplifications, such as removing columns to obtain an acceptable computational cost, lead to erroneous results in the global flow pattern. To balance accuracy and computational cost, the impact of complex ground floor geometry on wind flow is modeled using a porosity sink term in the Navier-Stokes equations based on the Darcy-Forchheimer law. The improved CFD modeling of a simple lift-up building is validated with wind tunnel measurements. Simulations of wind flow around a realistic lift-up building for different wind directions determine the Forchheimer coefficients required for the porosity approach. Comparison of reference and numerical porosity results demonstrates a very good agreement in mean velocity patterns. The study demonstrates that oversimplifications, such as removing all columns, leads to an unacceptable overestimation of the wind velocity at pedestrian level. The paper highlights the benefits of the numerical porosity approach and its necessity for accurate urban-scale simulations. • The complexity of lift-up buildings' open ground floor can be modeled using artificial porosity. • The porous approach has been validated using wind tunnel measurements. • The Darcy-Forchheimer law can be used to model artificial porosity based on CFD simulations. • The porosity approach predicts pedestrian-level wind at a lower computational cost. • Oversimplified ground floor porosity leads to an unacceptable overestimation of the pedestrian-level wind speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global increase in building cooling demands poses a challenge for designers striving for net zero energy consumption. The prevalent use of mechanical cooling underscores the necessity for designers to consider Ventilative Cooling as a viable alternative in the early stages of building design. This paper presents findings from an exploratory survey and semi-structured interviews of industry experts in Ireland and the United Kingdom about their design processes and experienced-based approaches to designing Ventilative Cooling. The findings suggest that the pre-design stage has the same influence for promoting ventilative cooling strategies as the schematic and detailed design stages for practitioners, yet limited impactful decision making occurs at this stage. Over 70 % of the survey respondents reported satisfaction with current Ventilative Cooling tools used in building design. Only 8 % of architects use a ventilative cooling tool, while engineers always do, showing that separate design advice is needed for architects and engineers. The interview findings indicate that early-stage design interventions for Ventilative Cooling can be improved if there was more empirical evidence of how strategies perform available as design guidance in ventilative cooling design guidelines. Additionally, engineers highlighted that post-occupancy evaluation and site monitoring of existing buildings are crucial stages of further research that can identify the effectiveness of Ventilative Cooling design decisions. In their building designs, the practitioners reported a need for preparedness to assess resilience to extreme future climate events such as heat waves. Effective communication between industry and academic research can help improve the built environment industry's future readiness. • The interplay between the building design processes of Architects and Engineers was assessed • The pre-design stage has the same influence for promoting ventilative cooling strategies as the schematic and detailed design stages for practitioners, yet limited impactful decision making occurs at this stage • 73 % of the practitioners reported satisfaction with the current Ventilative Cooling design tools available in the market • Only 8 % of architects use software for ventilative cooling decisions, while engineers always do showing different design guidance needed for engineers and architects • A lack of understanding of vulnerability of building designs to overheating risk, client awareness and limited early stage design guidance were key reported challenges in VC design • 79 % of building design professionals not prepared for extreme future climate events in their designs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With climate change affecting buildings differently across various local climates, there's a heightened focus on local microclimates and their impact on building energy consumption. Urban microclimates change the buildings' energy dynamics by influencing local weather patterns while building operations affect these patterns and microclimates through feedback. This paper provides a comprehensive review of tools and applications used for examining the feedback interaction between building operation and energy, and urban microclimate. This study collects, analyses, and classifies tools and applications related to Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) and Urban Climate Modeling (UCM) and particularly focuses on the combination of these tools through Multi-Domain Urban Scale Energy Modeling (MD-USEM), enabling efficient information exchange between urban microclimate and building energy models. The building-microclimate exchange of information may occur as either a one-way impact or a two-way interaction, a distinction that is thoroughly examined in the final section with an in-depth analysis of the relevant literature. • Urban Building Energy Modeling and Urban Climate Modeling tools are presented. • Co-Simulation strategies for coupling microclimate and building are reviewed. • Three types of the reciprocal impacts of microclimate and building are discussed. • Building-microclimate information exchange is assessed through MD-USEM application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no widely accepted discomfort glare metric for stationary or slow-moving observers in outdoor spaces after dark. This review provides background of 16 relevant discomfort glare models that exist in outdoor environments at night for observers, residents, and pedestrians, for small sources, and non-uniform sources. It includes relevant model comparison studies for this application. It covers general research methods that study discomfort glare – psychophysical, physiological, and behavioral, and model development methods – empirical and visual system-based. The paper discusses the measurement difficulties of glare-relevant parameters in the field and future needs. Recommendations for future research directions and steps forward are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor acoustic quality in educational buildings is a prevalent issue that can significantly influence teachers' and students' health, comfort, and performance. An integrative literature study was conducted to understand the current research on acoustic quality in educational buildings. The study aimed to identify (1) common research topics related to acoustics in educational buildings, (2) methods that were used to collect and analyze data in previous relevant studies, and (3) knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to evaluate and enhance acoustic quality in educational buildings. In total, 206 relevant studies collected from the Web of Science database were reviewed and analyzed. Three research topics emerged based on the co-occurrence links between terms in the abstract and title of these papers: acoustic conditions and improvements in educational buildings, impacts of acoustic quality in educational buildings on students' performance, and impacts of acoustic quality on teachers' and students' health. Four commonly employed data collection methods and three analysis methods were identified, and their advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Gaps in the research topics, methods, and ways of improvement were discussed to highlight directions for future research in the acoustics field. Two individually controlled acoustic improvement methods and the interaction effects between acoustic quality and other environmental factors were suggested to be considered for future studies. Furthermore, this study advocated incorporating electroencephalography (EEG) and machine learning techniques in future research to gain deeper insights into the effects of acoustic quality on occupants in educational buildings. • Studies on acoustic comfort in educational buildings were reviewed. • Three research topics were identified based on bibliometric networks. • Commonly employed data collection and data analysis methods were discussed. • Suggestions on future research topics and methods were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has extensively documented several benefits of interacting with nature. Biophilic design applications aimed at connecting the built environment back to nature have been shown to improve employee health, well-being, and productivity at workplaces. However, most research regarding restorative environments has prioritized the visual qualities of nature experiences, neglecting other sensory modalities. The significance of the sense of smell in the restoration process has been largely ignored. This research investigates the combined effects of multi-domain nature experiences within workplace contexts. Specifically, the restorative benefits of combined multisensory elements, including visual, olfactory, and auditory, and the relative contributions of each sensory cue to the restoration process were examined. A pretest-posttest experimental approach was employed to compare the restorative outcomes of workplaces under two conditions, one lacking natural elements vs another offering multi-domain experiences of nature. Thirty-two participants engaged in a multisensory virtual reality simulation replicating the environmental conditions of an actual workplace in Sydney, Australia. The results revealed that the multisensory biophilic workplace significantly improved cognitive performance, reduced stress levels, and enhanced mood states compared to the non-biophilic one. There was a statistically significant association between the sense of smell and restorative benefits. Although visual elements emerged as the primary means of creating restorative workplace environments, our results suggest that the sense of smell plays a significant role in the restoration process. This paper provides empirical evidence on the paramount importance of olfactory cues in nature-based experiences, contributing to the knowledge within the realms of biophilia and architectural discourse. • Multisensory nature experiences have various restorative benefits in workplaces. • Olfactory pleasantness significantly contributes to the restoration process. • Nature smells can be incorporated into the biophilic design framework. • A multisensory VR system was used to simulate workplace environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have superseded traditional light sources due to their superior qualities. However, achieving desired spectral distribution in indoor environment still remains a challenge, particularly for optimizing multiple lighting parameters, which are nonlinear functions of the light spectra, including correlated color temperature (CCT), color rendering index (CRI) and circadian action factor (CAF). Existing studies have been mainly devoted to seeking optimal solutions, by means of various optimization methods, e.g. genetic algorithms. However, these methods can only result in fixed recipes to achieve pre-assigned reference parameters, and cannot meet the need of dynamic varying lighting environment. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel framework for optimal spectrum design and control in multichannel LED lighting systems. It surpasses traditional methods by employing reinforcement learning (RL) to generate an entire optimal spectral power distribution (SPD) model, comprehensively considering CCT, CRI, CAF, and other relevant parameters. This framework integrates the RL-based optimal SPD generator with a corresponding real-time controller, bridging the gap between simulations and real-world applications. The effectiveness of this new framework has been verified by an experimental prototype, showcasing both the optimal SPD and the achieved control performance. This work paves the way for high-quality, user-centric lighting with dynamic CCT and spectral control, and enables the creation of lighting environments that optimize human well-being, productivity, and overall experience. • A light spectrum optimization method based on reinforcement learning is proposed. • A light source for rendering high quality light environment is manufactured. • A novel control scheme consisting of the RL law and a feedback controller is designed. • The performance of the proposed scheme is tested in real experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local radiant heating is a crucial method for avoiding inefficient heating and reducing energy consumption in buildings. To supplement existing research, which primarily focuses on local vertical-wall radiant heating, this paper investigates the non-uniform thermal environment of local floor and ceiling radiant heating rooms under various radiant positions, areas, and temperatures. The study utilizes numerical analysis by Ansys Fluent and thermal comfort experiments in Xi'an, China, which has a Dwa Köppen climate classification. When the local heating zone is located near windows and doors, the radiant film preferentially exchanges heat with them, resulting in a decrease in air temperature and mean radiant temperature. In such cases, it is recommended to increase the radiant temperature or area. With a radiant area of 5 m2 and a radiant temperature of 25 °C, expanding the radiant area to 15 m2 increases the average air temperature in the local heating zone by 5.0 °C, while raising the radiant temperature to 29 °C increases it by 1.4 °C. Moreover, enlarging the radiant area can effectively improve occupants' skin temperature, thermal sensation, and overall thermal comfort. When the radiant area and temperature are determined, priority should be given to local floor radiant heating over local ceiling radiant heating due to its lower air temperature, larger temperature gradients, and smaller mean radiant temperatures. This study aims to provide references for proposing refined design and regulation parameters of local floor and ceiling radiant heating systems in the future. • Local heating avoids inefficient heating and reduces heating energy consumption. • Local radiant heating zone with windows and doors has lower air temperature. • Larger radiant area improves air temperature and thermal comfort more effectively. • Priority is given to local floor radiant heating over local ceiling radiant heating. • Temperature field can be divided into Core, Transition and Dissipation Zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human neck is one of the most thermally sensitive body regions to nociceptive stimuli. Neck cooling has been extensively researched to improve athletic performance in the heat. However, there has been very little research into the use of conductive neck cooling for indoor thermal comfort. We thereby designed three ultralight cooling collars with cooling gels or phase change materials (GEL6, PCM15, and PCM18). Their cooling performance on thermal comfort enhancement of 14 healthy young female participants under two warm indoor temperatures (28 °C and 30 °C) was investigated. Thermophysiological and perceptual responses, including skin temperature, heart rate, sweating, thermal sensation vote (TSV), thermal comfort vote (TCV), and thermal preference vote (TPV), were extensively studied. Results showed that, in contrast to GEL6, PCM15 and PCM18 significantly decreased the neck skin temperature, with PCM15 exhibiting the greatest reduction of 4.37 °C at 28 °C. PCM15 and PCM18 significantly decreased overall and local TSVs while also increasing overall and local TCVs (all p < 0.05), thus they could maintain >80 % occupant satisfaction at 28 °C. At 30 °C indoor temperature, however, none of these three cooling collars were found to meet the 80 % occupant satisfaction criterion. When compared to GEL6, PCM15 and PCM18 were found to only significantly reduce local TSVs at the head and neck (all p < 0.05). In sum, PCM15 and PCM18 have the potential to increase acceptable HVAC summer cooling setpoint temperature by 2.5 °C, from 25.5 °C to 28.0 °C, leading to a 25 % reduction in building cooling energy consumption. [Display omitted] • Cooling gels failed to maintain occupant thermal comfort at 28 and 30 °C temperatures. • Cooling collars PCM15 & PCM18 could maintain >80 % occupant satisfaction at 28 °C. • All cooling collars failed to meet the 80 % occupant satisfaction at 30 °C temperature. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. • PCM15 and PCM18 extended acceptable HVAC cooling setpoint temperature by 2.5 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing daylight standards encourage larger glazed areas, which often results in larger solar gains in the summer and heat losses in the winter. To avoid these, shadings, thicker frames and multiple panes of glass are required to respect operational energy targets. These imperatives in turn influence the embodied carbon of the building. Yet the performance trade-offs between daylight and embodied carbon have so far largely remained overlooked in existing research. More specifically, there is currently no guidance on what reasonable carbon budget should be associated with façade and its components. The present study thus aims to 1) reveal how whole life carbon is affected by improving daylight and 2) define carbon budgets at the façade and its components level. In this paper, an explorative method is proposed and its potential to achieve the study's aims is illustrated through its application to a specific case study. Based on the analysis of 9000 design alternatives, increasing spatial daylight autonomy by 24 % in carbon-intensive facades made of concrete and brick can reduce the embodied carbon by 15 % and 10 % respectively. In contrast, the same daylight improvement in low-carbon façade alternatives made of timber would instead, increase whole life carbon by 65 % for the case study considered. The method also offers prospective insights: for the chosen case study, achieving a well daylit space will be increasingly challenging after 2040, due to a substantial reduction in the façade carbon budget by 2040, which is projected to be nearly half of what it is today. • The performance trade-offs between daylight and whole life carbon across 4 different construction techniques are assessed. • Increasing daylight autonomy in concrete and brick facades is in favor of whole life carbon emissions. • Enhancing daylight in low-carbon facades, e.g. wood framed and cellulose fiber, increases whole life carbon by 65 %. • Creating well-daylit spaces compliant with carbon budget becomes increasingly challenging as of 2040. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings could help solve the supply and demand mismatch of electricity by providing energy flexibility to the grid. Thermal models of a dwelling are required to properly exploit their flexibility. The first step in developing such models is gathering on-site measurements. The quality of these measurements impacts the performance of the resulting models and, in turn, the harnessed flexibility. This research aims to evaluate the effect of the measurement sampling period on the achieved flexibility in a dwelling. In this paper, flexibility is realized through passive heat storage in the building by using model predictive control. The effect of the dataset sampling period on modeling accuracy and flexibility is evaluated. To assess the impact of the sampling period, four types of modeling techniques are trained by datasets with different sampling periods. The performance of these models for flexibility activation is assessed in two case studies. These case studies have similar structures with the main difference being their heating system. One building is equipped with electric heaters while the other uses underfloor heating. The findings show that decreasing the sampling period below 1 h does not lead to noticeable improvements in energy flexibility. On the other hand, deploying a sampling period larger than 1-h leads to a controller that underperforms. Using a sampling period of 2 h could sabotage the harnessed flexibility up to 51 %. • Applying feature selection to predictive models used for flexibility activation. • Assessing the impact of the data sampling period on the MPC-activated flexibility. • Inappropriate choice of the sampling period could reduce energy flexibility by 51 %. • High accuracy of a predictive model does not guarantee a high level of flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount, duration, and intensity of wind-driven rain (WDR) are instrumental to the durability and sustainability of building components. Semi-empirical methods implemented in heat, air, and moisture (HAM) models have proved to be a practical and efficient approach to quantify WDR exposure of building components and to examine WDR's influence on hygrothermal responses of building envelopes. However, specific assumptions and simplifications in the implementations can cause discrepancies in WDR calculations and hygrothermal responses. While measured datasets or computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions are employed to validate WDR calculations in previous studies, few address the further influence on hygrothermal responses, particularly confronted with full-scale experimental datasets. This paper starts with a general formulation of semi-empirical methods for WDR calculation and elaborates the ASHRAE and ISO standards implemented in two representative HAM models, WUFI and DELPHIN. In the first phase of simulations, two full-scale experimental datasets at Leuven (Belgium) and Eindhoven (the Netherlands) are reproduced by the two models to compare predicted WDR loads. In the second phase, the predicted and measured WDR loads are imposed as boundary conditions of different scenarios of one benchmark case to further analyze the influence on the hygrothermal responses. The results indicate that both models roughly reproduce the semi-empirical methods. Because of disparity in algorithms and implementations and differences in weather and building conditions, the simulated WDR loads show similar trends with deviations to the measured datasets. The predicted hygrothermal responses show deviations to different extents, presumably due to disparity in WDR load predictions during certain periods. [Display omitted] • ASHRAE and ISO standards are implemented into WUFI and DELPHIN with simplifications. • Full-scale measured WDR loads are confronted with simulated results from HAM models. • Deviations in incremental WDR amounts govern predicted hygrothermal responses. • Inter-model comparison and sensitivity analysis are necessary for model validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many organizations are actively pursuing decarbonization goals to help mitigate the effects of climate change. This situation often requires capital replacement of building components with different fuel or higher efficiency variants to reduce emissions. However, this problem is complicated when an organization operates across a wide geographic area due to regional differences in weather, utility costs, and electrical grid emissions. This paper develops a framework for this problem by implementing energy, emissions, cost, and decision models that can scale across large organizations. The resulting decisions show the ability to reach decarbonization goals with lower costs and better rates of return. Compared to condition or unit-capacity ranking strategies, case studies show that the developed model reduces emissions by as much as 68.99 % or costs by as much as 47.08 %, depending on organizational goals. • Optimal large-scale decarbonization retrofit decisions when quality data is sparse. • Creating large-scale portfolio energy comparisons with open-source datasets. • Costing model for design alternative replacement costs from equipment capacity. • Decision frameworks to optimize goals like GHG reduction or simple payback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban landscapes, characterized by intricate interactions within a three-dimensional (3D) framework, give rise to complex mechanisms that underlie the Surface Urban Heat Island phenomenon. While global case studies have emphasized the impact of 3D urban morphological components on urban thermal environments, conducting quantitative assessments to identify spatial and seasonal variations in these relationships poses significant challenges. Based on Lidar and land cover dataset, this study first investigated the 3D urban morphology characteristics across nine components, and then assessed their spatial and seasonal impact on the urban thermal environment through Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). We found that Impervious Surface Fraction (ISF) has the greatest warming effect, whereas the Vegetation Coverage Fraction (VCF) exerts the strongest cooling influence on the thermal environment across all seasons. Building Height (BH) and Street Aspect Ratio (SAR) exhibit spatially varying cooling effects, while Building Number (BN) and Standard Deviation of Building Height (BH_SD) have minimal warming impacts. Additionally, the influence of BH on the thermal environment is significant primarily in areas characterized by higher building coverage. VCF has a stronger cooling effect in central regions with limited vegetation during spring and winter, but this effect diminishes compared to suburban ones in summer and autumn. These findings provide valuable insights into developing effective heat mitigation strategies at both city and community levels, ultimately fostering sustainable urban development. • The paper analyzed the impact of urban morphology on LST from a 3D perspective. • The impact of urban morphology characteristics on LST was analyzed in seasons. • The GWR model was adopted to reveal the spatial heterogeneity of these impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]