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With the arrival of environmental phenomenon clearly indicating that our planet is undergoing global warming primarily caused by environmental pollution, the construction sector, one of the major contributors to energy consumption and CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, has been under the obligation to take measures to mitigate and slow down this environmental crisis. As a result, the current construction trend revolves around sustainable architecture with designs that are efficient in terms of operational energy consumption during the lifespan of buildings or during their construction. This involves considering embodied energy, the choice of materials, and construction methods to reduce the environmental impact caused by the sector. The building envelope is the first line of defense against the climatic conditions of the surrounding environment. For this reason, it is one of the most vulnerable parts, playing a crucial role in relation to energy consumption. The proper design of the envelope directly influences interior thermal comfort. This leads to the study of the envelope of the Torre Sevilla, where the aim is to demonstrate its inefficiency in protecting the facade from solar radiation during the summer months. To counteract this effect, active design strategies are necessary to achieve the user’s well-being. The objective of this research is to propose an optimization of the building envelope with elements of solar protection to enhance the energy efficiency of the skyscrapers., Con la llegada de fenómenos ambientales que indican claramente que nuestro planeta está experimentando un calentamiento global causado principalmente por la contaminación ambiental, el sector construcción que es uno de los responsables más importantes en el consumo de energía y emisiones de CO2 a la atmosfera, se ha visto bajo la obligación de tomar medidas que mitiguen y ralenticen esta crisis ambiental. En consecuencia, la tendencia constructiva actual gira en torno a una arquitectura sostenible con diseños eficientes en términos de consumo energético operacional durante la vida útil de los edificios o durante su construcción, con la energía incorporada y la elección de materiales y métodos constructivos para reducir el impacto ambiental causando por el sector. La envolvente es la primera línea de defensa de un edificio contra las condiciones climáticas del entorno en el que se encuentra. Por dicha razón, es una de las partes más vulnerables, jugando un papel sumamente importante en relación con el consumo energético. El diseño correcto de la envolvente influye directamente en el confort interior. Esto da lugar al estudio de la envolvente de la Torre Sevilla donde se busca demostrar su ineficiencia en proteger la fachada de la radiación solar en los meses de verano, debiendo contrarrestar este efecto con el uso de estrategias de diseño activo para alcanzar el bienestar del usuario. El objetivo de esta investigación es de proponer una optimización de la envolvente con elementos de protección solar para mejorar la eficiencia energética de la edificación.

Bloque 2. JIDA'23-Granada: Jornadas sobre Innovación Docente en Arquitectura

This teaching experience works on collective housing projects developed by the students, in which a process of evaluation of the carbon footprint is developed using digital tools and identification of possible improvements for the results obtained. This exercise involves the integration of the calculation of the carbon footprint using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, as well as the awareness of the impacts generated by the different systems, elements and materials that make up the building. The aim of this is to stimulate a physical and tangible approach to the calculation of the carbon footprint incorporated into the architectural design, where the implications of the design, the volumetry of the building, the importance of optimisation in the design of the different systems that make up the building, as well as the selection of materials can be identified., La presente experiencia docente trabaja sobre proyectos de vivienda colectiva desarrollados por el alumnado, en los cuales se desarrolla un proceso de evaluación de la huella de carbono utilizando herramientas digitales y de identificación de posibles mejoras para los resultados obtenidos. Este ejercicio que implica la integración del cálculo de la huella de carbono utilizando la metodología del Análisis del Ciclo de Vida (ACV), así como la toma de conciencia de los impactos generados por los diferentes sistemas, elementos y materiales que componen el edificio. El objetivo de esto se centra en estimular la aproximación física y tangible del cálculo de la huella de carbono incorporado al diseño arquitectónico, donde se puedan identificar las implicaciones del diseño, la volumetría del edificio, la importancia de la optimización en el diseño de los diferentes sistemas que componen el edificio, así como de la selección de los materiales.

Wood and other bio-based building materials are often perceived as a good choice from a climate mitigation perspective. This article compares the life cycle assessment of the same multi-residential building from the perspective of 16 countries participating in the international project Annex 72 of the International Energy Agency to determine the effects of different datasets and methods of accounting for biogenic carbon in wood construction. Three assessment methods are herein considered: two recognized in the standards (the so-called 0/0 method and −1/+1 method) and a variation of the latter (−1/+1* method) used in Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand. The 0/0 method considers neither fixation in the production stage nor releases of biogenic carbon at the end of a wood product's life. In contrast, the −1/+1 method accounts for the fixation of biogenic carbon in the production stage and its release in the end-of-life stage, irrespective of the disposal scenario (recycling, incineration or landfill). The −1/+1 method assumes that landfills offer only a temporary sequestration of carbon. In the −1/+1* variation, landfills and recycling are considered a partly permanent sequestration of biogenic carbon and thus fewer emissions are accounted for in the end-of-life stage. We examine the variability of the calculated life cycle-based greenhouse gas emissions calculated for a case study building by each participating country, within the same assessment method and across the methods. The results vary substantially. The main reasons for deviations are whether or not landfills and recycling are considered a partly permanent sequestration of biogenic carbon and a mismatch in the biogenic carbon balance. Our findings support the need for further research and to develop practical guidelines to harmonize life cycle assessment methods of buildings with bio-based materials.

The building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) applied to buildings requires collecting and organizing large quantities of data over all building life cycles. To overcome specific difficulties related to the system boundaries definition and life cycle inventory stages, the literature recognizes that systematic building decomposition methods (SBDM) can be used to classify building components, elements and materials, as well as to increase the reliability and transparency of LCA results, particularly for embodied carbon and other environmental impacts. In this paper developed in the context of the research project IEA EBC Annex 72, the authors aim to provide a basis for understanding how different SBDMs decompose a building and classify its parts. This study analyses the implications of using different SBDM along the steps of an LCA study. Such as to support transparent and comprehensible (de)composition of the life cycle inventory (LCI), definition of service lives for different building parts or clear and comparable communication of assessment results and environmental hotspots particularly when using digital tools to conduct LCA. The study analyses 12 national SBDMs used in participating countries of IEA EBC Annex 72. To showcase the implications of SBDMs in building LCA practice, an office building was used as a common case study for applying the different SBDM approaches. Differences were identified among the decomposition levels and the consequences of these differences on the LCI organization. Thus, some of the main contributions to this study are the investigation of different SBDM approaches for improving the design workflows, by discussing BIM model definitions and the recommendation to use hierarchically based methods to allow the building elements and materials decomposition.

This teaching experience works on collective housing projects developed by the students, in which a process of evaluation of the carbon footprint is developed using digital tools and identification of possible improvements for the results obtained. This exercise involves the integration of the calculation of the carbon footprint using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, as well as the awareness of the impacts generated by the different systems, elements and materials that make up the building. The aim of this is to stimulate a physical and tangible approach to the calculation of the carbon footprint incorporated into the architectural design, where the implications of the design, the volumetry of the building, the importance of optimisation in the design of the different systems that make up the building, as well as the selection of materials can be identified., La presente experiencia docente trabaja sobre proyectos de vivienda colectiva desarrollados por el alumnado, en los cuales se desarrolla un proceso de evaluación de la huella de carbono utilizando herramientas digitales y de identificación de posibles mejoras para los resultados obtenidos. Este ejercicio que implica la integración del cálculo de la huella de carbono utilizando la metodología del Análisis del Ciclo de Vida (ACV), así como la toma de conciencia de los impactos generados por los diferentes sistemas, elementos y materiales que componen el edificio. El objetivo de esto se centra en estimular la aproximación física y tangible del cálculo de la huella de carbono incorporado al diseño arquitectónico, donde se puedan identificar las implicaciones del diseño, la volumetría del edificio, la importancia de la optimización en el diseño de los diferentes sistemas que componen el edificio, así como de la selección de los materiales., Los autores agradecen a los alumnos y profesores de las ediciones 2020-2021, 2021-2022 y 2022-2023 del Máster en Innovación en Arquitectura: Tecnología y Diseño de la Universidad de Sevilla y la proyecto INDICATE por el apoyo financiero prestado para este trabajo., Peer Reviewed

Of the numerous effects of human activity with a direct impact on changes in the environment, one of the main activities is construction, which generates approximately 33% of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and contributes to an increase in environmental impact. At present, interest in reducing these emissions has led to the development of various tools to quantify, evaluate and control environmental impact. Among the better-known ones, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is frequently linked to BIM modelling. The cities are responsible for 75% of carbon emissions, for that reason, this paper aims to analyse whether urban concentration of high-rise blocks. Using the GIS tool to geographically visualize the urban system of the study area, the main displacement routes were located according to the types of transport used and the location of two study sites in the Hypercentre of Quito considered as points of origin for these trips. These data were entered in several tables to ascertain the overall impact in the use phase at city level. The impact of the building in the production, construction, de-construction and recycling phases was added at a later stage. The use of the three tools - LCA, BIM and GIS - allowed us to establish that the highest number of impacts occurs in the use phase, given the high consumption of operational energy. Finally, it was concluded that in Quito, a city model concentrated in height, displays less environmental impact compared to uncontrolled urban extension. It is therefore essential to locally implement tools, such as the Eco-Efficiency Matrix, which contribute to the sustainable development of the city.

Coumaric acids and flavonoids play pivotal roles in protecting plants against ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure. In this work, we focus our photoprotection studies on p-coumaric acid and the flavonoid naringenin chalcone. Photoprotection is well-understood in p-coumaric acid; in contrast, information surrounding photoprotection in naringenin chalcone is lacking. Additionally, and vitally, how these two species work in unison to provide photoprotection across the UV-B and UV-A is unknown. Herein, we employ transient absorption spectroscopy together with steady-state irradiation studies to unravel the photoprotection mechanism of a solution of p-coumaric acid and naringenin chalcone. We find that the excited state dynamics of p-coumaric acid are significantly altered in the presence of naringenin chalcone. This finding concurs with quenching of the p-coumaric acid fluorescence with increasing concentration of naringenin chalcone. We propose a Fo¨rster energy transfer mechanism is operative via the formation of dipole–dipole interactions between p-coumaric acid and naringenin chalcone. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration in plants of a synergic effect between two classes of phenolics to bypass the potentially damaging effects of UVR.