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Effects of outdoor shared spaces on social interaction in a housing estate in Algeria
Naceur Farida
Front. Archit. Res.. 2013, 2 (4): 457-467.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2013.09.002
This study aims to identify how the characteristics of shared outdoor spaces in housing estates influence residents to interact with one another. The study specifically focuses on a housing project called la cité des 1000 logts, which is situated in a zone d'habitat urbaine nouvelle in Biskra, a city in South Algeria. The investigation draws on two sources of information, observations of the ways in which the residents use their neighborhood spaces and a questionnaire survey with residents about the perceived adequacy of these spaces for social interaction. Data for the survey was collected from the owners of flats in the apartment blocks surrounding the open spaces. Housing samples were taken from a total of 1000 housing units identified within the study area. Twenty five percent (25%) of the total housing units were selected. Out of the 250 questionnaires administered to household-heads who were the respondents, only 230 were subsequently retrieved for data analysis. Results showed that the high degree of “openness” of la cité des 1000 logts and the poor quality of communal outdoor spaces in the area discourage all forms of spatial use and reduce these outdoor spaces to transit areas. Furthermore, findings indicated that the layout of buildings and the quality of common outdoor spaces in residential neighborhoods substantially affect the use of these spaces and the social interaction among residents.
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Determination of specific heat capacity by transient plane source
Axel Berge, Bijan Adl-Zarrabi, Carl-Eric Hagentoft
Front. Archit. Res.. 2013, 2 (4): 476-482.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2013.09.004
A standard TPS measurement gives the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of an isotropic material which in turn gives the heat capacity. The thermal properties of an anisotropic material can be measured if the heat capacity is known. A method for heat capacity measurement exists, where the TPS sensor is attached to a sample container which is surrounded by insulation. However, it's based on an assumption of negligible heat losses which leads to uncertainties in the results. From that position, this work aims to model the heat losses from the specific heat measurements with TPS. A new set-up is introduced, where the sensor with the container hangs freely in a steel tube to get more predictable heat losses. The results show that the measurements can be modelled as a network of lumps connected by conductances approximated as constant. Thereby, the conductances out from the system can be solved from a reference measurement and used as input for a model of a measurement with a sample. The model seems to underestimate the heat capacity, which might be a consequence of temperature dependent effects on the conductances from convection. The tube in the set-up could be evacuated to minimize those losses.
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Experimental study of the isothermal sorption properties of late Qing and 1980s grey bricks in Wujiang, Suzhou, China
Yonghui Li, Huarong Xie, Jianguo Wang, Xinjian Li
Front. Archit. Res.. 2013, 2 (4): 483-487.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2013.08.006
Grey brick is a key material in Chinese traditional architecture. The isothermal sorption curve of grey bricks is one of the basic moisture characteristics for studying the heat transfer of brick building enclosure structures and is also a fundamental parameter of research into the degradation mechanisms of Chinese traditional architecture. In this study, we measure the isothermal sorption curves of Wujiang (Suzhou, China) bricks from the 1980s and the late Qing period, by applying constant relative humidity controlled by saturated salt-water solutions under isothermal conditions. We then present their fitting formulas for humidity bound ranges of 5_92%. The results indicate that samples of the same-area traditional Suzhou grey bricks from different time periods show relatively large differences in their isothermal sorption properties, with the isothermal sorption property values of the late Qing grey bricks about three times those of the 1980s grey bricks.
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An arctic low-energy house as experimental setup for studies of heat dynamics of buildings
Philip Delff Andersen, Carsten Rode, Henrik Madsen
Front. Archit. Res.. 2013, 2 (4): 488-499.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2013.08.003
This paper addresses the difficulties in pinpointing reasons for unexpectedly high energy consumption in construction, and in low-energy houses especially. Statistical methods are applied to improve the insight into the energy performance and heat dynamics of a building based on consumption records and weather data. Dynamical methods separate influences from outdoor temperature, solar radiation, and wind on the energy consumption in the building. The studied building is a low-energy house in Sisimiut, Greenland. Weather conditions like large temperature differences between indoors and outdoors throughout long winters, strong winds, and very different circumstances regarding solar radiation compared to areas where low-energy houses are usually built, make the location very interesting for modeling and testing purposes. In 2011 new measurement equipment was installed in the house, which will be used to develop more detailed models of the heat dynamics and energy performance in relation to different meteorological variables, heating systems, and user behavior. This type of models is known as a graybox model and is been introduced in this paper.
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