English

This paper describes the Architectural Design Studies undertaken by Mario Cucinella Architects as part of a three year JOULE research project into the application of Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) in non-domestic buildings. The objective of the research was to develop a viable passive alternative to air-conditioning through architectural design, experimentation and performance assessment.

Passive Downdraught Cooling is a technique which will potentially become a substitute for conventional air-conditioning in Southern Europe and the hot dry regions of the world. As well as providing substantial energy savings, the technique avoids the need for ductwork, fans and suspended ceilings, and reduces the need for refrigerant based cooling. However, this approach has architectural implications which extends the vocabulary of 'passive design'.

In recent years, natural ventilation has been gaining credibility as a suitable passive design strategy for non domestic UK buildings. Many of the recently built naturally ventilated buildings in the UK incorporate ventilation stacks in various forms with the purpose of increasing ventilation during the summer months so that some cooling is provided during the day or by utilising night ventilation. This paper first describes briefly the stack ventilation strategies employed in a number of recently completed buildings in the UK.

The work of Kohn Pedersen Fox (London) emphasises the civic responsibility of buildings and is primarily concerned with the integration of environmentally responsive elements into buildings within a civic context. The development of facades and roofs that perform a range of environmental tasks has been explored through a series of building designs. These use passive environmental control as a contribution to urban design by providing transition zones between street and building that can be used by both the public and building users.

The paper describes the sustainable design issues addressed in the briefing, design, procurement and construction of the building, set in the context of previous low energy office designs by the practice. It details the approaches taken to minimising the energy consumption and environmental impact of the building in use, and its construction. The impact of the completed building on the environment, landscape, local amenity and habitats is discussed. Comparisons are made with three recently completed office buildings.

Steven Beckers and Pierre Lallemand conceived the refurbishment of the European Headquarters in the centre of Brussels. With a low-energy design, sensitive in its choice of materials, the building uses environmentally friendly strategies and meets all modern comfort and environmental standards.

This paper outlines an environmental design research program on an urban high-rise church complex in Hong Kong. The main focus is on the methodology and process of the integrated design effort of the research team and the project architect during the schematic design and the on-going design development stage. Environmental design concepts and subsequent simulation/evaluation study on the daylighting and ventilation of the main church assembly hall and the progression route are documented.

Describes the indoor air quality remediation of a US elementary school. The school was in a poor state, with very high humidity levels due to steam from the boilers infiltrating walls and crawlspaces and roof leaks. Cockroaches and birds had entered the building. Leaking chemical drums were found in the basement. There were high rates of respiratory illness and absenteeism. The remediation included eliminating extensive mould in the wall cavities, repairing roof leaks and adding a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

One exposure pathway which has a significant influence on the outcome of a site specific risk assessment when volatile contaminants compounds are involved, is the leakage of contaminated subsurface gases into the indoor air environment. Evaluation of this pathway largely is completed with the use of mathematical models. The current level of understanding is that both convective and diffusive contaminant transport processes in the soil and across the subsurface building envelope will contribute to degraded indoor air quality.

Describes how engineers refurbished the RADA London Stage School, a building only 15 m wide and four stories high. Before refurbishment there was no mechanical ventilation at all, making some areas very uncomfortable to work in. Especially in the three theatres, there are no windows and heavy lighting gains. Natural ventilation was impracticable.