The overall aim of the first chapter is to improve the knowledge about the simulation of thermal indoor climate for buildings in different climate conditions and its application for computer-based simulations. The work is done in order to simplify the use of CFD as a powerful tool in order to model the temperature distribution within the building envelope in two real cases in Switzerland, and promote a comfortable indoor environment with a maximum reduction of energy consumption. High energy materials like cement, glass, brick and steel are typically used in building construction. However, it is possible to reduce the environmental impact of any structure through the use of alternative, low-energy materials such as Silica aerogels (aerogel-based plasters), Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), Polyurethane foams (PU), and Mineral wool (Stone or Glass). Increased interest has focused on the development of advanced sustainable construction materials (Nano thermal insulation materials, aerogels, etc.) with adequate mechanical properties and durability performance. The most convenient way to get the most out of their investment in a building is to use energy modeling software. The second chapter will be primarily concerned with the choice of materials, then the suitability of insulation exterior facades. Geothermal is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of heating and cooling buildings. The design of borehole thermal energy, as a common type of geothermal energy, is presented in Chapter Three. The calculation is based on heat transfer principles, including a case study of a BHE for a one-story house with all the properties related to analyze the BHE, e.g., to calculate the changes in the temperature of the circulating fluid. Economic analysis of implementing renewable energy technologies in buildings is especially important for a transition away from the greenhouse emitting energies since a great majority of the current capital stock and infrastructure of today's economic systems are adjusted based on fossil-fuel energies. Chapter Four presents a diverse collection of examples with economic analysis of costs and paybacks covering warm vs cold, social complexes vs private houses, and new vs historical buildings. Solar energy has various uses besides more energy production and it can be incorporated in applications with cooling, heating and desalination processes. The main objectives of Chapter Five are to assess the degree of energy reduction using solar energy in buildings and to establish the requirements for energy-efficient design of buildings in cold/hot regions. Payback period analysis that evaluates the cost savings resulting from energy efficiency improvements is also addressed.

Innovation by Reduction How can architecture create a pleasant indoor climate using construction techniques and as little technology as possible? Researchers from four different departments at the Technical University of Munich joined forces with the engineering firm Transsolar Energietechnik to explore integral strategies for simple, energy-efficient construction. The architecture firm Florian Nagler Architekten implemented the plans developed by the TUM project for three prototype buildings made of solid wood, masonry and lightweight concrete in monolithic construction. Using these apartment buildings as examples, the guide vividly elucidates the six core principles of simple construction. Analysis of three exemplary apartment buildings Monolithic structures in wood, lightweight concrete, and brick The result of an interdisciplinary research project at the Technical University of Munich (TUM)

A reconstruction of the 'Strand palaces', where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to build and furnish new, secular cathedrals This book reconstructs the so-called "Strand palaces"-eleven great houses that once stood along the Strand in London. Between 1550 and 1650, this was the capital's "Golden Mile": home to a unique concentration of patrons and artists, and where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to establish themselves by building and furnishing new, secular cathedrals. Their inventive, eclectic, and yet carefully-crafted mix of vernacular and continental features not only shaped some of the greatest country houses of the day, but also the image of English power on the world stage. It also gave rise to a distinctly English style, which was to become the symbol of a unique architectural period. The product of almost two decades of research, and benefitting from close archival investigation, this book brings together an incredible array of unpublished sources that sheds new light on one of the most important chapters in London's architectural history, and on English architecture more broadly. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

A stunningly original portrait of one of England's grandest country houses No house embodies the spirit of one dynasty better than Chatsworth. Set in an unspoilt Derbyshire valley, surrounded by wild moorland, and home to the Cavendish family for sixteen generations, this treasure house is filled with works of art and objects - from Nicolas Poussin's The Arcadian Shepherds and Antonio Canova's Endymion to great contemporary paintings by Lucian Freud and David Hockney - which have all, in their time, represented the very best of the new. As Stoker Cavendish, the twelfth Duke of Devonshire, likes to point out: 'Everything was new once.' Following the completion of a decade-long programme of renovations, the exterior of Chatsworth is gleaming, its stone facade newly cleaned and its window frames freshly gilded. Inside, through the inspired juxtaposition of old and modern, its rooms fizz with creative energy. Chatsworth, Arcadia, Now tells the story of this extraordinary place through seven scenes from its life, alongside a stunning photographic portrait of the house and its collections, captured at a moment of high optimism in its long history. With a foreword by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

The Tiny House Movement: Challenging Consumer Culture features in-depth interviews with movement residents, builders, and advocates, as well as the author's insights from her fieldwork of living tiny. In it, we learn how the movement is challenging consumerism, overwork, and environmental destruction and facilitating a more meaningful understanding of home. This book highlights that the tiny house movement is more than a lifestyle choice and that the movement challenges the consumerist lifestyle. In Canada and the United States, we are taught that bigger is better and that constant growth in our personal wealth, accumulation, and in the economy is a sign of our success. We sacrifice well-being and life satisfaction because of our relationship with 'stuff.' This leads to personal debt and unsustainability in our relationships, communities, and the environment. This is the first book to examine the tiny house movement as a challenge to consumer culture by demonstrating its potential to offer individual, collective, and societal change.

Early nomadic shelters, including caves, animal skin tents, and igloos, were used for protection against wind, rain, snow, sunlight, and other forces of nature. These basic homes also provided defence against predators and were used to store a few important possessions. They were temporary, and proximity to a water source was of prime importance. For hunters and gatherers, shelter was an important aspect of survival. Health and comfort were not yet under consideration. As civilisation evolved, housing became more permanent, with increasing attention to well-being. The housing and utilities available in rich countries are vastly different from those in poorer settings. Unlike in industrialised countries where piped-in water, indoor toilets, and sewage systems are the norm, in the developing world these facilities are often not available. Waterborne enteric diseases, preventable by the supply of safe water, hand washing, and appropriate sanitation, continue to be a major disease burden in poor countries. Vector-borne diseases that can be controlled by screening and other barrier methods also remain an important health problem. Safe, comfortable, and healthy homes are an essential requisite for healthy living around the world, irrespective of culture or socio-economic status. Throughout the tropics there is a huge diversity in house design and use of building supplies based on centuries of indigenous experience, customs, and availability of local resources for construction. These differences in building style and materials affect the indoor conditions and comfort of occupants, which in turn influence the occupants' exposure to certain infectious diseases. In this book the authors describe the architectural designs and materials of rural houses in two countries in Asia (Thailand, Philippines) and two in Africa (The Gambia, Tanzania). They analyse the effect of design on the indoor climate and relate these factors to health, notably the risk of mosquito-borne infectious diseases such as malaria. Based on their findings and a detailed understanding of local building styles and preferences, they describe a series of house modifications that could enhance comfort whilst reducing health risks.

First published in 1989 by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. The fundamental significance of the Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart for the history of early modern architecture should not be underestimated. Almost all the influential architects of the 20th century built their proposed solutions in response to the theme "a home for modern city dwellers" on the beautifully located slope on the north side of Stuttgart. The choice of architects and the fact that a project of this type could be implemented at all so few years after World War I and the inflation, is one of the outstanding characteristics of this building exhibition". The German Werkbund is aware, and points out most emphatically that so important a task can only be successful and have a major impact if it is not only carried out in a technically flawless manner but also creates trend-setting architectonic solutions. The Werkbund therefore recommends to the city of Stuttgart that leading architects be commissioned with planning the exhibition and thus assuming a leading role in the construction of modern housing both in Germany and abroad. This memorandum, dated January 1926, concludes with the following appeal: It is now up to the municipal council whether this event, so crucial for the promotion of our housing, will be able to take place in Stuttgart in 1927. An interesting situation thus arose: members of the municipal council had to decide on the merits of this pioneering project. The majority voted for it. The result: 25 yes votes, 11 no votes and 6 abstentions. How did this project ever come to Stuttgart, anyway? What made it possible was a favourable constellation of both personnel and chronological circumstances. Gustaf Stotz must be regarded as the project's initiator. It was he who managed to fire up the enthusiasm of the leadership of the German Werkbund and of the city about the project. It is also thanks to him that Mies van der Rohe undertook to be its artistic director. Mies and many of the architects of the Weissenhofsiedlung were relatively young and not established. They had a fine reputation in avantgarde circles, but hardly outside them. Moreover, in the German Werkbund the entire project was regarded as not really important -- a sort of practice piece for a "world building exhibition" that would take place in Berlin in 1930.