tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/building-design-44531/articlesBuilding design – La Conversation2024-03-11T19:12:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164492024-03-11T19:12:58Z2024-03-11T19:12:58ZCan earth-covered houses protect us from bushfires? Even if they’re a solution, it’s not risk-free<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580069/original/file-20240306-29-4s79aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C235%2C2911%2C1942&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bushfire_destroys_house.jpg">Helitak430/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As extreme fire weather <a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-regimes-around-australia-shifted-abruptly-20-years-ago-and-falling-humidity-is-why-209689">becomes more common</a> across ever larger areas of Australia, we need new options for living with the risk of bushfire. Underground or earth-sheltered housing is one possibility. While still unusual, these homes are being <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/underground-homes-bushfires-natural-disasters-climate-change/102804984">built in bushfire-prone areas</a>. </p>
<p>But before we embrace this form of housing as a widespread solution to increasing bushfire risks, we need to consider its complexities. Things to weigh up include the challenges of designing and building these homes, their costs and occupants’ behaviour. We also have limited real-world evidence of how such homes perform in bushfires. </p>
<p>A broader question is whether we should allow more people to live in bushfire-prone areas. If we let that happen it will lead to more deaths and injuries. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-building-codes-dont-expect-houses-to-be-fire-proof-and-thats-by-design-129540">Australian building codes don't expect houses to be fire-proof – and that's by design</a>
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<h2>What does building such homes involve?</h2>
<p>Earth-sheltered houses are often built into slopes, but can be built on flat ground, either by excavating or by mounding earth over the building. In Australia, concrete is generally used for the building structure to provide enough strength to allow soil to cover the roof and walls. The earth-covered areas can be vegetated. </p>
<p>Because of the amount of earth in contact with the exterior, care is needed to ensure the building is watertight and structurally sound. </p>
<p>The house usually has one main wall of windows facing away from the earth-covered side to provide natural light. To meet building regulations for ventilation, these buildings include rear windows in light wells or vents.</p>
<p>One advantage of earth-sheltered buildings is that their internal temperature remains quite stable. They <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120304020">use much less energy</a> – up to <a href="https://www.envirovaluation.org/2020/10/green-roof-and-green-wall-benefits-and.html">84% less for cooling</a> and up to 48% less for heating – to maintain <a href="https://doi.org/10.3992/1943-4618.15.1.87">comfortable temperatures</a>. (These figures are for all climates, compared to buildings with black roofs.) </p>
<p>These buildings can also offer greater opportunities for improved <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032120304020">aesthetics (as the home blends into the landscape), landscaping, productive gardens and recreation</a>. These benefits can offset having limited windows and constraints on building layouts.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-earthships-could-make-rebuilding-safer-in-bushfire-zones-131291">How 'Earthships' could make rebuilding safer in bushfire zones</a>
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<h2>What about bushfire resistance?</h2>
<p>Bushfires present complex risks. Earth-sheltered buildings are likely to be a useful but somewhat expensive and limited niche solution on challenging legacy sites where housing already exists.</p>
<p>Few such buildings have been subjected to fires so we have limited evidence of their efficacy. However, it is clear they can be engineered to resist the main ways bushfires attack buildings: <a href="https://research.csiro.au/bushfire/bushfire-basics/how-do-buildings-ignite/">heat, flames and embers</a>. </p>
<p>Since earth largely covers the building, the most vulnerable parts are windows and other openings. These can be designed to resist heat and flame, depending on the modelled levels.</p>
<p>Bushfire-resistant measures are estimated to add costs of <a href="https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Development/Planning/Rebuilding-after-an-emergency/Your-building-journey/Cost-of-building-in-a-bushfire-prone-area">between $53,000 and $273,000</a> (2020 values) compared to a typical home construction, depending on the site. Glass is often a key component. Because they are highly susceptible to heat, the cost of windows that can withstand a worst-case fire is often prohibitive. </p>
<p>An earth-shelter build usually costs much more than standard once one adds up the engineering, excavation, concrete and construction costs.</p>
<p>Most earth-sheltered structures rely on one side of the building having large windows to admit enough natural light inside. This window side is typically oriented downhill towards views, with the rear built into the slope. Bushfires increase speed and intensity when moving uphill, so the window side usually receives the most intense bushfire attack. </p>
<p>On sites with limited space, this challenge is often difficult to resolve. Sometimes the only solution is to remove large amounts of natural vegetation. This is done at the expense of ecological goals. The loss of plants whose roots bind the soil could also increase landslip risks. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-our-bushfire-proof-house-design-could-help-people-flee-rather-than-risk-fighting-the-flames-182046">How our bushfire-proof house design could help people flee rather than risk fighting the flames</a>
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<h2>Should people even be in high-risk places?</h2>
<p>While it is possible to engineer a bushfire-resistant structure with a low risk of destruction, that doesn’t eliminate the risks created by people themselves.</p>
<p>Human factors greatly increase risks, even in well-designed bushfire-resistant structures. Poor maintenance or later modification can put a property at risk. Examples include unsafe storage of gas bottles and fuel, woodpiles, and modification of or failure to secure doors, windows or shutters. </p>
<p>Residents may also modify vegetation around an earth-covered home in ways that increase risks. They might, for example, plant highly flammable species, or allow fuel loads to build up, including mulch they might have laid down.</p>
<p>Despite education campaigns, warnings and alerts, people continue to <a href="https://researchnow-admin.flinders.edu.au/ws/files/47382312/Trigg_Moveable_P2017.pdf">put themselves in many risky situations</a> before and during bushfires. Reasons include alert fatigue, expenses of evacuation, dangers while driving, being in unfamiliar locations such as holiday houses, retrieving children, protecting livestock and pets, or protecting underinsured or uninsured property. If more people live in bushfire-prone areas, there will be more bushfire-related deaths and injuries among both residents and bushfire responders. </p>
<p>The psychological impacts on people affected by extreme fires are significant. <a href="https://psychology.anu.edu.au/files/ANU%20Bushfire%202021%20Survey%20Summary.pdf">Nearly three-quarters suffered anxiety</a> for two years after Australia’s 2019-20 <a href="https://theconversation.com/200-experts-dissected-the-black-summer-bushfires-in-unprecedented-detail-here-are-6-lessons-to-heed-198989">Black Summer bushfires</a>. Even if a structure survives, the emotional burdens of isolation while under duress, loss of communications and the heat, smoke, darkness and noise of extreme fires are powerful and underestimated.</p>
<p>Yet people’s differing levels of awareness and ability are often ignored as a factor in bushfire risk.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/before-we-rush-to-rebuild-after-fires-we-need-to-think-about-where-and-how-130049">Before we rush to rebuild after fires, we need to think about where and how</a>
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<h2>There’s a wider context to consider</h2>
<p>It makes little sense to put more people in bushfire-prone locations that will likely <a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-regimes-around-australia-shifted-abruptly-20-years-ago-and-falling-humidity-is-why-209689">become riskier over time</a>. Solutions such as earth-sheltered buildings may be part of a suite of ways to reduce risks in existing bushfire-prone residential areas. </p>
<p>However, at a wider scale, building low-density housing in bushfire-prone areas is unnecessarily risky. It also conflicts with the compelling need to build at much higher densities in existing areas to house Australia’s growing population. Higher-density housing will allow better and more affordable access (because of economies of scale) to services, infrastructure, jobs and public transport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216449/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan March receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Buildings can be engineered to resist bushfires, but we can’t engineer the many aspects of human behaviour and decision-making that will still put lives at risk.Alan March, Professor of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171472023-11-07T13:36:33Z2023-11-07T13:36:33ZAcapulco was built to withstand earthquakes, but not Hurricane Otis’ destructive winds – how building codes failed this resort city<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557873/original/file-20231106-267225-w11vn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C3593%2C2246&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Acapulco's beachfront condo towers were devastated by Hurricane Otis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/aerial-view-of-damages-caused-by-the-passage-of-hurricane-news-photo/1750791993">Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Acapulco wasn’t prepared when Hurricane Otis struck as a powerful Category 5 storm on Oct. 25, 2023. The short notice as the <a href="https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/hurricane-otis-causes-catastrophic-damage-acapulco-mexico">storm rapidly intensified</a> over the Pacific Ocean wasn’t the only problem – the Mexican resort city’s buildings weren’t designed to handle anything close to Otis’ 165 mph winds.</p>
<p>While Acapulco’s oceanfront high-rises were built to withstand <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/strong-quake-rocks-mexicos-acapulco-damaging-airport-killing-one-2021-09-08/">the region’s powerful earthquakes</a>, they had a weakness. </p>
<p>Since powerful hurricanes are <a href="https://coast.noaa.gov/hurricanes">rare in Acapulco</a>, Mexico’s <a href="https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/247555/300617_EvaluacionEstructuras_02-Viento.pdf">building codes didn’t require</a> that their exterior materials be able to hold up to extreme winds. In fact, those materials were often kept light to help meet earthquake building standards.</p>
<p>Otis’ powerful winds ripped off exterior cladding and shattered windows, exposing bedrooms and offices to the wind and rain. The storm <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/death-toll-from-hurricane-otis-hits-48-with-36-missing-as-search-and-recovery-continues">took dozens of lives</a> and caused <a href="https://www.reinsurancene.ws/corelogic-pegs-hurricane-otis-insurable-loss-at-10bn-to-15bn/">billions of dollars in damage</a>.</p>
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<img alt="A large glass tower with sloping sides, like a sliced egg, reflects the sunrise with the Pacific Ocean looking placid in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557814/original/file-20231106-17-xzhpml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A US$130 million luxury condo building on the beach in Acapulco before Hurricane Otis struck on Oct. 25, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hamid Arabzadeh, PhD., P.Eng.</span></span>
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<img alt="A stormy sky shows through the floors that were once apartments." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557815/original/file-20231106-19-vbqly2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The same Acapulco condo tower after Hurricane Otis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hamid Arabzadeh, PhD., P.Eng.</span></span>
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<p>I have worked on engineering strategies to enhance disaster resilience for over three decades and recently wrote a book, “<a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781633888234/The-Blessings-of-Disaster-The-Lessons-That-Catastrophes-Teach-Us-and-Why-Our-Future-Depends-on-It">The Blessings of Disaster</a>,” about the gambles humans take with disaster risk and how to increase resilience. Otis provided a powerful example of one such gamble that exists when building codes rely on probabilities that certain hazards will occur based on recorded history, rather than considering the severe consequences of storms that can devastate entire cities.</p>
<h2>The fatal flaw in building codes</h2>
<p>Building codes typically provide “<a href="https://asce7hazardtool.online/">probabilistic-based” maps</a> that specify wind speeds that engineers must consider when designing buildings. </p>
<p>The problem with that approach lies in the fact that “probabilities” are simply the odds that extreme events of a certain size will occur in the future, mostly calculated based on past occurrences. Some models may include additional considerations, but these are still typically anchored in known experience. </p>
<p>This is all good science. Nobody argues with that. It allows engineers to design structures in accordance with a consensus on what are deemed acceptable <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-1347-2019">return periods</a> for various hazards, referring to the likelihood of those disasters occurring. Return periods are a somewhat arbitrary assessment of what is a reasonable balance between minimizing risk and keeping building costs reasonable.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.structuremag.org/?p=13360">probabilistic maps</a> only capture the odds of the hazard occurring. A <a href="https://hazards.atcouncil.org/">probabilistic map</a> might specify a wind speed to consider for design, irrespective of whether that given location is a small town with a few hotels or a megapolis with high-rises and complex urban infrastructure. In other words, probabilistic maps do not consider the consequences when an extreme hazard exceeds the specified value and “all hell breaks loose.”</p>
<h2>How probability left Acapulco exposed</h2>
<p>According to the Mexican building code, hotels, condos and other commercial and office buildings in Acapulco must be <a href="https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/247555/300617_EvaluacionEstructuras_02-Viento.pdf">designed to resist 88 mph winds</a>, corresponding to the strongest wind likely to occur on average once every 50 years there. That’s a Category 1 storm.</p>
<p>A 200-year return period for wind is used for essential facilities, such as hospital and school buildings, <a href="https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/247555/300617_EvaluacionEstructuras_02-Viento.pdf">corresponding to 118 mph winds</a>. But over a building’s life span of, say, 50 years, that still leaves a 22% chance that winds exceeding 118 mph will occur (yes, the world of statistics is that sneaky). </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of the Mexico area with lots of storm tracks offshore and a few crossing land in the southern part of the country." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557871/original/file-20231106-15-ffcd7l.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Mexico’s hurricane history in storm tracks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://coast.noaa.gov/hurricanes/#map">NOAA</a></span>
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</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of the Acapulco area with lots of storm tracks offshore and a few crossing land." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557869/original/file-20231106-19-jxgqql.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A century of hurricane storm tracks near Acapulco show several offshore storms that brought strong winds and rain to the city, but few direct landfalls. Acapulco Bay is in the center of the map on the coast. Red, pink and purple lines are categories 3, 4 and 5, respectively.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://coast.noaa.gov/hurricanes/#map">NOAA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The probability wind maps for both return periods show Acapulco experiences lower average wind speeds than much of the 400 miles of Mexican coast north of the city. Yet, Acapulco is a major city, with a metropolitan population of over 1 million. It also has <a href="https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?cityID=586&offset=100&statusID=1">more than 50 buildings</a> taller than 20 stories, according to the SkyscraperPage, a database of skyscrapers, and it is the only city with buildings that tall along that stretch of the Pacific coast.</p>
<p>Designing for a 50-year return period in this case is questionable, as it implies a near 100% chance of encountering wind exceeding this design value for a building with a 50-year life span or greater. </p>
<h2>Florida faces similiar challenges</h2>
<p>The shortcomings of probabilistic-based maps that specify wind speeds have also been observed in the United States. For example, new buildings along most of Florida’s coast must be able to <a href="https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readRefFile.asp?refId=13160&filename=Florida_Building_Code_7thEdition_1609_3_Tables.pdf">resist 140 mph winds</a> or greater, but there are a few exceptions. One is the Big Bend area where <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2023/09/02/map-idalia-flooding-big-bend-surge/">Hurricane Idalia made landfall</a> in 2023. Its design wind speed is about 120 mph instead.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/FLBC2023P1/chapter-16-structural-design#FLBC2023P1_Ch16_Sec1609">2023 update to the Florida Building Code</a> raised the minimum wind speed to approximately 140 mph in Mexico Beach, the Panhandle town that was <a href="https://mexicobeachfl.gov/uploads/2022/06/Wind-load-Ordinance-21919.pdf">devastated by Hurricane Michael</a> in 2018. The Big Bend exception may be the next one to be eliminated.</p>
<h2>Acapulco’s earthquake design weakness</h2>
<p>A saving grace for Acapulco is that it is located in one of <a href="https://mexicodailypost.com/2021/04/19/earthquake-map-30-of-mexico-under-high-seismic-risk/">Mexico’s most active seismic risk zones</a> – for example, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/07/world/mexico-earthquake">magnitude 7 earthquake struck nearby in 2021</a>. As a result, the lateral-load-resisting structural systems in tall buildings there are designed to resist seismic forces that are generally larger than hurricane forces.</p>
<p>However, a drawback is that the larger the mass of a building, <a href="https://www.wbdg.org/resources/seismic-design-principles">the larger the seismic forces</a> the building must be designed to resist. Consequently, light materials were typically used for the cladding – the exterior surface of the building that protects it against the weather – because that translates into lower seismic forces. This light cladding was not able to withstand hurricane-force winds.</p>
<p>Had the cladding not failed, the full wind forces would have been transferred to the structural system, and the buildings would have survived with little or no damage.</p>
<h2>A ‘good engineering approach’ to hazards</h2>
<p>A better building code could go one step beyond “good science” probabilistic maps and adopt a “<a href="https://michelbruneau.com/TheBlessingsOfDisaster.htm">good engineering approach</a>” by taking stock of the consequences of extreme events occurring, not just the odds that they will.</p>
<p>In Florida, the incremental cost of designing for wind speeds of 140 mph rather than 120 mph is marginal compared to total building cost, given that cladding able to resist more than 140 mph is already used in nearly all of the state. In Acapulco, with the spine of buildings already able to resist earthquake forces much larger than hurricane forces, designing cladding that can withstand stronger hurricane-level forces is likely to be an even smaller percentage of total project cost.</p>
<p>Someday, the way that design codes deal with extreme events such as hurricanes, not only in Mexico, will hopefully evolve to more broadly account for what is at risk at the urban scale. Unfortunately, as I explain in “<a href="https://michelbruneau.com/TheBlessingsOfDisaster.htm">The Blessings of Disaster</a>,” we will see more extreme disasters before society truly becomes disaster resilient.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michel Bruneau does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The best science is not always the best engineering when it comes to building codes. It’s also a problem across the US, as an engineer who works on disaster resilience explains.Michel Bruneau, Professor of Engineering, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072432023-07-20T16:44:34Z2023-07-20T16:44:34ZHow to make homes cooler without cranking up the air conditioning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538025/original/file-20230718-29-58s0si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C17%2C5955%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Air conditioners often become the default solution when temperatures rise.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-sitting-on-sofa-several-fans-2182239655">Jose Miguel Sanchez/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Temperatures around the world are soaring. Both California’s Death Valley and China’s Xinjiang region have seen temperatures climb <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2023/jul/17/europe-heatwave-2023-us-asia-heat-extreme-severe-weather-fires-flash-floods-flooding-record-breaking-heat-wave-stress-temperature-red-alert-climate-crisis">above the 50°C mark</a>. A <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66183069">blistering heatwave</a> is also sweeping across the Mediterranean, causing temperatures in parts of Italy, Spain, France and Greece to exceed 40°C.</p>
<p>In the future, the impact of scorching temperatures will extend beyond traditionally warm regions. In fact, our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01155-z">new research</a> indicates that, if global temperature rise increases from 1.5°C to 2°C, countries at northern latitudes like the UK, Norway, Finland and Switzerland will face the greatest relative increase in uncomfortably hot days.</p>
<p>During uncomfortably hot weather, people seek ways to cool down their homes. Air conditioners often become the default solution when temperatures rise as they provide fast and effective relief from scorching heat. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/northern-europe-faces-biggest-relative-increase-in-uncomfortable-heat-and-is-dangerously-unprepared-new-research-209745">Northern Europe faces biggest relative increase in uncomfortable heat and is dangerously unprepared – new research</a>
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<p>But air conditioners consume a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/12/uk-heatwave-prompts-order-to-fire-up-coal-plant-to-meet-aircon-demand">lot of energy</a>. Many also use refrigerants called fluorinated gases that have <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fluorinated-gases-f-gases">high global warming potential</a> when they leak.</p>
<p>Unrestrained usage of air conditioners in the future will result in increased emissions and further global warming. So it’s important to know the <a href="https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/10.5334/bc.255">recommended steps to keep your home cool</a> in the face of rising temperatures, without causing the climate more harm.</p>
<h2>Block the sun</h2>
<p>Buildings can be protected from too much heat by creating a barrier between them and the sun’s rays. There are different ways to achieve this, ranging from reflective and ventilated roofs to external window shutters and awnings. Research one of us worked on in Spain found that using <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778816306399?via%3Dihub">external window shutters</a> can reduce cooling needs (the thermal energy required to keep people comfortable) by up to 14%.</p>
<p>Even something as simple as painting your roof a light colour can reduce indoor temperatures. Research in very hot cities in Pakistan found that, by reflecting the sun’s energy, this approach can reduce cooling needs by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119811">more than 7%</a>.</p>
<p>Another effective technique is to make use of the shade provided by tree canopies. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132313002060?via%3Dihub">Research</a> in Melbourne, Australia, has shown that trees covering buildings in shade can lower the surface temperature of walls by up to 9°C.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="annotated diagram of house" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538514/original/file-20230720-15-de54aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to protect a building from the sun.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jesus Lizana</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Use natural ventilation</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113658">One effective way</a> to cool down a poorly ventilated building, is to open windows when the outside temperature drops. This lets warm air escape and invites cooler air in.</p>
<p>But additional features, such as ventilation chimneys and roof vents, can be incorporated into building design to further assist airflow. These features are often found in hot and arid climates, particularly in the Middle East. Historically, buildings in this region made use of tall, chimney-like structures called <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180926-an-ancient-engineering-feat-that-harnessed-the-wind#:%7E:text=Wind%20catchers%20are%20tall%2C%20chimney,rooms%20to%20refrigerate%20perishable%20foods">wind catchers</a> that capture cool prevailing winds and redirect them into homes. Ventilating a building with cool air at night can also keep it cool for longer during the day.</p>
<p>Buildings can also be “cross ventilated”, where a fresh breeze enters through an opening and exits through another on the opposite side. If necessary, this can be promoted by incorporating inner courtyards – a design that has been used for centuries in warmer climates to keep buildings cool. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670721008556">previous research</a> found that inner courtyards can reduce the total amount of time in which we need to take measures to cool down (known as indoor discomfort hours) by 26%. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A figure showing different ways to ventilate a building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532350/original/file-20230616-29-t2t7gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Natural ventilation techniques for buildings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jesus Lizana</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cooling beyond temperature control</h2>
<p>Our perception of coolness is not solely determined by temperature. Factors like humidity and air speed also play a role in how comfortable we feel. </p>
<p>That’s where fans come in handy, whether they’re on the ceiling or standing on their own. By combining fans with air conditioning, it’s possible to <a href="https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/ashrae-handbook/ashrae-handbook-online">raise the thermostat setting from 24°C to 27°C</a> and still feel cool. This simple adjustment can reduce household energy consumption for cooling by more than 20%. </p>
<p>Centralised air conditioning systems also often end up <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03121-1">cooling us down more than necessary</a> or even waste energy by cooling empty rooms. But we can tackle this by combining more relaxed cooling settings, like raising the thermostat, with personal cooling devices such as desk fans, cooled seats or wearable thermoelectric coolers. These devices allow people to have more control of their immediate cooling needs without having to cool down an entire space.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A figure showing different ways to keep cool." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532351/original/file-20230616-23-yq97q4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">(a) Keeping cool only by temperature control; (b) using all thermal comfort variables.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/10.5334/bc.255">Lizana et al. (2022)/Buildings and Cities</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When air conditioning still remains necessary, choose units with a high efficiency rating using refrigerants with low global-warming potential. To figure out how efficient they are, there’s an indicator called the energy efficiency ratio (ERR) – you’ll want to pick a unit with an ERR that’s close to or above four.</p>
<p>When designing or adapting buildings, it’s essential to consider the overall heating and cooling demands. For example, maximising ventilation can prevent overheating during summer, but minimising ventilation can help reduce the need for heating during winter. </p>
<p>The key is to find solutions that work well together and can be adapted easily so that the cost of installing energy-intensive air-conditioning systems can be avoided or reduced. This approach will allow people to stay comfortable during hotter temperatures, without compromising the climate further for future generations.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jesus Lizana receives funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Miranda and Radhika Khosla do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Air con uses lots of energy – try these things first.Jesus Lizana, Marie-Curie Research Fellow, Department of Engineering Science, University of OxfordNicole Miranda, Senior Researcher and College Lecturer in Engineering, University of OxfordRadhika Khosla, Associate Professor, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051072023-05-24T19:01:32Z2023-05-24T19:01:32ZCanada’s housing crisis demands better buildings — here are the changes that could improve apartment and condo life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527128/original/file-20230518-21-9qziew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=426%2C0%2C4172%2C2697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">To address the growing urban population, along with the joint affordability and environmental crises, Canada needs to build more affordable, energy-efficient buildings</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Canada grapples with an <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">ongoing housing crisis</a>, the need for more housing — particularly in cities — is becoming increasingly apparent. To effectively address this challenge, Canada needs to focus on constructing more multi-unit residential buildings, like apartments and condominiums.</p>
<p>This is especially important because Canada becomes increasingly urbanized with each passing year. In 2021, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220209/dq220209b-eng.htm">73.7 per cent of Canadians lived in</a> one of the country’s large urban centres.</p>
<p>But Canada doesn’t just need more housing — it needs good quality housing. And the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.06.010">multi-unit housing sector</a> is plagued with performance issues that negatively impact residents. </p>
<p>To address the growing urban population, along with the joint <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/affordability-crisis-why-young-canadians-are-facing-a-huge-wealth-gap-1.6106343">affordability</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/the-nature-of-things/six-ways-climate-change-is-affecting-canada-1.6527535">climate crises</a>, Canada needs to ensure these new multi-unit residential buildings are more affordable and energy-efficient.</p>
<p>In order to ensure new housing prioritizes comfort and health, future residents and building owners should know what design choices to advocate for.</p>
<h2>Design vs. reality</h2>
<p>When appropriately designed and operated, multi-unit housing can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings4030336">more sustainable than detached homes</a>. They can also improve the viability of public transportation and <a href="https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9488%282006%29132%3A1%2810%29">reduce urban infrastructure costs and associated environmental impacts</a>.</p>
<p>Despite these advantages, multi-unit residential buildings have issues to contend with: they are <a href="https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sf/project/cmhc/pdfs/content/en/achieving-high-performance-murbs-opportunities.pdf?rev=6cf09117-cee4-4129-af7a-a973dddac18d">less energy efficient</a> than detached homes and often suffer from a number of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106182">comfort-related challenges</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An advertisement for a condominium is seen outside a low-rise building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527126/original/file-20230518-21391-t4316e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Real estate signage is seen in front of condos for sale on May 15, 2023, in Montréal, Que.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people who have lived in apartments or condos can empathize with issues like <a href="https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/3389">noisy neighbours</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tc.2009.029728">smoke and odour transfer</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.08.024">poor heating or cooling</a>. </p>
<p>Fortunately, many of these issues can be addressed through simple design changes. By examining the research on these issues, we can better understand how design and operation failures contribute to these negative impacts and identify effective strategies to mitigate them.</p>
<h2>Improving ventilation</h2>
<p>Unpleasant odours are a common and bothersome issue faced by apartment and condo residents. </p>
<p>The main causes of odours making their way into suites are ventilation systems and air leakage between suites and other areas of the building or the outside.</p>
<p>Many existing multi-unit residential buildings are ventilated with central pressurized corridor systems. This system delivers outdoor air to a building’s corridors, creating positive pressure. The outdoor air then enters individual suites through intentional gaps underneath front doors.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, these systems don’t work reliably because they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106320">highly sensitive to changes in outdoor temperature, wind and the opening and closing of doors and windows</a>. They also <a href="https://www.bchousing.org/research-centre/library/building-science-reports/energy-consumption-and-conservation-mid-and-high">use a lot of energy</a>. </p>
<p>Better performance can be achieved with central direct-ducted systems. In these systems, outdoor air is delivered directly to each suite through ducts. While these systems are still affected by seasonal changes and the opening and closing of windows, it’s to a lesser degree. </p>
<p>The best approach is for each suite to have its own decentralized ventilation system. These systems, known as suite-based <a href="https://www.bchousing.org/publications/Heat-Recovery-Ventilation-Guide-MURBs.pdf">heat or energy recovery ventilators</a> (commonly called HRVs or ERVs), supply outdoor air directly to suites while extracting stale air. If you have this type of system, make sure you don’t have a gap under your suite door! </p>
<h2>Stopping air leakage</h2>
<p>Air leakage can transfer smells <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108292">between suites through walls and floors or indirectly via air coming in from corridors</a>. To address this, we want to compartmentalize suites by making the walls, ceiling and floor airtight. </p>
<p>There are tests to help developers assess the level of compartmentalization in a suite, but these tests <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110273">only measure total air leakage for the entire suite</a> and don’t account for one component being leakier than another. </p>
<p>In the buildings we’ve studied, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110273">leakiest walls</a> are those separating the corridor from the suite. This is where developers should focus additional air-sealing efforts, along with sealing stairwell doors and adding elevator vestibules.</p>
<h2>Sound-proofing suites</h2>
<p>In multi-unit housing, residents are often exposed to various sources of noise from neighbours, the outside or building systems like elevators or plumbing.</p>
<p>Dealing with noise is complex; sometimes we <a href="https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/3389">use one type of noise to drown out another</a>, which can exacerbate existing acoustic problems.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman banging on the ceiling of an apartment with a broom handle. A man, who is sitting on a couch in the same room, covers his ears and watches her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527127/original/file-20230518-21-cazwgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In multi-unit housing, residents are often exposed to irritating sounds from their neighbours, like talking or stomping.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Different types of sound require distinct approaches for noise reduction. Airborne noise, like talking, is partly addressed automatically if suites are appropriately compartmentalized. Impact noise, like stomping, can be reduced by applying an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2023.109291">acoustic underlay below the finished floor</a>. </p>
<p>Outdoor noise can be addressed with more airtight exterior walls and smaller windows, both of which also have temperature and energy benefits. </p>
<p>Noise from building systems is best addressed through positioning (e.g., not having heat or energy recovery ventilators in the living room) and sound insulation. </p>
<h2>Improving temperatures in the suite</h2>
<p>Thermal discomfort in multi-unit residential buildings can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106748">prevalent in both heating and cooling seasons</a>. Uncomfortable temperatures in suites are driven, in part, by unnecessarily large and/or poor-quality windows, which makes sitting near them <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2016.1205179">uncomfortable in the winter</a> and leads to solar overheating in the summer. </p>
<p>Looking for smaller windows with low heat transfer values — <a href="https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/products/product-information/windows-doors-and-skylights/rating-criteria-and-standards/13978">also known as a window’s U-value</a> — can improve winter comfort. <a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/a60eef51-42d5-4e63-8852-b2b795185efd/downloads/CAE%20Montreal%202020%20Symposium-Passive%20Strategies.pdf">Overhangs, exterior shading, or, at the very least interior shading</a> can reduce overheating. </p>
<p>Central heating and cooling systems, which require seasonal changeover, perform poorly in the spring and fall. Four-pipe fan coils or, better yet, in-suite heat pumps, are a good alternative because they can deliver heating or cooling regardless of the season.</p>
<h2>The good news</h2>
<p>While most of the solutions presented here have multiple benefits for residents, they can also save energy and reduce the environmental impacts of operating newly built housing.</p>
<p>For example, smaller, high-performance windows with solar shading, interior and exterior air tightness, and heat/energy recovery ventilators can reduce heating and cooling loads. </p>
<p>Heat pumps can <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-heat-pumps/executive-summary">enable buildings to use cleaner electricity for heating</a>, as opposed to the more commonly used carbon-intensive natural gas.</p>
<p>It is essential that residents and building owners take active roles in advocating for residential design changes. They can do so by asking building developers to make changes and lobbying elected officials to include performance improvements in provincial building codes.</p>
<p>Canadians don’t just deserve more housing — they deserve more <em>quality</em> housing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marianne Touchie has received funding from the National Research Council, NSERC, ASHRAE and SSHRC. </span></em></p>In order to ensure new multi-unit housing prioritizes comfort and health, future residents and building owners should know what design choices to advocate for.Marianne Touchie, Associate Professor, Jointly appointed in the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering and Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1946362022-11-21T19:16:30Z2022-11-21T19:16:30ZWhat mirrored ants, vivid blue butterflies and Monstera house plants can teach us about designing buildings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495523/original/file-20221116-19-oq2ili.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C950%2C2904%2C1940&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/OZ2rS2zCjNo">Coleen Rivas/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost all buildings today are built using similar conventional technologies and manufacturing and construction processes. These processes use a lot of energy and produce <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2022-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction">huge carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>This is hardly sustainable. Perhaps the only way to truly construct sustainable buildings is by connecting them with nature, not isolating them from it. This is where the field of bioarchitecture emerges. It draws on principles from nature to help solve technological questions and address global challenges. </p>
<p>Take desert organisms, for example. How do they survive and thrive under extreme conditions? </p>
<p>One such desert species is the Saharan silver ant, named for its shiny mirror-like body. Its reflective body <a href="https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=111737">reflects and dissipates heat</a>. It’s an adaptation we can apply in buildings as reflective walls, or to pavements that don’t heat up.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="several ants surround a beetle on the desert sand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saharan desert ants have highly developed adaptations to stay cool in the desert heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saharan_silver_ants_capturing_beetle.jpg">Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are so many aspects of nature we can drawn on. Picture cities with shopping centres based on water lilies, stadiums resembling seashells, and lightweight bridges inspired by cells. </p>
<p>Water lilies can teach us how to design large buildings efficiently with smooth pedestrian circulation. Seashells can inspire the walls of large-span buildings without the need for columns. Cells can show us how to develop lightweight suspending structures. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-a-second-nature-into-our-cities-wildness-art-and-biophilic-design-88642">Building a 'second nature' into our cities: wildness, art and biophilic design</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Bioarchitecture works with nature, not against it</h2>
<p>Bioarchitecture can reinvent the natural environment in the form of our built environment, to provide the ultimate and somehow obvious solutions for the threats Earth is facing. </p>
<p>Most industry-led and research-based approaches focus on the “technology to save us” from climate change. In contrast, bioarchitecture offers a more sustainable approach that aims to develop a positive relationship between buildings and nature. </p>
<p>Living organisms constantly communicate with the natural world. They move around their environment, employ chemical processes and undergo complex reactions, patterning their habitat. This means living systems constantly model and organise the environment around them. They are able to adapt and, in doing so, they change their environment too. </p>
<p>Can buildings do the same in cities? If buildings could grow, self-repair and adapt to climate, they might ultimately become truly sustainable. </p>
<p>Early examples of bioarchitecture can be found in traditional and early modern buildings. Their architects observed nature to copy its principles and design more habitable, locally made and environmentally friendly buildings. For example, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, is inspired by natural shapes that give the church its organic form. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Highly decorative interior of church – Gaudi's Sagrada Família" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gaudi`s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is an early modern example of bioarchitecture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Z5WBz_9U7sE">Sung Jin Cho/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recent works showcase bioarchitecture that learnt from nature coupled with technology and innovation. Examples include using bio-based materials such as wood, hemp and bamboo, applying <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis">biophilia</a> through using greenery on external walls and plants indoors to boost our connection with nature, and restoring the environment by making buildings part of it. </p>
<p>Considering the climate emergency, we should strengthen buildings’ coherence with nature. Bioarchitecture can do this.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bamboo-architecture-balis-green-school-inspires-a-global-renaissance-121248">Bamboo architecture: Bali's Green School inspires a global renaissance</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what can a butterfly teach us?</h2>
<p>The blue Menelaus butterfly offers another striking example of design solutions from nature. Despite its radiant blue colour, it is not actually blue and does not have any pigments. Producing and maintaining pigments is expensive in nature, as it requires a lot of energy. </p>
<p>The Menelaus butterfly has an ingenious way to achieve its unique colour without pigments. Its brilliant blue shine comes from scattering light, similar to soap bubbles glimmering in rainbow colours under the sun, despite being completely transparent. The light is scattered by micro-grooves on the butterfly’s wings – so small that they can only be seen with an ultra-high-resolution microscope.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Brilliant blue butterfly on dark green leaf" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Menelaus blue butterfly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/jJXN1q7ERks">Damon on Road/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is nature’s way to achieve high performance with cheap forms instead of costly materials. Learning from the Menelaus butterfly, we can have windows with climate-adaptable properties – changing their colour and scattering light according to the position of the sun. Butterfly wings have already inspired the <a href="https://www.cyprismaterials.com/">development of new materials</a>, and the next step is to use these on buildings.</p>
<p>In this way, we can design biobuildings that reflect excessive radiation and reduce cooling needs and glare. And the beautiful part is that this may all be done without obstructing views and without the need for shading devices or tinted windows. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-that-natural-nanotechnology-could-inspire-human-design-100064">Five ways that natural nanotechnology could inspire human design</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>And what does a pot plant have to do with buildings?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Image of four large leaves of indoor plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The leaves of the Monstera plant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/70l1tDAI6rM">Chris Lee/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there is Monstera, a sought-after indoor plant that climbs up the walls. It’s also called the “Swiss cheese plant” for the holes on its leaves. Have you ever thought about how it thrives and grows like no other plant indoors? </p>
<p>Monstera simply needs to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123858511000044">sustain fewer cells</a> to maintain extra large leaves because of their holes. This enables it to capture more of the sunlight it needs to grow and spread out over a bigger area.</p>
<p>Now imagine if we designed hollow building structures such as columns and beams. This could help minimise the need for materials and cut carbon emissions by reducing the embodied energy that goes into making these materials.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-wings-of-owls-and-hummingbirds-inspire-drones-wind-turbines-and-other-technology-136684">How the wings of owls and hummingbirds inspire drones, wind turbines and other technology</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Nature offers a vast design catalogue</h2>
<p>We can look at nature as a catalogue of designs and solutions to be reimagined as bioarchitecture. So, we could have shiny silver pavements like the silver ant, metallic-coloured but transparent windows like the Menelaus butterfly, and buildings that use the minimum of materials like Monstera’s leaves.</p>
<p>Nature is wealthy, nature is generous. Through bioarchitecture, buildings can dive into that wealth and become a part of the generosity. Truly sustainable biobuildings can be constructed that work with nature and reverse the harm our conventional building technologies have done to the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aysu Kuru does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bioarchitecture draws on design principles from nature to construct buildings that work in ways that help tackle climate change and reverse environmental damage.Aysu Kuru, Lecturer in Architecture and Construction, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1909082022-11-20T19:04:21Z2022-11-20T19:04:21ZRemaking our suburbs’ 1960s apartment blocks: a subtle and greener way to increase housing density<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496008/original/file-20221117-25-m3pm1a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C369%2C2836%2C1910&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Matthew Darmour-Paul</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As cities grow, new buildings gradually replace the older ones. Ideally, the new buildings are higher quality, more sustainable and better suited to today’s needs. But there’s a risk current approaches to urban renewal will produce poorer amenities and buildings that are less flexible and more environmentally damaging than those they replace. </p>
<p>Take, for example, the 1960s <a href="https://assemblepapers.com.au/2019/07/16/six-pack-living-type-street-apartment/">walk-up apartment block</a>. These ageing buildings are often derided for being unattractive, utilitarian and cheap. </p>
<p>But these buildings also have design features we have come to celebrate: narrow footprints that allow cross ventilation, flexible floorplans, minimal use of shared walls, low-maintenance design and a modest human scale. We seldom find these features in apartment developments today.</p>
<p>As pressure to renew ageing apartment buildings mounts, we can expect calls to rezone and redevelop these areas at higher densities to make demolition and redevelopment financially viable. We propose a more subtle and sustainable way to remake these buildings. It’s one that will allow us to increase housing density while preserving neighbourhood character.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-city-policy-to-protect-the-brisbane-backyard-is-failing-150173">Why city policy to 'protect the Brisbane backyard' is failing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Remaking Campsie and its old brick apartments</h2>
<p>The New South Wales government has identified the Sydney suburb of Campsie as a strategic growth hub in the <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-your-area/Priority-Growth-Areas-and-Precincts/Sydenham-to-Bankstown-Urban-Renewal-Corridor">Sydenham-to-Bankstown urban renewal corridor</a>. A projected 35,000 new homes will be required in the corridor over the next 20 years.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of Campsie showing locations of apartment blocks suitable for redevelopment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495561/original/file-20221116-15-338qll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apartment buildings in Campsie identified as suitable for redevelopment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like suburbs across Australia, Campsie has hundreds of brick apartment buildings developed in the 1960s and ’70s. How could these 350 or so housing apartment blocks (shaded areas on the map) be reimagined to provide more new homes? </p>
<p>We have come up with <a href="https://alastairswaynfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/The-Future-of-Living-goes-to-Campsie.pdf">a proposal</a> for subtle densification that could transform and preserve Campsie and the neighbouring suburbs of Belmore, Punchbowl and Earlwood. It could also be applied to suburbs with similar housing types across Australia. </p>
<p>Adaptive reuse reduces the damaging impacts of an all-new development. These impacts include emissions from demolition, construction and the energy used for making and transporting both the discarded and new building materials. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Street view of two 1960s apartment buildings before and after refurbishment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489985/original/file-20221017-11-rp2hoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of typical 1960s apartment blocks before and after proposed refurbishment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://alastairswaynfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/The-Future-of-Living-goes-to-Campsie.pdf">Image: The Future of Living goes to Campsie/Choirender</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-construction-waste-recycling-plants-but-locals-first-need-to-be-won-over-161888">Australia needs construction waste recycling plants — but locals first need to be won over</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Four blocks remade as one</h2>
<p>Remaking this awkward yet quintessential housing type offers an alternative path to medium-density living. Let’s start by looking at these apartments not as individual buildings but as groups. Four similar adjoining blocks in an adequate state are perfect candidates for intervention. </p>
<p>We propose to remove the fences between the blocks and create a shared collective space to join them. This new timber structure hosts half-sunk parking and common areas for everyday life. It will include a light semi-outdoor pavilion that could be used for washing, exercising, reading, gardening, hobbies, daydreaming and cooking. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The new common areas shared by the four redeveloped apartment blocks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489986/original/file-20221017-23-1mj81z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Residents of the apartment blocks would share the new common areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://alastairswaynfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/The-Future-of-Living-goes-to-Campsie.pdf">Artist's impression: The future of living goes to Campsie/Choirender</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-coronavirus-must-not-stop-australia-creating-denser-cities-137487">Why coronavirus must not stop Australia creating denser cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s a straightforward architectural strategy featuring: a new steel core with stairs and lifts shared between two blocks; semi-interior spaces carved out of the building’s façade; and balconies, winter gardens and new residential units added on top of the buildings. </p>
<p>These new timber structures provide the most generous space possible. And, by increasing the number of dwellings, they make refurbishment financially viable.</p>
<p>In summary, the refurbishment operates at five levels by: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>adding the common infrastructure at the heart of the four blocks</p></li>
<li><p>adding two new stairways</p></li>
<li><p>refurbishing the apartments while offering a mix of outdoor spaces, shaded areas and semi-outdoor terraces, allowing for different weather conditions and connecting seamlessly with indoor spaces</p></li>
<li><p>adding a layer of external spaces and winter gardens on the main facades</p></li>
<li><p>adding four new dwellings on the rooftop.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>With some adjustments, this subtle densification would also work for individual blocks or pairs of blocks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Interior view of a rooftop unit" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489987/original/file-20221017-18-m2gf3o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inside one of four added rooftop units.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://alastairswaynfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/The-Future-of-Living-goes-to-Campsie.pdf">Artist's impression: The future of living goes to Campsie/Choirender</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-need-to-give-up-on-crowded-cities-we-can-make-density-so-much-better-131304">No need to give up on crowded cities – we can make density so much better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Higher density doesn’t have to mean bigger buildings</h2>
<p>This approach challenges the idea that much bigger developments are needed to renew suburban housing and increase its density. This alternative strategy can retain existing buildings, their footprints and floor plans. </p>
<p>This renewal approach reduces costs and carbon footprints, while preserving the local social fabric. </p>
<p>Strata ownership does present challenges to this type of renewal – there may well be as many owners as there are units in these developments. Involving developers, local councils, designers, builders and communities in developing these strategies will be essential for success.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zk4plgj2Cqc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The authors explain their idea to subtly increase housing density by adapting existing buildings.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quality-of-life-in-high-density-apartments-varies-here-are-6-ways-to-improve-it-139220">Quality of life in high-density apartments varies. Here are 6 ways to improve it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Successful renewal depends on local input</h2>
<p>In European cities like Berlin, Paris and Zurich, urban renewal projects are being publicly driven (on public and private property) with incentives to refurbish post-war housing. Municipal and European funds are supporting these upgrades. </p>
<p>There is a role for Australian local councils to promote alternative approaches to urban renewal that are more sustainable than conventional models. Local and state governments might even work together to encourage this more nuanced and localised model of regeneration. </p>
<p>These interventions must be planned at the neighbourhood scale. Local government would provide the framework via a sensitive and detailed master plan. </p>
<p>In our experience, developers typically need at least six to eight levels to be interested in redevelopment after demolishing a building in this sort of neighbourhood. We are arguing for more subtle densification: refurbishment that adds no more than one or two storeys to the building. This would allow neighbourhoods to maintain buildings at three to four levels, quite similar to the existing housing.</p>
<p>Because the walk-up apartment building is so common in Australian suburbs, this incremental change could have a significant wider impact. It is designed to engage local owners and preserve neighbourhood life, while updating old housing to today’s needs and energy standards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guillermo Fernández-Abascal received funding from Alastair Swayn Foundation to develop part of this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Urtzi Grau received funding from Alastair Swayn Foundation to develop part of this research.</span></em></p>Ageing brick apartment buildings of two to three storeys are being redeveloped in many suburbs. Typically, they are knocked down to be replaced by much bigger developments. But here’s an alternative.Guillermo Fernández-Abascal, Academic Fellow in Architectural Practice, University of SydneyUrtzi Grau, Senior Lecturer, Director of The Master of Architecture, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1908072022-09-16T12:57:59Z2022-09-16T12:57:59ZKeeping buildings cool as it gets hotter – The Conversation Weekly podcast transcript<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484922/original/file-20220915-39275-6nr6ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C116%2C5145%2C3329&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Lagos skyline.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/urban-view-lagos-nigeria-march-15-1046544565">Ariyo Olasunkanmi/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is a transcript of The Conversation Weekly podcast episode: <a href="https://theconversation.com/keep-buildings-cool-as-it-gets-hotter-by-resurrecting-traditional-architectural-techniques-podcast-190384">Keeping buildings cool as it gets hotter</a>, published on September 15, 2022.</em></p>
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<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-561" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/561/4fbbd099d631750693d02bac632430b71b37cd5f/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><em>NOTE: Transcripts may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.</em></p>
<p>Gemma Ware: Hello, I’m Gemma Ware in London.</p>
<p>Dan Merino: And I’m Dan Merino in San Francisco. It is good to be back.</p>
<p>Gemma: We’ve been busy working on some new ideas for the show over the past few months, which is why you’ve not been hearing so much from us. And we’re really excited now about the stories we’ve got coming up for you.</p>
<p>Dan: Welcome back to The Conversation Weekly.</p>
<p>Gemma: Dan, I heard that you guys have been hitting some temperature records over there in California. Is it really, really hot?</p>
<p>Dan: It’s so hot right now, Gemma. We’ve been breaking records all over the Bay area. San Francisco was super hot yesterday. Let me just look this up real quick … I think we hit 116 fahrenheit in Livermore, which is in the East Bay, 115 in Santa Rosa.</p>
<p>Gemma: What is that in my speak, in celsius?</p>
<p>Dan: Uhhh north of 46, close to 47 degrees celsius.</p>
<p>Gemma: Wow, 46. That is hot. How are you keeping cool?</p>
<p>Dan: Well, at least in San Francisco the city, most of the houses don’t have air conditioning. It’s not usually this hot. And certainly it’s not been that hot here in San Francisco, but yesterday I was lying on my housemate’s room’s floor because she has the colder room in the house. It kind of worked, I took a nap.</p>
<p>Gemma: Well, that sounds a little bit like what we were doing here in London a couple months ago when we hit our own temperature records. It hit not 46, but 40. And I was putting towels, wet towels in the fridge and draping them around my neck. Yeah, it didn’t smell so great, but yeah it was hot.</p>
<p>Dan: I remember you had a wet towel around you and we were trying to record something. It looked like a good idea.</p>
<p>Gemma: You going to try it?</p>
<p>Dan: Uh, we’ll see if the sun comes out today. But we’ve both been going through this heat, right Gemma? And we both live in cities that aren’t traditionally super hot. And we’re not alone this year, right? There’s been a lot of different places all around the world that are dealing with unusually high temperatures.</p>
<p>Gemma: Yeah. Europe’s been having them, in China they’ve been having heat waves, and in North Africa. This has been a really, really bad year for extreme heat.</p>
<p>Dan: So, one thing that struck me yesterday. And my friends and I were talking about it, I remember we talked about it when you guys were having your heat wave, is that San Francisco, London, and presumably a lot of places around the world this year, just aren’t used to the heat that they’re experiencing. Right? It’s like, I don’t have air conditioners in my house and you don’t either Gemma, right? There’s a lot of mismatch between the infrastructure and the cities and the buildings and the climate people are living in this year.</p>
<p>Gemma: You’re right. Your house, my house, these buildings are just not designed for this kind of heat. But while this is a pretty new problem for London and for San Francisco, around the world there are actually lots of buildings built in ways that are just not right for their environment.</p>
<p>In this episode, I’ve been exploring how certain styles of architecture and building design were exported all over the world. And in the process, they usurped traditional building techniques that are better suited to hotter temperatures.</p>
<p>As we’re going to hear, though, in this episode, some architects are trying to change that. And I wanna start the story with one of them, Anthony Ogbuokiri. Today Anthony is a senior lecturer in construction management at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. But he was born in Nigeria …</p>
<p>Anthony Obguokiri: South-eastern Nigeria, which is as tropical as it gets, if you like. And then I went through college, finding my path in the built environment, and my interest in knowing more about design and the making of buildings, making things generally. So I was drawn to study architecture.</p>
<p>Gemma: One of the things that I know you are interested in is how well a building is suited to its actual environment and the place it’s built – the environment of where it’s built. Tell me, when you were studying in Nigeria and working in practice, did you ever have to work on designing buildings that you knew just weren’t suited to the climate of Nigeria?</p>
<p>Anthony: Tell me about it. So in my year out as a pupil architect working in firms, there were several, without mentioning names, there were several commissions where at that time you may have been involved in some drafting … and you’d be looking at the structure: it’s an office block, it has lots of glazing. And each time you ask questions, common answers you get are, “well, the building was going to be air conditioned.” You know, your environmental analysis senses would kick-in when you looked at your layout and they will tell you, well, this is going to be artificially lit and it’s going to have ACs – definitely you’re going to have to use mechanical systems.</p>
<p>Gemma: Anthony was being asked to design a typical-looking concrete office block with big windows, a design that’s become pretty much the international standard over the past century.</p>
<p>Anthony: If you look at late-19th to early-20th century architecture when, if you like, the modernism movement came – it was moving away from ornamentation up to lightweight structures that achieved maximum values, especially on the commercial spectrum. This is typical what a high-rise building, office block on the skyline of a city, what it should look like. And that became almost like a template.</p>
<p>Gemma: It’s a template that’s now being used around the world, no matter how hot or cold the climate.</p>
<p>Anthony: So if you take a photo … There was an analysis I was doing with a colleague, and we’re looking at developing countries particularly. If you just literally took a flight through the west African sub-regional coast – if you picked up Lagos, Accra, all the way to Dakar in Senegal, and round the block all the way to Tanzania, Kenya and East Africa – if you took different shots of the skylines, you couldn’t tell the difference. You couldn’t tell the difference. And yet within that journey, you would’ve come across various climatic conditions.</p>
<p>Gemma: Anthony says it was the same when he compared an office tower in Lagos and one in Birmingham in the UK. </p>
<p>Anthony: You couldn’t say these two animals, where would they nest? And you would ask, why do they look almost the same? And you know exactly that one of them is out of place. And it makes it even worse when as a copy of that international style, everybody inside that building is dressed in black – in a formal, again what is considered the international corporate style. </p>
<p>Here we are in the UK, I’m struggling wearing even a white shirt sitting next to a window. Imagine somebody in some office in Lagos, having a suit on top of this with a tie, and lots of that type sat in several tables. So you’re literally ramping up the cooling load even by behaviour – and, by the way, that culture was also a copied culture.</p>
<p>Gemma: <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-like-lagos-need-building-designs-that-dont-just-copy-global-styles-144610">Anthony has a name for this kind of architecture: duplitecture.</a> He says its roots lie in the legacy of colonialism.</p>
<p>Anthony: Unfortunately, with the interruption of those societies through colonialism between the 18th century and a hundred years later when there was independence in 1960, you might argue that a hundred years of organic development was lost.</p>
<p>Dan: It’s interesting to think about the places I’ve visited around the world where, now that I think about it, absolutely, so many of these skylines are really similar – it’s kind of sad, right? I would’ve loved to see places built organically with their own local culture and heritage infused within the architecture because when you go see another giant apartment block, it looks the same as every other one I’ve ever seen. So it’s an excellent point.</p>
<p>Gemma: Yeah. And it does really just show this ideological and cultural power that former colonial countries have, and their architects have had on building styles around the world. And this idea that local methods just weren’t modern enough, and so kind of got thrown out.</p>
<p>Dan: “Modern” is an interesting word to use there, because I imagine modern has to do with design, sure, but also materials, right? Like I’m thinking glass and concrete and steel and stuff. </p>
<p>Gemma: Yes, you’re right. It’s concrete. Concrete is a really big part of this story.</p>
<p>Vyta Pivo: According to some statistics, concrete is the second-most consumed material on Earth after water.</p>
<p>Gemma: This is Vyta Pivo. She’s a post-doctoral scholar and assistant professor of architecture at the University of Michigan in the US. Her research focuses on the social and political history of concrete, and how it became such a ubiquitous building material around the world.</p>
<p>Vyta: It took a long time for us to get there. And it wasn’t just that it <em>became</em> this material. There’s parties that were interested in making the material the most consumed material on earth.</p>
<p>Gemma: Vyta used to think very differently about concrete than she does today.</p>
<p>Vyta: I grew up in Lithuania so I was surrounded by concrete. But it had a very different kind of context – it was this medium of modernity, it was the future, it was the Soviet kind of utopia. Everyone wanted to live in a concrete tower because it meant you had proper facilities and kitchens and bathrooms and trash shoots. And it was a modern kind of living condition. Living in a concrete building meant living in the future.</p>
<p>And then when I moved to the United States as a teenager, I realised that concrete here has a very different kind of connotation, and it’s really more connected to urbanity, poverty, crime. And so I realised that there was this one material but it has these very different cultural meanings and contexts. And that made me think that actually there’s multiple histories and multiple stories to tell.</p>
<p>Gemma: For thousands of years, civilisations around the world have used different recipes to make concrete. But rapid social and economic changes in the early 20th century, particularly in the US, led to the production of concrete on an unprecedented scale.</p>
<p>Vyta: In the US context, a huge influx of immigrants came to the US at the turn of the 20th century to participate in the construction of different factories and different industries. The popularisation of cars and the construction of roads and highways. I’m thinking also about the population growth and the need for housing, military infrastructure, in the first half of the 20th century, and then this kind of concern for hygiene and health – that was an entry point for the construction of concrete hospitals and medical facilities.</p>
<p>Throughout all of these efforts to modernise different industries and different types of people, concrete was tested and then tested again. And all of this effort was supported by the federal government to make sure that we come up with the kind of strongest, safest recipe.</p>
<p>Gemma: Vyta told me that concrete’s popularity grew out of this government support, alongside a broader cultural acceptance of the need to start building things that were permanent, that would last. And as the industry grew, it gained political clout and started lobbying for the material to be used more and more. This kind of pressure is actually still going on today.</p>
<p>Vyta: So in the US context, there are these professional trade organisations that push for expanding applications of concrete. Their argument is that concrete is permanent. Concrete lasts a much longer time. It’s resistant to these different environmental conditions and to fire, and buildings of a particular size and scale – they must be built of concrete. And so any resistance to that idea gets a lot of attack from the industry; it’s infringing on their territory. A state might say buildings that are three storeys or lower can be built of wood, and so that is the law. But the concrete industry is always eager to push it down as much as possible.</p>
<p>Gemma: As the US concrete industry grew in the mid-20th century, it began to have global ambitions. But the Americans found they weren’t alone. One moment that you’ve talked about is this kind of post-second world war era in the cold war where both the US and the Soviet Union gave countries who they were allied with concrete. Can you tell us a bit more about what happened there and why that was happening?</p>
<p>Vyta: During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union were competing for who could spread their version of concrete. And that meant both the actual material but also the technologies for its manufacture, techniques for constructing housing and other types of infrastructure. So both of these countries were sending literal cement plants.</p>
<p>Gemma: That’s because cement is a key ingredient in concrete. By itself, cement isn’t actually very strong and it’s prone to cracking, but when it’s mixed together with sand and rock, it acts as a powerful binder creating an extremely strong rock-like material: concrete.</p>
<p>Now, the two cold war powers, weren’t just sending cement plants …</p>
<p>Vyta: … But also experts to instruct local people how to do this – blueprints and architects for how to actually build particular types of concrete housing. They were called concrete gifts. And it was a competition both to discover who had actually mastered concrete, and who was better at gathering the materials, gathering the people, gathering the energy to make concrete.</p>
<p>Gemma: Vyta told me this has significantly shaped how concrete is viewed and valued today.</p>
<p>Vyta: So I talk about the “concrete gift economy” as a way to influence global politics, but also as a way to spread their own unique ideas about modernity. Basically concrete became a measure for industrialisation and which country was ahead of the other. And in many ways, we continue to measure our own country’s national product and health based on the construction market.</p>
<p>Gemma: As a result of what Vyta calls the “concrete gift economy”, in many parts of the world building with concrete has gradually undermined traditional techniques and materials.</p>
<p>Vyta: So in my own work I think about Vietnam, which was a kind of benefactor of the concrete exchange because the US collaborated with the private industry to build concrete infrastructure and establish a modernised cement industry in Vietnam. During the war, Americans portrayed themselves as kind of teachers. So they were global experts that disseminated knowledge. But by accepting this knowledge and this kind of concrete gift, the local country then agreed to participate in the maintenance of those technologies. So then the US would come and maintain the cement plants with their own technology.</p>
<p>So basically the idea was that the US created a market they could continue drawing from while disseminating their own tools of manufacture. So the US was not making cement, but it was providing the technologies for other countries to make that material. And now Vietnam is a top-five cement manufacturer in the world – it’s a major commodity for them. So they developed a kind of dependency on concrete.</p>
<p>Gemma: You know Dan, this really struck home to me because I’ve been to Hanoi in the north of Vietnam. And I have this vivid memory of standing on this concrete plaza that you have to wait on when you go and visit the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. You’re standing and it’s boiling hot. Scorching. And then you go into this really cold mausoleum, and everyone kind of dawdles because they want to make the most of the air conditioning – and then they have to go back outside again into this burning concrete landscape and ah, it was horrible.</p>
<p>Dan: I have to imagine a concrete plaza is a pretty miserable place to be in the heat of the day. But with all this talk of concrete, Gemma, I just can’t not think about the fact that concrete production is a super CO2-intensive process.</p>
<p>Gemma: It is. And Dan, do you know exactly what percentage of global CO2 emissions come from concrete?</p>
<p>Dan: Uh, 2%?</p>
<p>Gemma: You’re quite a way off. It’s actually 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions.</p>
<p>Dan: 8%? That’s shockingly huge!</p>
<p>Gemma: I know, 8% is a lot. I think a lot of people think aviation is one of the biggest contributors to global CO2 emissions, but that’s only 2.8%. So concrete is a real culprit here. And it’s not gonna get any better because the industry is continuing to grow. The problem is that despite concrete’s huge carbon footprint, construction industries around the world have become just so reliant on the stuff that it’s hard to do away with it.</p>
<p>Vyta: Part of the challenge, I think, is that the cement industry very aggressively pushed that material. They wanted to invent different kinds of products and different things that could be built of concrete. And so it became a very well studied, researched and tested material. So that’s why a lot of governments support concrete, because we just know so much about it. It’s not so much that it’s actually a better material, because in many cases it’s not really appropriate for particular climates. It’s not really the best or the cheapest; it’s just that we know so much about it that it makes sense to design zoning codes and legal infrastructures to use that material.</p>
<p>There is real economic incentive in terms of the companies shipping their material and producing and selling it to build newer, bigger, larger structures. So in terms of the politics and the economics of concrete, it’s a losing battle.</p>
<p>Dan: OK, so we’ve heard a lot about how concrete became this go-to dominant building material around the world and is, of course, a giant CO2 emitter. But anytime I’ve been in a concrete building, they always feel really hot. So I’m trying to understand why that might be, Gemma, because when you’re talking about a building that you want for a cool environment, you want it to be insulated. Is concrete particularly bad at this kind of thing?</p>
<p>Gemma: It really is. There are actually two main reasons for this that I’ve been learning about. First, it absorbs a lot of heat that hits its surface. And second (although it depends on the exact recipe you use and the conditions the building is exposed to), most concrete actually allows heat to transfer from its surface across to the other side.</p>
<p>Dan: And I’m thinking the same thing about glass too. All these modern buildings are made of glass, and glass is literally what you use to build a greenhouse.</p>
<p>Gemma: Exactly. Remember Anthony Obguokiri, who we were hearing from earlier? He was telling me about these office buildings that all look the same, they’re made from cement and glass. And because of that, they’re all really reliant on air conditioners or what he calls chillers.</p>
<p>Anthony: In Lagos with above 60% glazing, when you step outside you see where the chillers are. What the chillers are essentially doing is that you have a greenhouse with trapped heat inside, and it’s trying to combat that high cooling load. You have that cooling load transferred to the AC units and they’re pushing it back into the streets. So when you go to the back of AC systems, it’s really warm.</p>
<p>Gemma: So if you walk past these buildings, you’re going to get a huge blast of heat?</p>
<p>Anthony: If you are close enough to the AC units. When I was doing my PhD, I went to Lagos and I went to a few commercial buildings on the marina. And as you are walking past each of them towards where the AC units are, you can actually see the heat that is being comparted. This is made worse by the hard landscape. It’s almost like: “let’s all push all our heat out to the streets which then comes back as a higher cooling load for everyone”.</p>
<p>Gemma: Urban planners call these phenomena urban heat islands. That’s when urban environments retain and emit excessive heat, just like that plaza in Hanoi I mentioned earlier. Now there’s a bunch of factors that go into creating these heat islands – concrete is one of them, and so are air conditioners. A high density of urban development without any vegetation exacerbates the problem too.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t have to be this way. Remember Anthony told us about the building practices that were lost as a result of colonialism in countries like Nigeria? But if you travel across the country, now you can still find some examples of buildings designed using those traditional methods. And they’re well suited to the varying local climates.</p>
<p>Anthony: If you move from what is called the south, were you have the real tropical mangrove area, towards the inner Savannah belt … if you look at the traditional architectures of these layers, you do actually see a difference.</p>
<p>Gemma: Here people build thatch houses with walls made out of adobe, a type of building material made out of earth, that’s one of the oldest in the world.</p>
<p>Anthony: You see the high, large overhanging roofs that are so prominent, and they even try to cut in verandas in the traditional style. Then as you move further up north through the savannas, you see the roofs becoming smaller and the walls becoming more prominent. And as you hit the north that is a little bit arid, as arid as it gets in northern Nigeria, suddenly the roof has completely disappeared.</p>
<p>Gemma: Instead the houses have thick walls to insulate the insides from the arid heat.</p>
<p>Anthony: Now they didn’t go to schools of architecture to learn that, they figured it out over hundreds of years of evolution.</p>
<p>Gemma: Anthony says you can see echoes of the architecture in the plants of the region, too. Something called biomimicry – when humans mimic what’s going on elsewhere in nature.</p>
<p>Anthony: When you look at, for example, the mushroom plants that you will find, or cocoyam, a lot of them want to have broad leaves both for photosynthesis purposes, for struggling for light, and also for removing excess water, evapo-transpiration, through their stomata. You see that their structures reflect their location.</p>
<p>If you compare a plant in the south of Nigeria, or near Lagos in the southwest, and went to the north and looked at the kind of plants you see there, you see the difference. The animals figured that out too. And then people, of course, through the vernacular styles also align their practice with the flora and the fauna.</p>
<p>Gemma: Biomimicry or biomimetic design is one way to make sure the inside of a building stays cool by simply keeping the heat out in the first place. But if the hot air is already inside, how do you go about cooling it down without the use of air conditioning or, in fact, any electric energy at all? Across north Africa and the Middle East, people who have actually been doing this through the way they designed their buildings for thousands of years.</p>
<p>What is the temperature outside there today?</p>
<p>Susan Abed Hassan: It’s 47.</p>
<p>Gemma: And inside?</p>
<p>Susan: Inside, between 30 and 35. </p>
<p>Gemma: This is Susan Abed Hassan. She’s a professor in architectural engineering at Al-Nahrain university in Baghdad, Iraq.</p>
<p>Susan specialises in environmental engineering – specifically, how to adapt buildings to hot climates like Iraq’s. And the reason it’s more than ten degrees colder inside Susan’s home than it is outside is because she designed it herself using what’s called passive design.</p>
<p>Susan: In passive housing design or passive building design, we try to minimise as much as possible the energy consumption from electricity or another type of energy.</p>
<p>Gemma: This means designing buildings so they stay cool without the use of air conditioners or electric fans.</p>
<p>Susan: Now I feel the problem, I live in this climate. It’s always been a high temperature in Baghdad. But now the number of days with high temperatures is more than before. Usually we have a month with really high temperatures, but now we have 60 to 90 days with very hot temperatures. This is a serious problem because we are not able to go out during the day.</p>
<p>Gemma: Susan says that extreme heat is also leading to more frequent power cuts. This means that even households that are lucky enough to have air conditioners are often unable to use them.</p>
<p>Susan: Now I’m talking to you with no electricity in my home. The electricity is cut off.</p>
<p>Gemma: Susan says that insulating building materials can offer ways to help cool down buildings without using any energy at all.</p>
<p>Susan: If we minimise energy consumption in buildings, we will reduce pollution in the air. We will reduce the increase in temperature. The insulation of walls and roofs is very important, it can reduce energy consumption by about 40%. This is a large number.</p>
<p>Gemma: Another way to keep buildings cool is through clever design using natural ventilation. And that’s where something called a windcatcher comes in.</p>
<p>Susan: We need to support it: buy a windcatcher!</p>
<p>Gemma: Windcatchers, or <em>badgir</em> as they’re referred to in Iraq, are traditional architectural vents. They cool buildings by creating a natural flow of air inside, by making use of the prevailing wind outside. </p>
<p>Susan: If you build it in the right way, in the right direction, you can get airflow through these spaces. I use it in my house. I have two windcatchers.</p>
<p>Gemma: Susan has a two-storey house and her windcatchers poke out of the top of it by about a metre, like a chimney.</p>
<p>Susan: I put it in a northwest direction, this is the wind direction in Baghdad.</p>
<p>Gemma: Inside the house, the rooms have small windows in them that open into the windcatchers’ vents.</p>
<p>Susan: I can have air through this opening, and I can get a flue in my house with natural ventilation. </p>
<p>Gemma: So if you’re sitting in your house, sometimes you can feel the breeze from the windcatcher?</p>
<p>Susan: Yes of course. You can feel it easily. Only open the windows that are on these windcatchers. I have rooms that have two windcatchers, and you have a very clear flow of air in these rooms. I can speak to you now in a moderate climate without feeling hot, very hot. If there is an increase in temperature, the windcatcher is very important and it can be modified according to the climate, according to the city.</p>
<p>Gemma: In Iraq, for example, Susan told me that the airflow is actually fairly low, but a well-positioned windcatcher can still make even a slight breeze work to cool down the inside of a building. Sometimes this relies on what’s called the stack effect. Hot air is less dense than cold air and so if a room is particularly hot, when that hot air enters the internal windows of the wind catcher, it tends to travel upwards and escape out of the opening at the top.</p>
<p>Susan’s research is <a href="https://www.akademiabaru.com/index.php/archives/article/view/811">looking at how to improve the design of traditional windcatchers</a> and make them even more efficient. One potential solution she’s looking at is to channel the wind over cool materials like soil underground, or even water to make the breeze a few degrees cooler.</p>
<p>Susan: In my work with other researchers, we try to use the earth’s cooling design. In summer, that earth is still cool until September, so if we dig down into it, we can use it to cool water in pipes and then use this water to cool down the spaces with the windcatcher.</p>
<p>Dan: So Gemma, does this windcatcher idea work on bigger buildings, or is it really only suited for smaller spaces?</p>
<p>Gemma: Well, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work in bigger buildings. Actually Susan has been researching how to make them smaller and how to retrofit existing residential blocks or even schools with windcatchers.</p>
<p>Dan: I love that idea. Instead of having dry and crinkly, cold air-conditioning air coming out of the air ducts, you just get natural air flown in from outside. But what about even bigger buildings? Like a skyscraper, or something like that, would windcatchers work there?</p>
<p>Gemma: I don’t really know actually, Dan, that’s a good question. But there are other passive cooling techniques that could be used on big buildings. Actually, Anthony Obguokiri was telling me about a really big shopping centre in Harare that was designed with a particularly ingenious technique in mind …</p>
<p>You’ve pointed to this really great example in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. A shopping and office complex called the Eastgate Centre, <a href="https://asknature.org/innovation/passively-cooled-building-inspired-by-termite-mounds/">which has been inspired by a termite mound</a>. Can you describe that to us and tell us what it’s doing right, basically?</p>
<p>Anthony: OK, in Zimbabwe they might actually have quite a range of temperatures – sometimes really warm days and really cold nights. So you’re looking for a building that can manage to achieve a temperature that is fairly balanced and consistent regardless of what happens outside. The team that did that project were really very smart. They looking at termites, because termites need to maintain a temperature that is somewhere in a range of maybe two to three degrees.</p>
<p>Gemma: Researchers involved in the building of the Eastgate Centre in the mid-1990s believed that termites maintained a stable temperature inside each mound by connecting its physical structure to the soil underneath. They thought this allowed for colder air to flow upwards, essentially harnessing the earth’s cool properties. </p>
<p>Anthony: When you dig down into the earth, within three, four, five metres you have a constant temperature, essentially. So they’ve created a mound that connects substructural levels and superstructural levels, and created openings that help them to move temperatures and maintain temperatures within the range they want. Basically, if air gets very warm, it will rise and escape.</p>
<p>Gemma: So that’s the model upon which the Eastgate Centre was designed.</p>
<p>Anthony: Colder air is drawn in through the lower parts of the building and then gets drawn up through a vent system, a shaft area, so the warm air then gets expelled from the higher height. They try to accelerate the movement of the air by design. And they created valves of different sizes which work as a team – opening and closing different valves at different times of the day, at different levels, in order to achieve the temperature they want. It took quite a lot of work already in terms of how they harness that concept. </p>
<p>Gemma: Since the Eastgate Centre was built, newer research has actually changed our understanding of how termites cool down their mounds. It’s actually more like they act as a kind of lung using the air outside. But the building still achieves what it intended to; it’s cooler inside than it is outside.</p>
<p>Anthony says it’s likely to be some time before more architects start making more use of traditional knowledge, materials and technologies.</p>
<p>Anthony: There’s a lot of investment required to allow space and opportunity for that to be developed. Unfortunately, when it comes to commercial buildings, it’s a longer journey for people to see the impacts – sometimes because it is not the people developing the building who actually use it straightaway.</p>
<p>Gemma: Anthony still laments the way traditional forms of architecture were replaced. Take, for example, mud architecture. He thinks a different future could have been possible.</p>
<p>Anthony: So imagine mud architecture: if you have a dream, and think if mud architecture was not interrupted and was allowed to evolve naturally and develop at its own pace, where would it be today if not for that interruption?</p>
<p>Dan: So as the world keeps getting hotter, it’s cool to hear about these other ways that people can passively, more efficiently, more sustainably stay cool and adapt to the hotter summers and days and nights and everything coming down the line. </p>
<p>Gemma: Yeah, totally. And as I’ve been talking to the researchers we’ve been hearing from in this episode, I couldn’t help thinking about how sad it was that all this knowledge about how to keep buildings cool has often been dismissed by western architecture. But it’s given me hope that people are trying to rehabilitate some of these technologies, so we can try and use them for really hot places. And hopefully more and more architects will be thinking about these kind of things in the future.</p>
<p>That’s it for this week. We’ve got a few people to thank for this episode. First of all, our colleague Adejuwon Soyinka, who worked with <a href="https://asknature.org/innovation/passively-cooled-building-inspired-by-termite-mounds/">Anthony Ogbuokiri on a piece back in 2020</a> that inspired this story. Also, thanks to our colleague Dale Berning Sawa for her input. And to Vanderly M John, a scholar who we also spoke to for this episode. Thanks too to our global executive editor, Stephen Khan, to Alice Mason for our social media, and to Dan Eboka for help with our transcripts. And finally to Graham Griffith for all his help over the past few months.</p>
<p>Dan: You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_audio</a>; on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom">Instagram</a>; or via <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">email</a>. You can also sign up for our <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free newsletter</a>, there’s a link in the show notes.</p>
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<p>Gemma: This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Mend Mariwany and sound was designed by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. I’m Gemma Ware, the executive producer of the show. </p>
<p>Dan: And I’m Dan Merino. Thank you so much for listening.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190807/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Ogbuokiri and Susan Abed Hassan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vyta Pivo has received funding from the Michigan Society of Fellows, Andrew Mellon Foundation, American Council of Learned Societies, National Academies of Sciences, National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. </span></em></p>A transcript of an episode of The Conversation Weekly published on September 15, 2022.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationDaniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1903842022-09-15T10:39:39Z2022-09-15T10:39:39ZKeep buildings cool as it gets hotter by resurrecting traditional architectural techniques – podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484088/original/file-20220912-22-xjnxxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C70%2C4217%2C2773&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Windcatchers in Iran use natural air flow to keep buildings cool. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/yazd-iran-june-2017-wind-catchers-1912254670">Andrzej Lisowski Travel/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast is now back after a short break. Every Thursday, we explore the fascinating discoveries researchers are using to make sense of the world and the big questions they’re still trying to answer.</p>
<p>In this episode we find out how “modern” styles of architecture using concrete and glass have often usurped local building techniques better suited to parts of the world with hotter climates. Now some architects are resurrecting traditional techniques to help keep buildings cool.</p>
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<p>From western Europe to <a href="https://theconversation.com/matter-of-national-destiny-chinas-energy-crisis-sees-the-worlds-top-emitter-investing-in-more-coal-189142">China</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/tunis-hit-record-49c-heat-wave-tuesday-2021-08-11/">North Africa </a> and the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/09/06/1121403326/california-and-the-west-broil-in-record-setting-heat-wave">US</a>, severe heatwaves brought drought, fire and death to the summer of 2022. The heatwaves also raised serious questions about the ability of existing infrastructure to cope with extreme heat, which is projected to <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3/">become more common</a> due to climate change. </p>
<p>Yet, for thousands of years, people living in parts of the world used to high temperatures have deployed traditional passive cooling techniques in the way they designed their buildings. In Nigeria, for example, people have long used biomimicry to copy the style of local flora and fauna as they design their homes, according to Anthony Ogbuokiri, a senior lecturer in architectural design at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. </p>
<p>But in the 20th century, cities even in very hot climates began following an international template for building design that meant cities around the world, regardless of where they were, often had similar looking skylines. Ogbuokiri calls this “duplitecture”, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-like-lagos-need-building-designs-that-dont-just-copy-global-styles-144610">says it “ramped up the cooling load” due to</a> an in-built reliance on air conditioners. </p>
<p>Alongside this, there was a massive boom in the use of concrete, particularly after the second world war when the Soviet Union and the US started gifting their cold war allies concrete technology. “It was a competition both to discover who actually mastered concrete and who was better at gathering the materials, the people and the energy to make concrete,” explains Vyta Pivo, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Michigan in the US. But too much concrete can contribute to the phenomenon of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479717303201">urban heat islands</a>, where heat is concentrated in cities. Concrete is also a considerable <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261920303603?via%3Dihub">contributor to global carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>Some architects and researchers are working to rehabilitate and improve traditional passive techniques that help keep buildings cool without using energy. Susan Abed Hassan, a professor of architectural engineering at Al-Nahrain University in Baghdad, Iraq, focuses a lot on windcatchers in her work, a type of chimney which funnels air through houses to keep them cooler in hot climates. She’s <a href="https://www.akademiabaru.com/index.php/archives/article/view/811">now looking at</a> how to combining underground water pipes with windcatchers to enhance their cooling effects. </p>
<p>Listen to the full episode to find out about other techniques being used to keep buildings cool without relying on air conditioning. </p>
<p>This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer was Gemma Ware. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/?hl=en">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>. A transcript of <a href="https://theconversation.com/keeping-buildings-cool-as-it-gets-hotter-the-conversation-weekly-podcast-transcript-190807?notice=Article+has+been+updated.">this episode is available here</a>. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Ogbuokiri and Susan Abed Hassan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vyta Pivo has received funding from the Michigan Society of Fellows, Andrew Mellon Foundation, American Council of Learned Societies, National Academies of Sciences, National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. </span></em></p>Follow The Conversation Weekly podcast for new episodes every Thursday.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationDaniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1835102022-05-31T12:12:25Z2022-05-31T12:12:25Z30 years after Hurricane Andrew devastated Florida, researchers are using a ‘Wall of Wind’ to design safer homes – but storms are getting even more intense<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464365/original/file-20220519-6976-hqkkg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C67%2C1949%2C1293&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Wall of Wind can create Category 5 hurricane winds for testing life-size structures.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fiu/51974207302/in/album-72157631682768714/">Margi Rentis/Florida International University</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In an airplane hangar in Miami, engineers are recreating some of the most powerful hurricane winds to ever strike land. These Category 5 winds can shatter a test building in the blink of an eye. </p>
<p>Yet they aren’t powerful enough to keep up with nature.</p>
<p>When engineers built the <a href="https://cee.fiu.edu/research/facilities/wall-of-wind">Wall of Wind</a> test facility 10 years ago at Florida International University, it was inspired by <a href="https://www.weather.gov/lch/andrew">Hurricane Andrew</a>, a monster of a storm that devastated South Florida on Aug. 24, 1992. </p>
<p>The facility was designed to test structures’ ability to withstand winds up to 160 miles per hour (257 kilometers per hour). Now, we’re seeing the likes of <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL052019_Dorian.pdf">Hurricane Dorian</a>, which shredded neighborhoods in the Bahamas with 184 mph (296 km/h) winds in 2019, and <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/EP202015_Patricia.pdf">Hurricane Patricia</a>, with winds clocked at 215 mph (346 km/h) off the coast of Mexico in 2015.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person jumps over debris next to what remains of a home. Its roof is missing, and the walls are askew." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464849/original/file-20220523-46178-zx1u3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hurricane Dorian’s Category 5 winds tore apart communities in the Bahamas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BahamasHurricaneDorian/02f130c339dd4979b432348cd6e0efdd/photo">AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Studies show tropical storms are <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/">ramping up in intensity</a> as the climate changes and ocean and air temperatures rise. Designing homes and infrastructure to withstand future storms like Dorian will require new test facilities that go well beyond today’s capabilities – for what we believe should be called Category 6 storms.</p>
<h2>The Wall of Wind</h2>
<p>There is currently only one life-size test facility at a U.S. university capable of generating Category 5 winds, currently the most powerful level of hurricane. That’s the <a href="https://cee.fiu.edu/research/facilities/wall-of-wind">Wall of Wind</a>.</p>
<p>At one end of the facility is <a href="https://cee.fiu.edu/research/facilities/wall-of-wind">a curved wall of 12 giant fans</a>, each as tall as an average person. Working together, they can simulate a 160 mph hurricane. Water jets simulate wind-driven rain. At the other end, the building opens up to a large field where engineers can see how and where structures fail and the debris flies.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kkI0UjmFFDs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The powerful tempests that we create here allow us and other engineers to probe for weaknesses in construction and design, track failures cascading through a building and test innovative solutions in close to real-world storm conditions. Cameras and sensors capture every millisecond as buildings, roofing materials and other items come apart – or, just as important, don’t fail.</p>
<p>Ten years of research here have helped builders and designers <a href="https://fiu.designsafe-ci.org/working-with-us/projects/">reduce the risk of damage</a>. That’s helpful when forecasters warn, <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/noaa-adjusts-hurricane-season-forecast">as they do for 2022</a>, of a busy hurricane season.</p>
<h2>Lessons from hurricane testing</h2>
<p>We’ve <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/jcr/article-abstract/23/5%20(235)/1211/27424/Wall-of-Wind-Full-Scale-Destructive-Testing-of">found in destructive testing</a> that a structure will often rip apart in less than a second. All it takes is the wind penetrating the weakest point.</p>
<p>When Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas, many less-well-constructed <a href="https://youtu.be/SN4jgJX0OP8">homes turned into shrapnel</a>, creating another problem. Once a building fails, even nearby homes built to withstand higher winds are in trouble because of the flying debris. Our <a href="https://hazards.colorado.edu/research/working-papers/94#windborne">testing has shown</a> how debris from one building, under continuous winds of 130-140 mph or more, can take out the next building, and then that takes out the next building. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SEm7pei4GhI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Roofs are often that weakest link. A roof is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327042799_Roof_Uplift_under_Cornering_Winds_and_Wind_Uplift_Mitigation">subjected to uplift force</a> during a storm, so wind hitting the surface of the building needs to be able to escape. When wind runs into objects in that path, it can cause damage.</p>
<p>New designs are improving how buildings stand up to extreme winds. For example, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2109/roof-vortices-fiu.gif?1652992113">storms can create powerful vortices</a> – winds that swirl almost like a corkscrew at a building’s edge – that can strip away roofing material and eventually lift the roof itself. One innovation uses a horizontal <a href="https://news.fiu.edu/2019/focus-on-innovation-taming-the-wind">wind turbine</a> along the edge of a roof to diffuse the wind and generate power at the same time, a double benefit.</p>
<figure><img width="100%" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2109/roof-vortices-fiu.gif?1652992113"><figcaption>When wind blows up the side of a building it can create vortices that strip off roofing materials. Horizontal wind turbines attached to rood edges can suppress these vortices, as shown here using smoke, and can also generate power. FIU</figcaption></figure>
<p>The shape of buildings can also either create weaknesses or help deflect wind. You’ll notice that most modern high-rises avoid sharp corners. Testing shows that <a href="http://iawe.org/Proceedings/CWE2006/TD1-05.pdf">more trapezoidal</a> or rounded edges can reduce wind pressures on buildings.</p>
<p>And better safety doesn’t have to be costly. One experiment showed how <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5qjZO7dVDg">just US$250 in upgrades</a> was the difference between a small, shed-size building standing up to a Category 3 storm – or not. <a href="https://theconversation.com/hurricane-straps-keep-roofs-on-houses-and-can-improve-safety-during-tornadoes-164998">Hurricane straps</a> attach a roof truss to the perimeter of the house. <a href="https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2009/09/17/whats-the-difference-nail-shanks">Ring shank nails</a>, which have threads around the shank to grasp the wood, can resist wind forces better than smooth nails. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2010.07.012">Hurricane shutters</a> also block entry points where the wind can penetrate and trigger catastrophic failure.</p>
<p>Installation also matters, and helps explain why roofs that appear to meet building code requirements can still fail and go flying in hurricanes. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.whipc.org/index.php/about-us/current-projects">Experiments we conducted</a> have shown how an edge system – the metal elements between walls and the roof – that is installed just half an inch too high or low can prematurely fail at low winds, even though the system was designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Roofers installing asphalt shingles and roofing tiles may need to go beyond the current code when sealing edges to <a href="https://www.openconf.org/ACWEConf2022/modules/request.php?module=oc_proceedings&action=summary.php&id=137&a=Accept+for+Oral+Presentation">keep them from failing in a storm</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A neighborhood of homes with shredded roofs, some missing most of their roof tiles or shingles, others with parts of the roof missing entirely." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464840/original/file-20220523-14-ltbw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida with sustained winds as high as 165 mph.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/HurricaneSeasonLastingScars/406864aad9464e8fb0bb0d45c18210ef/photo">AP Photo/Mark Foley</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Expanding testing: 200 mph winds + storm surge</h2>
<p>While engineers have been gaining knowledge through testing, the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/">nature of storms is changing</a> as the planet warms.</p>
<p>Warmer temperatures – fueled by increasing <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-climate-report-profound-changes-are-underway-in-earths-oceans-and-ice-a-lead-author-explains-what-the-warnings-mean-165588">greenhouse gas emissions from human activities</a> – enable the air to hold more moisture, and warmer oceans provide more energy to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF000825">fuel hurricanes</a>. Research shows that <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/">bigger and more intense storms</a> that are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-water-cycle-is-intensifying-as-the-climate-warms-ipcc-report-warns-that-means-more-intense-storms-and-flooding-165590">heavier with water</a> and moving more slowly are going to hammer the areas they hit with <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=245396">more wind, storm surge, flooding and debris</a>.</p>
<p>Storms like these are why we’re working with eight other universities to <a href="https://news.fiu.edu/2022/fiu-receives-12.8-million-nsf-grant-to-design-an-extreme-wind,-surge-and-wave-testing-facility">design a new facility</a> to test construction against 200 mph winds (322 km/h), with a water basin to test the impact of storm surge up to 20 feet (6 meters) high plus waves.</p>
<p>Computers can model the results, but their models still need to be verified by physical experiments. By combining wind, storm surge and wave action, we’ll be able to see the entire hurricane and how all those components interact to affect people and the built environment.</p>
<p>Disaster testing is finding ways to make homes safer, but it’s up to homeowners to make sure they know their structures’ weaknesses. After all, for most people, their home is their most valuable asset. </p>
<p><em>This article was updated Aug. 24, 2022, to mark the 30th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183510/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Olson receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the Mellon Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the North American Alliance of Hazards and Disaster Research Institutes.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ameyu B. Tolera is affiliated with the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Association for Wind Engineering as a student.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arindam Chowdhury receives funding from the National Science Foundation, DEM, FSG, and other agencies. He is affiliated with the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Association for Wind Engineering and other organizations.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ioannis Zisis receives funding from the National Science Foundation. He is affiliated with the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Association for Wind Engineering. </span></em></p>The test facility in Miami helps building designers prevent future storm damage. With the warming climate intensifying hurricanes, engineers are planning a new one with 200 mph winds and storm surge.Richard Olson, Director of the Extreme Events Institute, Florida International UniversityAmeyu B. Tolera, Research Assistant at Florida International University - College of Engineering & Computing, Florida International UniversityArindam Chowdhury, Professor of Civil Engineering, Florida International UniversityIoannis Zisis, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1764652022-02-21T19:07:08Z2022-02-21T19:07:08ZHow good design can make aged care facilities feel more like home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446183/original/file-20220214-115877-9cbw66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C34%2C5760%2C3794&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The stark difference between an aged care “home” and a real home has been laid bare by the COVID pandemic. </p>
<p>Residential aged care buildings are often institutionally designed, even if they have the appearance of a hotel. Think long corridors, vast dining rooms, nursing stations and bland corporate furnishings. </p>
<p>These design choices support a model of care underpinned by cost efficiencies rather than real people’s rhythms of daily life. </p>
<p>So, how can we make aged care facilities feel more like home, while keeping them pandemic-safe?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-residential-aged-care-facilities-are-getting-bigger-and-less-home-like-103521">Australia's residential aged care facilities are getting bigger and less home-like</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with a walker goes through a garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446398/original/file-20220214-23-1oa2jcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How can we make aged care facilities feel more like home, while keeping them pandemic-safe?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More like a ‘container’ than a home</h2>
<p>Residential aged care facilities are deeply restrictive environments; some have compared them to <a href="https://theconversation.com/design-makes-a-place-a-prison-or-a-home-turning-human-centred-vision-for-aged-care-into-reality-156937">prisons</a>. </p>
<p>During the pandemic, things were made worse as residents were denied the right to leave their rooms or have visitors. For many residents, it must feel like prevention is worse than the disease, as physical and psychological health declines markedly in imposed isolation. </p>
<p>Hotel-like residential aged care rooms are no place for long periods without the company of others. Some residential aged care centres may look like luxury resorts, but residents are still incarcerated. </p>
<p>Often residential aged care centres are more like a “container” than a home; a container that dispenses shelter, food and medical care.</p>
<p>So, what might we do differently in the post-pandemic era?</p>
<p>To try to answer this question, we held a collaborative design workshop involving architects and stakeholders, including managers from the residential aged care sector. We sought to visualise design ideas using three existing not-for-profit residential aged care sites as testing grounds.</p>
<p>We asked the group to ponder: what makes a home “home-like”? And how does that differ from the environment at an aged care centre?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman standing at a table looking at drawings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445869/original/file-20220211-27-1ka1qgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We held a collaborative design workshop involving architects and stakeholders, including managers from the residential aged care sector.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.longevitybydesign.co/2021/12/13/feels-like-home-re-imagining-aged-care-in-a-post-pandemic-era/">Anjanette Webb/Longevity By Design</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Three key ideas emerged, all of which could help a facility feel more like a home while also reducing the impact of future pandemics. </p>
<h2>1. Make aged care facilities indistinguishable from their surrounding neighbourhoods</h2>
<p>Residential aged care facilities are often walled and gated enclaves set apart from the surrounding community. Residents are secluded in wards and aren’t part of the natural ebb and flow of the community. </p>
<p>A home, on the other hand, is usually directly connected to the outside world. </p>
<p>Embedding indistinguishable residential aged care households in the heart of an active community would add to the broader social and physical fabric and build support networks.</p>
<p>In practice, this could mean opting for smaller buildings that look similar to surrounding buildings, rather than large and imposing structures. </p>
<p>It could mean offering a wide range of housing choices, from houses to apartments, and softening wall and gate barriers so residents easily connect with everyday community life. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446426/original/file-20220215-19-1kteonf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Embedding indistinguishable residential aged care households in the heart of an active community would help build support networks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Ageless communities and support networks without moving house</h2>
<p>Our group took inspiration from the urban design concept known as the “<a href="https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/10/17/Five-Minute-City-Better-Vancouver/">five-minute community</a>”, where everything is a short walk away.</p>
<p>We imagined designs that allow for self-sufficient small households of up to eight residents, with different generations also located in the same street. “Ageless” communities like this allow for different generations to interact (either incidentally or deliberately).</p>
<p>Residents could easily adjust the level of support needed (up and down) over time, while staying at home. Intensive rehabilitation could be delivered in the home or nearby. For example, people who have had a fall could access rehabilitation and restorative services in the local area. </p>
<p>We also looked for ways to take advantage of existing spaces in the community rather than constructing new aged care facilities that are set apart.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aged Care residents have access to community embedded support within five minutes of home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445868/original/file-20220211-25-shltt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The five-minute community and small household model for residential aged care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bickerton Masters</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Designed-in respiratory infection prevention measures</h2>
<p>Big isn’t always better. </p>
<p>Small home models deliver an antidote to isolation <em>and</em> the spread of airborne respiratory infection. </p>
<p>Smaller stand-alone buildings are less reliant on centralised air-circulation systems and can deliver <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abg2025">strategies to reduce infection transmission</a> by ensuring all rooms have access to fresh air and natural ventilation. </p>
<p>Smaller households can quarantine without the need to lock down a large facility.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of older people chat around a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446400/original/file-20220214-141372-1au5ttb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Small home models deliver an antidote to isolation <em>and</em> the spread of airborne respiratory infection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Community participation and engagement built into the design</h2>
<p>Entrenched approaches to residential aged care design assumes residents can do little independently. An unquestioning focus on inabilities further disempowers: “care” is done “to” or “for” a resident in a “facility”. </p>
<p>For example, residential aged care meals are generally pre-prepared and eaten in a large-scale room with many others (including strangers). </p>
<p>At home, by contrast, people decide what, when and where to eat. The small home approach in five-minute communities would allow, for instance, people of different generations to cook together or for a younger person to cook for an older person while also learning new skills. </p>
<p>Designs that acknowledge older people have knowledge and skills to contribute allow for such interactions to occur.</p>
<p>When workshop participants challenged their own expectations, they envisioned design concepts emphasising living, not just existing, until end of life.</p>
<p>The residential aged care crisis is escalating, and structural and cultural change is desperately needed.</p>
<p>It’s time to rethink these physical environments with peoples’ fundamental human needs at the heart of design.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-our-residential-aged-care-system-doesnt-care-about-older-peoples-emotional-needs-103336">How our residential aged-care system doesn't care about older people's emotional needs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosemary Kennedy received funding from DMA Engineers to devise and facilitate the design workshop 'Feels like home' at The University of Queensland. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie Buys receives funding from the Australian Research Council and a variety of industry partners.</span></em></p>It’s time to rethink these physical environments with peoples’ fundamental human needs at the heart of design.Rosemary Kennedy, Adjunct Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, Queensland University of TechnologyLaurie Buys, Honorary Professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706732021-10-27T15:31:13Z2021-10-27T15:31:13ZCities and climate change: why low-rise buildings are the future – not skyscrapers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428805/original/file-20211027-13-omqzje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C2444%2C1685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Paris is an example of a densely built low-rise city.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/editor/image/panoramic-aerial-view-paris-eiffel-tower-1557480866">DaLiu/Shutterestock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-Highlights.pdf">half of the world’s 7.8 billion people</a> live in cities and urban areas. By 2050, an additional <a href="https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-Highlights.pdf">2.5 billion</a> will be living there. As that figure continues to climb and ever more people flock to metropolitan areas in the hope of a better life, the big question is: how do we fit everyone in?</p>
<p>It is the job of city developers and urban planners to figure out how to build or adapt urban environments to accommodate the living and working needs of this rapidly expanding population. There is a popular belief that taller, more densely packed skyscrapers are the way forward, because they optimise the use of space and house more people per square metre and limit urban sprawl. </p>
<p>But given the global commitments to <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition">emissions-reduction targets</a> and mitigating climate change, is this the most sustainable solution from a carbon-reduction perspective?</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-021-00034-w">recent study</a>, which examined whether building denser and taller is the right path to sustainability, busts this myth: we found that densely built, low-rise environments are more space and carbon efficient, while high-rise buildings have a drastically higher carbon impact.</p>
<h2>Impact on the environment</h2>
<p>We assessed the <a href="https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/news/whole-life-carbon-assessment-for-the--built-environment-november-2017.pdf">whole-life cycle of carbon emissions</a> – meaning both operational and “embodied” carbon – of different buildings and urban environments. Operational carbon is generated while a building is in service. Embodied carbon is all the hidden, behind-the-scenes carbon produced during the extraction, production, transport and manufacture of raw materials used to construct a building, plus any produced during maintenance, refurbishment, demolition or replacement.</p>
<p>This aspect is often overlooked, especially in building design, where operational efficiency is always to the fore. The argument for cutting carbon at the design stage has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114107">made by numerous researchers</a>, and it is gaining traction with leading international organisations such as the <a href="https://worldgbc.org/news-media/commitment-includes-embodied-carbon">World Green Building Council</a>. But it’s still something that is largely disregarded, mainly because embodied impact assessment is voluntary, and there is no legislation concerning its inclusion. But it must be advocated for if we are to reach our <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition">2050 emissions targets</a>.</p>
<p>At a global scale, the construction sector is responsible for a significant impact on the environment, as is clear from the graph below. The largest contribution comes from its consumption of energy and resources, which boils down to the design stage – the part of the process that no one is looking at. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph showing construction sector's contribution to environmental impacts." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428607/original/file-20211026-19-jkae8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Construction sector’s contribution to environmental impacts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edinburgh Napier University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now that new buildings have to be more energy efficient and the energy grid is being decarbonised, this hidden embodied energy varies from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778817325835">11%-33%</a> for projects such as <a href="https://passivehouse.com/02_informations/01_whatisapassivehouse/01_whatisapassivehouse.htm">Passive House designs</a> (a building standard that uses non-mechanical heating and cooling design techniques to lower energy use) to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778817325835">74%-100%</a> for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2018.10.019">near-zero energy builds</a> (high performance buildings where the low amount of energy required comes mostly from renewable sources).</p>
<p>Given the focus on driving down the energy impact of day-to-day operations, the proportional share of embodied energy consumption has been driven up. So as energy demand becomes lower when the building is in use, the materials and activities required to build it in first place produce proportionally more impacts across the building’s lifespan. For example, low and near-zero energy buildings are made by improving insulation and using more materials and additional technologies, which greatly increases the hidden energy impact and carbon cost.</p>
<p>Moving to a smaller scale, the embodied carbon share across construction materials shows that minerals have the largest proportion by far, at <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778810003154">45%</a>. The graph below shows the breakdown of materials, where concrete dominates in terms of hidden carbon contribution. This is important because skyscrapers rely heavily on concrete as a structural material. So the type of materials we use, how much we use, and how we use them is crucial.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph showing the carbon contribution of different minerals used in construction." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428775/original/file-20211027-17-x8asgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The carbon contribution of different minerals used in construction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edinburgh Napier University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How we can fix it</h2>
<p>We developed four different urban scenarios shown in the graph below, based on data from real buildings: high-density, high-rise (HDHR) which are tall and close together; low-density, high-rise (LDHR) which are tall but more spread out; high-density, low-rise (HDLR) which are low and close together; and low-density, low-rise (LDLR) which are low level and more spaced out.</p>
<p>To do this, we split the building stock into five main categories: non-domestic low-rise (NDLR); non-domestic high-rise (NDHR); domestic low-rise (DLR); domestic high-rise (DHR); and terraced/house. We gathered numerous data, including height, number of storeys, building footprint (the land area the building physically occupies), facade material and neighbouring constraints. This includes the number and area of blocks and green spaces within one square kilometre, average street width and average distance between buildings. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graphic showing four different urban environments contained in the research study." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428609/original/file-20211026-15-4cw1gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Four urban scenarios analysed in the study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edinburgh Napier University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These parameters were all fed into a computer model to analyse the data looking at the following:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> How whole life-cycle carbon changed based on the buildings and the number of people accommodated within an area of 1km².</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> How whole life-cycle carbon changed due to an increasing population based on four fixed population sizes – 20, 30, 40 and 50 thousand people – and the land use required to accommodate them under the four different urban scenarios.</p>
<p>Our findings show that high-density low-rise cities, such as Paris, are more environmentally friendly than high-density high-rise cities, such as New York. Looking at the fixed population scenarios, when moving from a high-density low-rise to a high-density high-rise urban environment, the average increase in whole life-cycle carbon emissions is 142%.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A panorama of New York's iconic skyscrapers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428796/original/file-20211027-14984-ps78if.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New York’s densely packed skyscrapers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-usa-skyline-762344239">Sean Pavone/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Equating this to the potential savings per person, based on the fixed population size, building high-density low-rise offers a saving of 365 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per person compared with high-density high-rise.</p>
<p>It’s time for urban planners to start embedding this new understanding of the whole carbon life-cycle of a building, balancing the impact of urban density and height while accommodating expanding populations. To achieve urban sustainability the world will need more Parises and fewer Manhattans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesco Pomponi receives funding from the EPSRC, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Innovate UK. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Saint does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research has found that low-rise urban environments are more space and carbon efficient than high-rise buildings which have a drastically higher carbon impact.Ruth Saint, Postdoctoral research fellow, Edinburgh Napier UniversityFrancesco Pomponi, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1676982021-09-10T05:54:20Z2021-09-10T05:54:20ZHow the terrifying evacuations from the twin towers on 9/11 helped make today’s skyscrapers safer<p>The 2001 World Trade Center disaster was the most significant high-rise evacuation in modern times, and the harrowing experiences of the thousands of survivors who successfully escaped the twin towers have had a significant influence on building codes and standards. One legacy of the 9/11 tragedy is that today’s skyscrapers can be emptied much more safely and easily in an emergency.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing layout of elevators in the World Trade Center towers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1034&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1034&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1034&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1299&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420419/original/file-20210910-28-1qqreiu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1299&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The twin towers’ elevator layouts meant getting to ground level was more complicated on some floors than on others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">US NIST</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 110-storey twin towers, constructed from 1966 to 1973, both had open-plan floor designs, with stairs and elevators located in the buildings’ core. Each tower had three staircases which, barring a few twists and turns, ran all the way from the top of the building down to the mezzanine level just above the ground floor. One of the stairways had steps 142 centimetres wide, but the other two measured just 112cm, which would not be permitted by today’s skyscraper building codes.</p>
<p>As a result of the twin towers’ system of “<a href="https://skyrisecities.com/news/2016/03/explainer-sky-lobby">sky lobbies</a>”, which was innovative for its time, the number of available elevators varied depending on the floor. The system was not designed to be used in an emergency, and today, many towers above a certain height are required to be fitted with dedicated emergency elevators or an additional staircase. </p>
<p>When the planes hit on the morning of September 11 2001, the twin towers were at less than half their full occupancy, with <a href="https://www.nist.gov/publications/occupant-behavior-egress-and-emergency-communication-federal-building-and-fire-safety-0">about 9,000 people in each tower</a>. Many people who worked there had not yet arrived, partly because of a New York mayoral election scheduled for that day.</p>
<p>At 8:46am, American Airlines flight 11 slammed into the north face of the north tower, rendering all three staircases impassable for anyone above the 91st floor. Sixteen minutes later, and after one-third of its occupants had already evacuated, the south tower was hit by United Airlines flight 175, leaving only one staircase available for evacuees above the 78th floor.</p>
<p>Besides the problems posed by fires and damage on floors, and debris inside the stairways, people in both towers also faced issues with communication. The north tower’s public address system, which would have been used to make emergency announcements to the building’s occupants, was disabled by the crash. </p>
<p>In the south tower, three minutes before the impact, occupants were told via the public address system to stay in place and wait for further information. Two minutes later they were told they could evacuate if they wanted. This may have meant more people from higher floors were waiting at the sky lobby on floor 78 when the plane crashed into that floor.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/9-11-conspiracy-theories-debunked-20-years-later-engineering-experts-explain-how-the-twin-towers-collapsed-167353">9/11 conspiracy theories debunked: 20 years later, engineering experts explain how the twin towers collapsed</a>
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<p>In both towers, people had only limited information on which to base their decisions. For those closest to the impacts, the seriousness of the situation and the need to evacuate was clear. But for those further away, who may have witnessed only the lights flicker, the uncertainty was palpable. Many people delayed their evacuation to seek out extra information, whether by speaking with colleagues, making phone calls, sending emails or searching online for news updates. </p>
<p>Many lives were saved by the brave leadership of people who took control of the situation, urging others to evacuate and helping those who needed assistance. My <a href="https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/6t053g11g">PhD research</a> revealed these were typically people who were used to taking charge: high-level managers, fire wardens and people with military experience.</p>
<h2>Hazardous exit</h2>
<p>Evacuees faced a dangerous and claustrophobic journey down to ground level. A <a href="https://www.nist.gov/el/final-reports-nist-world-trade-center-disaster-investigation">subsequent US government investigation</a> found 70% of evacuees encountered crowding on the stairs. Some people recalled having to leave the stairwell either because of overcrowding, being told to do so by fire or building officials, or because they needed a rest. Other problems included poor lighting, not knowing which direction to go, and finding the route unavoidably blocked by people with permanent or temporary disabilities.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="World Trade Center stairwell" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420423/original/file-20210910-17-5o1ihp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the narrow staircases in the north tower, taken during the evacuation on September 11 2001.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NIST</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While people are typically told not to use elevators in an emergency, 16% of those who escaped the south tower used the elevators to evacuate during the 16 minutes between the two impacts. <a href="https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/article/10.1007/s10694-011-0240-y">Simulations</a> of a hypothetical 9/11 in which elevators were unavailable showed that occupants’ use of elevators saved 3,000 lives in the south tower.</p>
<p>Not everyone was so lucky. The <a href="https://www.nist.gov/publications/occupant-behavior-egress-and-emergency-communication-federal-building-and-fire-safety-0">US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation</a> (on which I was an author) estimated that between 2,146 and 2,163 people were killed in the towers, and that more people died in the north tower, which was struck first. Most of those who died on 9/11 were on or above the floors hit by the planes. </p>
<p>Roughly 99% of people on floors below the impacts managed to evacuate successfully. For those who didn’t, the factors linked to their deaths included delaying their evacuation, performing emergency response duties, or being unable to leave their particular floor because of damage or debris. Had the buildings been fully occupied, the consequences would undoubtedly have been even worse.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/20-years-on-9-11-responders-are-still-sick-and-dying-166033">20 years on, 9/11 responders are still sick and dying</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Building better</h2>
<p>The stories of those who experienced the terrifying evacuations have helped to shape important and life-saving changes in high-rise buildings. The <a href="https://www.nist.gov/publications/occupant-behavior-egress-and-emergency-communication-federal-building-and-fire-safety-0">NIST report</a> made several recommendations that were eventually implemented in a range of building codes and standards around the world, notably the <a href="https://www.iccsafe.org/products-and-services/i-codes/2018-i-codes/ibc/">International Building Code</a>.</p>
<p>Emergency stairs in skyscrapers must now be at least 137cm wide, and feature glow-in-the-dark markings on the stair treads that are visible even if the power fails. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Stairwell in building in Taiwan" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420416/original/file-20210910-8898-4a51dt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stairwells in large buildings are now wider and have better signage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rico Shen/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, while elevator use is not typically encouraged during building fires, the International Building Code now requires a new “occupant-safe” elevator system or an additional staircase in buildings over 128 metres tall. These new elevator systems are designed to be safely used during fires, offering a vital escape route for people unable to use stairs.</p>
<p>The tragic events of 9/11 changed the world in all sorts of ways. But hopefully, when it comes to the design of today’s skyscrapers, it has changed things for the better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erica Kuligowski currently receives funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Measurement Science and Engineering Grants Program (as a subcontractor). She is affiliated with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) as a Section Editor for their Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering (Human Behaviour Section) and as a member of the Board of Governors for the SFPE Foundation. Also, from 2002 to 2020, Erica worked as a research engineer and social scientist in the Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. While at NIST, Erica worked on NIST's Technical Investigation of the 2001 WTC Disaster as a team member of Project 7: Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. Finally, Erica gratefully acknowledges the UK WTC project HEED, funded by the UK EPSRC (grant EP/D507790/1) for providing access to the HEED database, which was used in her PhD thesis.</span></em></p>99% of people below the floors where the planes struck the twin towers evacuated successfully, although their journey was fraught with danger. Their stories have influenced today’s skyscraper designs.Erica Kuligowski, Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1673532021-09-08T20:12:45Z2021-09-08T20:12:45Z9/11 conspiracy theories debunked: 20 years later, engineering experts explain how the twin towers collapsed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419912/original/file-20210908-7120-1nfd6c7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C26%2C4346%2C2900&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roberto Robanne/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The collapse of the World Trade Center has been subject to intense public scrutiny over the 20 years, since the centre’s twin towers were struck by aircraft hijacked by terrorists. Both collapsed within two hours of impact, prompting several investigations and spawning a variety of conspiracy theories. </p>
<p>Construction on the World Trade Center 1 (the North Tower) and World Trade Center 2 (the South Tower) began in the 1960s. They were constructed from steel and concrete, using a design that was groundbreaking at the time. Most high-rise buildings since have used a similar structure.</p>
<p>The investigatory reports into the events of September 11, 2001 were undertaken by the <a href="https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/fema403_ch2.pdf">US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)</a> and the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/el/final-reports-nist-world-trade-center-disaster-investigation">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a>. </p>
<p>FEMA’s report was published in 2002. This was followed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s three-year investigation, funded by the US Federal Government and published in 2005.</p>
<p>Some conspiracy theorists seized on the fact the NIST investigation was funded by the federal government — believing the government itself had caused the twin towers’ collapse, or was aware it would happen and deliberately didn’t act.</p>
<p>While there have been critics of both reports (and the investigations behind them weren’t flawless) — their explanation for the buildings’ collapse is widely accepted. They conclude it was not caused by direct impact by the aircraft, or the use of explosives, but by fires that burned inside the buildings after impact.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fire and rescue workers search through the rubble of the World Trade Centrr" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419934/original/file-20210908-18-1d6m7vf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fire and rescue workers search through the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York on 13 September 2001. On 11 September 2001, two aircrafts were flown into the centre’s twin towers, causing both to collapse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BETH A. KEISER/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why did the towers collapse as they did?</h2>
<p>Some have questioned why the buildings did not “topple over” after being struck side-on by aircraft. But the answer becomes clear once you consider the details. </p>
<p>Aircraft are made from lightweight materials, such as aluminium. If you compare the mass of an aircraft with that of a skyscraper more than 400 metres tall and built from steel and concrete, it makes sense the building would not topple over.</p>
<p>The towers would have been more than 1,000 times the mass of the aircraft, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11837-001-0003-1">designed to resist</a> steady wind loads more than 30 times the aircrafts’ weight.</p>
<p>That said, the aircraft did dislodge fireproofing material within the towers, which was coated on the steel columns and on the steel floor trusses (underneath concrete slabs). The lack of fireproofing left the steel unprotected.</p>
<p>As such, the impact also structurally <a href="https://www.nist.gov/el/final-reports-nist-world-trade-center-disaster-investigation">damaged</a> the supporting steel columns. When a few columns become damaged, the load they carry is transferred to other columns. This is why both towers withstood the initial impacts and didn’t collapse immediately.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/9-11-the-controversial-story-of-the-remains-of-the-world-trade-center-167481">9/11: the controversial story of the remains of the World Trade Center</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Progressive collapse</h2>
<p>The fact that the towers withstood initial impacts also spawned one of the most common conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11: that a bomb or explosives must have been detonated somewhere within the buildings. </p>
<p>These theories have developed from video footage showing the towers rapidly collapsing downwards some time after impact, similar to a controlled demolition. But it is possible for them to have collapsed this way without explosives. </p>
<p>It was fire that caused this. And the fire is believed to have come from the burning of remaining aircraft fuel. </p>
<p>According to the FEMA report, fire within the buildings caused thermal expansion of the floors in a horizontal and outwards direction, pushing against the rigid steel columns — which deflected to an extent but resisted further movement.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419729/original/file-20210907-17-ceifdd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This figure shows the expansion of floor slabs and framing which likely happened as a result of the fires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">FEMA / https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/fema403_ch2.pdf</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With the columns resisting movement, there was nowhere else for the concrete floors to expand to. This led to an increased buildup of stress in the sagging floors, until the floor framing and connections gave in. </p>
<p>The floors’ failure pulled the columns back inwards, eventually leading to them buckling, and the floors collapsing. The collapsing floors then fell on more floors below, leading to a progressive collapse.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419730/original/file-20210907-15-n8yw7s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The buckling of columns initiated by floor failure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">FEMA / https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/fema403_ch2.pdf</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This explanation, documented in the official reports, is widely accepted by experts as the cause of the twin towers’ collapse. It is <a href="https://www.nist.gov/el/final-reports-nist-world-trade-center-disaster-investigation">understood</a> the South Tower collapsed sooner because it suffered more damage from the initial aircraft impact, which also dislodged more fireproofing material. </p>
<p>The debris from the collapse of the North Tower set at least ten floors alight in the nearby World Trade Center 7 building, or “Building 7”, which also <a href="https://www.nist.gov/publications/final-report-collapse-world-trade-center-building-7-federal-building-and-fire-safety-0">collapsed</a> about seven hours later. </p>
<p>While there are different theories regarding how the progressive collapse of Building 7 was initiated, there is <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_9f81895/P003_UQ9f81895_Paper21.pdf?dsi_version=87e49663794e5734a13be9924e57b0a7&Expires=1631067602&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJKNBJ4MJBJNC6NLQ&Signature=BFjdytaaDOoZ4UkNnYkXUS5J5CZrVXDG0C%7E39s6s3ljwVyI8yeiKjFSWIbVMrPxD2J%7EYfBgk8AMGWZ2NfJCyn4EOn2KpKGZ8wY-eJXXLmwU3hRbIBGl9sFTIOwNIAuAgPjMPQtIJS6K9vRxvasOJpXnSWZYNc67UOKSZJ84HPu7es-4DcQPn18AmHVq6oBDaCjeIlWZmx9v05H8CaOi9VaT%7EHPxJR0J46QXyL4w72BoU287X58Z3n6wB5cyeeULUL7zIwQo0HLLofLKfyam5zaKDXghQNVTtwEfaX5l7pj2zVedjbpZiaNQ6KZcR7pO%7EXuCwmaRM0QgrU-GK2q4pCg">consensus among investigators</a> fire was the primary cause of failure.</p>
<p>Both official reports made a range of fire safety recommendations for other high-rise buildings, including to improve evacuation and emergency response. In 2007, the National Institute of Standards and Technology also published a <a href="https://www.nist.gov/publications/best-practices-reducing-potential-progressive-collapse-buildings">best practice guide</a> recommending solutions to reduce risk of progressive collapse.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for high-rise buildings?</h2>
<p>Before 9/11, progressive collapse wasn’t well understood by engineers. The disaster highlighted the importance of having a “global view” of fire safety for a building, as opposed to focusing on individual elements. </p>
<p>There have since been changes to building codes and standards on improving the structural performance of buildings on fire, as well as opportunities to escape (such as added stairwell requirements).</p>
<p>At the same time, the collapse of the twin towers demonstrated the very real dangers of fire in high-rise buildings. In the decades since the World Trade Center was designed, buildings have become taller and more complex, as societies demand sustainable and cost-effective housing in large cities.</p>
<p>Some 86 of the current <a href="https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buildings">100 tallest</a> buildings in the world were built after 9/11. This has coincided with a significant increase in building façade fires globally, which have <a href="https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201809355933912.page">gone up sevenfold</a> in the past three decades.</p>
<p>This can be partly attributed to the wide use of flammable cladding. It is marketed as an innovative, cost-effective and sustainable material, yet it has shown significant shortcomings in terms of fire safety — as witnessed in the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40301289">2017 Grenfell Disaster</a>. </p>
<p>The Grenfell fire (and similar cladding fires) are proof that fire safety in tall buildings is still a problem. And as structures get taller and more complex, with new and innovative designs and materials, questions around fire safety will only become more difficult to answer.</p>
<p>The events of 9/11 may have been challenging to foresee, but the fires that led to the towers’ collapse could have been better prepared for.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cladding-fire-risks-have-been-known-for-years-lives-depend-on-acting-now-with-no-more-delays-111186">Cladding fire risks have been known for years. Lives depend on acting now, with no more delays</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167353/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Oswald has received funding from various organisations including the Association of Researchers in Construction Management and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. He is affiliated with The Institute of Civil Engineers acting as a journal Associate Editor.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erica Kuligowski currently receives funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Measurement Science and Engineering Grants Program (as a subcontractor). She is affiliated with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) as a Section Editor for their Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering (Human Behaviour Section) and as a member of the Board of Governors for the SFPE Foundation. Also, from 2002 to 2020, Erica worked as a research engineer and social scientist in the Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. While at NIST, Erica worked on NIST's Technical Investigation of the 2001 WTC Disaster as a team member of Project 7: Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Nguyen receives funding from the Australian Research Council and other government/industry-funded programs. She is a member of the Society of Fire Safety, Engineers Australia. The view and opinion that she has in this article is her personal view and does not represent her employer's opinion. </span></em></p>The World Trade Center buildings were built to withstand wind loads more than 30 times the aircrafts’ weight.David Oswald, Senior Lecturer in Construction, RMIT UniversityErica Kuligowski, Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityKate Nguyen, Senior Lecturer, ARC DECRA Fellow and Victoria Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1634252021-06-25T06:31:31Z2021-06-25T06:31:31ZWhy did the Miami apartment building collapse? And are others in danger?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408333/original/file-20210625-20-xemjmx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C3477%2C2292&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lynne Sladky/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just before 2am US Eastern Daylight Time on June 24, the Champlain Towers South Tower in Surfside, South Florida, partially <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-24/miami-building-collapse-surfside-florida-apartment/100242850">collapsed</a>.</p>
<p>The 12-storey building with 136 apartments <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article252325063.html">was built</a> in 1981 on reclaimed wetlands. More than 55 apartments have been destroyed. At least one person is confirmed dead — with some reports <a href="https://abc7.com/miami-building-collapse-collapse-beach-today/10826422">claiming three</a> — and about 100 people remain unaccounted for. Many others have been injured.</p>
<p>It’s unclear at this stage why the building collapsed, but it has been speculated that it had been <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/miami-building-collapse-high-rise-tower-was-sinking-for-decades-before-it-collapsed/2NBOXEN3IVC5P2CNU2JEYOOXRA/">sinking</a> over time, which may have contributed to the collapse. It’s likely the actual cause of the collapse won’t be known for months, if ever. </p>
<p>However, it is important to find out exactly what happened, and what it might mean for similar buildings in Miami and around the world. </p>
<h2>A domino effect</h2>
<p>Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cause-miami-condo-collapse-unclear-experts-say-barrier-islands-present-n1272316">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There’s no reason for this building to go down like that unless someone literally pulls out the supports from underneath or they get washed out or there’s a sinkhole or something like that, because it just went down. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Video footage suggests the building experienced a progressive collapse. This happens when there is failure of a primary structural element, which then causes failure of adjoining members. For example, if one floor can’t support the floors above it, those floors collapse and “pancake” the floors below. </p>
<p>While such apartment buildings are designed to carry heavy loads under normal static conditions, they provide little resistance against dynamic moving masses — such as an upper section pancaking a section below. </p>
<p>The Miami building’s progressive collapse is a similar effect to that witnessed on September 11, 2001, when <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-building-design-changed-after-9-11-64580">fires</a> inside the World Trade Centre twin towers weakened the buildings’ structure and triggered a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10694-012-0283-8">progressive collapse</a>. However, in the case of the recent collapse, there was no evidence of a fire. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1408239145886101504"}"></div></p>
<h2>Potential causes</h2>
<p>While the cause of the disaster isn’t immediately clear, some explanations are more likely than others for this type of collapse. </p>
<p>It has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/miami-area-condo-collapse-causes-massive-emergency-response-11624532492">been reported</a> the building, which was constructed on reclaimed wetlands, was sinking. Building on unstable land could have caused damage to the foundations over time. When buildings experience lots of ground movement, large cracking can occur, causing structural damage.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1408213367320453123"}"></div></p>
<p>There was also construction work ongoing nearby, and investigators will need to consider whether this could have disturbed the foundations. This nearby construction work could have <a href="https://www.aihs.org.au/news-and-publications/news/220000-fine-after-excavation-causes-next-door-building-collapse">created ground movement</a> under nearby buildings due to vibrations or deep excavations work.</p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/miami-area-condo-collapse-causes-massive-emergency-response-11624532492">work on the building’s roof</a> will also have to be investigated, although it’s less likely this extra load would have caused the collapse. The building was also undergoing a 40-year recertification, as is required in Florida, and early media reports are that this process had not identified any major issue with the building. </p>
<h2>Others may be at risk</h2>
<p>The building foundation for such high-rises will typically rely on a type of “pile” foundation. Piles are essentially long, slender columns, made of materials such as concrete and steel, which transfer the load from the building deep into the ground. </p>
<p>If there was a reduction in the capacity of the soil to support these loads, such as in the event of a sinkhole, there would be nothing underpinning the building. Given the information that has emerged so far, it’s likely the sinking of the building over time may have been a key factor in its ultimate collapse. </p>
<p>Once the initial emergency search for survivors is completed, and the remaining part of the structure is deemed safe, attention will turn to what exactly caused the collapse. A range of experts (such as structural engineers) will be involved in this review. </p>
<p>In previous similar building collapses in the United States, the causes have typically been identified following investigations. For instance, in the case of one 2013 Philadelphia building <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/05/us/pennsylvania-philadelphia-building-collapse/index.html">accident</a>, the catastrophe was attributed to the reckless and unsafe removal of structural supports during demolition work on a vacant building.
This caused the vacant building to collapse onto a store, causing multiple deaths.</p>
<p>In the case of the Miami building, however, the exact cause may not be as easy to identify. The building had undergone several inspections during the ongoing recertification process, yet it appears imminent danger was not detected.</p>
<p>Investigating a building collapse typically takes months, and a full answer is sometimes never found. Right now in Miami, this process should be as rapid as possible, as nearby buildings may also be in danger. </p>
<p>For residents’ sake, the question of whether this incident was an isolated freak event will need to be answered quickly and comprehensively.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1408075822246809604"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163425/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trivess Moore has received funding from various organisations including the Australian Research Council, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Victorian Government and various industry partners. He is a trustee of the Fuel Poverty Research Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Oswald has received funding from various organisations including the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Association of Researchers in Construction Management. He is the lead guest editor for a special issue in the journal Construction, Management and Economics, titled: ‘Construction defects, danger, disruption and disputes: A systemic view of the construction industry post-Grenfell.' </span></em></p>Construction experts explain the various factors that likely came into play, leading to the collapse of a building which had reportedly been sinking for some time.Trivess Moore, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT UniversityDavid Oswald, Senior Lecturer in Construction, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1548402021-02-24T19:06:27Z2021-02-24T19:06:27ZI teach architecture and have been in quarantine a lot lately. Here are ways design can protect us against COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385705/original/file-20210223-13-1ycm8kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3407%2C2264&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ryan Remiorz/AP/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus has been escaping with <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-hotel-worker-tests-positive-in-melbourne-its-time-to-move-hotel-quarantine-out-of-cities-154820">distressing frequency</a> from quarantine hotels, threatening serious outbreaks. To make things worse, multiple variants of the virus, possibly <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55768627">more infectious and deadly</a>, have recently been detected. This accentuates the need for robust hotel quarantine, especially in <a href="https://theconversation.com/perth-is-the-latest-city-to-suffer-a-covid-quarantine-breach-why-does-this-keep-happening-154375">countries like Australia</a> that have controlled community transmission.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/perth-is-the-latest-city-to-suffer-a-covid-quarantine-breach-why-does-this-keep-happening-154375">Perth is the latest city to suffer a COVID quarantine breach. Why does this keep happening?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While the hotel quarantine system has received wide attention, relatively few people have had the opportunity to experience and observe it first hand. Even fewer have been able to compare with other regions handling similar challenges. I happen to have needed to travel overseas and thus experienced quarantine in several places over the past months. </p>
<p>Based on my experience as an academic in architecture, I share some thoughts and observations here on how the design or redesign of buildings, infrastructure and cities can help people overcome the health challenges created by COVID-19.</p>
<p>Our buildings and cities were not designed to handle such extraordinary situations as this pandemic. One consequence is their design has often made the need to touch surfaces unavoidable. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-worried-should-i-be-about-news-the-coronavirus-survives-on-surfaces-for-up-to-28-days-147919">How worried should I be about news the coronavirus survives on surfaces for up to 28 days?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Take lifts, for example</h2>
<p>Some of the most frequently touched surfaces in buildings are the buttons in lifts. In some buildings in China, plastic wrap is used to cover the buttons and a sticker showing the time and date of last disinfection is attached nearby. Other buildings provide tissues for people to use as disposable finger covers. </p>
<p>In quarantine hotels, this procedure is even more carefully managed. Staff help guests by pressing the button. This small touch area needs frequent cleaning, which calls for extra human resources.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385732/original/file-20210223-18-3ns88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Various strategies used in public lifts. Above left, in Melbourne; above right and below left, in Kunming; below right, in Guangzhou.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photos: Mengbi Li (top row and bottom left), Fei Zhou (bottom right)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At Baiyunshan airport in Guangzhou, I used a lift with touch-free buttons. The keypad had infrared sensors installed next to the usual button. With just a wave of their finger over the touch-free button, users can select their destination. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385733/original/file-20210223-24-d50ops.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A lift with infrared sensors at Baiyunshan airport in Guangzhou.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Xiao Xu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/510936834" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A lift with infrared sensors at Baiyunshan airport in Guangzhou (video by Xiao Xu)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another mode free of physical screens features numbers displayed in a <a href="http://www.chinanews.com/sh/shipin/cns-d/2020/04-23/news854573.shtml">front-projected holographic display</a>. A sensor detects the movement of pressing a button in the air to activate the lift.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SK-aSzyKXRE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A front-projected holographic display means there’s no need to physically touch the buttons in this lift.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This technology is not out of our reach. In response to the pandemic, authorities in Melbourne and Sydney have trialled touch-free buttons using infrared technology at <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/victorian-government-trials-touchless-pedestrian-crossing-technology-in-melbourne/">pedestrian crossings</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383669/original/file-20210211-21-1c0yl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pedestrian crossing signal with an infrared sensor in Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Mengbi Li</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One concern about touch-free buttons is the challenge they present to the visually impaired. Currently, a push-button is placed next to the infrared sensor. An alternative for people who need assistance would be to use gesture or voice commands. Other concerns include reliability and vandal-proofing.</p>
<p>Another sensitive touch spot is the toilet. The airport toilets I visited in Australia, China and Singapore are equipped with touch-free features to activate the flush, tap, soap dispenser and hand dryer. However, the doors and locks cannot function without touch. Touch-free sensors or foot pedals would probably help. </p>
<p>Alternatively, new materials or coatings like antimicrobial polymers could be applied in areas where touch is unavoidable. Of course, care must be taken to ensure the antiviral potency is both reliable and people-friendly.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/automatic-doors-the-simple-technology-that-could-help-stop-coronavirus-spreading-135420">Automatic doors: the simple technology that could help stop coronavirus spreading</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Design solutions don’t have to be high-tech</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1497&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1497&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1881&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1881&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383670/original/file-20210211-17-11dj16g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1881&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A touch-free hand sanitiser dispenser in Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Mengbi Li</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, touch-free public spaces do not always rely on advanced materials or sophisticated technology. In a Melbourne quarantine hotel, I noticed several bollards with foot pedals being used as hand sanitiser dispensers. These are designed to function mechanically and require no power connections. </p>
<p>Instead of a simple stainless steel bollard, this dispenser could be further reimagined as an artistic sculpture integrating the building’s signage at the entrance. Elsewhere, this design could be incorporated into litter bins along the streets.</p>
<p>Usually, for architectural design, circulation patterns are analysed to see how people reach each space and establish the relationships between different areas. For safety purposes, exits are checked to ensure people can evacuate in a timely way. To prepare for future pandemics, these studies could add analysis of touch points in both pandemic and non-pandemic periods.</p>
<p>The shared challenge posed by the pandemic has prompted some innovative ideas. For example, physical reminders to keep a social distance have variously involved using <a href="https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/netherlands/six-feet-office">carpet tiles</a>, <a href="https://www.urbangardensweb.com/2020/06/26/lawn-mowed-into-checkerboard-becomes-natural-social-distancing-space/">mowed or trimmed landscape patterns</a>, <a href="https://www.yankodesign.com/2020/07/14/social-distancing-designs-needed-along-with-face-masks-to-be-safe-in-the-post-quarantine-world/">furniture arrangements</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands-restau-idUSKBN22I1CV">temporary structures</a> and <a href="https://www.designboom.com/art/nosigner-social-harmony-eric-satie-11-30-2020/">pavements or stickers</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1283845120647987207"}"></div></p>
<p>Other solutions involve applying modular construction from well-equipped <a href="https://theconversation.com/hospital-beds-and-coronavirus-test-centres-are-needed-fast-heres-an-australian-designed-solution-136041">containers to create emergency hospitals</a> or mobile testing stations.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hospital-beds-and-coronavirus-test-centres-are-needed-fast-heres-an-australian-designed-solution-136041">Hospital beds and coronavirus test centres are needed fast. Here's an Australian-designed solution</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A shipping container adapted for use as an intensive care unit" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385708/original/file-20210223-21-2183mr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Plug-in intensive care units created from a shipping container were installed at a temporary hospital set up in Turin, northern Italy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://carloratti.com/project/cura/">Max Tomasinelli/Carlo Ratti Associati</a></span>
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<p>From touch-free public spaces to designing for social distance and modular construction, there are still many ways the design or redesign of our buildings and cities can help to protect the public. Good design is particularly important to protect those in high-risk environments, such as workers and senior citizens in health care and aged care. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-ventilation-may-be-adding-to-nursing-homes-covid-19-risks-144725">Poor ventilation may be adding to nursing homes' COVID-19 risks</a>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Six Feet Office uses design to enable social distancing.</span></figcaption>
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<p>As necessity is the mother of invention, there is nothing like a period of stress to stimulate creativity, industry and innovation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mengbi Li does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our buildings and cities were not designed to handle a pandemic. But countries around the world are coming up with design ideas, some high-tech and some more basic, to reduce the infection risks.Mengbi Li, Lecturer in Built Environment (Architecture), First Year College and Research Fellow, ISILC, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1513782021-02-18T19:11:46Z2021-02-18T19:11:46ZHow Chinese courtyard housing can help older Australian women avoid homelessness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384609/original/file-20210216-23-1dengzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C4232%2C2826&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beijing-china-june-18-typical-courtyard-148617785">Rolf_52/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia urgently needs housing types that meet the needs of older women facing homelessness. One such model is Chinese <em>siheyuan</em> courtyard housing, which provides safe, affordable and private living spaces while maintaining a sense of community. It has potential for adapting existing buildings for re-use in Australia in a way that makes financial, social and environmental sense. </p>
<p>Women over 45 are one of the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/publications/older-womens-risk-homelessness-background-paper-2019">fastest-growing groups</a> of people who are homeless in Australia. In 2020, an estimated <a href="https://theconversation.com/400-000-women-over-45-are-at-risk-of-homelessness-in-australia-142906">405,000 women</a> over 45 were at risk of <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/the-rental-affordability-snapshot/docs/default-source/default-document-library/rental-affordability-snapshot-2020">housing affordability stress</a> and hence becoming homeless. Considering the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability">shortage of affordable housing</a>, an <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-housing-do-older-australians-want-and-where-do-they-want-to-live-120987">ageing population</a> and the lifelong <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-women-over-55-arent-exactly-enjoying-the-time-of-their-lives-62832">economic disadvantage</a> that women experience, this problem requires a speedy solution. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/400-000-women-over-45-are-at-risk-of-homelessness-in-australia-142906">400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia</a>
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<p>A simple (and obvious) solution for older women facing homelessness is to provide them with access to appropriate, safe and affordable homes for the long term. So why is this problem so difficult to solve? </p>
<p>Recent attempts to meet this need for older women’s housing include “pop-up” or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/meanwhile-building-use-another-way-to-manage-properties-left-vacant-by-the-covid-19-crisis-144056">meanwhile use</a>” accommodation in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-01/could-empty-properties-solve-australias-need-for-social-housing/11655386">vacant aged-care facilities</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">tiny houses</a>. While both types provide good short-term options, they do not create long-term housing that meets older women’s needs to age in place and have secure tenure and a sense of belonging. All these aspects are important for their well-being. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meanwhile-building-use-another-way-to-manage-properties-left-vacant-by-the-covid-19-crisis-144056">'Meanwhile' building use: another way to manage properties left vacant by the COVID-19 crisis</a>
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<p>What if we were to take the idea of adapting existing buildings and merge it with the idea of tiny homes? Chinese courtyard housing – <em>siheyuan</em> – has some important principles that could be culturally adapted to the Australian context.</p>
<h2>Finding new spaces in old stock</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/articles/buildings-are-not-lifeless-objects-its-time-to-treat-them-as-such/">Adaptive reuse</a> involves the conversion of new spaces within old ones. An existing building is recycled by integrating a new set of functions into the existing skin to suit the needs of new inhabitants. </p>
<p>This is not a new concept – think of the <a href="https://hagiasophiaturkey.com/history-hagia-sophia/">Hagia Sophia</a> in Istanbul, variously a church, mosque and museum. Or <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/parks/paddington-reservoir-gardens">Paddington Reservoir</a> in Sydney, originally infrastructure, then petrol station, then ruin, now urban performance space. </p>
<p>Adaptive reuse works on a triple-bottom-line approach: economic, environmental and socio-cultural. Recycling an existing building is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-can-recycle-more-buildings-126563">cheaper</a>, better for the environment and ensures the collective memory of a place is not erased. For buildings as for older women, respect for age, connection to place and care for the environment are important. </p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unused-buildings-will-make-good-housing-in-the-world-of-covid-19-142897">Unused buildings will make good housing in the world of COVID-19</a>
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<h2>Chinese wisdom in an Australian context</h2>
<p>The name “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/China_s_Old_Dwellings.html?id=PNnfwOo-WdAC"><em>siheyuan</em></a>” translates into quadrangle courtyard housing. This type of housing comes from traditional Confucian ideas of the extended family unit, arranged around a courtyard or series of courtyards with graduated levels of privacy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384613/original/file-20210217-15-1hc96nz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hugo Chan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The interesting thing about the <em>siheyuan</em> arrangement is the highly ordered series of rooms with private units organised around open spaces and communal halls for gatherings. In Beijing today, an estimated <a href="https://unhabitat.org/best-practices-on-social-sustainability-in-historic-districts">400,000 courtyard houses remain</a>. About 500 have been preserved as <a href="https://unhabitat.org/best-practices-on-social-sustainability-in-historic-districts">historic sites</a>. </p>
<p>The hierarchical order of the <em>siheyuan</em> presents a great opportunity for adapting it to suit the needs of older women. It’s a type of co-housing arrangement: people live independently but together, sharing some facilities like open space and areas to come together for occasional meals. This model could form part of the rise in <a href="https://nightingalehousing.org/nightingale-1">shared housing</a> configurations.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/co-housing-works-well-for-older-people-once-they-get-past-the-image-problem-79907">Co-housing works well for older people, once they get past the image problem</a>
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<p>The courtyards meet the needs of older women to maintain a strong connection to a garden space, with potential for them to be active in maintaining this area. The courtyards promote social contact and exercise, as well as space for quiet contemplation. This interior-landscape connection is important to the well-being of older women.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="tradition Chinese siheyuan courtyard housing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384614/original/file-20210217-21-1uavkdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The connections between private living areas, courtyards and gardens promote well-being through social contact and exercise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lorena-david/318395233/in/photolist-u8RNZ-ErWEi-ErZuC-6NVCJe-ErWqb-ErY3G-ErX4x-ErWQj-2A3D6w-2hK5zS2-2hK2Y8c-5M2dTM-2hK5zMh-b4JXpF-ixz43v-iKi5Ye-7PHvTM-2i2JQji-b3JpZc-59kzJy-hCqtre-NxGg7a-iyonPo-u8fsx-Gh4GbU-ErXhT-ErZax-ErXGd-ohRim1-exzNqQ-jSZUU-bK9Qy-5AnCqt-9va4km-7bFYEY-pyifR1-8FdF8R-28PMANs-61V5gA-22AmPgH-6RPSt5-5ujpGt-4rpZCm-oDu7RD-6g3mBk-ARrBHy-7ouFV3-2tcPzk-dV6AkK-8A2utc">ByLorena/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The hall serves as a social connector. It’s a place for communal activities, connecting with family or friends, creative projects or listening. Women retain their sense of independence; they decide when they participate.</p>
<p>Another important requirement for older women is to have the space to welcome family and friends, so they maintain their social connections to the world. The hall is an efficient way to share space that everyone needs, but only some of the time.</p>
<p>The private units ensure the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-single-older-women-want-their-own-little-space-and-garden-to-call-home-for-a-start-84780">independence, safety and sense of belonging</a> that older women need. Cultural and social needs are met easily within one’s personal domain. </p>
<p>The small luxury of having a room of one’s own should not be underestimated. Many older women have <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/ahrc_ow_homelessness2019.pdf">rarely had this luxury</a>. For them, it provides much-needed dignity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-single-older-women-want-their-own-little-space-and-garden-to-call-home-for-a-start-84780">What do single, older women want? Their 'own little space' (and garden) to call home, for a start</a>
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<h2>The adaptation mindset</h2>
<p>This sort of adaptive reuse is not just about what we do with existing buildings. It’s also about adapting cultural wisdom, and ideas from the past, to develop alternative ways of living together. Many currently <a href="https://www.savings.com.au/home-loans/number-of-vacant-properties-rises-40-in-sydney">underutilised or vacant buildings</a> in Australia could be adapted to courtyard housing. </p>
<p>It will need a radical shift in policy and developer-driven economics. But this opportunity would meet so many current needs of older women, be good environmental practice and provide social housing. As Confucius said, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”</p>
<p>The financial burden on taxpayers and service providers is dramatically reduced by providing secure affordable housing in the first place. The solution to the problem of homelessness lies not in our obsession with new housing models or new development, but perhaps, if we look hard enough, in our existing urban fabric. Right under our noses, existing buildings offer opportunities ripe for adaptation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-housing-do-older-australians-want-and-where-do-they-want-to-live-120987">What sort of housing do older Australians want and where do they want to live?</a>
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<p><em>Correction: this article has been updated to correct a reference to the Hagia Sophia originally being a mosque and now a museum. In 2020 it re-opened as a mosque, but it was first built as a church.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Donnelly is affiliated with the UTS Design Innovation Research Centre </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugo Chan's independent research work in adaptive reuse architecture was developed through the support of the Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship (2017) which is administered by the NSW Architects Registration Board. </span></em></p>Many older women are in desperate need of affordable housing where they can age in place securely, with dignity and as part of a community. The siheyuan model offers ways to meet these needs.Samantha Donnelly, Lecturer, School of Architecture, UTS and PhD candidate, XYX Lab, Monash Uni, University of Technology SydneyHugo Chan, Sessional Academic, UNSW Built Environment, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1478382020-12-31T20:19:13Z2020-12-31T20:19:13ZGreen buildings can bring fresh air to design, but they can also bring pests<p>Throughout the world architects are designing green buildings, whether it’s in their sustainable construction, environmentally friendly operation or actually green by style.</p>
<p>It’s broadly titled <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis">biophilia</a>, connecting people with nature, and it can lead to some creative and innovative designs.</p>
<p>But now we are finding that literally greening the world — by covering building walls and roofs with vegetation — can also come with some unexpected problems.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/greening-our-grey-cities-heres-how-green-roofs-and-walls-can-flourish-in-australia-139478">Greening our grey cities: here's how green roofs and walls can flourish in Australia</a>
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<h2>A bug’s high life</h2>
<p>In the Chinese city of Chengdu, a vast green experimental housing estate of 826 apartments was constructed where people can live in a vertical forest with every open space and balcony containing live vegetation.</p>
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<p>Trouble is they must share the plants with a scourge of mosquitoes and other bugs. Most apartments in the <a href="http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/qiyi-city-forest-garden-tower-4/39567">Qiyi City Forest Gardens</a> development were sold by April 2020, but six months later <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1200404.shtml">only a handful</a> of families had <a href="https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1335843/plants-bugs-seize-china-apartments">reportedly</a> moved in.</p>
<p>The towers were built in 2018 and plants were provided to reduce noise and <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1031741.shtml">clean up pollution</a>. But the plants thrived, while sales moved slowly, and no one was clipping the greenery to keep it in control. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unbuilding-cities-as-high-rises-reach-their-use-by-date-129002">Unbuilding cities as high-rises reach their use-by date</a>
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<p>Now mostly empty balconies have cascading branches of plants overtaking space, blocking windows.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1305765795184676864"}"></div></p>
<p>It might not help that Chengdu and its population of 16.3 million people are located in Sichuan, central China, which is humid and semi-tropical, a perfect environment for fast-breeding mossies.</p>
<p>But a slow uptake, with tenants slow to move in, made the problem worse as the plants subsumed their buildings.</p>
<h2>Some vertical vegetation living success</h2>
<p>Other green projects across the globe have avoided this particular problem, so far.</p>
<p>Milan’s <a href="https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/project/vertical-forest/">Bosco Verticale</a> (Vertical Forest) was designed by <a href="https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/stefano-boeri-biography/">Stefano Boeri</a> and botanist Laura Gatti. </p>
<p>They <a href="https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/project/vertical-forest/">reportedly</a> spent long hours selecting suitable vegetation, a variety of 800 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 15,000 plants, which would suit their location and the Milanese climate.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings</a>
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<p>Their plan was to improve air quality in the city via the green facades, and residents have embraced the concept, which appears to be where Qiyi City Forest has gone wrong.</p>
<p>In Chengdu, maintenance and care of the plantings is almost non-existent, so no truly symbiotic relationship between accommodation and human occupier has formed as part of biophilic living. As is nature’s way, the non-human occupiers (the bugs) are winning.</p>
<h2>Gardens need a gardener</h2>
<p>US landscape architect Daryl Beyers, from the New York Botanical Garden, <a href="https://archive.curbed.com/2020/9/18/21445069/qiyi-city-forest-garden-mosquitoes-chengdu">says</a> the Chengdu setup didn’t work partly as a result of bad design.</p>
<p>In Chengdu’s humid climate and clammy monsoons, stagnant water collects in planters which are not properly drained, and mosquitoes breed in these.</p>
<p>Beyers adds: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>They [the developers] didn’t think about the maintenance […] You can’t have a garden without a gardener.</p>
<p>They were touting it as a manicured garden outside on your deck. If it’s manicured, someone has to do the manicuring.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The idea of fully manicured vegetation on balconies only works if the plants are cared for regularly. <a href="https://archive.curbed.com/2020/9/18/21445069/qiyi-city-forest-garden-mosquitoes-chengdu">Apparently</a>, gardeners attend Qiyi City just four times a year to maintain the plants, but they require weekly care.</p>
<h2>Sydney’s green space on the up</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.centralparksydney.com/">One Central Park</a> apartments in Sydney, by <a href="http://www.jeannouvel.com/projets/one-central-park/">French architect Jean Nouvel</a>, takes on a green mantle with plants covering most of its walls and balconies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tall buildings covered in green plants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371692/original/file-20201127-21-5zp0l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">One Central Park is the world’s largest vertical gardens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/SAKARET</span></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/realisations/sydney/one-central-park-sydney">French botanist Patrick Blanc</a> selected the plants on the building for their capacity for healthy growth and suitability to the Sydney habitat.</p>
<p>By <a href="https://www.arup.com/projects/one-central-park">using</a> acacias (wattles) and poa (grasses) on upper levels and goodenia (hop bush) and viola (native violet) lower down, the vegetation is attuned to its place and growing successfully.</p>
<p>More than 1,100 square metres of walls support many species of plants, most of them native to Sydney. They are at home with the local climate and seasons. The plants can withstand hot, dry and windy Australian summers and have survived since 2014.</p>
<h2>How to green your buildings</h2>
<p>Green buildings are necessary for the environment. We need to redress the loss of our natural resources and their benefits, and green buildings can do that by adopting appropriate design, energy efficiencies, renewable materials and green technologies.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-third-of-our-waste-comes-from-buildings-this-ones-designed-for-reuse-and-cuts-emissions-by-88-147455">A third of our waste comes from buildings. This one's designed for reuse and cuts emissions by 88%</a>
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<p>Central Park’s success could be emulated at Chengdu, by tracing back the original design intent and adopting a workable maintenance and management plan. </p>
<p>The lessons from both projects indicate that proper planning and appropriate selection of vegetation, which is then fed and watered by applicable technology, will yield a proficient green building. </p>
<p>People feel comfort living with nature, and a vertical garden gives those in high-rise towers a chance to share that comfort. But with the benefits come responsibilities. </p>
<p>The clue here is that a faithfully biophilic building must be appropriate for use. That means appropriate in terms of the place, natural resources, local climate and the people who must manage and occupy the natural surroundings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Day does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People love to connect with nature and that’s possible with vertical gardens on high-rise developments. But gardens need a gardener to keep things under control.Norman Day, Lecturer in Architecture, Practice and Design, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1498302020-11-17T18:49:53Z2020-11-17T18:49:53ZMany of our buildings are poorly ventilated, and that adds to COVID risks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369706/original/file-20201117-19-1kqeihi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C198%2C5147%2C3319&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chermside-brisbane-queensland-australia-march-2017-1393384118">ambimages/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The virus that causes COVID-19 is much more likely to spread indoors rather than outdoors. Governments are right to <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/planning-exemptions-smooth-way-outdoor-dining">encourage more outdoor dining and drinking</a>, but it is important they also do everything they can to make indoor venues as safe as possible. Our recent monitoring of public buildings has shown many have poor ventilation.</p>
<p>Poor ventilation <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-16/ventilation-indoor-airflow-could-be-important-against-covid-19/12881444">raises the risks of super-spreader events</a>. The risk of catching COVID-19 indoors is <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/6/20-0495_article">18.7 times higher</a> than in the open air, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-ventilation-may-be-adding-to-nursing-homes-covid-19-risks-144725">Poor ventilation may be adding to nursing homes' COVID-19 risks</a>
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<p>In the past month, we have measured air quality in a large number of public buildings. High carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels indicate poor ventilation. Multiple restaurants, two hotels, two major shopping centres, several university buildings, a pharmacy and a GP consulting suite had CO₂ levels well above best practice and also above the absolute maximum mandated in the National Construction Code. </p>
<p>Relative humidity readings of less than 40% associated with both heating and cooling air are also of concern. <a href="https://www.tropos.de/en/current-issues/press-releases/details/coronavirus-sars-cov-2-breitet-sich-bei-niedriger-luftfeuchtigkeit-in-innenraeumen-staerker-aus">Evidence</a> now suggests low humidity is associated with transmission. </p>
<p>If anyone had COVID-19 in these environments, particularly if people were in them for an extended period, as might happen at a restaurant or pub, there would be a risk of a super-spreader event. Less than <a href="https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/5-67">20% of individuals produce over 80% of infections</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-few-superspreaders-transmit-the-majority-of-coronavirus-cases-139950">A few superspreaders transmit the majority of coronavirus cases</a>
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<h2>Many aged-care deaths were connected</h2>
<p>It appears a relatively small number of super-spreader events, probably associated with airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were responsible for most of the deaths in Victorian aged-care facilities. </p>
<p>Of the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-current-situation-and-case-numbers">907 people who have died</a> of COVID-19 in Australia, 746, or 82% of COVID-19 deaths, were <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/covid-19-cases-in-aged-care-services-residential-care">associated with aged care</a>. In Victoria, there were 52 facilities with more than 20 infections. Three had over 200 infections. As a result, <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/case-locations-and-outbreaks">639 of the 646 aged care residents who died</a> in Victoria were located in just 52 facilities. </p>
<iframe title="Victoria's clusters and outbreaks" aria-label="chart" id="datawrapper-chart-ahABX" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ahABX/57/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="950"></iframe>
<h2>But official advice hasn’t changed</h2>
<p>Aged-care operators and the states based their infection control on the advice of the Commonwealth Infection Control Expert Group (ICEG). As of September 6, the <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/aged-care-sector-coronavirus-disease-covid-19#coronavirus-covid-19-residential-aged-care-facilitiesnbspplan-for-victoria">Coronavirus (COVID-19) Residential Aged Care Facilities Plan for Victoria</a> stated: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Coronavirus (COVID-19) is transmitted via droplets, after exposure to contaminated surfaces or after close contact with an infected person (without using appropriate PPE). <strong>Airborne spread has not been reported</strong> [our emphasis] but could occur during certain aerosol-generating procedures (medical procedures which are not usually conducted in RACF). […] Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, hand hygiene and regular cleaning of surfaces are paramount to preventing transmission.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In early August, more than 3,000 health workers had signed a <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/why-are-so-many-victorian-healthcare-workers-contr">letter of no confidence</a> in ICEG. The letter noted that aerosol transmission was causing infections in medical staff, many of whom worked in aged-care facilities. </p>
<p>On September 7, we wrote to the federal aged care minister, Richard Colbeck, drawing attention to our <a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-ventilation-may-be-adding-to-nursing-homes-covid-19-risks-144725">August 20 article</a> in The Conversation, which referenced a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02058-1">July 8 article</a> in Nature. The Nature article identified an emerging consensus that <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798">aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is probable in low-ventilation environments</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-prevent-covid-19-superspreader-events-indoors-this-winter-147439">How to prevent COVID-19 ‘superspreader’ events indoors this winter</a>
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<p>The director of the Aged Care COVID-19 Measures Implementation Branch wrote back on Colbeck’s behalf on September 28 saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Current evidence suggests COVID-19 most commonly spreads from close contact with someone who is infectious. It can also spread from touching a surface that has recently been contaminated with the respiratory droplets (cough or sneeze) of an infected person and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, Commonwealth authorities were still playing down the significance of airborne transmission nearly two months after the letter of no confidence was sent to ICEG and three months after the article in Nature. By the end of September, Victorian aged-care facilities had reported over 4,000 cases of COVID-19, about half of them in staff. </p>
<p>On October 23, ICEG was still <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/11/coronavirus-covid-19-recommended-minimum-requirements-for-the-use-of-masks-or-respirators-by-health-and-residential-care-workers-in-areas-with-significant-community-transmission_0.pdf">saying</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is little clinical or epidemiological evidence of significant transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) by aerosols.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Focus on the ‘3 Vs’ to reduce risks</h2>
<p>The key thing we need to do until a vaccine is rolled out is to try to prevent indoor super-spreader events. According to the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, we should remember the “<a href="https://www.nebraskamed.com/COVID/what-do-covid-19-super-spreader-events-have-in-common">three Vs</a>” that super-spreader events have in common: </p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Venue</strong>: multiple people indoors, where social distancing is often harder</p>
<p><strong>Ventilation</strong>: staying in one place with limited fresh air</p>
<p><strong>Vocalization</strong>: lots of talking, yelling or singing, which can aerosolize the virus. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Measuring indoor ventilation is quick and easy using a carbon dioxide detector. Any CO₂ reading of over 800 parts per million is a cause for concern – the level for air outside is just over 400ppm. </p>
<p>There is no excuse for governments, health authorities and building owners not to monitor ventilation levels to help ensure members of the public are as safe as is reasonably practicable when indoors. </p>
<p>There is also no excuse for the Australian Building Control Board not to change the National Construction Code to require fall-back mechanical ventilation systems be fitted and CO₂ and humidity monitored in all buildings frequented by the public, particularly aged-care facilities. </p>
<p>With the knowledge we have now and a low rate of community infection, Australia should be able to make it through to vaccine roll-out with relatively few further infections and deaths. But that depends on being vigilant about the quality of ventilation indoors and the associated possibility of super-spreader events. This is especially important in aged-care facilities and quarantine hotels. </p>
<p>It’s probably a good idea for us all to open the windows and let the fresh air in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149830/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>ARINA has been using CO₂ monitoring equipment supplied by Renson Asia-Pacific for evaluation. Geoff Hanmer has received funding from the Office of the Building Commissioner (NSW). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Milthorpe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Super-spreader events typically have the ‘three Vs" in common: indoor venues, poor ventilation and vocalisation. But many buildings frequented by the public lack ventilation or the means to monitor it.Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of AdelaideBruce Milthorpe, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1447252020-08-20T01:07:17Z2020-08-20T01:07:17ZPoor ventilation may be adding to nursing homes’ COVID-19 risks<p>Over <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-update-victoria-19-august-2020">2,000 active cases</a> of COVID-19 and <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/covid-19-cases-in-aged-care-services-residential-care">245 resident deaths</a> as of August 19 have been <a href="https://www.covid19data.com.au/clusters-and-outbreaks">linked to aged care homes</a> in Victoria, spread across over 120 facilities. The St Basil’s cluster alone now involves <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-update-victoria-19-august-2020">191 cases</a>. In New South Wales, 37 residents were infected at Newmarch House, leading to <a href="https://www.camdenadvertiser.com.au/story/6872930/conflicting-advice-amid-nsw-aged-outbreak/?cs=9397">17 deaths</a>.</p>
<p>Why are so many aged care residents and staff becoming infected with COVID-19? New research suggests poor ventilation may be one of the factors. <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2019/march/indoor-air-quality-research">RMIT researchers</a> are finding levels of carbon dioxide in some nursing homes that are more than three times the recommended level, which points to poor ventilation.</p>
<p>An examination of the design of Newmarch in Sydney and St Basil’s in Melbourne shows residents’ rooms are arranged on both sides of a wide central corridor. </p>
<p>The corridors need to be wide enough for beds to be wheeled in and out of rooms, but this means they enclose a large volume of air. Windows in the residents’ rooms only indirectly ventilate this large interior space. In addition, the wide corridors encourage socialising. </p>
<p>If the windows to residents’ rooms are shut or nearly shut in winter, these buildings are likely to have very low levels of ventilation, which may contribute to the spread of COVID-19. If anyone in the building is infected, the risk of cross-infection may be significant even if personal protective equipment protocols are followed and surfaces are cleaned regularly.</p>
<h2>Why does ventilation matter?</h2>
<p>Scientists now suspect the virus that causes COVID-19 can be transmitted as an aerosol as well as by droplets. Airborne transmission means poor ventilation is likely to contribute to infections. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02058-1">article</a> in the journal Nature outlines the state of research:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Converging lines of evidence indicate that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can pass from person to person in tiny droplets called aerosols that waft through the air and accumulate over time. After months of debate about whether people can transmit the virus through exhaled air, there is growing concern among scientists about this transmission route.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-airborne-route-a-major-source-of-coronavirus-transmission-141198">Is the airborne route a major source of coronavirus transmission?</a>
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<p>Under the National Construction Code (<a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/">NCC</a>), a building can be either “naturally ventilated” or “mechanically ventilated”. </p>
<p>Natural ventilation requires only that ventilation openings, usually the openable portion of windows, must achieve a set percentage of the floor area. It does not require windows to be open, or even mandate the minimum openable area, or any other measures that would ensure effective ventilation. Air quality tests are not required before or after occupation for a naturally ventilated building. </p>
<p>Nearly all aged care homes are designed to be naturally ventilated with openable windows to each room. In winter most windows are shut to keep residents warm and reduce drafts. This reduces heating costs, so operators have a possible incentive to keep ventilation rates down. </p>
<p>From inspection, many areas of typical nursing homes, including corridors and large common spaces, are not directly ventilated or are very poorly ventilated. The odour sometimes associated with nursing homes, which is a concern for residents and their visitors, is probably <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/natural_ventilation.pdf">linked to poor ventilation</a>. </p>
<h2>Carbon dioxide levels sound a warning</h2>
<p>Carbon dioxide levels in a building are a close proxy for the effectiveness of ventilation because people breathe out CO₂. The <a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au">National Construction Code</a> mandates CO₂ levels of less than 850 parts per million (ppm) in the air inside a building averaged over eight hours. A well-ventilated room will be 800ppm or less – 600ppm is regarded as a best practice target. Outside air is <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide#:%7E:text=The%20global%20average%20atmospheric%20carbon,least%20the%20past%20800%2C000%20years.">just over 400ppm</a>. </p>
<p>An RMIT team led by Professor Priya Rajagopalan is researching air quality in Victorian aged care homes. She has provided preliminary data showing peaks of up to 2,000ppm in common areas of some aged care homes. </p>
<p>This figure indicates very poor ventilation. It’s more than twice the maximum permitted by the building code and more than three times the level of best practice. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25766977/">Research from Europe</a> also indicates ventilation in aged care homes is poor. </p>
<p>Good ventilation has been associated with reduced transmission of pathogens. In 2019, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ina.12639">researchers in Taiwan</a> linked a tuberculosis outbreak at a Taipei University with internal CO₂ levels of 3,000ppm. Improving ventilation to reduce CO₂ to 600ppm stopped the outbreak. </p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-use-ventilation-and-air-filtration-to-prevent-the-spread-of-coronavirus-indoors-143732">How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors</a>
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<h2>What can homes do to improve ventilation?</h2>
<p>Nursing home operators can take simple steps to achieve adequate ventilation. An air quality detector that can reliably measure CO₂ levels costs about A$200. </p>
<p>If levels in an area are significantly above 600ppm over five to ten minutes, there would be a strong case to improve ventilation. At levels over 1,000ppm the need to improve ventilation would be urgent.</p>
<p>Most nursing homes are heated by reverse-cycle split-system air conditioners or warm air heating systems. The vast majority of these units do not introduce fresh air into the spaces they serve. </p>
<p>The first step should be to open windows as much as possible – even though this may make maintaining a comfortable temperature more difficult. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/open-windows-to-help-stop-the-spread-of-coronavirus-advises-architectural-engineer-142579">Open windows to help stop the spread of coronavirus, advises architectural engineer</a>
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<p>Creating a flow of warmed and filtered fresh air from central corridor spaces into rooms and out through windows would be ideal, but would probably require investment in mechanical ventilation. </p>
<p>Temporary solutions could include:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>industrial heating fans and flexible ventilation duct from an open window discharging into the central corridor spaces</p></li>
<li><p>radiant heaters in rooms, instead of recirculating heat pump air conditioners, and windows opened far enough to lower CO₂ levels consistently below 850ppm in rooms and corridors. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>The same type of advice applies to any naturally ventilated buildings, including schools, restaurants, pubs, clubs and small shops. The operators of these venues should ensure ventilation is good and be aware that many air-conditioning and heating units do not introduce fresh air. </p>
<p>People walking into venues might want to turn around and walk out if their nose tells them ventilation is inadequate. We have a highly developed sense of smell for many reasons, and avoiding badly ventilated spaces is one of them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Hanmer is currently receiving funding from the Office of the Building Commissioner in NSW and has received funding in the past from the BACC NSW. Neither of these funding sources relate to the subject matter of this article. He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and associated with the Association of Consulting Architects (ACA). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Milthorpe is former Dean of Science of the University of Technology Sydney, a visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales and a Fellow and Council Member of the Royal Society of New South Wales. </span></em></p>Most aged care homes are designed to be naturally ventilated. But when windows are closed to keep out the cold, poor ventilation appears to be common – and that’s a problem for infection control.Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of AdelaideBruce Milthorpe, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1428972020-07-28T20:03:50Z2020-07-28T20:03:50ZUnused buildings will make good housing in the world of COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349491/original/file-20200727-15-1fkdnfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5472%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/18th-august-2017-victoria-avenue-southend-701083000">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are entering an era of profound change in how we work, learn, socialise and live with COVID-19. Many people will adjust to this new world order and work remotely at home if they don’t have to attend an office or other workplace. This, in turn, will create an opportunity to adapt unused buildings, which were needed for the previous economy, for the new ways of living and working. Buildings could be transformed or redeployed through <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/adaptive-reuse-repurposing-old-buildings-178242">adaptive reuse</a> for much-needed housing.</p>
<p>We already have the technology and the capacity to work and live remotely from an office or institution, if we choose to. For some people, working-from-home models have become the norm during the enforced COVID-19 isolation periods of 2020. Many of them are likely to choose alternative work patterns as an ongoing model in preference to daily <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-12/jobs-boom-in-cbds-leaves-a-long-commute/11198142">commuting to the traditional central office</a> in busy cities.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-more-of-us-work-from-home-after-coronavirus-well-need-to-rethink-city-planning-136261">If more of us work from home after coronavirus we'll need to rethink city planning</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If we approach figures like those of earlier recessions, employment will fall even <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-todays-economic-statement-143088">more dramatically than it has already</a>. Reduced trade will slow the economy for many years. The burgeoning numbers of unemployed and low-income citizens will find it difficult to find affordable homes. </p>
<p>The people who suffer most during this period, the “new poor”, will struggle to pay for even basic housing, let alone homes that provide space for occupants to work and live at home. Public and subsidised housing will have to fill the gap. </p>
<h2>Silver linings to the COVID cloud</h2>
<p>Some positives are appearing from this new world order. </p>
<p>Some professions will find themselves comfortably working away from the traditional workplace. They will be able to manage work and family more easily. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-at-a-fork-in-the-road-do-we-choose-neighbourhoods-to-live-work-and-play-in-138949">We're at a fork in the road: do we choose neighbourhoods to live, work and play in?</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Apartment block converted from former telephone exchange and post office building at 118 Russell Street, Melbourne." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The building that formerly housed a telephone exchange and post office at 118 Russell Street, Melbourne, has been converted into apartments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As well as offices becoming redundant, delivery services like Amazon, Deliveroo and Uber Eats might replace many traditional retail outlets, including shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. Many buildings housing such businesses might not reopen. </p>
<p>Buildings that are no longer fit for purpose, or not required in a new detached working environment, could be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theo_Van_der_Voordt2/publication/235289905_A_new_life_Conversion_of_vacant_office_buildings_into_housing/links/00b49515082bc04d42000000/A-new-life-Conversion-of-vacant-office-buildings-into-housing.pdf">repurposed as housing</a>. Empty <a href="https://ggwash.org/view/61871/abandoned-office-buildings-can-become-new-housing">office blocks</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-30/a-case-for-turning-empty-malls-into-housing">shops and stores</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrosowsky/2020/06/22/how-does-a-pre-pandemic-building-inventory-serve-a-post-pandemic-university-whats-next-for-campus-spaces/#7a625eb61da4">unused teaching facilities</a> could all be recycled for social and community low-cost rental housing. </p>
<p>Of course we will need to retain many resources, such as distribution warehouses, places of worship, hospitals, childcare centre, kindergartens and primary schools, laboratories, workshops, manufacturing factories, prisons, bakeries, farmers markets, personal health and hygiene salons – for hair, massage, wellness and mental health. Other places such as transport hubs, sporting facilities, theatres, tourist accommodation, cafes, bars and restaurants will be maintained too.</p>
<p>But underused office buildings will not be needed as offices. They can become part of the new model for blended home-and-work operations. Families who have experimented with shared responsibilities during COVID-19 lockdowns may continue this routine as a new “normal” and select <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/adaptive-reuse">newly adapted old buildings</a> for accommodation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-create-20m-tons-of-construction-industry-waste-each-year-heres-how-to-stop-it-going-to-landfill-114602">We create 20m tons of construction industry waste each year. Here's how to stop it going to landfill</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Commercial buildings can be easily converted</h2>
<p>One advantage of reusing a commercial building is the relative openness of its plan. New living areas can be planned and fitted into the office open space, using simple lightweight partition walls. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Westward Ho building in Phoenix, Arizona" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349767/original/file-20200727-25-hobq4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Westward Ho building in Phoenix, Arizona, was a hotel for more than 50 years before being converted into a subsidised housing complex with up to 320 residents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/phoenix-arizona-usa-january-20-2016-366067577">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Usually large open office spaces surround a service core. The core contains lifts, plumbing, ducts and risers, fire stairs, bathrooms and equipment. </p>
<p>Wet areas such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries would be located against the core. Here they can be connected easily to the building services and systems.</p>
<p>Commercial buildings are usually solid constructions. They are built to last, so their recycled concrete, steel and glass suits reclamation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unbuilding-cities-as-high-rises-reach-their-use-by-date-129002">Unbuilding cities as high-rises reach their use-by date</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These buildings are generally spacious, with a floor-to-ceiling height of about three metres (not the miserable norm of cheap apartments, which is less than 2.5 metres). </p>
<p>It is even possible for some old office building floors to have part of their outside walls removed and refitted inside the floor slabs, which creates open-space balconies and gardens.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Work on office building to convert it into apartment housing in Cologne, Germany." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349765/original/file-20200727-21-3s91wt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This former office building in Cologne, Germany, is being converted into apartment housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-office-building-being-converted-apartment-194692547">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The environment would benefit too</h2>
<p>As a byproduct of repurposing old buildings, we’d benefit the environment. Re-use conserves natural resources and minimises the need for new materials. That’s because these adapted buildings are effectively <a href="https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A48305aea-75d8-4285-aa5d-0056fe5305d0">already half built</a>.</p>
<p>Building construction, maintenance and use produce about a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318754386_From_leaders_to_majority_a_frontrunner_paradox_in_built-environment_climate_governance_experimentation">quarter of Australia’s emissions</a>. Maybe the world could largely meet its <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a> emission-reduction targets before 2030 by making better use of existing buildings as well as increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy’s market share.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/making-every-building-count-in-meeting-australias-emission-targets-126930">Making every building count in meeting Australia's emission targets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>COVID-19 might eventually be eliminated, but the impacts will roll on for many years. A long-term benefit of this disaster could be a focus on no longer needing to duplicate so much space to live and work in. The result would be reducing consumption of building materials as the world tightens its environmental belt.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Day does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If more people work from home and shop online, many commercial buildings won’t be needed any longer. What will be needed is affordable housing, and these buildings can be converted to meet this need.Norman Day, Lecturer in Architecture, Practice and Design, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1403022020-06-18T14:27:46Z2020-06-18T14:27:46ZAlgorithms are designing better buildings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342727/original/file-20200618-41238-rhar3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sberbank Technopark in Russia by Zaha Hadid Architects.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/sberbank-moscow/">Zaha Hadid Architects</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-blob-architecture-blobitecture-177203">giant blobs</a> began appearing on city skylines around the world in the late 1980s and 1990s, it marked not an alien invasion but the impact of computers on the practice of building design. </p>
<p>Thanks to computer-aided design (CAD), architects were able to experiment with new organic forms, free from the restraints of slide rules and protractors. The result was famous curvy buildings such as Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Future Systems’ Selfridges Department Store in Birmingham.</p>
<p>Today, computers are poised to change buildings once again, this time with algorithms that can inform, refine and even create new designs. Even weirder shapes are just the start: algorithms can now work out the best ways to lay out rooms, construct the buildings and even change them over time to meet users’ needs. In this way, algorithms are giving architects a whole new toolbox with which to realise and improve their ideas. </p>
<p>At a basic level, algorithms can be a powerful tool for providing exhaustive information for the design, construction and <a href="https://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=1793">use of a building</a>. Building information modelling uses comprehensive software to standardise and share data from across architecture, engineering and construction that used to be held separately. This means everyone involved in a building’s genesis, from clients to contractors, can work together on the same 3D model seamlessly. </p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.buildcover.com/how-it-works">new tools</a> have begun to combine this kind of information with algorithms to automate and optimise aspects of the building process. This ranges from interpreting regulations and providing calculations for structural evaluations to making procurement more precise.</p>
<h2>Algorithmic design</h2>
<p>But algorithms can also help with the design stage, helping architects to understand how a building will be used by revealing hidden patterns in existing and proposed constructions. These can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-run-facial-recognition-on-buildings-to-unlock-architectural-secrets-93634">spatial and geometrical characteristics</a> such as the ratio of public to private areas or the natural airflow of a building. They can be <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/1670466.pdf">patterns of use</a> showing which rooms are used most and least often. </p>
<p>Or they can be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1478077119894483?casa_token=UGHRWiqThDMAAAAA%253A4XdysNwwy-FqEzMclfmL0xJEZ-Mswy6EYCKUe981lpC7qgEkRYURNEXtWLkg3d1WDVZJxWYs0j3icw">visual and physical connections</a> that show what people can and can’t see from each point of a building and enable us to predict the flow of people around it. This is particularly relevant when designing the entrances of public buildings so we can place services and escape routes in the best position.</p>
<p>Algorithms can also be used to extend the capability of designers to think about and generate shapes and arrangements that might not otherwise be possible. Instead of personally drawing floor plans according to their intuition and taste, architects using algorithmic design input the rules and parameters and allow the computer to produce the shape of the building. These algorithms are often inspired by ideas from nature, such as evolution or <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-fractals-10865">fractals</a> (shapes that repeat themselves at ever smaller scales).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342728/original/file-20200618-41242-18zf2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Zaha Hadid Architects has become well known for its use of algorithmic design.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/mayfair-residential-tower/">Zaha Hadid Architects</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Combining these three uses (managing complex information, revealing patterns and generating new spatial arrangements) represents the next generation of algorithmic design that will really change our ability to improve the built environment. For example, Zaha Hadid Architects, already known for its unusual curvy constructions, uses algorithms to <a href="https://www.commercialdesignindia.com/insights/2929-designing-high-performance-workplaces-with-algorithms">automatically test</a> thousands of internal layout options or <a href="https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/features/comment/zaha-hadid-principal-patrik-schumacher-on-how-para#">find an arrangement</a> of facade panels that will prevent an irregularly shaped building from being prohibitively expensive.</p>
<p>Algorithms are also essential to novel constructions, such as the <a href="http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5922">Filament Pavilion at the V&A museum</a>, and adapted over time in response to structural, environmental and visitor usage data. Today, algorithms are even producing office arrangements for the <a href="https://www.burohappold.com/articles/social-distancing-in-the-workplace">COVID-19 pandemic</a> that enable the highest number of employees to work in a building while safely socially distancing.</p>
<h2>Self-organising layouts</h2>
<p>My colleagues and I <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114393">recently showed</a> how algorithms could create a self-organising floorplan for a care home, laying out the rooms in the best configuration to improve the experience of dementia patients. To do this we combined three types of algorithm, inspired respectively by <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/the-inspiration-of-an-ant-colony-optimization-f377568ea03f">ant colonies</a>, artificial intelligence systems based <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/neat-an-awesome-approach-to-neuroevolution-3eca5cc7930f">on the brain</a>, and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303302099_Understanding_Social-Force_Model_in_Psychological_Principles_of_Collective_Behavior">crowd modelling</a>.</p>
<p>We built our algorithms to follow design criteria based on numerous previous studies and projects, condensing them into four main rules for the algorithms to follow. The building had to be divided into units of maximum given sizes. And each unit had to have an accessible functional kitchen, a dining room not used for other activities, and multiple lounges or activity rooms of a variety of sizes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342202/original/file-20200616-23243-x6ut5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Care home layouts proposed by algorithm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Silvio Carta, Tommaso Turchi, Stephanie St Loe and Joel Simon</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The result was a new layout for a care home that arranged private rooms and common areas in the most convenient way to make residents’ journeys around the home as short as possible. This shows how the right combination algorithms and, crucially, input from designers can help produce self-organising designs that would otherwise require a huge amount of laborious work or that might otherwise not be possible.</p>
<p>Rather than replacing architects, as some have <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/22/artificial-intelligence-ai-architects-jobs-sebastian-errazuriz/">pessimistically predicted</a>, algorithms are becoming an important tool for building designers. This is reflected in the technology’s growing prominence in postgraduate courses, <a href="https://cities.ait.ac.at/site">research centres</a> and <a href="https://www.fosterandpartners.com/expertise/research">international firms</a>. More and more we see designers investing in the use of machine learning and <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3401842">artificial intelligence</a> in architecture.</p>
<p>As advancements in computer science and technology are growing exponentially, it is difficult to imagine now how algorithmic design will evolve in the future and how the building industry will change. But we can certainly predict that we the use of algorithms will soon be a standard way of augmenting our ability to see the invisible and design the unthought in our buildings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silvio Carta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Algorithms can now work out the best ways to lay out rooms, construct buildings and even change them over time to meet user needs.Silvio Carta, Head of Art and Design, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1360412020-04-16T02:43:01Z2020-04-16T02:43:01ZHospital beds and coronavirus test centres are needed fast. Here’s an Australian-designed solution<p>Two of the most pressing needs worldwide in the coronavirus pandemic are for more hospital beds and <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/drive-thru-coronavirus-testing-now-a-reality-in-so">testing centres</a>. No country in the world has enough hospital beds or intensive-care unit (ICU) beds for a pandemic. Even the best prepared, like Germany with <a href="https://t.co/QKEQLN5SnJ?amp=1">33.9 ICU beds per 100,000 citizens</a>, does not have enough. </p>
<p>Most countries have locked down to buy time by <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-flatten-the-curve-of-coronavirus-a-mathematician-explains-133514">flattening the infection curve</a> so fewer patients will present to hospital at once. They hope to use the time to boost hospital capacity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-steps-hospitals-can-take-if-coronavirus-leads-to-a-shortage-of-beds-134385">What steps hospitals can take if coronavirus leads to a shortage of beds</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the design challenge is significant. We need structures that can be quickly and easily assembled, are inexpensive and meet technical requirements. Architects have always worked on such challenges – the <a href="https://divisare.com/projects/316552-wy-to-living-shelter-a-solution-for-disaster-relief">Living Shelter</a> is one recent example.</p>
<p>Here in Australia a consortium is working to develop two designs, one for hospital intensive care units and one for COVID-19 testing centres, that can be used across the country and overseas. By using recycled shipping containers as the core structure, the price of the buildings will be less than a third of the cost of conventional designs. </p>
<p>In both building types, the container doubles as structure and packaging. This means the designs are self-contained and easy to distribute anywhere in the world. All the building parts, technical equipment, cabinets and other fit-out materials pack into the container. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327419/original/file-20200413-31612-pvtcus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The design of the testing centre is based on a shipping container, which doubles as the packaging for transport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Douglas Abdiel, the director of charitable foundation P&G Purpose, and architect Robert Barnstone are working together on the design and delivery of these hospital units and testing centres.</p>
<p>Barnstone specialises in disaster relief architecture. He has developed designs for emergency housing for the International Red Cross and rapid deployment schools for countries afflicted by disaster. This experience gave Barnstone invaluable insights into the economics and potential construction systems for the hospital units and testing centres. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-will-devastate-aboriginal-communities-if-we-dont-act-now-133766">Coronavirus will devastate Aboriginal communities if we don't act now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the key requirements?</h2>
<p>Any disaster relief architecture must consider several critical design aspects:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>buildings need to be as cheap as possible so limited funds can be stretched to help as many people as possible</p></li>
<li><p>the structure should be lightweight and easy to assemble because professional builders might not be available for construction</p></li>
<li><p>the structure needs to be weatherproof and insulated for variable climates</p></li>
<li><p>medical functions require running water, electricity, air exchange to bring fresh air into the container, and air conditioning to control the temperature inside. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The mechanical services needed in a medical facility are highly specialised and expensive. This makes it particularly challenging to design. Ideally, the structure should be lasting, so money invested in relief efforts is not wasted. </p>
<p>Emergency structures should also be designed for easy packaging and shipping. Standard dimensions of shipping containers, freight costs and delivery logistics must be considered. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-an-existential-threat-to-africa-and-her-crowded-slums-135829">Coronavirus an ‘existential threat’ to Africa and her crowded slums</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So how do the two building designs work?</h2>
<p>The two proposals for intensive care units and testing facilities use modified shipping containers as the supporting structure. You can see the full designs and specifications <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GhoQGNkteR7drQr10vIkZrrLF4E5k9VPPxri_eLU7SY/edit#slide=id.g833afcb735_8_2">here</a>.</p>
<p>The hospital structure is simply a large shed that houses ICU bays. A nurses’ station is located in the centre.</p>
<p>The testing centre is a drive-by place to conduct COVID-19 tests and either process them when a fast test is available or store them for shipping to laboratories.</p>
<p>Used shipping containers are cheap and easy to find. They are made from a steel frame with corrugated steel panelling, which makes them very strong. </p>
<p>Both schemes use prefabricated panels for exterior and interior walls. Window units will be integrated into panels. These come in standard sizes that easily pop into place. </p>
<p>The two design approaches do have differences, however.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328067/original/file-20200415-153318-1subbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The front entry of the rapid deployment hospital annexe.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hospital uses a full-length 12-metre container. The shipping container acts as the structural and spatial core of the hospital building. </p>
<p>When unpacked, the container sits in the middle of the hospital and supports long-span steel trusses and the roof. It houses office and storage space. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328065/original/file-20200415-153298-7kbyvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inside the hospital annexe the container houses the nurses’ annexe and supports the building trusses and roof.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The prefabricated panels form both the outside walls and interior partitions. End walls are made of transparent glass to allow natural light into the interior.</p>
<p>Interior bays for patients are also prefabricated. These line the exterior walls, leaving space for hospital staff to circulate between the ICU bays and central container.</p>
<p>In contrast, the testing centre is a single-unit building made from a half-length six-metre container. A large overhanging canopy covers the roof and front deck to protect against sun and rain. </p>
<p>A water storage tank rests on the roof underneath the canopy. A generator sits on one side. There is a scrub sink and changing area outside, with a curtain that allows for privacy and a bin to dispose of protective equipment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328005/original/file-20200415-153330-1v7z0lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The exterior of the testing centre has a changing area and sink.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The container doors support storage cabinets for test kits on their inside wall. These doors can swing open so they are flush with the front facade. In this position, the cabinets face the front deck for easy access by nurses and doctors. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328056/original/file-20200415-153330-gaullt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The front deck of the testing centre showing storage cabinets.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The interior has ample storage and office furniture. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327995/original/file-20200415-153318-1h2fhh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The testing centre office.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Construction of the prototype test centre was due to begin on April 15. To date, the team has raised A$30,000 to support the effort but <a href="https://pgpurpose.org/index.php/blog/">needs $20,000 more</a>. At A$3,125 per square metre, compared with about A$10,000 per square metre for usual construction, these solutions are affordable and can be produced and delivered very quickly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136041/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Ascher Barnstone is a design partner in Ascher Barnstone Design, which is working on the designs for emergency hospitals and test centres described in this article.</span></em></p>COVID-19 is creating overwhelming needs for intensive care and testing facilities. An Australian team is developing purpose-built units that can be shipped and erected quickly, easily and cheaply.Deborah Ascher Barnstone, Professor, Course Director Undergraduate Studies, School of Architecture, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1312912020-03-05T19:07:37Z2020-03-05T19:07:37ZHow ‘Earthships’ could make rebuilding safer in bushfire zones<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318773/original/file-20200305-127951-vhyr52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1309%2C9%2C1470%2C850&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.earthshipironbank.com.au/">Earthship Ironbark</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent disastrous <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/bushfires-1377">bushfires</a> have rebooted debate about how to (re)build in the Australian bush. Questions are being asked about <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-building-codes-dont-expect-houses-to-be-fire-proof-and-thats-by-design-129540">building standards</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-standards-give-us-false-hope-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-fireproof-house-130165">whether a fire-proof home is possible</a>, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/government-approved-bushfire-bunkers-could-help-protect-homes-lives-20200101-p53o0m.html">value of fire bunkers</a> when it’s too late to leave, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/before-we-rush-to-rebuild-after-fires-we-need-to-think-about-where-and-how-130049">if we should even live in the bush</a> any more.</p>
<p>I suggest homes and community buildings in bushfire-prone areas can be made much more fire-resistant, perhaps even fire-proof, by adopting earth-covered, off-grid structures – known as <a href="https://www.earthshipecohomes.com.au/about.html">Earthships</a> – as the new standard.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/before-we-rush-to-rebuild-after-fires-we-need-to-think-about-where-and-how-130049">Before we rush to rebuild after fires, we need to think about where and how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Built for survival</h2>
<p>Houses sheltered by earth have a higher chance of survival in a bushfire. This is because <a href="https://inhabitat.com/this-earth-sheltered-australian-hobbit-home-stay-cozy-all-year/">earth-based constructions are non-flammable</a> (while topsoil can burn and smoulder, clayey, sandy and gravelly soil does not). </p>
<p>A typical Earthship design has double-glazed windows to the north to let in winter sun, while mounds of earth, pushed up to roof level, protect the south, east and west walls. Taking this a step further, an earth-covered house includes a layer of earth over the roof.</p>
<p>The north-facing double-glazed windows (an essential element of <a href="https://sustainability.williams.edu/green-building-basics/passive-solar-design">passive solar design</a>) is the only part of the building that needs some other protection.</p>
<p><a href="https://hia.com.au/business-information/standards-regulations/building-in-bushfire-prone-areas">Bushfire building codes and standards</a> already demand that windows have extra-thick, toughened glass to resist burning debris and intense heat. Double glazing (two layers of glass separated by a small air gap) offers extra protection. In very high-risk areas, bushfire shutters are a requirement.</p>
<p>Although not demanded by building codes, automated sprinklers could be used to spray water on the windows. But automated systems are problematic during a bushfire when <a href="https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/news/2019/ten-years-black-saturday-what-have-we-discovered">power and water supplies are likely to fail</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-food-no-fuel-no-phones-bushfires-showed-were-only-ever-one-step-from-system-collapse-130600">No food, no fuel, no phones: bushfires showed we're only ever one step from system collapse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Independent water supplies (big water tanks) and pumps (usually petrol or diesel) are often a condition of approval for new homes in fire-prone areas. However, these are difficult to automate because of choke, throttle, ignition and refuelling issues.</p>
<h2>Examples around Australia</h2>
<p>Enter the Earthship. Invented by American architect <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Reynolds_(architect)">Michael Reynolds</a>, thousands have been built all over the world, often by owner-builders.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TlntQ9EgOxg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Earthships, invented by Michael Reynolds, are now found all over the world.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I built Australia’s first council-approved Earthship – Earthship Ironbank - in the bushfire-prone Adelaide hills. Australian examples can be found in all states, including at <a href="http://www.earthshipironbank.com.au/">Ironbank</a> in South Australia, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-30/kinglake-black-saturday-survivor-builds-earthship/9091972">Kinglake</a> in Victoria, <a href="https://www.earthshipecohomes.com.au/east-augusta-wa.html">East Augusta</a> and <a href="https://www.earthshipecohomes.com.au/jurien-bay-wa.html">Jurien Bay</a> in Western Australia, and <a href="https://www.earthshipecohomes.com.au/suburban-earthship.html">Narara</a> and <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/it-geek-building-dream-home-out-of-old-tyres-bottles-and-cans/">Marulan</a> in New South Wales.</p>
<p>Earthships have an electric pump powered by solar panels and a battery for day-to-day water supply – and to fight fires. Sprinklers can then spray water on any vulnerable areas regardless of grid failures and without needing to deal with the flammable fuel that petrol and diesel pumps require. </p>
<p>The standard Earthship design has another feature that could save lives. Underground pipes called earth-tubes or cooling tubes bring fresh air into the building at a nice temperature (better than outside) due to the heat-exchanging effect of the earth around the pipes. When wet fabric is placed over the end of the pipes, these can filter out bushfire smoke. </p>
<p>Earth-covered homes are very air-tight, which combined with the earth-tubes helps keep out smoke and reduce <a href="https://www.bushfirecrc.com/sites/default/files/managed/resource/katherine-haynes.pdf">asphyxiation risks</a>. </p>
<p>Another defence mechanism is the “greenhouse”, a sunroom and corridor space on the sunny north side used for passive heating and cooling, treating wastewater and growing food. Yet another layer of double glazing isolates the greenhouse from the living spaces behind it. Adding indoor sprinklers (commonplace in commercial buildings) to the greenhouse could create a “wet buffer zone” and stop embers blowing into living areas where flammable furnishings are a hazard.</p>
<p>An iconic Earthship feature is the tyres used to form the exterior earth walls. While empty tyres are highly flammable, in this design they are not. The tyres are filled with compacted earth and protected by a layer of earth many metres thick (inside walls are rendered). There is already <a href="https://pangeabuilders.com/earthship-buildings-are-fire-resistant-not-a-total-loss/">evidence of their fire-resistant nature</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-building-codes-dont-expect-houses-to-be-fire-proof-and-thats-by-design-129540">Australian building codes don't expect houses to be fire-proof – and that's by design</a>
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<h2>Safer for the planet too</h2>
<p>My PhD research focused on the energy efficiency and environmental footprint of the Earthship, comparing it to other construction systems and designs. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A look at the author’s Earthship Ironbark.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Earth is a low-cost, readily available material. It takes very little energy to dig it up, needs no processing and minimal (if any) transport. It is difficult to think of a more sustainable, inexpensive and non-flammable material.</p>
<p>I found off-grid homes minimise their eco-footprint by kicking three very dirty habits: the power, water and sewage grids. “Earthy” construction methods, such as Earthship, rammed earth, mudbrick and strawbale, also have much lower environmental impacts.</p>
<p>Earth-covered buildings are <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/books/energy-conservation/earth-shelters-a-review-of-energy-conservation-properties-in-earth-sheltered-housing">renowned for their energy efficiency</a>. Earth insulates and has “thermal mass”, an architectural term for dense materials (e.g. concrete, brick, rammed earth, water). Thermal mass evens out temperature changes by absorbing heat when it is too hot inside and releasing heat when it is too cold inside. This means minimal heating and cooling bills.</p>
<p>There are a few “tricks” to getting council approval. Hire an experienced structural engineer and use a private certifier or surveyor for building rules consent as they are better equipped to certify compliance with the <a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/ncc-online/About">National Construction Code</a>. The one aspect of the Earthship I couldn’t get approved was an <a href="http://www.earthshipironbank.com.au/">indoor greywater garden and toilet-flushing system</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-cities-australias-building-and-planning-rules-stand-in-the-way-of-getting-there-84263">Sustainable cities? Australia's building and planning rules stand in the way of getting there</a>
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<p>Parts of the roof are earth-covered with fire-fighting sprinklers on the roof and windows. If I was building again I’d prioritise bushfire resilience by making it fully earth-covered with fire shutters, sprinklers and a safe room.</p>
<p>Further study is needed to scientifically validate my proposal here. However, we already have some evidence that Earthships, with a few minor design changes, might be the most sustainable, liveable, economical, fire-resistant buildings ever conceived of.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Martin Freney operates Earthship Eco Homes, a design consultancy dedicated to Earthship inspired homes and Earthship Ironbank, Australia’s first council approved Earthship available for anyone to experience on Airbnb or Sustainable House Day. His PhD thesis is titled “Earthship Architecture: Post Occupancy Evaluation, Thermal Performance and Life Cycle Assessment”. Martin has received funding from Tyre Stewardship Australia (federally funded) to fund a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia to conduct a study titled “physical properties of tyre walls in residential housing construction”.</span></em></p>Earth-covered houses are not only highly fire-resistant, but sustainable features such as off-grid power and water supplies could also be life-saving in a bushfire.Martin Freney, Lecturer in Industrial and Sustainable Design, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1290022020-01-20T19:03:44Z2020-01-20T19:03:44ZUnbuilding cities as high-rises reach their use-by date<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310805/original/file-20200120-118315-h8cwb8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=247%2C45%2C2755%2C1688&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Implosion is the most dramatic way of demolishing a building but it's also the most wasteful and hazardous.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luke Schmidt/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are entering a new world where skyscrapers and other huge buildings are becoming redundant and need significant overhaul or replacement. The process is called unbuilding or, if you’re a bit highfalutin, deconstruction.</p>
<p>These so-called <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/spreadsheets-in-the-sky-are-putting-melbourne-s-liveability-at-risk-20191203-p53gek.html">spreadsheet towers</a> populate every major city. They signalled modernity and provided huge profits for those who built them. But these buildings are <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-06-high-rise-energy-intensive-low-rise.html">profligate users of fuels</a> for light, power and services.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/buildings-produce-25-of-australias-emissions-what-will-it-take-to-make-them-green-and-wholl-pay-105652">Buildings produce 25% of Australia's emissions. What will it take to make them 'green' – and who'll pay?</a>
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<p>Most developed world cities started building skyscrapers after the second world war. These buildings were <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/International-Style-architecture">International Style</a> architecture, unrecognisable is terms of a particular locale, universal in terms of their ubiquitous metal, concrete, glass – and fully air-conditioned. Now they are ageing, their use-by date is up and their balance sheet profitability no longer attracts. </p>
<h2>The challenges of demolition and reuse</h2>
<p>The question is: how do we safely dismantle these high-rise structures, which are generally located in busy cities? </p>
<p>Reminders of the dangers of explosive demolition are tragedies such as the <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6030620/katie-benders-family-commemorate-20-years-since-royal-canberra-hospital-implosion/">death of 12-year-old Katie Bender</a>. She was struck by flying debris when the Royal Canberra Hospital was razed in 1997 to make way for the new National Museum of Australia. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A news report of the 1997 Royal Canberra Hospital demolition that resulted in the death of 12-year-old Katie Bender.</span></figcaption>
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<p>A recent demolition, and the <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/889563/soms-iconic-270-park-avenue-at-risk-of-becoming-the-largest-building-ever-to-be-demolished">tallest ever to be unbuilt</a>, is 270 Park Avenue, New York City. Its 52 floors were built in 1960 for the Union Carbide chemical company. The building was for 50 years the tallest ever designed by a female architect (Natalie de Bios of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Is that another low hit for gender equality?) Its replacement by architects Norman Foster will be <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/270-park-avenue-quintessential-modernist-skyscraper-being-slowly-destroyed-chase-bank">twice as high</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-short-history-of-tall-buildings-the-making-of-the-modern-skyscraper-56850">A short history of tall buildings: the making of the modern skyscraper</a>
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<p>The business of disassembling these skyscrapers is just now developing, but it will gain pace as more become obsolete. </p>
<p>Some still get imploded, but usually, in a busy city, demolition techniques must be unobtrusive, as quiet and clean as possible. The <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780865476752">techniques used for cleaning up the World Trade Centre</a> testify to the wastefulness of a more destructive approach.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Unbuilding the World Trade Centre: an account by William Langewiesche who reported exhaustively on the work.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>So how best to demolish a high-rise building?</h2>
<p>Plenty of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/science/tricky-ways-to-pull-down-a-skyscraper.html">clever techniques to demolish</a> exist. Some start at the base and work up, others in reverse. </p>
<p>The 40-storey Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo was slowly <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1160452/eco-friendly-japanese-demolition-scheme-slashes-dust-and-noise">demolished in 2012-13</a> using a technique where a cap was built on top of the building. It was stripped floor by floor as the cap was lowered, so all the dust, mess and debris was contained and removed with no effect on the environment.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Akasaka Prince Hotel shrank floor by floor as it was demolished.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Buildings are wrapped in scaffold and protective fabric then literally dismantled in the reverse order to which they were built. In the process building waste can be recycled and reused rather than dumped.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-can-recycle-more-buildings-126563">How we can recycle more buildings</a>
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<p>Reverse building involves removing the glass, then the frames, taking off the wall cladding, then scraping away at the concrete and steel frames bit by bit. Concrete is removed to expose the steel reinforcing bars, which are then separately removed and recycled. In the process unwanted material can be uncovered, like asbestos, which needs particular care in handling.</p>
<p>Interiors are unbuilt the same way – remove floor coverings, cupboards, doors and lightweight walls, strip the electrical wiring and pipes, take out air conditioning and lifts, remove stairs and escalators.</p>
<p>These removalists act smartly, as materials and fabric are recycled and often reused for another building. It is a sustainable way of dealing with the issue. Things that might normally have been reduced to dust and mud by destruction are instead usefully salvaged and recovered for an extended life cycle. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-right-tools-we-can-mine-cities-87672">With the right tools, we can mine cities</a>
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<p>As part of the benefits of this procedure, unbuilding provides <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/Publications/PDF/deconstruct.pdf">large numbers of construction jobs and associated employment</a> in transportation, waste management and recycling. </p>
<p>It also provides new construction sites. This means cities need not expand beyond existing boundaries and the infrastructure of services, roads and public transport need not be extended.</p>
<h2>Building with an eye to unbuilding</h2>
<p>What has interested those involved with this work is the capacity of building designers (let’s call them architects) to creatively improve their buildings in terms of life after use-by date. Techniques are being developed that assist in unbuilding and salvaging materials, even down to basic principles such as ease of access to pipes and wires, modular components and simplified connection practices.</p>
<p>The logic is that clarity of building structure and services makes retrieval simpler. Less complexity of materials and components means a building can be untangled more efficiently. </p>
<p>Fastening devices can be simplified and mechanical (rather than using glues and sealants), toxic materials avoided, materials selected with an afterlife in mind and structures designed for simplicity and accessibility. Also important is a clear set of as-built documents that map the original building so it can be disassembled.</p>
<p>Clear design thinking will have value for unbuilding and recycling in the future.</p>
<h2>Making construction more sustainable</h2>
<p>The construction industry is a main consumer of fuels, timber, steel and other metals, concrete and plastics. That demand drives the logging of forests, mining and extraction, leading to material production and transport that contributes to emissions and pollution.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/making-every-building-count-in-meeting-australias-emission-targets-126930">Making every building count in meeting Australia's emission targets</a>
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<p>The UK Green Building Council <a href="https://www.ukgbc.org/climate-change/">estimates</a> the construction industry generates about 22% of UK carbon emissions, uses 40% of drinking water, contributes 50% to climate change and over half our landfill waste, and accounts for 39% of global energy use. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also <a href="https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/pdf/gbstats.pdf">reports</a> that the industry contributes to asthma and lung cancer by producing radon via contaminated applied finishes (paint). </p>
<p>Driving the need for much greater reuse of old building materials is an awareness of the fragility of our resources and the energy we use to consume them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Day does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The problems of demolishing high-rise buildings in busy cities point to the need to prepare for unbuilding at the time of building. We’d then be much better placed to recycle building materials.Norman Day, Lecturer in Architecture, Practice and Design, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1259332019-10-30T05:11:48Z2019-10-30T05:11:48ZWe made a flammable cladding database to help boost fire safety in our buildings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299390/original/file-20191030-154694-vj28xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C56%2C5327%2C3540&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The materials used for cladding buildings can greatly affect a building's overall vulnerability to fire. In Australia, buildings with flammable cladding continue to pose safety concerns. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Modern buildings have seen rapid development in recent decades, with a push towards sustainable practices and improved energy efficiency. But the advancement of fire safety has been less prioritised, and we need to rethink our approach.</p>
<p>Combustible cladding materials, which are often found in buildings, pose safety concerns. The systems originally in place to help solve this problem weren’t good enough. That’s why my colleagues and I created the <a href="https://claddingmaterialslibrary.com.au">Cladding Materials Library</a>, an online database which provides insight into the flammability of various cladding materials.</p>
<p>Cladding materials used in modern <a href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Rainscreen">rainscreen systems</a> on the outside of buildings offer insulation and protect buildings against rain, wind and sun. They also let architects create interesting building designs, such as by adding bright colours or curves to the exterior.</p>
<p>But flammability in modern cladding materials, <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/building-confidence-building-ministers-forum-expert-assessment">among other failings</a>, has led to increasingly frequent fires breaking out across the world. Examples include the 2014 <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-28/lacrosse-apartment-owners-win-5.7-million-cladding-fire-damages/10857060">Lacrosse fire</a> in Melbourne and the 2017 <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/london-fire-brigade-criticised-for-grenfell-tower-apartment-fire-20191030-p535jy.html">Grenfell Tower fire</a> in London.</p>
<h2>The extent of the problem</h2>
<p>Many cladding materials currently used are flammable to varying degrees, including very common Aluminium Composite Panels (ACPs). These have a plastic-based core material (such as polyethylene), with a sheet of aluminium glued to either side. While ACPs can sometimes be nearly non-combustible, they’re generally considered flammable.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flammable-cladding-costs-could-approach-billions-for-building-owners-if-authorities-dither-118121">Flammable cladding costs could approach billions for building owners if authorities dither</a>
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<p>In Queensland, about <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/18-000-queensland-buildings-registered-to-check-for-flammable-cladding-20190328-p518om.html">18,000 buildings</a> have been looked at to determine cladding flammability and overall building response to fire. Of these, 75% required no further action. For the remaining 25%, engineers were hired to further investigate whether they were problematic or not.</p>
<p>The Queensland government estimated 100-200 of the buildings needed to be made safer, with the price of work on a single building costing up to <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/flammable-cladding-confirmed-on-five-queensland-government-buildings-20180926-p5060z.html">tens of millions of dollars</a>.</p>
<p>It’s important to note some buildings with combustible cladding otherwise had rigorous fire safety designs, such as networks of well-maintained fire doors, short escape distances, good firefighter access, and layouts that minimise risk. Thus, having flammable cladding does not necessarily mean a building is dangerous. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, such materials <a href="https://theconversation.com/lacrosse-fire-ruling-sends-shudders-through-building-industry-consultants-and-governments-112777">shouldn’t have been included</a> without architects, engineers and builders properly understanding the associated risks.</p>
<h2>To help, we developed a database</h2>
<p>The database my colleagues and I created, the first of its kind, offers a detailed collection of flammability information and material properties for different types of common cladding materials.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cladding-fires-expose-gaps-in-building-material-safety-checks-heres-a-solution-111073">Cladding fires expose gaps in building material safety checks. Here's a solution</a>
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<p>Generally, the same materials are used repeatedly across buildings, as there are only so many products available on the market. We used small-scale testing (10cm samples) to identify exactly which materials were the most important. </p>
<p>But identifying a material is not enough to understand how it performs in a fire. That’s why we completed flammability testing (of samples up to 1m in length) on 20 materials commonly found on the outside of buildings.</p>
<p>Over the course of a year, we took 1,100 small material samples from buildings and performed 9,250 tests. We then identified 75 unique cladding materials, and narrowed these down to 20 materials, on which we performed detailed testing (with about 30 tests per material). We chose a wide range of materials to ensure the most common ones were represented in our selection. </p>
<p>The experiments we did involved exposing the materials to heat in controlled ways, and then changing the amount of heat to see how the samples responded. Our process included measuring the time taken for a material to ignite, the amount of heat released from the material, how the heat was released, and how the flames spread. </p>
<p>Our results are now publicly available in the Cladding Materials Library, which can be updated as new materials are invented. The database will help fire engineers effectively assess the potential fire risk of buildings.</p>
<h2>Writing accurate reports is crucial</h2>
<p>Fire engineers can use our database to determine how a building as a whole might perform during a fire. They may then ask questions such as: </p>
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<li>how quickly will the fire spread up the building? </li>
<li>can people reach a place of safety in time? </li>
<li>is there flammable material near important escape routes? </li>
<li>if the fire spreads upwards, how will the rest of the building perform?</li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lacrosse-fire-ruling-sends-shudders-through-building-industry-consultants-and-governments-112777">Lacrosse fire ruling sends shudders through building industry consultants and governments</a>
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<p>But fire engineers involved in such investigations also need ongoing training to update their knowledge. For many, this came in the form of a continued professional development course designed by the University of Queensland, and a similar course for building professionals (such as builders and architects) developed by the Queensland government. </p>
<p>The latter has been important to the success of our project, as it allows building professionals to understand the problems at hand, and the reports written by engineers.</p>
<h2>Safety in the future</h2>
<p>For now, fire engineers hired by either the government or by building owners are making immediate changes to the relevant buildings to boost their short-term safety. Eventually, they will make suggestions for how to improve long-term building safety, which may cost more time and money. </p>
<p>The only way to solve the issue of fire risk is to understand how each building performs, and to have a suitably qualified engineer take responsibility for its design. </p>
<p>Our research will represent a change in how we approach solving this problem, and will hopefully help prevent fires in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martyn S. McLaggan and The University of Queensland has received funding from the Queensland Government - Department of Housing & Public Works. The work has also received support from the Non-Conforming Building Products Audit Taskforce, which includes the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Some of the materials contributed to the database were donated by manufacturers who had no influence or say in the results. The continuing professional development course for engineers was designed by The University of Queensland, and UQ receives money when participants attend the course.</span></em></p>Ensuring a building will be safe against fire requires careful consideration from not only fire engineers, but also from builders, architects and building owners.Martyn S. McLaggan, Research Fellow, School of Civil Engineering, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.