Conference Proceedings: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-9 of 9
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Transformable Architecture, A key to Improve stadiums & sports buildings.Nowadays, needs are changing rapidly. New technologies are developed to achieve responsive architecture trends to these changes. One of these trends is called Transformable Architecture. Transformable architecture is listed under the kinetic architecture. It is defined as buildings – in a fixed place - that can change its form, configuration and properties, for a need or a purpose. Its applications are varied from moving the roof structure, building spaces, façade components and interior components and furnishing. Roof structure can be moved by different ways, by moving roof parts; like overlapping, or by transforming roof structure; like retraction or deploying. By such, transformable architecture introduces a lot of solutions, which can improve the buildings' functional, environmental, aesthetic and economic properties. Functional properties, as making the building alters its function to another, change its form and configuration to host another event. Environmental properties, that makes the building able to host events throughout the year and making it energy efficient. Aesthetic properties, -which caused by motion – as it makes the building attractive with appropriate visual impact. As a result, the economic properties of the building are improved. So, there is no need to construct very expensive wide span buildings for each game. Particularly, in large crowded cities like Cairo (the capital city of Egypt), where there is no enough free area for such activities. Also, there is an ability to increase income by multi-use, energy efficiency, and tourism attraction. Hence, transformable architecture is a key to improve stadiums and sports buildings, and in turn improve its functional, environmental, aesthetic and economic properties. This paper tries to highlight the role of transformable architecture in stadiums and show the importance of improving stadium abilities and properties. This is done through review the literature and analyses a number of case studies in order to investigate the different impacts of employing this technique in their buildings. A number of recommendations on using such technique in Egyptian stadiums and sports buildings are drawn as key directions to improve them.
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An approach to integrate the environmental impact assessment process in the early stages of design.Nowadays, the integration of environmental dimensions in design process - and particularly in buildings that holding major event - has become not optional anymore. Consideration to environmental principles, effects of climate and sustainability in renewable resources is very important for building’s occupants. Adopting these concepts has driven most countries to adopt official strategies and policies in order to insure appropriate building designs. Certain certification such as “LEED”1, “BREEAM”2, and “Green Star”3 become one of the required and essential documents for construction approval. However, policies without awareness of assessment methodologies and tools are not enough, where specific and appropriate methods and tools could be employed. Thus, this research aims at providing a proposed methodology for environmental design process that takes into consideration the environmental impact assessment (EIA). The proposed methodology employs the environmental assessor (LEED) to judge the compatibility of the design with principles of sustainability, in addition to computer based tools in order to quantify the effectiveness of proposed passive strategies and measures. The use of computer allows the visualization of the unseen environmental attributes in a three dimensional interface, allowing by such comprehensive understanding of the issues involved in the assessment process. In this way, design proposals in the early stages of design; (I.e. design concept, orientation of buildings, using passive strategies…etc) could be quantified. This helps the designer to take the appropriate decisions in the right time. In an advanced stage but before construction, building details such as; building material, façade designs and projections, colours of the buildings, opening size and design, also could be tested and quantified. The result of the current research is the proposed methodology for the integration of the environmental dimensions in the design process. It is worth mentioning here that the author of the paper have applied the proposed methodology successfully on several projects on the regional level. Next paper will show the application of the methodology on these projects.
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The environmental performance of classrooms in Egypt: a case study from El-Minya GovernorateThe provision of primary schools in Egypt is one of the demanding issues facing the Egyptian government since the earthquake of 1992. In the aftermath of the quake the government has designed a substantial number of primary schools around the country in an attempt to replace schools lost in the disaster. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the environmental performance of classrooms inside eighteen government schools from the El-Minya Governorate. Interviews were conducted with the pupils and the staff of the schools. The authors of the present paper believe that the environmental performance of these classrooms could be better addressed than at present. Accordingly, this investigation was essentially to establish the roots of the problems and to identify approaches for further investigation. One problem is that schools of typical design have been built in varying climatic regions of the country. The results suggest that the majority of pupils and teachers in all case studies suffer from thermal and visual discomfort during much of the academic year inside the classrooms.
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A proposal for north of Sinai comprehensive development policiesفي ظل سياسات الدولة لتنمية الأقاليم الواعدة للتغلب على مشكلة التكدس العمراني في الوادي والدلتا والزيادة السكانية المضطردة ، قامت الدولة بأعداد وتنفيذ م شاريع عديدة للتنمية ومنها المشروع القومي لتنمية سيناء، وتجدر الإشارة إلى أن شمال سيناء بمحافظتيها شمال وجنوب سيناء تقع ضمن إقليم قناة السويس الذي يضم أيضًا محافظات بورسعيد والسويس والإسماعيلية والشرقية ، وحيث أن شمال سيناء تمتلك من المقومات والإمكانيات وا لأ سباب الاستراتيجية والسياسية ما يؤهلها لاستقطاب برنامج تنموي متكامل كإقليم مستقل بذاته، فقد تم اختيارها للدراسة، حيث أن الدولة لم تحقق النتائج المرجوة من عمليات التنمية، وقد حاول البحث معرفة أسباب عدم تحقيق هذه التجارب لأهدافها من خلال، عرض سريع لأهم مفاه يم عملية التنمية الإقليمية الشاملة، دراسة مبسطة للوضع الراهن ومقومات التنمية بشمال سيناء، دراسة لسياسات التنمية الحالية لشمال سيناء وتقييم معدلات الأداء، وقد أسفر البحث عن تمتع شمال سيناء بمقومات التنمية اللازمة لتنمية هذا الجزء الغالي من أرض مصر، مع وجود برنامج قومي لتنمية شبه جزيرة سيناء برمتها متضمنة بالطبع شمال سيناء ويرى البحث أن هناك قصورًا شديدًا فيما يسمى بمرتكزات التنمية، وبناءاً عليه توصل البحث إلى رسم الخطوط العريضة لسياسات تنمية شمال سيناء تنطلق من تحديد سليم لطاقات الإقليم وموارده المادية والبشرية، وتحديد الأولويات والأدوات الفعالة بما يتلاءم وظروف التنمية.
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Traditional ways of dealing with climate in EgyptEgypt is occupied in the hot dry/arid climatic zone of the world and part of the great desert (Sahara) of North Africa except for the narrow valley extending linearly around the Nile River across the country (Mostafa, 2001). This climatic zone is characterized by arid climatic conditions with extremely high temperatures and almost no rain and a very high diurnal difference throughout the year (Givoni, 1998). Egyptian people have tried from ancient times to reduce heat impacts and provide shade by several ways (traditional passive cooling devices) in order to have the feel of thermal comfort. The passive devices such as; Courtyard, Malkaf, Mushrabiya, Salsabil, Shuksheika, Taktaboosh, are marked by perfect responsiveness to the climatologically pressures they endure. During a field trip in Egypt, a number of existing traditional buildings around the country have been visited. In exploring these precedents, it became evident the use of passive cooling devices as natural environmental controls was effective. Moreover, the richness of the architecture had evolved as a result of their application. This paper demonstrates the importance of these passive cooling devices as environmental mediators, creating thermally pleasant living conditions. This is done through reviewing, classifying and analyzing their design characteristics.
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Application of computer based environmental assessment and optimization tools: An approach for appropriating buildingsThe main aim of this paper is to devise a research methodology that employs computer based environmental assessment tools, to be used to quantify the effectiveness of passive measures. The use of computer allows the visualization of the unseen environmental attributes in a three dimensional interface, permitting by such more effective understanding of the issues involved in the quantification process. This will also open up this methodology for use by researchers from different professional backgrounds. It also could prove very useful in the identification of the most efficient solutions to the upgrading of the environmental performance of existing buildings. The results of work appertaining to the proposed methodological approach are presented.