Positive Growth
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, School of Architecture
Featured Green and Blue Strategies for Urban and River Flooding Control: Design Strategies from Addis Ababa View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rubén García, Sonsoles Vela
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) has rapidly evolved from a small military outpost to a sprawling metropolis and has doubled its population to over 4 million in recent years (and counting). This unprecedented demographic boom has brought uncontrolled urbanization to the city and is also testing the administration's ability to provide basic services to the population. If these urban issues are not addressed at present, climate change will be added to the continuous growth of the population, and both will exacerbate the already present issues. The main objective of this academic research is to design a holistic urban resilience and regenerative strategy, where its main elements are the more than 50km of river tributaries. For that, the project proposes a new "ecological infrastructure" that uses the rivers as the main element to tackle the city's most urgent challenges. The methodology of the project is organized into three different scales. The first analyses the city's development in terms of history, ecology, economics, and culture. The second scale proposes solutions through a comprehensive master plan. Finally, the third and smallest scale includes specific architectural interventions at the most urgent and significant sites. Therefore, this paper elaborates on the methodology and results from the process outlined above. In this case, we show a specific intervention focused on the use of green and blue infrastructure to control urban flooding and to show how this infrastructure can work as a public space for the citizens at the same time.
The Use of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines to Decrease the Clean Energy Cost for Residential Buildings in Hawaii View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Fahd Hemeida
Nowadays, renewable energy sources have become essential for all world countries. However, each State's ability to use those sources depends on specific determinants such as meteorological geographical variables; Also, the low cost of produced energy is one of the provisions in choosing the most appropriate method for the renewable energy source. Since the most famous of these sources are solar and wind energy, most countries try to use both on a large and small scale. However, while the State is exposed to an excellent mean wind speed throughout the year, such as Hawaii, this aerial potential must be widely utilized using small wind power sources over buildings. Therefore, this paper studies the potential wind energy in the urban fabric on a microclimate scale to use vertical axis wind turbines on the top roof of a residential building as a case study to generate clean energy. Also, the results are compared with those of solar sources in terms of energy production and cost.
Environmental Impacts of Thermal Performance Improvement in Existing Chilean Residential Buildings
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Waldo Bustamante
In Chile, the residential sector consumes around 20% of energy. In the country, the thermal performance standards of housing are deficient, which explains their high heating energy consumption. The most significant energy consumption in homes is for heating (56.3%). Firewood is the most consumed energy source, followed by kerosene, LPG and natural gas. The intensive use of firewood has generated high indoor and urban pollution levels. In Santiago and other cities in the country's south, the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 have exceeded the World Health Organization recommended levels. This high urban and indoor air pollution affects approximately 10 million people in the country, generating high rates of chronic heart and respiratory diseases and premature death. To reduce this pollution, the government has implemented a state program that includes applying higher thermal standards for new and existing houses, which considers envelope thermal insulation, double-glazed windows, air infiltration reduction and mechanical ventilation systems. This work evaluates the impacts of state rehabilitation programs in two cities (Concepción and Temuco). Improved standards to those applied in state plans are also assessed. Considering six representative homes of the mentioned cities, simulations of energy performance and quantifications of CO2 and PM2.5 emissions were carried out. It is highly recommended to implement these plans and/or improve the thermal standards in existing homes, observing a significant reduction in CO2 emissions and the concentration of particulate matter in the cities analyzed, with a high impact on people's health.
