Workshops
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CATE 2019 Workshop Programme
NB: Many people will want to attend more than three of the fascinating range of CATE 19 workshops relating to Comfort at the Extremes at the conference. We will produce a CATE 19 Legacy Document from the Conference and its workshops that will ensure that the discussions had, and the lessons shared, for each workshop are recorded so they might be passed on for those who were not lucky enough to attend them.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
WORKSHOP 1: Evaporative Cooling Systems in Extremely Hot Streets
CHAIRS: Craig Farnham and Adrian Pitts
The workshop starts with a brief overview of the basic physics of evaporative cooling as used in evaporative, swamp and misting systems. The mechanics of these systems are touched on, including hydraulic, pneumatic, ultrasound misting systems, spray droplet sizes and evaporation times. Key issues for such systems are mentioned including legionella concerns, the COPs of different evaporation cooling systems (energy consumed vs. cooling effect), experimental cooling results, the combined use of fans and the impacts of comfort variables such as the different ways (physical and psychological) in which these systems create comfort and the effects of clothing and context on their performance. The workshop then opens up with case studies of evaporative systems in use with discussions of their effectiveness under various constraints including consideration of issues of wet bulb temperatures in relation to thermal comfort and thermal stress standards including WBGT. Other general issues will be discussed and new research directions and priorities drawn from the workshop.
WORKSHOP 2: Boosting Comfort Locally with personalised Micro-environments and Non-uniform air distribution systems
CHAIRS: Risto Kosenen and Susan Roaf
An introductory talk will outline how standards and traditional design approaches have been focused mainly on total volume HVAC systems designed to provide uniform and steady-state conditions over whole spaces within a building. It will describe a range of conditioning solutions developed to control the indoor environmental parameters just in the area around an individual, the goals of these novel solutions is to create a local comfort zone just around occupants, without noticeably modifying the air temperature, relative humidity and IAQ in the rest of the room. There are multiple benefits of such systems including the enablement of people in spaces to manage their own micro-climates without interfering with the comfort of others, the potential to achieve significant energy and carbon savings by setting room temperatures to a basic normal temperature rather than setting it to arbitrary requested temperatures by people with more extreme comfort needs or to thermal comfort standards that do not related to the thermal preferences of locally adapted populations. Higher occupant satisfaction can also increase building user satisfaction and reduce incidences of Sick Building Syndrome. The objective of the workshop is to explore the potentials for such novel micro-environment solutions is to discuss ways to improve users’ thermal sensations in more energy efficient systems than with the traditional solutions, and to showcase papers demonstrating how such systems can be designed, simulated and work in practice.
WORKSHOP 3: Resilient Cooling: Low Energy and Carbon Design
CHAIRS: Peter Holzer and Philipp Stern
This workshop will introduce the work of the IEA EBC Annex 80 (http://annex80.iea-ebc.org/) which is currently in its preparation phase. In response to the exponential increase in energy consumption for the cooling of buildings around the world, not just in ‘hot’ countries, Annex 80 is looking to explore the development and application of resilient, robust, affordable, low energy and low carbon cooling solutions on a large scale. Within its three year working programme the Annex will offer an excellent chance for international R&D as well as transfer of knowledge, experience and technology. The workshop will inform about offers of collaborative research arising from Annex 80 and will serve as an innovation hub for activities in the field of resilient cooling. It will also showcase great new case studies of resilient cooling approaches, like those used in the new Austrian pavilion at the EXPO 2020 at Dubai with climate engineering by Austrian engineering bureau P. Jung in a building that uses wood/loam towers, ventilative cooling, mass activation and adiabatic cooling based on wind tower as well as earth tube principles.
WORKSHOP 4: Physiology, Health and Comfort: challenges of indoor and outdoor temperature and implications for Everyday Life
CHAIRS: Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt and Hannah Pallubinsky
Research over the last decade has provided evidence of the impact of our thermal environment on human physiology and metabolic health. Importantly, it is known that upon regular exposure to cold and/or heat, adaptive processes occur. Our bodies have the ability to adapt to the specific thermal environment, and both our thermoregulatory physiology as well as thermal perception is improved. Moreover, environments just outside our thermal comfort zone have been shown to actually provide healthier conditions than a stable, uniform climate – just as exercise is often healthier when compared to comfortable, sedentary behaviour. For example, both regular cold as well as heat exposure have the potential to positively affect our energy and glucose metabolism and might therefore help to combat metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Nevertheless, this knowledge is not yet implemented in indoor environmental standards; current standards recommend thermal conditions within narrow comfort ranges. Furthermore, cultural aspects of living in both warm and cold climates often bring along habits of overcooling or respectively overheating of the indoor environment in relation to the outdoor temperature. How can we use our thermal environment, or even “temperature training”, to promote health and well-being in real life situations? During this workshop, examples will be given of studies or projects that translate thermophysiological and thermal-comfort knowledge into real recorded experiences in everyday situations, and at more extreme temperatures, as we explore ways of not only adapting to ‘new thermal normals’ but also to more extreme weather trends and events. Papers are invited for this workshop that may encompass: combined laboratory/monitoring studies, comparative and temperature intervention studies, monitoring physiological parameters in real life and/or modelling approaches.
WORKSHOP 5: Resilient Energy Systems to meet Evolving Comfort Demands
Chairs: Evangelia Topriska and Kirk Shanks
Extreme weather phenomena like heatwaves, draughts, floods and hurricanes, are becoming more common. In regions with extreme climatic conditions, these phenomena pose an even greater stress on energy provision and thermal comfort demands. How can we make sure that energy systems are resilient enough to provide for security of supply and safe living conditions? What are the risks posed on the current energy infrastructure? This workshop will focus on examples and case studies of how central and distributed renewable energy systems can be designed for energy security and thermal comfort provision under the constraints of climate change. Papers are invited that may include: combined experimental/ numerical modelling studies, real projects and data, policies and strategies reviews and evaluation.
Workshop 6: Behaviours, Opportunities and Expectations as Thermal Defences
Chairs: Madhavi Indraganti and Kheira Tabet Aoul
Many of the most effective means of adapting to uncomfortable, unacceptable or even dangerous temperatures are rooted in our beliefs, expectations, experiences, learned behaviours and the opportunities to hand to act on them. Simple adjustments to the way we sit, move, dress, eat, drink, sleep and interact with others can significantly alter the thermal experiences of individuals before larger physical changes are made to where people are, and the infra-structures of their environments in cities, buildings or tents. First level personal adaptive behaviours that may be achieved in seconds or minutes start with how people alter the states of their own bodies, while second level behaviours will take longer to take advantage of passive micro-climatic opportunities within their reach, be it the state of their curtains, shutters, windows, furniture, fans, heaters, or their location within a room or building. Third level personal adaptive opportunities may take much longer to achieve and involve the altering of the micro-climates within and around the buildings themselves, by insulating walls or roofs, growing shade planting or installing new shading strategies for the habitation and its environs. Papers are invited on these subjects that are so important as thermal devices to be explored and exploited as we adapt to warmer climates in the future in all walks of life.
Workshop 7: Towards a New Vernacular for Buildings and Cities
Chairs: Ihsan Fethy and Shadi Attia
Many Modern buildings and cities perform badly in both very hot, cold, wet and dry conditions. An obvious defence is that they are designed to be built quickly, in often untested forms and materials due to the pace of the industrial innovations happening and the need to build fast to increased developer profit. Issues of the long-term durability of structures, places and communities are widely ignored by designers and their clients. Vernacular buildings were generated very differently. Rather than being inspired by new design ideas, or as reflections of the glories of a single age, or author, they evolved over centuries and millennia in the particular places, climates and cultures that worked to shape them via numerous iterations and enhancements over time, and were shaped by them in turn. Thus, performance problems were gradually ironed out and opportunities for improvement implemented using simple design changes in orientation, solar and wind harvesting and protection, useful energy storage, occupant behaviours and lifestyles. We have not the time ahead to evolve new buildings forms organically over centuries but this workshop looks at the ways, means and attitudinal changes needed to fast tracking the optimisation of design evolution to keep populations safer in the warming decades ahead. Papers are invited that cover the processes to hand to shape the development of a New Vernacular that is more resilient to the extremes of weather that we are increasing experiencing around the world.
Workshop 8: Thermally Resilient Design for Transitional Refugee Shelters
Chairs: Sukumar Natarajan, Natalia Paszkiewicz and Daniel Fosas
The provision of adequate shelter for transient populations is becoming a globally pressing issue. Understandably, thermal conditions are not initially a primary concern when housing large number of individuals as a response to humanitarian or environmental crises, pilgrimages or workforce pressures, however, as the lifetime of camps is extended, these shelters move into a transitional state between temporary and permanent. Some studies have suggested the average lifetime of a transitional shelter is seventeen years. The lack of a considered design approach that balances the urgency of installation against cost and comfort results in poor comfort and high levels of thermal stress. It is clear from our field surveys that shelter designs need to be sensitive to the background and cultures of camp residents if they are to be a humane and sustainable solution throughout their lifetime. This is the core issue we wish to explore with this workshop. Papers are invited on the subject.
Workshop 9: Sleeping & Street Life in Cities in Extreme Climates
Chairs: Rajan Rawal and Fergus Nicol
With the recent rapid growth of many emerging economies with extreme climates, driven by ever growing population growth and global mobility, comes the challenge of creating urban areas that meet the usability expectations of global citizens. This session will explore the implications of extreme climates on lives in and around the streets of cities during extreme events. It will cover pedestrian transit, and living conditions on the streets as well issues of comfortable, acceptable and survivable temperatures for sleeping in cities and on the streets. Papers are invited on related subjects with particular reference to design for pedestrian areas and street living in extremely challenging hot and cold climates are experienced and risks are high for living and sleeping in relation to comfort health and mortality on the streets and in the city.
WORKSHOP 10: New Approaches for Rating Schemes and Regulations
Chairs: Dong Chen and Harvey Bryan
There are challenges ahead to ensure that rating schemes, regulations and legislative policies keep abreast with the changing climate. The duty of care for governments to keep their populations thermally safe in buildings must also be matched in reality with global endeavours to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to minimise future warming for the planet. Not only are there political drivers influencing the nature and direction of building design strategies and constraints but there are also today real social and economic pressures to reduce building conditioning impacts affordably. Then in turn there are the technical challenges of constructing effective tools and programmes with which to make policies successful. The Chairs of this workshop bring real world experience from Australia, USA and Spain of the challenges to bear from political, professional, industry and academic perspectives. Papers are invited that share experiences and provoke discussions on the subjects involved.
WORKSHOP 11: Achieving Low Carbon Buildings in Practice
Chairs: Samuel Domínguez-Amarillo and Jessica Fernández-Agüera
For thirty years we have been aware of the huge problems we face in the built environment having to not only build new developments and cities that are affordable and protect our growing populations current climates and future conditions while also mitigating against driving further greenhouse gas emissions and consequently climate change. However modern buildings have been shown to all too often lead to higher emissions and costs and also suffer badly in terms of comfort during extreme weather events. Papers are invited for this session on experiences of buildings projects that can inform the step changes necessary to build real resilience and genuinely low carbon developments in the future in all climates. Post Occupancy and Buildings Performance Evaluations has helped to drive improvement papers are invited for this session on experiences of buildings projects and such evaluations that can inform the step changes necessary to achieve genuinely low carbon developments in practice now and for a different future.
WORKSHOP 12: Building Resilience in Cities for Climate Extremes
Chairs: Alex Wilson and Rohinton Emmanuel
There is now a large body of evidence from the research world on the extent of the climate moderating impacts of heat islands and also real world experiences of the often catastrophic impacts of extreme weather events on cities around the world. In response to the escalating severity of extreme climate events and their frequency of occurrence cities around the world are responding with new regulations, new design guidlelines, new planning imperatives and civic programmes to enhance the resilience of their citizens. Papers are invited covering not only the informative research contributions to this field but also to real world responses that are changing the way administrations see and act on the challenges of buildings resilience into the urban infrastructure in a warming world.
WORKSHOP 13: Comfort, Health and Mortality in Real Buildings
Chairs: Alana Hansen and Hom Rijal
When do populations get too hot or cold? When does their health suffer and when do they die? Building on one of the largest data bases of actual temperatures in homes in Japan the extraordinary range of occupied domestic temperatures speak of an amazing ability of people to adjust themselves and their environments to stay comfortable. The recent heatwaves in Australia have demonstrated that even human ingenuity in applying adaptive strategies can be stretched to breaking points and the characteristics of when systems start to break are well exemplified with the Australian data on hospital admissions and death rates during extreme events. Papers are invited for this workshop from people interested in the thermal comfort, health and mortality features of populations in different regions and the lessons that can be learnt from research in this field that can then be used to inform policies to build thermal resilience in buildings, cities and regions.
WORKSHOP 14: Structures at the Extremes
Chairs: Manuel de Arriaga Brito Correia Guedes and Peter Hickson
In a warming world with more extreme temperatures and climate related events there is a huge need to think more deeply about how to create structures that can withstand heat, cold, water, light and wind better. It is not only about the resistance of the physical structures of the buildings but also the robustness of the buildings envelopes under climate stressors. Starting off with an outline of the challenges experienced while testing extreme materials in a larger tent in Antarctica this workshop will also deal with related industry-wide materials challenges in more extreme climates. A good example of this comes from the experiences of the Mud Construction in Australia where the industry is facing huge challenges in meeting unrealistic performance expectations dictated by national rating schemes. Papers are invited from designers exploring the role of materials in temporary and permanent structures in extreme climates with experiences and lessons to share.
WORKSHOP 15: Designing Better Homes in Extremely Hot Climates
Chairs: Abdulrahman Alshaikh and Hanan Al-Khatra
This workshop introduces recent research in the field of dwelling performance and occupant comfort in very hot climates. It demonstrates that many people from different socio-economic groups are experiencing and trying to cope with massive increases in energy prices for cooling, for example of homes in the Gulf region. The workshop looks at ways of improving the thermal performance of, and comfort in, homes in hot climates, with a special focus on factors that affect people’s daily choices evolved to improve their tolerance to indoor conditions. Factors that affect indoor neutral temperatures include building orientation and shape, construction designs and materials, glazing rations and types and most importantly the occupant’s behaviours, expectations and attitudes towards the high energy demand. Case study projects where residents have been enabled to develop sustainable solutions in the efficiency of their buildings to increase thermal comfort while reducing electricity consumption will be demonstrated. Participants in the workshop will join in developing and applying design adjustments to low-performance dwellings to explore respective design choices for different electricity price bands to demonstrate the scale of their impacts on cost and comfort. Participants will be expected to present final design concepts that reflect their gained knowledge during the workshop. Papers are invited on related subjects from the Gulf and for different regions and extremes of climate.
WORKSHOP 16: Modelling & Simulating Comfort at the Extremes
Chairs: Hassam Chaudhry and Ryozo Ooka
Simulation models provide valuable insights into thermal comfort in buildings based on passive design, materials, user behaviour, and cooling loads. The accuracy of these models is therefore vital and it is essential to keep advancing simulation methods in order to continue optimising thermal comfort in extreme climates. This session will bring together authors/papers who are using CFD simulations to investigate thermal comfort in hot climates. Papers are invited describing research and learning on different approaches to thermal simulations at extremes and discussions on the values and assumptions that are used in them for extreme climates.
WORKSHOP 17: The Role of Natural Ventilation in Extreme Climates
Chairs: Maria Kolokotroni and Ulrike Passe
Many acknowledge that in a future of genuinely low carbon buildings and increasingly unaffordable high energy conditioning systems that truly resilient buildings will be heated and cooled for as long as possible using natural energy. Strategies such as solar gain and natural ventilation using thermal storage, as happened with the traditional windcatchers of Dubai, will come to the fore in more resilient, natural energy buildings. While architects and engineers have too often become de-skilled in the field of natural ventilation the current renascence of interest and opportunities to exploit natural ventilation is a world-wide phenomenon. Papers are invited that shed light on both traditional and innovative means to better ventilate buildings and discussion of future directions in the field will be encouraged.
WORKSHOP 18: Well-Being, Health and Air Quality
Chairs: Kathryn Janda and Grianne McGill
Well-being is seen as an increasingly important issue for building occupants and owners. In cities in a warming world the perception of well-being is not only associated with the perception of socio-economic factors but also with the ‘invisible physical’. Environmental impacts of urban dwelling, including outdoor and indoor air-pollution, exacerbated by higher and lower temperatures are also critical. Papers are invited that explore issues around the idea of Well-being and its physical and non-physical attributes, the processes available for describing and benchmarking it and systems and experiences to date of doing so. Papers are also invited that deal with the levels and impacts of indoor and outdoor air quality on the Comfort and Well-being of building occupants, and discussions on the potential impacts of higher global temperatures on the above subjects.