Passive house vs. passive design: sociotechnical issues in a practice-based design research project for a low-energy house

Passive House and Low Energy Buildings: Barriers and Opportunities for Future Development within UK Practice

This paper describes research carried out to understand better the current and future emphases emerging from practice for the design and development of “Passive House” and low energy buildings. The paper initially discusses the extant position, particularly with regards to the UK and considers how regulation and assessment systems have changed in recent years, as well as projecting ideas forwar...

Modelling-based Low Carbon Retrofit House Design

This paper describes three case studies of dynamic simulation in preparation for the low carbon retrofit practice, namely, a pre-1919 terrace house, and a 1970s and a 2000s semi-detached house. The houses are located in Wales, UK. Each case study examines its current performance, assesses the effectiveness of different retrofit strategies, and evaluates the best group of options available. Retr...

Design Issues and Applications for a Passive-Dynamic Walker

Humanoid and walking robots have been widely developed and their use in human environments is not far out of reach. The main problems in practical applications of machine walking are energy consumption, complex control and design, and high cost. The main feasible indoor application of a walking machine is that of a humanoid robot as a companion, nurse, guide, or information desk or reception cl...

Adaptation as a Design Method in Architecture, Case Study: a House at Martha’s Vineyard

Bioclimatic Analysis in Pre-Design Stage of Passive House in Indonesia

The objective of this study is to investigate the climate characteristics of Indonesian regions using an Olgyay Bioclimatic chart, a Givoni–Milne Bioclimatic chart and a Mahoney Table as the pre-design stage in the development of a passive house design standard for residential house construction in Indonesia. Jakarta was the city chosen for deep analysis, because it represents most of the Indon...