As part of the adoption of the 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, the California Energy Commission adopted Joint Appendix IV, which contains standard U-factor, C-factor and Thermal Mass data for roof, wall and floor construction assemblies (see page IV-1 of the Joint Appendices at: http://www.energy.ca.aov/title24/2005standards/2004-10-06 400-03-001JAF.PDF). The data in Joint Appendix I...

This paper intends to highlight one of the key concerns of housing designers i.e. the influence of open space on human satisfaction as well as their attachment to a particular place. Consequently, neighborhood open spaces with their meaningful layout seem to be constituent elements of residential complexes. Although, architects and designers try to create qualitative areas among buildings, the ...

There has been a long-standing debate about whether urban living is more or less sustainable than suburban living, and quality of life (QoL) is one of several key measures of the social sustainability of residential living. However, to our knowledge, no study to date has examined life satisfaction among residents of downtown high-rise living compared to residents living in suburban low-rise hou...

Over the past several years many issues have come to light that have highlighted the need for improved ventilation in multi unit residential buildings (MURB's). High-rise buildings, for example, are all too often connected with poor indoor air quality. When looking at this issue from the perspective of urbanism and the trend to increasing the density of our urban centres, there is a dramatic ne...