Special Issue "Buildings of Tomorrow: Goals and Challenges for Design and Operation of High-Performance Buildings"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mitja Košir
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Guest Editor
Chair of Buildings and Constructional Complexes, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: daylighting, building energy performance; bioclimatic design; building envelope performance; high-performance buildings; climate change and building performance; building sustainability
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Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chair of Buildings and Constructional Complexes, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: thermal comfort; occupant behavior and built environment interaction; bioclimatic building design and sustainability; building energy simulation; energy performance of building envelopes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, there has been a considerable shift in building design towards more energy-efficient and better performing buildings. Although the main focus is usually on the reduction of energy use for the operation and construction of buildings, the awareness regarding benefits of higher occupant comfort and health has shifted the focus toward a more holistic treatment of building design. Therefore, contemporary high-performance buildings are not only energy efficient but represent a synergetic interconnectedness between indoor environment, user health and comfort while at the same time addressing the sustainability and resilience issues. Concurrently, the anthropogenically induced climate change necessitates that such buildings need to adapt to current as well as the future projected climate in order to provide adequate performance throughout the anticipated lifecycle. Due to the complexity and interconnectedness of parameters influencing the design of high-performance buildings, a crucial research question emerges – “how to accomplish appropriate optimization among opposing and contrasting demands of different fields governing the design of high-performance buildings?”   

The focus of this Special Issue will, therefore, be on the strategies, tools, methodologies and materials that ensure the formulation of high-performance buildings geared towards the inclusive treatment of building performance. In this respect, the purpose of this Special Issue is to present and evaluate how a coupled treatment of varied building design issues (e.g. energy performance, daylighting, indoor comfort, environmental impacts, etc.) can be utilized in order to achieve the goals of higher overall performance of buildings and what are the limitations of such approach. In relation to the above-described context the scope will be on, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Coupled thermal and visual performance of buildings;
  • Climate adaptive building design and adaptive building envelopes;
  • Indoor environment quality and concurrent energy efficiency;
  • Strategies and methods for the design and development of high-performance buildings;
  • Sustainability and resilience of high-performance buildings;
  • Application of artificial intelligence, data management and data collection technologies for the design and operation of high-performance buildings;
  • User-centered building design as a tool for achieving higher building performance;
  • Case studies of high-performance buildings and their energy efficiency, daylighting and overall indoor environment quality as well as environmental impacts.

Above-mentioned broad topics can be classified into two phases of the building's lifecycle – the planning/construction phase and the operation phase. This special issue will try its best to maintain a balance including articles with innovative solutions from the researchers, scientists and engineers that address issues of both phases of buildings life in the context of global warming, climate change and human well-being. The overall purpose of the Special Issue is to broaden the field of knowledge in regards to the potentials of achieving higher sustainability and resilience of the built environment through the multi-objective approach to building performance. Therefore, trying to address a much broader question of “whether we should design buildings for survivability, sustainability or both?” because at many instances it was found that, measuring buildings on the parameters of sustainability alone is not solving the issues in context of uncertainty being added by the increased frequency of extreme climatic events across the globe.

Thank you for your contribution.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Mitja Košir
Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Building energy efficiency
  • Building envelope
  • Building indoor environment
  • Daylighting
  • Thermal comfort
  • Visual comfort
  • Building performance evaluation
  • Building sustainability and resilience
  • High-performance buildings
  • Climate adaptability
  • Bioclimatic design

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Impact of Shape Factor on Energy Demand, CO2 Emissions and Energy Cost of Residential Buildings in Cold Oceanic Climates: Case Study of South Chile
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179491 - 24 Aug 2021
Viewed by 220
Abstract
The increase in energy consumption that occurs in the residential sector implies a higher consumption of natural resources and, therefore, an increase in pollution and a degradation of the ecosystem. An optimal use of materials in the thermal envelope, together with efficient measures [...] Read more.
The increase in energy consumption that occurs in the residential sector implies a higher consumption of natural resources and, therefore, an increase in pollution and a degradation of the ecosystem. An optimal use of materials in the thermal envelope, together with efficient measures in the passive architectural design process, translate into lower energy demands in residential buildings. The objective of this study is to analyse and compare, through simulating different models, the impact of the shape factor on energy demand and CO2 emissions depending on the type of construction solution used in the envelope in a cold oceanic climate in South Chile. Five models with different geometries were considered based on their relationship between exposed surface and volume. Additionally, three construction solutions were chosen so that their thermal transmittance gradually complied with the values required by thermal regulations according to the climatic zone considered. Other parameters were equally established for all simulations so that their comparison was objective. Ninety case studies were obtained. Research has shown that an appropriate design, considering a shape factor suitable below 0.767 for the type of cold oceanic climate, implies a decrease in energy demand, which increased when considering architectural designs in the envelope with high values of thermal resistance. Full article
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Article
Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6791; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126791 - 16 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 687
Abstract
Climate change is expected to expose the locked-in overheating risk concerning bioclimatic buildings adapted to a specific past climate state. The study aims to find energy-efficient building designs which are most resilient to overheating and increased cooling energy demands that will result from [...] Read more.
Climate change is expected to expose the locked-in overheating risk concerning bioclimatic buildings adapted to a specific past climate state. The study aims to find energy-efficient building designs which are most resilient to overheating and increased cooling energy demands that will result from ongoing climate change. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric study of various passive building design measures was implemented, simulating the energy use of each combination for a temperate climate of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The approach to overheating vulnerability assessment was devised and applied using the increase in cooling energy demand as a performance indicator. The results showed that a B1 heating energy efficiency class according to the Slovenian Energy Performance Certificate classification was the highest attainable using the selected passive design parameters, while the energy demand for heating is projected to decrease over time. In contrast, the energy use for cooling is in general projected to increase. Furthermore, it was found that, in building models with higher heating energy use, low overheating vulnerability is easier to achieve. However, in models with high heating energy efficiency, very high overheating vulnerability is not expected. Accordingly, buildings should be designed for current heating energy efficiency and low vulnerability to future overheating. The paper shows a novel approach to bioclimatic building design with global warming adaptation integrated into the design process. It delivers recommendations for the energy-efficient, robust bioclimatic design of residential buildings in the Central European context, which are intended to guide designers and policymakers towards a resilient and sustainable built environment. Full article
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