Search Results (7)

Although not a new concept, modular construction has been the target of increasing interest and investment in recent years. Modular wood construction systems have economic and environmental advantages, as wood is a natural and locally available raw material with interesting thermal properties. In this context, the BlueWoodenHouse Project, a closed cooperation project between academy and industry, aims to improve the actual knowledge of modular wood construction in Portugal. Among other objectives, the project aims to characterize the solutions, systems, and materials used in wooden modular construction, specifically in a modular wooden, single-family house in full use. Afterward, the house was monitored for 1 year (temperature, relative humidity, and CO₂) and the data collected were analyzed and the interior thermal comfort was evaluated. The results of CO₂ concentration monitoring indicate adequate air renewal rates, except for some periods in the bedroom, during the night. Additionally, application of the adaptive comfort model proposed by the EN 16798-2 standard resulted in a percentage of time in discomfort due to overcooling ranging between 31.3% and 38.6%. However, most of these periods may correspond to times when there is no occupancy of these spaces. Full article

Building information modelling (BIM) is the first step towards implementing Building 4.0, where virtual reality and digital twins are key elements. The use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) to capture data from buildings is nowadays a very popular method, so a methodology was developed to digitally integrate the photogrammetric surveys of a building into BIM, exclusively with the use of drones. Currently, buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption in Europe; therefore, the interconnection between BIM and building energy modelling (BEM) is essential to digitalize the construction sector, increasing competitiveness through cost reduction. In this context, the BlueWoodenHouse Project aims, among other activities, to characterize the solutions/systems of building materials and monitor the temperature, relative humidity and CO₂, as well as energy consumption, of a single-family modular wooden house located in the north of Portugal, with 190 m² and three users. Thus, the experimental monitoring results, of this case study, were used to validate the numerical model developed in the DesignBuilder simulator, which includes the building envelope’s 3D geometrical data obtained by one of those aircraft, in order to demonstrate the usefulness of drones for the optimization of solutions, from the energy point of view. Full article

Wooden construction constitutes a specific branch of the building industry that focuses on high-quality materials, a developed sense of aesthetics connected with comfort and functionality, and concern for ecology and durability. This type of construction has a positive effect on human quality of life. This article focuses on modular frame construction and technological aspects of wooden houses built according to Canadian or Scandinavian technologies. Taking weather conditions of Scandinavian countries into consideration, timber is a popular building material, which, when preserving certain parameters such as density of rings, may provide durability of a modular wooden building even up to 200–300 years. This article is a review and presents the possibility of producing frame buildings in Europe (Poland) in accordance with the applicable standards, including a heat transfer coefficient U = 2 [W/(m²·K]. In Poland, wooden frame buildings can be traced back to the 14th century. Wooden frame buildings and modular wooden frame buildings were produced even earlier in Norway. Wooden construction continued in the mid-1800s in various forms (with wooden filling and/or panels). In the mid-1900s (1941), certain dimensioning became regulated by law, which then applied to different types of insulation fillings. Prefabricated modular wood frame houses were common in the 1960s. Full article

The paper presents the results of the first phase of the student project CROSTAND2, whose main goal is to revitalize the traditional construction techniques of vernacular architecture in the Republic of Croatia by developing modern sustainable prefabricated modular wooden buildings/public booths in accordance with users’ needs and habits. To incorporate conceptual design, the literature on Croatian construction and wood protection, prefabricated modular construction, and public urban spaces was analyzed and field research was conducted. Photo documentation was also collected in the village of Donja Kupčina, Zagreb County, Croatia. An online survey questionnaire on socializing habits in public spaces, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, additionally analyzed new requirements for user-centered design. The obtained results, as well as results from previous project research, were used as a basis and inspiration for the design of a conceptual modular building inspired by traditional wooden joints, modular construction, and the emerging needs of users to socialize safely in a healthy environment. Conceptual solutions for a sustainable modular prefabricated wooden building for public use, intended for public urban and rural areas, have been proposed. Such constructions would ensure the sustainability of enjoying the natural environment for personal, tourist, and commercial purposes with the perpetuation of Croatian heritage building traditions. Full article

The growing terrorism threats across the world play an important role in the design of civil buildings and living areas. The safety of personnel is a top priority in unclassified buildings, especially military buildings. However indoor air quality and thermal comfort has a direct impact on personal productivity and ability to concentrate on duties and affect the decision making in stress conditions. The use of wooden structures is becoming more common in the building construction, and application of wooden frame structures for the construction of new buildings as well as for retrofitting the existing buildings. Prefabricated wooded frame construction perfectly fits need of unclassified buildings, allowing significant reduction of construction time and integration of various active and passive elements, such as a fresh air supply duct. Within the scope of this paper a 12 mm thick ballistic panel made of aramid was tested. Ballistic panel, thermal conductivity, and fire resistance of wooded construction panel with embedded air duct were analyzed for the various modelled exterior wall solutions. The main advantage of the proposed technology is fast and qualitative modular construction of unclassified buildings, providing all modern requirements not only for safety, but also for the energy efficiency and indoor air quality. It was found that bullet proof aramid panels do not reduce overall fire safety in comparison to traditional construction materials. However embedded outdoor air supply ducts significantly reduces construction heat transfer coefficient. Full article

The current study demonstrates the possibilities of reducing energy use and construction costs and provides evidence that wooden nearly-zero-energy buildings (nZEB) are technically possible at affordable construction costs by using novel design processes and procurement models that enable scalable and modular production. The energy efficiency solutions were derived by increasing/decreasing the insulation value of the building envelope in successive steps. Financial calculations were based on the investment needed to achieve the nearly-zero-energy levels. Overall, many opportunities exist to decrease the cost and energy use compared to the current (pre-nZEB) practice because the net present value can change up to 150 €/m² on the same energy performance indicator (EPI) level. The EPI in the cost-even range was reached by combining a ground-source heat pump (between 115 and 128 kWh/(m²·a)) and efficient district heating (between 106 and 124 kWh/(m²·a)). As energy efficiency decreases, improving energy efficiency becomes more expensive by insulation measures. Throughout the EPI range the most cost efficient was investment in the improvement of the thermal transmittance of windows (3–13 €/(kWh/(m²·a))) while investments in other building envelope parts were less effective (4–80 €/(kWh/(m²·a))). If these were possible to install, photovoltaic (PV) panels installed to the roof would be the cheapest solution to improve the energy performance. Integrated project delivery procurement (design and construction together) and the use of prefabricated wooden structures reduced the constructing cost by half (from ~2700 €/net m² to 1390 €/net m²) and helped to keep the budget within limits. Full article

Buildings are being demolished without taking into the account the waste generated, and the housing shortage problem is getting more critical as cities are growing and the demand for built space and the use of resources are increasing. Architectural projects have been using prefabrication and modular systems to solve these problems. However, there is an absence of structures that can be disassembled and reused when the structure’s life ran its course. This paper presents three building prototypes of new recyclable architectural typologies: (i) a Slab prototype designed as a shelf structure where wooden housing modules can be plugged in and out, (ii) a Tower prototype allowing for an easy change of layout and use of different floors and (iii) a Demountable prototype characterized by the entire demountability of the building. These typologies combine modularity, flexibility, and disassembling to address the increasing demands for multi-use, re-usable and resource-efficient constructions. Design, drawings, plans, and 3D models are developed, tested and analyzed as a part of the research. The results show that the implementation of the recyclable architectural concept at the first design stage is feasible and realistic, and ensures the adaptation through time, increases life span, usability and the material reusability, while avoiding demolition, which in turn reduces the construction waste and, consequently, the CO₂ emissions. Full article