Can intelligent buildings provide alternative approaches to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning of buildings? This is Dr Derek Croome's full paper to accompany the presentation that he gave to CIBSE Yorkshire.
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Dreosti Memorial Lecture CAN INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO HEATING, VENTILATING AND AIR CONDITIONING OF BUILDINGS? Presented by Professor Derek Clements-Croome* In Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, South Africa during June 2013 sponsored by SAIRAC. Abstract Building services consume energy and require careful maintenance if they are to be continuously reliable. Compared to the building fabric their lifetime is comparatively short. However they make buildings habitable for people to work and live in them by providing air and water at suitable temperatures besides light , power and a host of other utilities for the occupants. Heating , ventilation and airconditioning are major considerations because they provide heating and cooling for human needs. With the pressures to design new and refurbish old buildings to be sustainable and also healthy we need to consider alternatives to the traditional approaches to systems provision. Technology is advancing more and more rapidly but cannot provide all the answers. Throughout history *University Reading [email protected][Type text] Page 1
Transcript
Dreosti Memorial Lecture
CAN INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO HEATING, VENTILATING AND AIR CONDITIONING OF BUILDINGS?
Presented by Professor Derek Clements-Croome*
In Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, South Africa during June 2013 sponsored by SAIRAC.
Abstract
Building services consume energy and require careful maintenance if they are to be continuously reliable. Compared to the building fabric their lifetime is comparatively short. However they make buildings habitable for people to work and live in them by providing air and water at suitable temperatures besides light , power and a host of other utilities for the occupants. Heating , ventilation and airconditioning are major considerations because they provide heating and cooling for human needs. With the pressures to design new and refurbish old buildings to be sustainable and also healthy we need to consider alternatives to the traditional approaches to systems provision.
Technology is advancing more and more rapidly but cannot provide all the answers. Throughout history people from all cultures throughout the world have discovered ingenious ways of dealing with the rigours of climate whether hot, humid or very cold. Then there is Nature. The marvels of the plant and animal worlds give ceaseless wonder and can stimulate us to think more laterally. By reviewing the thinking behind vernacular styles and being prepared to learn from Nature we can design more naturally responsive buildings. Organic architecture is known but let us adopt this approach together with appropriate technology to buildings and systems as a whole to achieve sustainable intelligent architecture for people and society.
Architecture is the science and art of building created by combining materials and systems to work in harmony with Nature .Buildings whether caves, igloos, mud huts or 21st century commercial icons all use materials together with means of adjusting the living environmental conditions to suit the the occupants needs. By theses means and adjustments in human behaviour by the occupants themselves who may for example put more clothes on or off to be warmer or cooler to achieve a satisfactory level of thermal comfort. A purely passive building will just use simple means like choice of materials, orientation, mass and form to achieve the optimum environment without mechanical systems Integrated air and structural systems like hollow block floor systems and airvent windows are examples of these which only need to operate equipment .in extreme climatic conditions.
In contrast to this James Law an architect in Hong Kong describes high technology buildings such as Cybertecture as :
In the 21st Century, buildings will be different from 20th Century .They are no longer about concrete, steel and glass, but also the new intangible materials of technology, multimedia, intelligence and interactivity. Only recognizing this will bring a new form of architecture to light, namely a Cybertecture.
(James Law Cybertecture International)
Materials are the key. Vernacular architecture shows how over millennia people have adapted to hot, cold, humid or dry climates across the world by moulding, shaping and forming shelters , homes and in modern times offices , schools ,hospitals and factories. James Law makes the distinction between tangible materials like stone, concrete, glass and wood and intangible materials like those embedded with digital devices, graphene or carbon nanotubes making the wall, ceiling or floor into a communication channel which can interact with people or systems. Nanotubes alter the electrical and thermal properties of the material. The action of sunlight on nano paints can change the surface colour; in the future such effects could be activated remotely by voice or thought control mobiles. Nano coatings can produce hydrophilic self cleaning surfaces for harvesting water in the same way as the desert beetle does via condensation and storage mechanisms..
The materials revolution already has resulted in self cleaning materials; self healing materials; low embedded energy concrete ( Novacem); various forms of
smart glazing and digital walls. But there is more to come as we can expect the so called ‘wonder’ material graphene, discovered by Geim and Novoselov in 2004, to make its impact on building materials. Graphene is a transparent single layer honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms. It is the lightest, strongest and stiffest material known with an electrical current density higher than copper. Graphene coatings and composites herald a new future for building facades.
Intelligent Buildings
There are a bewildering array of terms used to describe what today we term Intelligent Buildings. I have composed the following figure to represent my interpretation of these which is equally applicable to buildings and cities ( Clements-Croome 2013)..
Sustainable Intelligent Buildings and Cities
Digital (Cyber) Intel
SentientQuality of Life Liveability
Green
ICT Web-Based (e services)
Sensory
EnvironmentalSocialSmart
Nature
Environmental-Socio-Economic Value
I think the overarching word is intelligent which encompasses the hard high technology of today and tomorrow together with the softer human, social and sustainable qualities which are vitally important if the building is to benefit individuals, organisations and society. In the same way we describe intelligent human beings as those with many different qualities and abilities ranging from being smart or clever to being socially aware.
An intelligent building is one that is responsive to the requirements of occupants, organisations and society. It is sustainable in terms of energy and water consumptions besides being lowly polluting in terms of emissions and waste: healthy in terms of well-being for the people living and working within it; and functional according to the user needs - -Clements-Croome, 2009. Intelligent buildings need to be sustainable. This means sustaining their performance with respect to energy, water, waste and pollution for future generations, Beyond this intelligent buildings should be healthy places to live and work in; be equipped with appropriate reliable technology; meet regulations; respond to the needs of the occupants; be flexible ,adaptable and durable ; give value for money. Architecture provides landmarks in our civilization so their visual appeal remains important too.
Buildings will contain a variety of systems designed by people, and yet the relationship between buildings and people can only work satisfactorily if there is integration between the supply ( planners, design consultants, contractors and manufacturers) and demand (developers, building owners and occupants) side stakeholders as well as between the occupants, the systems and the building . Systems thinking is essential in planning, design and management, together with the ability to create and innovate whilst remaining practical. All this requires holistic thinking.
To be sustainable ----sustaining for future generations----there has to be long term thinking in the same way that Nature is durable over time. The ultimate objective should be simplicity rather than complexity and this is best achieved by naturally responsive architecture.. This type of design not only requires technical ability but also the powers of observation, interpretation, imagination, creativity and even intuition. Only working to fulfill Building Regulations can stifle creativity even though they are necessary to set a minimum level of expectation and obey health and safety requirements. However we should aim to design well above these conditions. After all, buildings form our architectural landscape and they, and the environment they generate, should uplift the soul and the spirit of those people within them as well as those who pass by them.
The creation of shared visions, effective teams, clear and robust design and management processes ensures that the intelligent building will effectively demonstrate in use the purpose for which it was conceived. Times are changing as technology and society evolve so there needs to be a long term outlook by the team . Key innovation issues for intelligent buildings include sustainability (energy, water, waste and pollution),smart materials, the use of information and communication technology, robotics, embedded sensor technology, smart-materials technology including nanotechnology, knowledge management, health in the workplace and social change.
Effective integration calls for:
good briefing based on a well defined mission and vision at the inception stage of the project based on
a unity of vision between clients, consultants , contractors, manufacturers and facilities managers.
co-ordination of information across the whole building process; some standardised processes and products rather than a proliferation of
proprietary systems; for example prefabrication has many advantages; interoperability of systems and their interfaces; documentary evidence on integrated processes; proven and tested processes to be adapted from use on other similar projects; auditing and monitoring processes for post-occupancy evaluation; well defined work processes;
Intelligent buildings should increase well-being by providing a pleasurable multi-sensory experience. If an environment is to be conducive to health and well-being it should have the following characteristics:
A fresh thermal environment; Ventilation rates to provide fresh air with good distribution and acceptable
levels of CO2 and other pollutants( particles; allergens and volatile organic compounds);
Plenty of natural lighting and good views preferably of Nature; No lighting glare; Appropriate acoustic climate; Spatial planning and settings to suit various types of working; Ergonomic work places so as to minimise muscular-skeletal disorders Minimum pollution from external sources including noise.
Personal control of temperature, ventilation and light is important. Central control for items like security is fine but people prefer to have some degree of control over their immediate environment. There are other factors like colour which are also important in setting the ‘tone’ of the environment. The location of the building with respect to Nature is important too. Ulrich (1984) showed how views out from hospital windows on to greenery aided patients to recover more quickly; Alvarsson et al (2009) show that the sounds of Nature reduce stress. Greenery and still or running water relieve the body and spirit in most climates including very hot ones
There is a lot of evidence showing that environment affects work performance so there has to be a balance between energy reduction measures and providing the best conditions for people to work in (Clements-Croome 2006). The issue therefore becomes one of value. This means quality as well as whole life costs need to be considered in design.
Work conducted by Evans et al (1998) concluded that a ratio defined as the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) (or whole life value cost ratio), for a building was 1:5:200 but these numeric values will vary but the ratio scales remain similar.
1: Design and Construction costs – cheapest is usually not the long term solution
5: Operating and Maintenance costs – driven by the building design. 200: Business Operating Costs – salaries and other organisational costs;
productivity which is influenced by the building environmental design and management as well as the ethos of the organisation, social and motivational issues.
Lessons from NatureAlthough human ingenuity makes various inventions it will never discover inventions more beautiful, appropriate and more direct than in Nature because in her nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous.
Benyus (2002) lists some of Nature’s characteristics from which we can learn: runs on sunlight; uses only the energy it needs; fits form to function; recycles; rewards cooperation; banks on diversity; demands local expertise; realises the power of limits.
There is an economic use of energy and materials. Water and air are vital for the plant and animal kingdoms to live and much of architecture is about how these are channeled in various climates in order to provide the best environment for the organism’s survival..
The words optimisation and integration are often used by building design teams but often without any idea about how these can be achieved even though there are methods in operational research such as dynamic, integer or linear programming available. Integration and optimisation in Nature appear as completely natural processes and we can observe and learn from these.
Animals build for many reasons such as shelter and safety; protecting their eggs; food storage; waste disposal; hibernation or in the case of bower birds for display. Animals also construct traps and the classic example is the spider’s web. So we learn about animal buildings such as nests, warrens, setts, dreys, dens, lairs, lodges, termitaries and others whether on land or in the oceans. The materials often are twigs, wood, grasses, earth, excrement, salivary mucus and in the case of spiders and caterpillars self made silk. Self-secretion produced materials are very economical. Silk is as strong as a steel filament of the same diameter. Construction methods include sculpting; piling up; moulding; rolling; folding; sticking together; weaving and sewing.
BiomimeticsThis has been referred to by Julian Vincent as the abstraction of design from Nature. Biomimetic architecture is increasingly giving us insights on how to address the sustainable design of buildings and cities.
BiophiliaOur innate sense of Nature is termed bioplilia..Heerwagen (2009) presents extensive evidence on how Nature affects our health and well-being. Kellert et al (2008) demonstrate biophilic design in architecture and engineering. Clients often ask what financial return good environments produce even though they acknowledge that productivity is usually higher in such environments. Terrapin LLC (2012) have published a White Paper on the economics of biophilia. They argue forcibly that by adopting biophilic measures the savings could be as much as $93m per year for hospitals and similarly in New York schools very significant rates of return are forecasted. Retail profits could be increased by $47.5m in California alone.
Intelligent buildings are a composition of the building itself plus the landscape around it which not only provides open space but also offers cooling and shading..Beyond this greenery feeds not only our aesthetic appetite but our spirit and well-being too.
Architecture Inspired by Nature
We would like the intelligent building of a future generation to open its windows like eyelids to the dawn, to sense the heat of the rising sun or respond to the chill of a breeze by raising the hairs on its back for insulation.---- Aldersey- Williams (2003)
John et al (2005) describe sustainable solutions for architecture using lessons from the natural world. The attraction of biomimetics for building designers is that it raises the prospect of closer integration of form and function. Biomimetic architecture may be seen as an extension of modernism. It promises to yield more interaction with the user by for example, learning from the sophisticated sensor systems in animals including the insect world. However there are barriers to overcome including ever changing standards; the fragmentation of the construction industry at educational and professional levels; the persistent traditional culture with regard to matters like innovation and sacrificing value for cheap capital cost. Biomimetics is at the interfaces of biology, engineering, material science and chemistry and encourages lateral thinking which can encourage a more creative and enlightened outlook about problems. William
McDonough (2002) asked the tantalising question why can’t a building be designed like a tree? Studying the work of the pioneering eco-urban architect Ken Yeang and Eugene Tsui on vertical green buildings or the Asian Cairns project in Shenzhen of Vincent Callebaut one sees that this notion is not so far-fetched.
Some architects like Norman Foster, Frank Gehry and Santiago Calatrava are inspired by the form and shapes of fish, birds or the human body for example to sculpt some of their buildings. The Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin by Calatrava is thought to resemble an eagle; Norman Foster’s Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow is referred to as the armadillo; Auditorium Parco della Musica by Renzo Piano is considered to be shaped like a beetle; and the Fish at Vila Olimpica in Barcelona by Gehry are all symbolic visual images from the natural world. . The lightweight tensile structures of Frei Otto were originally inspired by spiders’ webs but also identify with trees for their structural integrity (Otto and Rasch 2001). For Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and Nature were soul mates; he wrote -- Buildings, too, are children of Earth and Sun (Hoffmann 1986).
Animals and plants depend on networks to circulate blood, air or water for living. How are these made to be as effective as we know them to be, including their minimum consumption of energy? A team at the Los Alamos Laboratory have found that fractal geometry can explain this and have developed allometric scaling laws which define the branching networks (West et al 1997). The general model describes how fluids and materials are transported through space-filling fractal networks of branching tubes. Energy dissipated is minimized and the terminal tubes are limited in size to a single cell. More generally, structural and functional properties can be predicted for vertebrate cardiovascular and respiratory systems, plant vascular systems, insect tracheal tubes, and other distribution networks. Using this model networks for transpiration in plants and blood in animals can be understood in more detail. Could this approach be used to design fluid networks in buildings more effectively?.
Table 1 shows various facets of Nature which have stimulated the creative process in architectural design in functional as well as stylistic ways.
Table 1 Some examples of how Nature has influenced design (adapted from Chapter 3 by Janine Benyus in Kellert et al, 2008 )
Facet of Nature Architectural featureHuman femur bone Base of Eiffel TowerAmazon water lily Vaulting of Crystal PalaceSkeletons of radiolarians Geodesic domesByssus threads of mussels Adhesive filamentsBox fish Daimler –Chrysler carLogarithmic spiral in seashells; cochlea; skin pores
Ventilation fans by PAX Scientific
Peacocks; humming birds; butterflies Structural colourMaple samara winged seed Samara House by Frank Lloyd WrightSea sponge filaments (Venus’s flower basket)
Light guide
Pillar like structures of Moths eye Anti-reflective and anti-glare surfaces ace( MARAG film for and solar cells and displays)
Cuttlefish Skin cells change colourPhotosynthesis Dye sensitised solar cellsShark skin Low drag swim suitsGecko feet Sticky tape and glue
Architect and planner David Pearson (2001) proposed a list of rules towards the design of organic architecture. These rules are known as the Gaia Charter for organic architecture and design. It states ---let the design:
express the rhythm of music and the power of dance. be inspired by nature and be sustainable, healthy, conserving, and
diverse. unfold, like an organism, from the seed within. exist in the "continuous present" and "begin again and again". follow the flows and be flexible and adaptable. satisfy social, physical, and spiritual needs. "grow out of the site" and be unique
celebrate the spirit of youth, play and surprise.
There are many examples emerging of biomimetic applications such as Lotusan paint which enables buildings to self-clean based on the lotus leaf; the well-known discovery of Velcro; the fast swim suit based on the low surface drag offered by the skin surface features of a shark and many more. Here are some case studies which are relevant to architecture and also are sustainable in terms of saving energy. Pawlyn (2011) describes many more. We see here the possibility for having not just low carbon or net zero buildings but negative carbon architecture. which generates energy.
This was designed by architect Mike Pearce with engineers Ove Arup and Partners. It contains offices and a shopping centre. The design was inspired by the self-cooling mounds of African termites and adopts natural ventilation with passive cooling techniques using heavy mass to achieve year round thermal comfort. Outdoor air is drawn in either warmed or cooled by the building mass, then vented into the building’s hollow block floor and then into the offices through ventilation ducts before exiting via chimneys at the top. The Centre is sealed to prevent noise pollution. The building has light filtering glazing, adjustable blinds, deep overhangs to shade windows and walls from direct high angle summer sun, while utilizing lower angle winter sun so the heat gains are minimised. The energy consumption of the Eastgate Centre is 10% less than a conventional building or 35% less than an airconditioned building. It also provides 20% rent savings for tenants compared with occupants in the surrounding buildings because of reduced maintenance costs (Benyus, in Kellert, 2008).
2: Photovoltaic cells embedded over electro-luminescent membrane: An inspiration derived from the eye of the moth (Gilder 2010)
The nocturnal moth has evolved a remarkable eye that, rather than reflecting light, absorbs it almost completely. Engineers have mimicked its nanostructure to design better solar panel coatings and anti-reflective surfaces, and in 2012 scientists are using the same principle to design a thin film that will absorb radiation from X-ray machines more effectively,
The photovoltaic cells mounted upon the membrane absorb all incident solar rays from any global direction at any time of the year without the need for any manual or automatic override. The incoming rays having once entered into the moths eye-like cells, are inter reflected within the cell to the photovoltaic molecules around the surface of the sphere such that none leave the cell again. This absorption happens all year round in variable conditions and creates the potential difference for electricity generation. The pattern developed between
the translucent photovoltaic cell and the transparent membrane, gives the interior a visual frozen glass effect.
The integrated application of the electroluminescent membrane (deriving its electrical energy generated from the stored energy of the photovoltaic cells) allows the option of making the entire membrane glow during the night. Likewise, the interior of the membrane could also have an electro-chromic film. The electric energy generated during the day from the photovoltaic cells could charge the electro-chromic film to variably shade the interior of the structure from incident UV sunlight. This eventually becomes a negative carbon screening façade generating energy as well as an exterior building illumination system depending on the conditions..
Cross sectional sketch of the proposed photovoltaic cell over the membrane absorbing sunrays from all directions (Gilder 2010)
Derived inspiration – the eye structure of the moth (left); microscopic view of a schematic membrane with impregnations on its outer surface created for increasing its exposed surface area (right).
3 Camels Nose
A camel's nose is not much to behold, but the very survival of the animal depends upon it.
Camels exhale drier cooler air thus conserving water in their bodies. In 1979 Schmidt-Nielsen of Duke University linked up with Zoologist Amiram Shkolnik, of Tel Aviv University and discovered the secret of the camels air-cooling ability.. The camel makes use of two principles of physics---cooler air holds less moisture and the greater the surface area the faster the rate of evaporation or condensation. Evaporation results in cooling.
They found an intricate labyrinth of narrow highly scrolled air passageways in the camel's nose which greatly increases its surface area available for heat and moisture transfer. Typically a human nose has only about 160 cm2 of interior surface area, while the camel has about 1000 cm2 of mucous membrane on the nasal interior.
The camel's nose acts as both a humidifier and a dehumidifier with every breathing cycle. The hot, dry air that is inhaled passes over the large area of moist membrane. This air is immediately humidified by picking up moisture from the nose and is cooled in the process,. This cooler air passes to the lungs and remains at approximately body temperature. When it is exhaled, it is cooled even further by passing over the same nasal membranes, this time by a process of dehumidifying instead of humidifying. The nasal membranes are coated with a special water-absorbing substance that extracts the moisture from the air like the cooling coils of a dehumidifier. A net savings of 68 percent in the water usually lost through respiration occurs just between the cooling and drying phases of the breathing cycle.
According to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, severe water shortages will affect 4 billion people by 2050. Looking to the dromedary camel's water conservation strategies for inspiration, we could design solutions to limit evaporation from water storage ponds, design more efficient irrigation systems, and learn how to best minimize loss and recapture water used in industrial processes
4 Lilypad Cities
Architect Vincent Callebaut has come up with a possible relocation destination for these climate change refugees in the form of the “Lilypad” concept – a completely self-sufficient floating city that would accommodate up to 50,000 people..
With a shape inspired by the highly ribbed leaf of Victoria water lilies, the double skin of the floating “ecopolis” would be made of polyester fibers covered by a layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), which would react with ultraviolet rays and absorb atmospheric pollution via a photocatalytic effect .
Callebauts Lilypad City
Three marinas and three mountains would surround a centrally located artificial lagoon that is totally immersed below the water line to act as ballast for the city. The three mountains and marinas would be dedicated to work, shopping and
entertainment, respectively, while suspended gardens and aquaculture farms located below the water line would be used to grow food and biomass.
The floating city would also include the full complement of renewable energy technologies, including solar, thermal, wind, tidal, and biomass to produce more energy than it consumes. The Lilypads could be located close to land or set free to follow the ocean currents wherever they may lead. Callebaut’s hope is that the Lilypad becomes a reality by 2100
Tenets for the Planning and Design of Intelligent Buildings
We have defined intelligent buildings in terms of responsiveness to occupants; well-being of people; low resource consumption with low pollution and waste; flexibility and adaptability to deal with change; appropriate balance of high and low technology.. Their development is along a continuum rooted in vernacular architecture and now moving with innovation towards buildings which are eco-effective; responsive to the occupants varying needs; are healthy and simple to operate. Old and new buildings can share this evolution. Increasingly we observe how well the plant and animal worlds can show us economies in the optimum use of
energy and materials in most beautiful ways and this is leading to more examples of biomimetic architecture.
Intelligent buildings should be eco-intelligent and this means , in terms expressed by Goleman (2009), know your impacts; favour improvements; share what you learn. In this way buildings will be equitable for all in society; have long-life value; respectful of Nature. Wherever we build we have to fulfil human needs in an evolving technological world but set in particular cultural contexts. Braungart and McDonough (2009) believe form follows evolution rather than function, but in reality both apply.
These tenets are guidelines which apply to buildings and cities now but some will change and continue to evolve over time.
Plan and design with an integrated team so that clients, consultants, contractors, facilities managers all develop a commitment to the project and want to achieve the environmental, social and economic objectives;.
Systems and holistic thinking are key
Assess the impacts of the building on occupants and communities nearby.
Occupants behaviour has a large effect on the consumption of energy and water so try to increase awareness of occupants to the impact of their actions on resources. Smart metering is a start but wireless sensor technology is rapidly becoming applicable in building operation and for the use by occupants. Energy reduction measures alone can lead to an energy rebound effect but considered together with the occupancy use can be effective.
Coherent data management systems are important to give feedback on the performance of different spaces in the building. Use continual post-occupancy evaluation process to obtain feedback data.
Use a whole life value or whole life performance approach to ensure that quality as well as whole life costs are taken into account.
Aim for simplicity rather than complexity in operation
Think about well-being and freshness as well as comfort and consider all the senses and how air, view, daylight, sound, colour, greenery and space affect us in the workplace,.
Connectivity is important so there is interoperability not only between the systems and the building but also between the occupant and the building.
Design for flexibility and adaptability
Think of an intelligent building as an organism responding to human and environmental needs but also one that needs to ‘breathe’ through the façade between the external and internal environments. The façade transfers light, solar radiation, air, noise and moisture, but also links occupants to the outside world so intelligent or smart façades allow these aspects to be controlled in a way which is functional but also enjoyable to those working and living inside the building.
Plan the facilities management so the building and occupants are cared for.
Balance efficiency with effectiveness. An air supply system for example can deliver the right’ amount of air to a space and be deemed efficient but may not be effective in the space because the air has no impact on the breathing zone where the people are located..
Design beyond the expectations defined in Regulations. Keep abreast of the relevant fields of knowledge. Learn from other sectors and disciplines.
Continue the quest for more integrated education and training so a common language and vision is inculcated in minds of students at the start of their careers.
Acquire T Knowledge by learning in depth but also in breadth to see the interconnections with other knowledge areas.
Formalise learning in the workplace as well as in universities and colleges.
Many companies today describe business intelligence in terms of being smart to fulfil enterprise requirements and stimulate new insights; by being agile with advanced integration which allows flexibility and
adaptability; use pervasive intelligence to link strategic, economic and operational
management processes.
So for example software products need to be innovative, agile and adaptable and this approach to business intelligence allows these aims to be achieved. Intelligent Buildings, old and new, need this type of thinking throughout their whole life from concept planning to care in use and beyond.
The Future
The title of this paper is-- Can intelligent buildings provide alternative approaches to heating, ventilating and air conditioning of buildings? The answers lie in the developments which have been described here. Some are known techniques and used currently but others are at various stages of development. .We have to adapt to change .We need to have medium and long term vision as well as remaining fixed in a short term one.
A highly significant area of development will be in smart materials, which will revolutionise the way that the building facade and the materials used for equipment can be designed. Nanotechnology is already having a large influence on the way the properties of materials can be affected by allowing modification at a molecular level, and practical examples are already being seen, such as concrete which is lighter but many times stronger than traditional
concrete. It can be expected that glass will eventually become as thermally efficient as other materials. Self healing building skins akin to
those found in Nature are feasible. Materials embedded with graphene as well as nanotubes will mean material properties can be configured with a wider range of possibilities than we are accustomed to.
In contrast to this advanced technological approach industrial hemp is a renewable crop material which offers low embodied energy, high thermal mass, is hygroscopic and is sufficiently airtight but hemp constructions do allow a trickle of air through them. Straw bale construction has also recently and successfully been used. Waste composites offer possibilities took.
Animals and plants can teach us a lot about how to be economic with the use of energy and materials. Biomimetics can be expected to offer lessons from Nature that can be applied to architecture. For some time now structural forms used in construction have mimicked those seen in plants and trees, but there is still much to learn.
These developments mean the facades of buildings will as James Law expressed become communication channels between climate and the occupants but it will also impact the way we deal with heating, ventilating and airconditioning.
The occupants of buildings often say they have little control over their environment. There is currently a debate about the need for personal carbon footprints plus a growing trend towards respecting the needs and responsibilities of the individuals who occupy and use buildings. The emergence of sensors that can be embedded into clothing,materials and equipment, together with wireless sensor networks, will result in a ubiquitous network providing extensive and valuable real-time data on performance. The captured data on occupants' responses to the changing environment can be analysed to reveal significant patterns that can be used to provide a degree of personal control. This will become normal practice over the next few years. Wearable electronics in clothing and personal accessories are already highly developed in the textile industry and will help people to increase their awareness of their actions with regard to energy and water consumption, for example.
Smart metering in buildings will help us to understand the influence of occupancy behaviour on consumption levels and guide people to ways in
which they can reduce these levels and become more sustainable. The benefit to the domestic consumer is that they can save money, and in the case of commercial buildings organisations can encourage their staff to be more aware of green measures by offering green bonus schemes. Also, by comparing the performance of the building and its systems with the responses of the occupants, one can easily define areas of dissatisfaction and see if more appropriate design criteria may be used. It is already evident from water metering that considerable savings in consumption can be made.
Rapid advancements in information and communication technologies such as the hafnium chip will increase computer power and speeds of operation. Flexible fold up electronic screens will make e-material portable anywhere.
Now voice activation is common but later thought control of mobile devices will make communication and creative design more flexible and immediate to user needs..
Cloud computing means virtual data storage will not only decrease computer energy cooling loads, office space and administration time but also offer the means for smart mobile devices to tap into the internet for required data .The networked world opens up a new avenue of understanding and modeling complex non-linear dynamic systems for design and management processes.
The development of virtual reality scenarios will allow the client to have much greater participation in design and management processes, as well as allowing greater integration between the various systems. The use of interconnect design tools will result in a more efficient and effective management process. Savings in time and manpower and decreases in material wastage will increase the cost effectiveness of the project.
The analysis of problems in the built environment often assumes for simplicity that actions occur in a non-linear system but in reality dynamic non-linear systems predominate. Network science is part of the field of complexity science and chaos theory. It allows for the study of how systems interact and give rise to emergent properties and behaviour (Hidalgo 2008; Lu and Clements-Croome 2010). These developments and ideas will make system modeling more realistic in the future.
Robotics offers a means of improving the maintenance and cleaning of systems. Robots can be produced on a human scale or on a nano scale and can be inserted into ventilation and heating systems in order to give feedback for maintenance schedules and to conduct internal maintenance in systems where access is difficult.
Attention will need to be given to the education and training of the design and management team the composition of which will likely change to accommodate other emerging environmental disciplines.. In order to fulfil social, environmental and economic requirements it will be necessary to bring these disciplines together not only by interrelating the professional bodies but also by reflecting this in the education and training of individuals. In the future we can expect to see foundation courses for architects, engineers, sociologists, economists, planners and developers before they specialise in their appropriate disciplines so they cultivate a common language. A summary of possible future scenarios is now given.
Carbon negative buildings like artificial leaf hydrogen generating facades linked to fuel cells also algae biofuel facades
Green living facades
Applications of biomimetics
Smart materials for reactive facades; embeded sensors, nanotubes, graphene
Application of nanotecnologies
Robotics for prefabrication, cleaning, maintenance and site assembly
Fully integrated inter operable systems
Buildings into smart grid systems
Wireless Sensor Technology linking climate, building. systems and occupants
Innovation with respect for passive low technology
New culture of value, systems and holistic thinking and vision
Resource consumption, information and communication systems, client-driven knowledgebased design and construction processes are some of the curreent key issues but these have to be viewed within the grand scene for the future described above and in Kurzweil’s book The Singularity is Near in 2005.The singularity is an event we cannot see beyond such as when will people be at one with intelligent machines which according to Kurzweil will be in about 2045. He forecasts that we will be able to reverse engineer the brain by 2029. Whatever the speculation the future will be challenging but affords us opportunities to improve the quality of life throughout the world. Kaku in his book Physics of the Future takes a glimpse at how science will shape human destiny by the year 2100 for our grandchildren..Intelligent buildings and cities are a vital part of this evolution.
Acknowledgements I would like to thank the many people who have helped me compose this presentation including Patrick Bellew; James Law; Jonathan Gilder ; James Pack; Mike Berry; Xiaoshu Lu; Gulay Ozkan; Keith Calder; Ken Yeang; Vincent Callebaut ; Husam Al-Waer; Andy Ford., Waleed Alnafea and Christos Ioannou .
References and BibliographyThe references cited and the basis of this work can be found in the book Intelligent Buildings: Design, Management and Operation second edition 2013 edited and part authored by D J Clements-Croome and published by Telford ICE.
