WP#2 in a nutshell
The practice of sustainable building refers to various methods in the process of implementing building projects that involve less harm to the environment preserve natural resources and improve our quality of life (World Green Building Council 2020), as they can improve aspects of the indoor environment, quality of buildings materials and the use of renewable energies, among others (Schwede et al. 2016).
WP#2’s level of analysis concerns the building and building design as part of the solution for moving towards a more sustainable city and an improved UQoL in Phnom Penh. The preferred building typologies in Phnom Penh, identified in the previous Build4People Definition phase, provide an opportunity for both traditional and technical solutions for sustainable and eco-friendly architecture and construction concepts to be adapted into modern forms. A sustainable building approach is considered as a way for the building industry in Cambodia to swift to a more sustainable way of development taking into account environmental, socio-economic and governance issues. Based on the preliminary analysis in the Definition phase, we will consolidate the framework of sustainable building for the Cambodian context for today and will draw up a path for the future sustainable development towards a high level of quality of life in the built environment with a high degree of energy-efficiency, resource efficiency and life-cycle performance. These issues were identified within the project under the aspect of transformation towards better urban quality of life.
Research Questions
Guiding Research Question
How can buildings in Phnom Penh be designed, build and operated in order to enhance urban quality of life and to keep their environmental impact within the sustainable borders today and in future?
Sub-Questions
- How do people perceive the residential environment as supportive of their Quality of Life? What is the influence of the occupant on building operation, and which design and technical parameters influence their behaviour and perception?
- What are the building domains that are relevant for sustainable development and urban Quality of Life in Cambodia today and in the future?
- Which technological fields need to be advanced as enablers for sustainable transformation, and how can such development be achieved in selected technology fields?
- How can indoor environmental quality be evaluated, measured and enhanced, both on the user and building level in the specific context of Phnom Penh? How can such an evaluation be applied for building design and policy development?
Objectives
The goal is to bring balance between the climate and the built environment, with interrelated considerations, such as the climate variables, human health, comfort and technological and architectural solutions in close collaboration with the other WPs. WP#2’s contribution to Build4People’s RD phase will be an effort to bring together all of these different facets of the building, not only within the building design level, but also within a transdisciplinary perspective, addressing not only the above research questions but also related questions from the other Build4People WPs. The objective is not only to provide solutions for building-level sustainability issues but also produce results that can either support or be supported from other WPs, through a holistic and transdisciplinary approach.
This aim is addressed through the following sub-aims:
- In-depth understanding of aspects of urban living related to buildings like comfort, air quality, health and energy, and further resource consumption
- Detailed analysis of the residential use, Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) and the building physics behaviour of the inhabited apartments. Analysis of the interaction between use, functionality, energy consumption and quality of life perception.
- Analysis of the project development, project delivery and building operation. Development of means and instruments to support building sector professionals to reduce environmental impact during the whole life cycle of buildings and their neighbourhoods.
- Development and evaluation of practical interventions and technological solutions based on empirical research of the entire transdisciplinary project team and defining pathways on how to develop technical interventions for the achievement of long-term development goals.
Milestones
- Detailed analysis of the residential use and the building physics behaviour of residential buildings in Phnom Penh
- Definitions of the scope of Sustainable Building in the context of Phnom Penh
- Technical Roadmap towards Sustainable Building in Phnom Penh
- Final Measurement Analysis and development of localised IEQ-Metrics
CITED BIBLIOGRAPHY
World Green Building Council (2020): The benefits of green buildings | World Green Building Council. Available online at https://www.worldgbc.org/benefits-green-buildings, updated on 9/24/2021, checked on 9/24/2021.
Schwede, Dirk; Waibel, Michael; Hesse, Christoph; Ngo, To Thi Nhien (2016): Promoting Climate Adapted Housing and Energy Efficient Buildings in Vietnam: Chances and Challenges. In Antje Katzschner, Michael Waibel, Dirk Schwede, Lutz Katzschner, Michael Schmidt, Harry Storch (Eds.): Sustainable Ho Chi Minh City: Climate Policies for Emerging Mega Cities. 1st ed. 2016. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 239–258.
Kosow Hannah; Gaßner Robert (2008): Methoden der Zukunfts- und Szenarioanalyse. Überblick, Bewertung und Auswahlkriterien. In: Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung ITZ: Werkstattbericht; 103. ISBN: 978-3-941374-03-4
Build4People RD Phase Milestone WP#2 R1: Updated bibliographic research and literature
WP#2 is implemented by Stuttgart University and the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC).
CONTACT
Technical University of Applied Sciences Lübeck • Department of Sustainable Building Technology • Mönkhofer Weg 239, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
WP#2 Leader: Prof. Dr. Dirk Schwede (dirk.schwede@th-luebeck.de)
WP#2 Research Associate: Christina Karagianni (christina.karagianni@igte.uni-stuttgart.de)
Main local partner: Dr. Virak Han, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC)
