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AZIZKHANI-DISSERTATION-2019.Pdf INVESTIGATING THE LEVEL OF APPLICATION/EDUCATION OF PASSIVE/NATURAL SYSTEMS IN THE DESIGN OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS IN THE US A Dissertation by MEHDI AZIZKHANI Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Jeff Haberl Committee Members, Liliana Beltran Zofia Rybkowski Wei Yan Head of Department, Robert Warden May 2019 Major Subject: Architecture Copyright 2019 Mehdi Azizkhani ii ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine the degree of adoption and education of the concepts of natural systems for heating, cooling, and lighting (i.e., passive systems) versus artificial/mechanical systems (i.e., active systems) in the design of sustainable buildings by practitioners and educators. In addition, this research investigates the variables that may increase/reduce the application of these systems in architectural designs. Natural systems use renewable energies or ambient conditions, while mechanical systems often use non-renewable energies to heat, cool, ventilate, and illuminate buildings. Although an extensive list of publications about natural systems exist, there are very few studies about the approaches/tools used by professionals for the design of natural systems in sustainable buildings. This research seeks to fill this gap through three methodologies, including: a content analysis, a case study, and a survey questionnaire to practitioners/educators. The findings show that there is a low percentage of the application of passive/natural systems in architecture design in the US. To promote the application of passive systems, the clients’ desire/collaboration, building code/rating systems, and simulation tools for passive design are the most influential factors according to a survey of the practitioners in the US. The findings also indicate that the education of passive/natural systems in the US architecture schools are mainly focused on discussions at the conceptual level, which ii needs to be further developed to include the teaching of the simulation of these systems as well. Overall, the findings suggest that investment in several areas can facilitate the application of passive systems in the US, which include: better educational focus on the simulation/calculation of passive systems; stronger connection between academia and the building industry focused on passive design; providing user-friendly tools for the design of passive systems; better collaboration between architects, clients, and engineers; reducing the work experience gap between retiring faulty and new faculty; better focus on passive design in integrated design studios; and strong inclusion of passive systems in building codes/rating systems. The long term goal of this study is to pave the way for reducing a building’s energy consumption by shifting society’s dependency from non-renewable energies to renewable energies. iii DEDICATION Dedicated to All Who Care About the Built Environment and Global Warming iv CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES Contributors This work was supervised by a dissertation committee consisting of Dr. Jeff Haberl [advisor], Dr. Liliana Beltran, and Dr. Wei Yan of the Department of Architecture and Dr. Zofia Rybkowski of the Department of Construction Science. Part of the survey distribution was conducted through the author’s communication with AIA and ASHRAE Chapters in the US, who kindly distributed the survey questionnaire to their members on behalf of the author. All of the work conducted for the dissertation was completed by the student independently. Funding Sources This work was partly supported by the dissertation fellowship award from the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) at Texas A&M University. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. iv CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES .............................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xiv 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background and Problem Statement ......................................................... 1 1.2. Research Goals and Task Objectives ........................................................ 7 1.3. Significance and Limitations of the Study ................................................ 8 1.4. Overview of the Dissertation ................................................................... 10 1.5. Definition ................................................................................................ 12 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 17 2.1. Sustainable Architectural Design ............................................................ 17 2.1.1. Trends in Sustainable Architectural Design ................................... 17 2.1.2. Conceptual Trends in Sustainable Design: Nature/Passive Versus Active Systems .................................................................... 22 2.1.3. Natural/Passive Systems and Human Well-being .......................... 35 2.2. Brief History of Passive Building Design in the US ............................... 49 2.2.1. From Early Attempts until the 1940s ............................................. 49 2.2.2. From the 1940s until 2010 ............................................................. 53 2.2.3. Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) ............................................. 59 2.3. Models and Approaches of Passive Building Design ............................. 66 2.3.1. Natural/Passive Heating of Buildings ............................................ 67 2.3.2. Natural/Passive Cooling and Natural Ventilation .......................... 91 2.3.3. Building Envelope ........................................................................ 108 2.3.4. Daylighting ................................................................................... 112 2.4. Factors Influential in Passive Systems Applications ............................. 117 2.4.1. Building Standards and Rating Systems: The Status Que ............ 117 vi 2.4.2. Climate ......................................................................................... 132 2.4.3. Simulation and Modeling Tools ................................................... 139 2.4.4 Construction Cost and Construction Complexity .......................... 156 2.4.5. Design Team and Client Collaboration ........................................ 158 2.4.6 Knowledge and Experience for Simulating and Integrating Passive Systems ............................................................................. 163 2.4.7. Architectural Curriculum and Natural/Passive systems ............... 172 2.5. Case Studies: Practitioners’ Application of Passive Systems ............... 176 2.5.1. Practitioners’ Approach Toward the Use of Passive Systems .......................................................................................... 176 2.5.2. Three Case Studies on The Approach of Using Passive Systems .......................................................................................... 180 2.5.3. Best Practices: AIA COTE Top 10 Awards ................................. 187 3. RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................................................... 190 3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 190 3.2. Qualitative Methods Applied ................................................................ 191 3.2.1. Case Study .................................................................................... 191 3.2.2. Content Analysis .......................................................................... 199 3.3. Quantitative Methods Applied .............................................................. 201 3.3.1. Survey Questionnaire Design Principles ...................................... 202 3.3.2. Reducing Survey Measurement Errors ........................................ 203 3.3.3. Reducing Nonresponse Error ....................................................... 204 3.3.4. Reducing Survey Sampling and Survey Coverage Errors............ 205 3.4. Research with Human Subject .............................................................. 216 3.5. Summary of the Applied Research Methodologies and Strategies ....... 216 4. PRACTITIONERS SURVEY: RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS ...................... 218 4.1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 218 4.2. Procedure ............................................................................................... 219 4.3. Survey Tools and Analysis Procedure .................................................. 223 4.4. Demographic Information (Practitioners) ............................................. 227 4.4.1. Primary Professional Role (Practitioners)
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