TU Delft Open Access Journals
Not a member yet
3113 research outputs found
Sort by
This is Not a Nest: Transcultural Metaphors and the Paradoxical Politics of International Competitions
Get PDFAlthough the architecture competition has been analysed through a number of rhetorical lenses, the recurring production of transcultural metaphors, particularly in international competitions, remains to be addressed as a genuine disciplinary phenomenon. The hypothesis of competitions as contact zones is particularly appropriate for the study of international events, in which competitors forge broad analogical figures to bridge cultural differences. Recent studies in the cognitive understanding of analogical matrices have considerably reinforced the theories on metaphors. Our analytical grid characterizes analogical matrices to identify levels of symbolic operations through the differentiation of formal, structural and conceptual analogies. We first dig into a sample of competition projects nicknames (Crystal, Birds’Nest, DNA, Cloud, Lace, Stealth, etc.) to confirm that these tropes have a paradoxical status at the intersection of architects’ intents and the public expectations. We then summarize an in-depth hermeneutical discourse analysis of 40 North American international competitions. This indicates a fourfold series of expectations to which competitors hope to provide answers in an international ‘conflict of interpretations’. Adhering to the theory of speech acts, we suggest that performative metaphors in competitions appear less as indicators of designers’ intentions than as products of the broader context surrounding competitions themselves. We conclude with a proposed grid indexing four types of contact zones in which metaphorical relationships are actively created and not just repeated
Impact of personal control on user satisfaction
Get PDFChapter 4 provided the impact of indoor climate on user satisfaction. Many studies reported that personal control over indoor environmental conditions is one of the influential factors for user satisfaction and environmental comfort due to its physical and psychological impacts. However, it is not clear to what extent users should be allowed to have control over the indoor environment. This chapter aims to identify the relationship between the extent to which users can personally control the conditions of their indoor environment and how satisfied they are with their thermal and visual comfort.
Section 5.2 presents the data collection and assessment methods of occupants’ perceived satisfaction. The relationship between personal control and satisfaction is explained in section 5.3. Section 5.4 presents the dependency of user satisfaction with thermal comfort based on the degree of personal control over indoor environmental conditions, and section 5.5 explains the impact of the degree of person control on the user satisfaction with visual comfort. Section 5.6 discusses limitations of research of personal control, psychological impact of personal control, and how to design the personal control to optimise user satisfaction
Reefer logistics and cool chain transport: a systematic review and multi-actor system analysis of an un-explored domain
Get PDFReefer logistics is an important part of the cool chain in which reefer containers are involved as the packaging for transporting perishable goods. Reefer logistics is challenging, as it deals with cost and time constraints as well as the product quality and sustainability requirements. In many situations, there is a trade-off between these factors (e.g., between transportation time and the quality of fresh products). Furthermore, considering the high value of reefers, the efficient logistics of is as important as the efficient cargo flows. This causes technical complications and the conflict of interests between actors, especially, between cargo owners (or shippers) and the asset owners (or transport/terminal operators). Improving the efficiency of reefer logistics calls for a thorough understanding of the trade-offs and complexities. This paper aims to help develop such an understanding using a systematic literature review and a socio-technical system analysis. The results can be used to provide managerial insights for actors involved in a cool chain to design tailored solutions for reefer
Inter- and Intrapersonal variation in destination choice
Get PDFThis paper examines spatial-temporal inter- and intrapersonal variation in destination choice, based on longitudinal smartphone data for the Netherlands. Mixed logit destination choice models were estimated using two years of data (2014 and 2015) from the Dutch Mobile Mobility Panel, in which over 68,000 trips for 442 respondents were recorded with a smartphone app during an annual four-week measurement period. A distinction was made between trips to compulsory activities (such as work) and trips for discretionary purposes (such as recreation) as they are associated with different trip characteristics. Discrete destination alternatives were defined based on individuals’ behaviour in terms of repeatedly visited destinations and the statistical distribution of a spatial repetition index. The model results show that intrapersonal variation in destination choice, departure time and mode choice was relatively high for less frequently visited locations, which indicates novelty-seeking behaviour in destination choice. Furthermore, we found a strong connection between activity, departure time, and destination choice. And, mode choice and departure time choice were highly repetitive for destinations visited repetitively (e.g. work), but not for discretionary activities
Public transport accessibility and the prices of nearby properties: the case of the first metro line in Warsaw
Get PDFThis paper identifies the relation between metro proximity and the prices of residential properties in Warsaw. The analysis is based on 2006-2013 AMRON-SARFiN data. The results show that metro has a positive impact on property prices if it is located at most 1.5 km from the property. The greatest increase in price of 8-13 per cent is observed when metro is located 400-800 meters from the property. The results indicate that when the metro transportation is poor, it causes a large increase in property prices, which is not comparable to the impact of other transports, such as bus or tram
In-Situ Determination of Buildings’ Thermo- Physical Characteristics: Method Development, Experimentation, and Computation
Get PDFEver since the introduction of energy conversion systems in the built environment, buildings have become responsible for a considerable share of global energy consumption. Many countries have therefore aimed to invest on buildings’ energy efficiency plans to reduce the depletion rate of the fossil resources and the CO2 emissions associated with them. In this context, accurate determination of building’s thermo-physical characteristics is a necessity in the processes which lead to execution of energy conservation strategies in existing buildings. These characteristics are the essential inputs for buildings’ thermal modelling, quality control, energy audits, and energy labelling, the results of which are determinant for energy renovation decisions and policies. In practice, the values of these parameters are not always available because the current determination methods are time-and-effort-expensive, and consequently rarely used. In accordance with the large deviations observed between the in-lab and in-situ thermal behaviour of building components, a special attention is laid on in-situ methods. This thesis aims at developing and testing different in-situ determination methods and approaches at different levels. Theories, simulations, and experiments, are combined for determination of a number of buildings’ most important thermo-physical characteristics.
Transmission losses through the façades are known to be responsible for a significant portion of heat loss in buildings and consequently are investigated in all standard energy calculation methods. Thus, the major part of the thesis is dedicated to the thermal behaviour of exterior walls. The exact construction of existing walls is generally unknown. Consequently, the estimation of their thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, and volumetric heat capacity can be erroneous. Later, the attention is upscaled to the building level where rather than local characteristics, global characteristics are determined.
At the first stage, the walls’ in-situ determination of thermal resistance has been examined. Despite the advantages of the existing standard method, “ISO 9869 Average Method” for measuring this parameter, two problems have been pointed out: long duration and imprecision. Accordingly, this phase describes and demonstrates how the simplest modifications to this standard method can improve it in terms of solving these problems. Heat transfer simulations and experiments in a variety of wall typologies have been applied to show the effect of using an additional heat flux sensor, facing the first one, installed on the opposite side of the wall. Three estimations of thermal resistance based on either indoor or outdoor heat fluxes, and the average of the two values are then defined. It is shown that one of these values satisfies the convergence criteria earlier than the other two, leading to a quicker insitu determination of thermal resistance with a higher precision.
To further shorten the measurement period, in the second phase, a new transient in-situ method, Excitation Pulse Method, EPM, is developed and examined experimentally on three walls. The method is inspired by the theory of thermal response factors. In EPM, a triangular surface temperature excitation is applied at one side of the wall and the heat flux responses at both sides are measured and converted into the wall’s corresponding response factors which then leads to the wall’s thermal resistance. To validate, the results are compared to the ones obtained following the ISO 9869. The good agreement of the results confirms the possibility of measuring the Rc-value within a couple of hours. Applying this method, the overestimation of around 400% between the actual and estimated values (in practice, often based on the construction year) of thermal transmittance was resolved. Thus, EPM is believed to significantly improve the required time and accuracy in determination of the thermal behavior of walls with unknown constructions. Experimental and practical details regarding the design and construction of the method’s prototype as well as its application range are demonstrated subsequently. EPM has been patented in the Dutch patent office (Patent No. 2014467) and can be applied on in-lab and in-situ circumstances.
Following the success in the proof of principle, in the third phase, detailed conditions for correct application of EPM in heavy and multi-layered walls are further studied. Heat transfer theories, simulations, and experiments are combined to evaluate the method’s performance for different types of walls. A specific attention is devoted to the relationship between the walls’ thermal response time and the response factors’ time interval, affecting the accuracy of Rc-value determination. Additionally, other hidden information in the response factors of the walls such as the possible construction are revealed. It is moreover demonstrated that in addition to the thermal resistance, the two main thermo-physical properties of a wall, the thermal conductivity and the volumetric heat capacity, as well as the wall’s thickness can be determined using inverse modelling of the Response Factors. The accuracy and precision of the method is tested in many different ways, fortifying the confidence for future application of this method.
In the last phase, the advancement of smart metering and monitoring systems in buildings are considered. Such smart technologies have led to utilization of the data from, for instance, home automation systems. This data acquisition is referred to as “on-board-monitoring” category of measurements, which removes the hassle, cost, and intrusion associated with locally-conducted experiments. The problem is then observed from a perspective wider than the component level. This time, the thermo-physical characteristics are studied for a whole building rather than just the walls. It is presumed that the current and future houses and their HVAC installations are by default, equipped with basic sensors, providing on-board monitored data. Therefore, the expected available data is measured and used as input parameters. A case study of an occupied apartment, in which air temperatures, humidity, and CO2 concentrations, gas consumption, and meteorological data have been measured for one year is investigated. Global characteristics such as the heat loss coefficient and thermal capacitance are estimated through inverse modelling of a 1st order circuit analogous to the thermal model of the building, and fed by the measurement data. In addition, using construction information, winter daily air change rates leading to ventilation and infiltration heat losses are estimated from the results of the inverse modelling. These results can be used to tailor the energy efficient use of the building.
In summary, the in-situ determination of walls’ thermal resistance is conducted by two methods in this thesis. The first one calls for longer measurement methods (minimum three days), but includes a straight-forward, well-known procedure. This method is highly suitable for high temperature gradients across the wall. The second method, EPM, requires more complicated instrumentation, but in return, in addition to rapid (couple of hours) determination of the Rc-value, it provides the walls’ response factors which are required for a dynamic thermal building simulation. In addition, using the results of this method, the thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity can be determined. EPM is most suitable for light-to-medium weighted walls and for homogeneous walls of known thickness. Stable heat flux profiles at the surfaces of the wall increase the accuracy of the method, especially when the temperature gradients across the wall are lower. Finally, as a less intrusive approach, the data from the HVAC installations’ existing sensors can be used. Global characteristics including the heat loss coefficient and the global capacitance can be then determined for a whole building, followed by ventilation and infiltration losses. Despite the low accuracy, this process is more suitable when the smart meter data is available and measurements at component level are not desired.
By introducing and testing new experimental and computational methods and approaches for reliable determination of buildings’ local and global thermo-physical characteristics, this thesis pays a significant contribution to the accuracy of the energy-related predictions and operations, especially within the built environment
Importance of freight mode choice criteria: An MCDA approach
Get PDFRoad transportation has been the dominant mode for inland freight transportation for decades. Rail and waterways transportation are less frequently used alternatives, but in general more attractive from an environmental perspective. Even though many policies promoting the use of intermodal transportation have been proposed, they have had little impact to trigger shippers to shift mode from road transportation to rail or inland waterways transportation. One main reason might be that the requirements of shippers towards transportation modes are still not well understood. Hence this research investigates freight transportation mode choice with a new approach, multi-criteria decision analysis, as well as from the perspectives of different types of industries and experts. Reviewing the literature, the requirements for transportation modes are abstracted into a set of criteria, including transportation cost, door-to-door travel time, on-time reliability, flexibility, frequency, and reduction of CO2 emissions. As the importance of these factors might be different for different industries, we consider four segments: the manufacturing industry, the agriculture industry, the perishable food industry, and the chemical industry. Data from practitioners, industry experts, and academics are collected via online questionnaires and analyzed using the ‘best worst method’ (BWM) to identify weights for the mentioned criteria. The results indicate that transportation cost is viewed as the most important, closely followed by on-time reliability, while reduction of CO2 emission is viewed as the least important. Several comparison studies are conducted to see any difference in the importance of these factors with respect to different industries or respondent groups
On the value of the Digital Internet / Physical Internet analogy
Get PDFClassical logistic networks have long since struggled with the increasing demand for flexibility and responsiveness, driven by the emancipation of consumers and the globalization of our world. Hence, since 2010, researchers in the logistics domain propose the ‘Physical Internet’ (PI) as guiding vision for innovations in logistic networks. The PI model adopts concepts and ideas from the ‘Digital Internet’ (DI) world and applies these to the movement and storage of physical products. While researchers have been working with this analogy for the past decade, a debate has emerged about the value of the DI/PI analogy and its usefulness for guiding the design of the PI. Specifically, prior work has not focused on ascertaining the accuracy of the analogy, i.e., how well logistics researchers have adopted concepts from the Digital Internet, and how this may influence the value of the analogy in the current discourse. The aim of this paper is to help fill this gap, using a qualitative research approach. We use 15 semi-structured expert interviews, to determine how well the DI is understood among the experts working on the DI/PI analogy. We propose the Analogy Functionality Model to interpret the results and assess the current strength of the analogy. We find that the strength of the DI/PI analogy varies across functions. Its application value lies particularly in the persuasion of stakeholders, the accessible explanation of key concepts, and the gathering of inspiration for further design directions. This underlines the importance of the analogy for the PI innovation community. Researchers and logistics practitioners should, however, refrain from using the analogy as a blueprint for the design of PI systems. For implementation purposes, we recommend that researchers move to conceptually emancipate the PI from the DI
The double-bind of competitive funding: Exploring the consequences of state-funded bidding processes in a locally managed cycling infrastructure project
Get PDFIn an era of sustained budget cuts, England’s local authorities are increasingly forced to ‘apply’ for infrastructure funding via competitive bidding processes. However, we currently know little about how this method of funding impacts implementation. Accordingly, we consider the consequences of competitive funding by exploring the constraints associated with implementing infrastructure under the state-funded Cycling Demonstration Towns programme. This was achieved via a case study in Chester, a city that was unable to deliver the ambitions of their bid. This study was informed by figurational sociology in order to focus on relational processes. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel involved in the planning and implementation of the project. The key findings were: (1) participants considered the bidding process to be akin to a ‘beauty contest’ where authorities were consciously making fantasy-laden promises in order to ‘impress’ the awards panel; (2) those involved in the bid did not consult key delivery parties, many of whom held car-centric predispositions, until funding was secured, and this led to complications in the delivery process; (3) during project implementation as the chains of interdependency of those involved widened, several unintended outcomes emerged which contributed to the two ‘flagship’ infrastructure proposals being halted; (4) this led to an intervention package that was heavily weighted towards promotional, or ‘soft’, interventions. Theoretical insight from this study suggests that competitive funding is likely to encourage authorities to present bids that are largely detached from the realities of implementing infrastructure, thus leading to difficulties once funding has been awarded
Studenten- huisvesting
Get PDFStudent housing is back on the agenda. At breathtaking speed, politicians, developers, architects and constructing parties are trying to reduce the serious shortage of residential space for young people and students that currently exists in almost all Dutch university towns. And in these times of malaise in the construction industry, new players are now also lining up to get a piece of the pie, alongside the traditional housing foundations and corporations.
The concept for this new architectural task is often simple: identical, independent units with their own mini-kitchen and minibathroom are the building blocks that are stacked and connected until the building envelope has been filled to the desired level. They feature a communal entrance, bicycle storage space, and perhaps a few facilities, and often a striking façade to assert a unique identity. This is an efficient industry that allows large numbers of units to be built well and quickly.
This architectural task is as topical as it is timeless. Ever since educational institutions began attracting young people from a wider environment, housing and education have gone hand in hand with a period of personal and intellectual growth. Through the centuries, various models have arisen for this purpose, in different countries and in different cultures: from students living with professors or in lodging houses, to the Anglo-Saxon college and campus, or the continental, urban residential buildings that were often under the auspices of religious institutions.Studentenhuisvesting staat momenteel weer hoog op de agenda. In ontzagwekkend tempo wordt door politici, ontwikkelaars, architecten en bouwende partijen gewerkt om een groot tekort aan woonruimte voor jongeren en studenten in vrijwel alle Nederlandse universiteitssteden terug te dringen. En in deze tijden van malaise in de bouw staan naast de vanouds bouwende stichtingen en corporaties ook nieuwe spelers in de rij om hier een graantje van mee te pikken.
Het concept voor deze nieuwe opgave is vaak simpel: identieke, zelfstandige eenheden met eigen minikeuken en – badkamer zijn de bouwsteen waarmee gestapeld en geschakeld wordt tot de bouwenvelop naar behoefte gevuld is. Een gezamenlijke entree, fietsenstalling, misschien nog wat andere voorzieningen en voor de eigen identiteit vaak een opvallende gevel. Het is een efficiënte industrie waarmee goed en snel grote aantallen gebouwd kunnen worden.
De opgave is even actueel als tijdloos. Al sinds het ontstaan van opleidingsinstituten die jonge mensen uit een wijdere omgeving aantrokken, gaan huisvesting en educatie samen in een periode van persoonlijke en intellectuele groei. Door de eeuwen heen zijn in verschillende landen en culturen daarvoor diverse modellen ontstaan: van op kamers gaan bij professoren of hospita’s tot de Angelsaksische colleges en campus, of de continentale, binnenstedelijke woongebouwen onder hoede van een al dan niet religieuze instelling
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇