1,721,084 research outputs found
Comparative experimental approach to investigate the thermal behaviour of vertical greened façades of buildings
No full textGreening the building envelope is not a new concept, however it has not been fully approved as an energy saving method for the built environment. Vertical green can provide a cooling potential on the building surface, as plants are functioning as a solar filter and prevent the adsorption of heat radiation of building materials extensively. In this study a comparative thermal analysis of vertical green attached to a façade element is presented. An experimental set up (stationary conditions) has been developed to measure the temperature gradient through a reference cavity wall, in order to quantify the contribution of vegetation to the thermal behaviour of the building envelope. The results show temperature differences between the bare wall and between the different vertical greening systems analysed, up to 1.7 °C for the direct greening system and 8.4 °C for the living wall system based on planter boxes after 8 h of heating for summer conditions, due to the different “material” layers involved. However, the insulation material of the bare wall moderates the prevailing temperature difference between the outside and inside climate chamber, resulting in no temperature difference for the interior climate chamber for summer conditions.Materials and Environmen
Green infrastructure in New York City: top down and bottom up initiatives to improve environmental quality
No full textEuropean environmental policies so far have achieved important results at both Member State level and internationally. The United States has a different approach to Europe in this field: with a less pre-scriptive normative framework, several associations, organizations and public bodies work to improve envi-ronmental conditions in cities through the integration of green infrastructure. Vegetation can restore the envi-ronmental quality of dense urban areas by reducing the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, improving air quality and energy performance of buildings, and fostering biodiversity. The main objective of this research is to study initiatives and actions carried out and developed in New York City to help improve environmental and ecological conditions through the wider diffusion of green infrastructure. Top-down and bottom-up initiatives implemented in such dense city, considering the role played by Federal agencies, NYC Departments, and lo-cal communities, are analyzed
Urban areas and green infrastructure. Local communities and environmental policies in New York City. The case of the Bronx River
No full textThe main objective of this research is to study and analyze initiatives and actions carried out and developed in New York City to help improve environmental conditions in cities and better understand the environmental impact of dense urban areas; it considers especially bottom-up approaches, providing insight for the improvement of European environmental policies as well.
In order to identify causes, risks, and social and public health consequences, an overview of the main environmental and ecological imbalances in dense urban areas is provided, considering especially the UHI phenomenon, air and water quality, stormwater management, and urban ecosystems. The research takes into account the main strategies useful for acting on effects and causes of these environmental and ecological problems, and the scale at which these can be implemented (neighborhood, city, building). Vegetation can play a fundamental role, and therefore the positive effects of green infrastructure, along with definitions and examples, are evaluated
Progettare il verde in città. Una strategia per l'architettura sostenibile. Spazi verdi al suolo. Coperture verdi. Verde verticale. Norme e casi studio
No full textLa diffusa integrazione di vegetazione può rivestire un ruolo importante, soprattutto nelle città densamente costruite. Sistemi già presenti sul mercato, anche di produzione italiana, consentono interventi sul tessuto edilizio che migliorano le condizioni ambientali e, nel contempo, possono contribuire a riqualificare il patrimonio edilizio esistente – la cui inadeguatezza prestazionale ed energetica produce condizioni di malessere negli utenti – dal punto di vista funzionale ed estetico. La trattazione, rivolta principalmente ai progettisti, architetti, ingegneri, paesaggisti, individua e analizza strategie di intervento, benefici ambientali e microclimatici, aspetti progettuali, di fattibilità tecnica, ambientale ed economica dei sistemi per l’integrazione della vegetazione nel costruito. Dopo aver evidenziato potenzialità e ruolo della vegetazione in ambito urbano, il testo analizza, per le tre principali tipologie di integrazione – verde verticale, coperture verdi, spazi verdi al suolo – aspetti di fattibilità, vantaggi e punti critici di diversi prodotti in commercio, anche attraverso la presentazione di casi di studio. Sono infine valutati aspetti normativi legati ai sistemi di certificazione ambientale oltre che programmi di supporto per la realizzazione di sistemi verdi in Italia e all’estero. Una panoramica sulle diverse tipologie e sulle loro caratteristiche formali e funzionali, sui benefici microclimatici e ambientali ottenibili, sulla valutazione della sostenibilità ambientale ed economica e le indicazioni progettuali fornite consentono la definizione di una prassi operativa, utile per favorire la collaborazione fra i diversi attori coinvolti e la mediazione fra le competenze specifiche
Green Infrastructure in New York City: The case of the Bronx River
No full textThe research presented analyzes initiatives and actions carried out and developed in New York City to improve environmental conditions through the wider diffusion of green infrastructure. The effectiveness of mechanisms related to bottom-up approaches are evaluated, considering initiatives implemented by local community organizations, grassroots associations, and citizen groups in the field of green infrastructure. To investigate these aspects and the relationships between the policies of public bodies at the Federal, State and City government levels and local communities (i.e. bottom-up and top-down approaches), the case of the Bronx River was analyzed. The Bronx River is an urban river located in the South Bronx, a low income, polluted neighborhood in the northern part of NYC that has long been characterized by its many environmental and social inequities. From the 1970s, many restoration measures have been directly implemented or pushed by the local community; today, local community organizations and NYC Departments work together to improve the environmental and social conditions of the neighborhood to reduce ecological imbalances of the River, which is surrounded by a greenway and parks, and is maintained with the efforts of citizen volunteers
Retrofitting with vegetation recent building heritage applying a design tool—the case study of a school building
No full textAbstractSeveral researches show the environmental and microclimatic benefits of the integration of vegetation in architecture; however the potentialities of vertical and horizontal greening systems to retrofit buildings are still not much investigated. The retrofitting project of the Barsanti Institute of Camogli (Genoa, Italy) is presented, a building dated back to the sixties with serious architectural and efficiency problems, located in a considerable landscape area. The development and application of a design tool (process tree), for horizontal and vertical greened surfaces, allows to evaluate the potentialities of vegetation to retrofit and to relate the encountered efficiency problems and the climate characteristics with the choice of plant species, system, and technology more suitable for the specific situation (of which environmental and economic impact are also evaluated) and to define a design approach for the systematic consideration of the many parameters involved
L’integrazione di vegetazione in architettura. Metodi e strumenti innovativi – The integration of vegetation in architecture. Innovative methods and tools
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