Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, Aug 1, 2005
This paper considers the reconstruction and redesign for natural ventilation of the UK’s stock of... more This paper considers the reconstruction and redesign for natural ventilation of the UK’s stock of performing arts buildings from the 1960s and 1970s * / many of which are regarded as barely fit for service because of poorly maintained and noisy mechanical ventilation systems. The paper reviews interventions by the lead author into three such buildings, intended, in part, to reduce their dependence on mechanical systems and improve their thermal and aural comfort. It reports on the ventilation and control strategies devised, the difficulties encountered during design development and the performance achieved. Design issues deriving specifically from the application of natural ventilation principles to the three theatres are identified. The paper provides design guidance for intervention in this building type distilled from the authors’ practical experience. Practical application: This paper catalogues a series of naturally ventilated auditoria built by the lead author, records their key physical characteristics and gives an indication of their performance. Practitioners can use the guidance contained in this paper in the formulation of their own draft schemes. Natural ventilation is peculiarly suited to performing arts spaces due to its almost silent operation. Actors and artistic directors appear to prefer working in nonmechanically-conditioned environments. Furthermore, operating costs are particularly important to revenue-poor arts organizations.
Abstract A radical return to natural environments in public architecture is proposed. This requir... more Abstract A radical return to natural environments in public architecture is proposed. This requires a reasonably sophisticated understanding of building physics on the part of designers but there is a marked reluctance historically in the design community to acquire such expertise for fear of destroying free artistic expression. This anti-scientific social practice may be the principle barrier to a sustainable future for the built world. The key to unravelling this prejudice may lie in understanding how modern perceptions of safe and comfortable environments evolved through early understanding of disease propogation through the air. The paper presents innovative later nineteenth century hospital designs as proto-modern buildings and suggests that aggressive mid-Twentieth Century advertising of air conditioning killed a highly productive stream of architectural design, overdue for vigorous re-examination to shift the prevailing 'will to form'.
... Thus, the strategy of ventilating buildings by providing opening windows in the perimeter was... more ... Thus, the strategy of ventilating buildings by providing opening windows in the perimeter was unacceptable. ... One way of overcoming this is to admit daylight from above. Passive ventilation, in which airflows are driven by natural buoyancy effects, works more effectively as ...
A Voyage Round the World. (Vol. 3 Translated by Agnes and Helen Stephenson.). The Mohaddetyn in t... more A Voyage Round the World. (Vol. 3 Translated by Agnes and Helen Stephenson.). The Mohaddetyn in the Palace. Nights in the Harem; Or, the Mohaddetyn in the Palace of Ghezire. Vol. II. Hovering Across Time: Affirmations in a Complex World History of the Capital of Asia and the Turks: Together with an Account of the Domestic Manners of the Turks in Turkey. [Edited by I. Edrehi. Illustrated.] Beyond the Search
The Braunstone Health and Social Care Centre will deliver an integrated service to one of the top... more The Braunstone Health and Social Care Centre will deliver an integrated service to one of the top ten deprived wards in the UK. Until now, the provision of health and social care was provided by separate services in discrete locations. This paper describes a project to house an integrated service model within a new sustainable building, exploiting passive solar principles and natural ventilation. The building has a deep plan punctuated by courtyards. Its section is configured to admit winter sun through controllable south facing rooflights. The building is of lightweight construction. Pre-cooling of ventilation supply air in summer is proposed via a belowfloor labyrinth. The risk of summertime overheating and the potential contribution of the pre-cooling is tested by computer simulation. The design, and in particular its energy aspects, is the product of widespread consultation with the public and the stakeholders. Conference Topic: Design Strategies, Case Studies, Low Energy Architecture
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Physicians wish to sup... more The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Physicians wish to support clinicians by providing the tools to advocate for healthy air for their patients. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out clear guidance to protecting the rights of children and young people, including a child’s right to the best possible health (Article 24) and the right to a good standard of living. Government must support this where the family is unable (Article 27). Unicef also consider1 that clean air is a right for all children. The Royal Colleges vigorously advocate for a healthy environment at the population level and in local communities, especially where socioeconomic circumstances limit the choice of where people can live, and which school children attend. When there is mounting evidence to establish a potential cause of preventable ill health Royal Colleges can advocate for change, including regulatory change. This has happened before for tobacc...
ABSTRACT Contemporary spaces for surgery are highly energy intensive, much of which is attributed... more ABSTRACT Contemporary spaces for surgery are highly energy intensive, much of which is attributed to powerful air conditioning systems intended to force air down onto the patient, surgical staff and instruments to keep airborne pathogens from sedimenting on patients and equipment during surgery. The carbon footprint from these systems is prodigious in a service required to dramatically cut emissions. Sufficient doubts have arisen from experimental modelling and data collected in surgical theatres that pathogens are expelled efficiently to encourage broader speculation about the fundamental configuration of spaces for surgery. One prospective avenue is the investigation of the aseptic movement’s operating room designs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before the adoption of air conditioning. Historical review and testing of theatre design, as part of the Excising Infections in Surgical Environments (ExISE) project, identified a carefully designed and innovative operating room in Hamburg’s general hospital. The St. Georg’s Operationshaus (1899) is reconstructed digitally, analysed theoretically and modelled experimentally to determine modern utility as a green theatre. Results are promising but are affected by the parallel intent to introduce prodigious natural daylighting; however, the effects of this on the airflow patterns in the space could be managed by modern materials and control technologies.
Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 2012
The National Health Service (NHS) Estate in England comprises more than 30 Mm2 with 18.83 Mm2 of ... more The National Health Service (NHS) Estate in England comprises more than 30 Mm2 with 18.83 Mm2 of acute hospital accommodation on 330 sites. There is concern about the resilience of these buildings in a changing climate, informed by the experience of recent heatwaves. However, the widespread installation of air conditioning would disrupt the achievement of ambitious energy reduction targets. The research project ‘Design and Delivery of Robust Hospital Environments in a Changing Climate’ is attempting to estimate the resilience of the NHS Estate on the basis of current and projected performance, using an adaptive comfort model. This paper presents results relating to a 1920s traditionally built block with open ‘Nightingale’ wards, a representative type. The paper demonstrates the relative resilience of the type, and illustrates a series of light-touch measures that may increase resilience while saving energy. Practical application: The results presented in this paper will be of value ...
There is a developing interest in achieving low-energy, naturally ventilated, non-domestic buildi... more There is a developing interest in achieving low-energy, naturally ventilated, non-domestic buildings in significant numbers over a relatively short period that is driven by the government's commitment to achieve reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and building owners' interests in reducing life cycle costs. The presumption is that this is possible within the current regulatory context. However, design for natural ventilation of public buildings is still innovative, at least within the regulatory framework. Two case studies involving the implementation of natural ventilation schemes indicate the concern and barriers raised by local authority Building Control departments, the fire authorities and various prospective insurers in response to design proposals. The design strategies devised fell outside the provisions of the prevailing codes and regulations in their approach to ensuring safe and effective fire control and smoke clearance using natural ventilation. The destabilizing effects of the current regulatory system impact negatively on the use of natural ventilation and hinder innovation. Schemes proposing to incorporate natural ventilation may be rejected through risk- and value-engineering exercises because of perceived uncertainties about compliance with current fire regulations and codes, and the time and cost implications of embarking on an exercise to prove at least equivalence in the creation of a safe environment. Depuis relativement peu de temps, on s'intéresse de plus en plus à la construction en grands nombres de bâtiments à usage non domestiques, à faible consommation d'énergie et à ventilation naturelle; cette situation est le fait de l'engagement des pouvoirs publics à réduire les émissions d'oxyde de carbone et de l'intérêt des propriétaires à abaisser les coûts des cycles de vie. On part de l'hypothèse que cela est possible dans le contexte réglementaire actuel. Toutefois, la conception de systèmes de ventilation naturelle pour les bâtiments publics reste novatrice, au moins dans le cadre réglementaire. Deux études de cas portant sur la mise en œuvre de systèmes de ventilation naturelle font apparaître les préoccupations et les obstacles dressés par les autorités locales chargées de régir des bâtiments, les services de lutte contre l'incendie et divers assureurs prospectifs en réponse à des propositions de conception. Les stratégies de conception élaborées ne sont pas conformes aux dispositions des codes et des réglementations qui prévalent actuellement dans leur manière d'aborder avec efficacité la lutte contre les incendies et les dégagements de fumées en utilisant la ventilation naturelle. Les effets déstabilisants du système réglementaire actuel ont un impact négatif sur l'utilisation d'une ventilation naturelle et empêchent l'innovation. Certains systèmes proposant d'incorporer la ventilation naturelle risquent d'être rejetés, après évaluation technique des risques et des coûts du fait des incertitudes perçues au niveau de la conformité avec les codes et les réglementations actuelles en matière de lutte contre l'incendie ainsi que des aspects ‘temps’ et ‘coût’ d'un exercice destiné à prouver au moins l'équivalence dans la création d'un environnement sûr.
Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, Aug 1, 2005
This paper considers the reconstruction and redesign for natural ventilation of the UK’s stock of... more This paper considers the reconstruction and redesign for natural ventilation of the UK’s stock of performing arts buildings from the 1960s and 1970s * / many of which are regarded as barely fit for service because of poorly maintained and noisy mechanical ventilation systems. The paper reviews interventions by the lead author into three such buildings, intended, in part, to reduce their dependence on mechanical systems and improve their thermal and aural comfort. It reports on the ventilation and control strategies devised, the difficulties encountered during design development and the performance achieved. Design issues deriving specifically from the application of natural ventilation principles to the three theatres are identified. The paper provides design guidance for intervention in this building type distilled from the authors’ practical experience. Practical application: This paper catalogues a series of naturally ventilated auditoria built by the lead author, records their key physical characteristics and gives an indication of their performance. Practitioners can use the guidance contained in this paper in the formulation of their own draft schemes. Natural ventilation is peculiarly suited to performing arts spaces due to its almost silent operation. Actors and artistic directors appear to prefer working in nonmechanically-conditioned environments. Furthermore, operating costs are particularly important to revenue-poor arts organizations.
Abstract A radical return to natural environments in public architecture is proposed. This requir... more Abstract A radical return to natural environments in public architecture is proposed. This requires a reasonably sophisticated understanding of building physics on the part of designers but there is a marked reluctance historically in the design community to acquire such expertise for fear of destroying free artistic expression. This anti-scientific social practice may be the principle barrier to a sustainable future for the built world. The key to unravelling this prejudice may lie in understanding how modern perceptions of safe and comfortable environments evolved through early understanding of disease propogation through the air. The paper presents innovative later nineteenth century hospital designs as proto-modern buildings and suggests that aggressive mid-Twentieth Century advertising of air conditioning killed a highly productive stream of architectural design, overdue for vigorous re-examination to shift the prevailing 'will to form'.
... Thus, the strategy of ventilating buildings by providing opening windows in the perimeter was... more ... Thus, the strategy of ventilating buildings by providing opening windows in the perimeter was unacceptable. ... One way of overcoming this is to admit daylight from above. Passive ventilation, in which airflows are driven by natural buoyancy effects, works more effectively as ...
A Voyage Round the World. (Vol. 3 Translated by Agnes and Helen Stephenson.). The Mohaddetyn in t... more A Voyage Round the World. (Vol. 3 Translated by Agnes and Helen Stephenson.). The Mohaddetyn in the Palace. Nights in the Harem; Or, the Mohaddetyn in the Palace of Ghezire. Vol. II. Hovering Across Time: Affirmations in a Complex World History of the Capital of Asia and the Turks: Together with an Account of the Domestic Manners of the Turks in Turkey. [Edited by I. Edrehi. Illustrated.] Beyond the Search
The Braunstone Health and Social Care Centre will deliver an integrated service to one of the top... more The Braunstone Health and Social Care Centre will deliver an integrated service to one of the top ten deprived wards in the UK. Until now, the provision of health and social care was provided by separate services in discrete locations. This paper describes a project to house an integrated service model within a new sustainable building, exploiting passive solar principles and natural ventilation. The building has a deep plan punctuated by courtyards. Its section is configured to admit winter sun through controllable south facing rooflights. The building is of lightweight construction. Pre-cooling of ventilation supply air in summer is proposed via a belowfloor labyrinth. The risk of summertime overheating and the potential contribution of the pre-cooling is tested by computer simulation. The design, and in particular its energy aspects, is the product of widespread consultation with the public and the stakeholders. Conference Topic: Design Strategies, Case Studies, Low Energy Architecture
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Physicians wish to sup... more The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Physicians wish to support clinicians by providing the tools to advocate for healthy air for their patients. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out clear guidance to protecting the rights of children and young people, including a child’s right to the best possible health (Article 24) and the right to a good standard of living. Government must support this where the family is unable (Article 27). Unicef also consider1 that clean air is a right for all children. The Royal Colleges vigorously advocate for a healthy environment at the population level and in local communities, especially where socioeconomic circumstances limit the choice of where people can live, and which school children attend. When there is mounting evidence to establish a potential cause of preventable ill health Royal Colleges can advocate for change, including regulatory change. This has happened before for tobacc...
ABSTRACT Contemporary spaces for surgery are highly energy intensive, much of which is attributed... more ABSTRACT Contemporary spaces for surgery are highly energy intensive, much of which is attributed to powerful air conditioning systems intended to force air down onto the patient, surgical staff and instruments to keep airborne pathogens from sedimenting on patients and equipment during surgery. The carbon footprint from these systems is prodigious in a service required to dramatically cut emissions. Sufficient doubts have arisen from experimental modelling and data collected in surgical theatres that pathogens are expelled efficiently to encourage broader speculation about the fundamental configuration of spaces for surgery. One prospective avenue is the investigation of the aseptic movement’s operating room designs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before the adoption of air conditioning. Historical review and testing of theatre design, as part of the Excising Infections in Surgical Environments (ExISE) project, identified a carefully designed and innovative operating room in Hamburg’s general hospital. The St. Georg’s Operationshaus (1899) is reconstructed digitally, analysed theoretically and modelled experimentally to determine modern utility as a green theatre. Results are promising but are affected by the parallel intent to introduce prodigious natural daylighting; however, the effects of this on the airflow patterns in the space could be managed by modern materials and control technologies.
Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 2012
The National Health Service (NHS) Estate in England comprises more than 30 Mm2 with 18.83 Mm2 of ... more The National Health Service (NHS) Estate in England comprises more than 30 Mm2 with 18.83 Mm2 of acute hospital accommodation on 330 sites. There is concern about the resilience of these buildings in a changing climate, informed by the experience of recent heatwaves. However, the widespread installation of air conditioning would disrupt the achievement of ambitious energy reduction targets. The research project ‘Design and Delivery of Robust Hospital Environments in a Changing Climate’ is attempting to estimate the resilience of the NHS Estate on the basis of current and projected performance, using an adaptive comfort model. This paper presents results relating to a 1920s traditionally built block with open ‘Nightingale’ wards, a representative type. The paper demonstrates the relative resilience of the type, and illustrates a series of light-touch measures that may increase resilience while saving energy. Practical application: The results presented in this paper will be of value ...
There is a developing interest in achieving low-energy, naturally ventilated, non-domestic buildi... more There is a developing interest in achieving low-energy, naturally ventilated, non-domestic buildings in significant numbers over a relatively short period that is driven by the government's commitment to achieve reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and building owners' interests in reducing life cycle costs. The presumption is that this is possible within the current regulatory context. However, design for natural ventilation of public buildings is still innovative, at least within the regulatory framework. Two case studies involving the implementation of natural ventilation schemes indicate the concern and barriers raised by local authority Building Control departments, the fire authorities and various prospective insurers in response to design proposals. The design strategies devised fell outside the provisions of the prevailing codes and regulations in their approach to ensuring safe and effective fire control and smoke clearance using natural ventilation. The destabilizing effects of the current regulatory system impact negatively on the use of natural ventilation and hinder innovation. Schemes proposing to incorporate natural ventilation may be rejected through risk- and value-engineering exercises because of perceived uncertainties about compliance with current fire regulations and codes, and the time and cost implications of embarking on an exercise to prove at least equivalence in the creation of a safe environment. Depuis relativement peu de temps, on s'intéresse de plus en plus à la construction en grands nombres de bâtiments à usage non domestiques, à faible consommation d'énergie et à ventilation naturelle; cette situation est le fait de l'engagement des pouvoirs publics à réduire les émissions d'oxyde de carbone et de l'intérêt des propriétaires à abaisser les coûts des cycles de vie. On part de l'hypothèse que cela est possible dans le contexte réglementaire actuel. Toutefois, la conception de systèmes de ventilation naturelle pour les bâtiments publics reste novatrice, au moins dans le cadre réglementaire. Deux études de cas portant sur la mise en œuvre de systèmes de ventilation naturelle font apparaître les préoccupations et les obstacles dressés par les autorités locales chargées de régir des bâtiments, les services de lutte contre l'incendie et divers assureurs prospectifs en réponse à des propositions de conception. Les stratégies de conception élaborées ne sont pas conformes aux dispositions des codes et des réglementations qui prévalent actuellement dans leur manière d'aborder avec efficacité la lutte contre les incendies et les dégagements de fumées en utilisant la ventilation naturelle. Les effets déstabilisants du système réglementaire actuel ont un impact négatif sur l'utilisation d'une ventilation naturelle et empêchent l'innovation. Certains systèmes proposant d'incorporer la ventilation naturelle risquent d'être rejetés, après évaluation technique des risques et des coûts du fait des incertitudes perçues au niveau de la conformité avec les codes et les réglementations actuelles en matière de lutte contre l'incendie ainsi que des aspects ‘temps’ et ‘coût’ d'un exercice destiné à prouver au moins l'équivalence dans la création d'un environnement sûr.
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Papers by Alan Short