Sustainable Group Housing Projects: Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support

1. Sustainable Group Housing Projects
Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework
for Early Design Support
UA: prof. dr. A. Verbruggen, prof. ir. arch. L. Denissen, prof. dr. A. Verhetsel
TU Delft: prof. Dr. M. Van Dorst
BART JANSSENS, M.ARCH. – BREEAM AP
architect - doctoral researcher – lecturer
Faculty of Design Sciences - Architecture

2. RESEARCHER PROFILE
TOPIC
MOTIVATION
AMBITION & ILLUSTRATIVE PRELIMINARY RESULTS
PUBLICATIONS
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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Content

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Researcher profile

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Topic
Sense of urgency
‘Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.’WCED, 1987
‘Sustainable building or the Green
Building practice expands and
complements the classical building
design concerns of economy, utility,
durability, and comfort.’ USEPA, 2009
> Huge impact of built environment
‘Group housing projects are projects
simultaneously designed and
constructed, composed of multiple
private dwelling units in a strong
coherent whole, in a conceptual,
architectural, urban, social,
organizational way.’ WIM, 2009
> Increasing sector in Flanders
(VRIND, 2011), Belgium (Ruimte &
Wonen, 2011)
> Stillminority in built environment
(Eurostat and Ruimte
&Wonen)
‘Built environment is the human-made
space in which people live, work, and
recreate on a day-to-day basis.’
ROOF & OLERU, 2008

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Motivation
Accumulation of problems
Sustainable Housing
No broad support base
! Lack of / low spatial and
living quality (WIM, 2011)
Negative impact for the
here and now, and the later
and elsewere (hypothesis)
Sustainable Building
No broad support base
! Lack of an integral,
objective and operational
framework
! Ad hoc, inefficient &
ineffective design process
! Misuse of existing tools
Lack of suitable early design
support tools (hypothesis)
Sustainable Group
Housing Projects
Insignificant share building
sector / not meanstream
No integral approach in so
called ‘best practices’
(hypothesis)
Reference document?
Slow market regulation
• Rigid sector > crucial role for academic research
(Bijdendijk, 2006)
Societal relevance
theory
∧∧∧∧
GAB
∨∨∨∨
practice
promising combination
Reference document?
Tailored criteria?

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition - objectives
Actual objective > GAB NARROWING: THEORY - PRACTICE
! Setting up a methodological and substantive framework for early design support in
view of successes in sustainable group housing projects
• Sub objective A: Building a generic methodological framework for a
sustainability tool tailored for architect-designers
• Sub objective B: Determining a group housing specific substantive content of
developed framework
Underlying objective > MAINSTREAMING SUSTAINABLE GROUP HOUSING
• Development of an integral framework for sustainable group housing projects
• Creating a starting point for a future operational tool, an interface between theory
and practice
• Verifying stated hypotheses (tailored criteria for and final developed framework as
reference)
• Broadening the support base for sustainable group housing projects,
group housing and sustainable building in general

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – questions and approach
Main Questions Sub questions
Part A
• What generic methodological
framework for a sustainability tool
could be suitable for an architect-designer?
o Features of object, aim, actor and process?
o Criteria for such a tool?
o Issues of existing kinds of tools
o What could be a promising concept?
o Which ‘state of the art’ recommendations
should be kept in mind for the
development?
Part B
• What is the group housing specific
substantive content (body of
knowledge) for developed
methodological framework?
Depending on the outcomes of part A
Approach
Interrelation practicing architect - academician

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – methodology – strategic approach
Science – literature -
knowledge
Experience –- tangible
day – to – day reality
Generic methodological framework
‘There is a great wealth of knowledge carried in the objects of our material culture. If you want to know
how an object should be designed – e.g. what shapes and sizes it should have, what material it should be
made from – go and look at existing examples of that kind of object, and simply (i.e. learn!) from the past.’
(Cross, 2006)
‘knowledge that resides in objects’ (Cross, 2006) (Douglas & Isherwood, 1979)
‘invention comes before theory’ “the world of ‘doing and making’ is usually ahead of the world of
understanding – technology leads to science, not vica versa as is often believed.”(Pye, 1978)
‘metaphoric appreciation’ (Cross, 2006)
Specific substantive body of knowledge
this is the work for a scientist, preferably with a background of a designer

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – methodology – part A
‘Within the field of design research,
design praxiology studies the
practices and processes of design.’
Cross, 1999
aim
process
object
actor
ANALYSIS – SYNTHESIS – REASONING
DELIMITED LITERATURE STUDY
EVALUATIVE LEAP
Criteria
Issues of existing
kinds of tools
Delimination of a
concept
Set of starting
points
Proposition for
aimed generic
methodological
framework
VERIFICATION
PRACTITIONERS

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – methodology – part A – preliminary results
implicit elements (IE)
explicit elements (EE)
(EE-1) Backgrounding
Theory, practice, and interfacing
aspects of object and aim
• identification & definition
• components & variables
• state of the art
• relationship & balance
(EE-2) Ideological concepts
Pre-design considerations for problem
framing and post-design referencing
• overall guiding principles
• quantitative rules of thumb
• qualitative guiding principles
… as design recommendations
(EE-4) Compact concepts
Design inspiration: integrated spatial
nested solution generators
• thematic nested measures
• morphologic object component
nested measures
• (Illustrative morphologic object
model based measures packages)
(EE-3) Diffuse concepts
Design inspiration: single / multiple
oriented solution generators
• specification sheets of measures
• schemata of cohesive
of cohesive measures Science – literature -
measures for guiding principles
• cross guiding principle schemata
knowledge
Experience –- tangible
day – to – day reality
(IE-1) Best real-life practice backed
(IE-2) Cross structure referencing
(IE-3) Suitable representation techniques
(IE-4) Database of knowledge
(IE-5) Building of episodic knowledge
(IE-6) Transcending the specific
(IE-7) No value judgement
(IE-8) Non exhaustive display
(IE-9) Combinability’s
(IE-10) Satisfying and optimizing
theory – practice / problem – solution gradation
< GAB NARROWING >
(SE) Pre operational tool

11. explorative – descriptive - analytic – synthetical verification - optimization
fragmented: thematic - component level integral: project level
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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – methodology – part B
LITERATURE CASESTUDY RESEARCH RESEARCH BY DESIGN
EE-1
EE-2
EE-3
EE-4
SE
Body of theory
• Group housing
• Sustainable
development
• Sustainable
building
Synoptic table
• Sustainability
measures
• Group housing
features
Development
• Plausible
concepts
EE-2
EE-3
EE-4
case
case
evaluative leap
Implementation
Design
Evaluation
Development
Analysis
outside the core
of the research
EE-1

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – methodology – part B – illustrative preliminary results
EE-2 Ideological concepts
qualitative guiding principles
EE-4 Compact concepts
spatial nested measures
EE-3 Diffuse concepts
measure > cohesive measures
Ghost layer, mesh, referencing
document
Schemata, combining abilities
IDI - Opportunities for
personalisation
SIA - Privacy regulation
SCO- Public/collective/private
gradation
ATT- Possibilities for
recreation
…
ENE - Bioclimatic design
WAT - Handling of rainwater
MAT - Protection of materials
by design
ECO - Green & blue network
…

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Ambition – limitations & outlook
Limitations
• Selected literature
• Focus on tangible sustainable pillars (P/P) with physical-spatial impacts on the project
• Casestudyresearch on selected projects
o amount (+/- 50)
o demonstration and best practice projects (self-claimed, objective?)
• Approach of an architect-researcher
Outlook
• Verification generic methodological framework (part A) by working field of architect-designers
(2014)
• Research by design for verification and optimization (students ‘14 – ’15)
• Verification framework by working field of architect-designers
• Development of the framework into a practical tool

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Publications – fundamental research, inputs part A
THE ANATOMY OF INVESTING IN ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS,
Energy and Buildings, 2011
EVALUATING IRREVOCABLE EE HOUSING INVESTMENTS UNDER
UNCERTAINTY: A CASE STUDY, PassiveHouse Symposium 2011, Belgium
ARCHITECTURAL AND FINANCIAL EVALUATION OF UPGRADING THE
ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF RECENT MASSIVE BRICK HOUSES,
PassiveHouse Symposium 2011, Belgium
ECOLOGICAL BUILDING DESIGN MEASURES AS A POWERFUL LEVERAGE FOR
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND VICE VERSA: A ‘REAL-LIFE‘ PERSPECTIVE FROM
GROUPED HOUSING PROJECTS, PLEA 2012, Peru
AVOIDING IRREVOCABLE INVESTMENTS IN BUILDINGS‘ ENERGY
PERFORMANCE LEVELS, ISUP conference 2012, Belgium / Energy Forum 2012, Italy
FEASIBILITY OF UPGRADING THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF RECENT
MASSIVE BRICK HOUSES, Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2014

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SGHP – Setting Up a Methodological and Substantive Framework for Early Design Support
Publications – outputs
GROUP HOUSING PROJECTS AS A POWERFUL LEVERAGE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT, PassiveHouse Symposium 2009, Belgium
ECOLOGICAL BUILDING DESIGN MEASURES AS A POWERFUL LEVERAGE FOR
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND VICE VERSA: A ‘REAL-LIFE‘ PERSPECTIVE FROM
GROUPED HOUSING PROJECTS, PLEA 2012, Peru
> Output part B
> Output part B
REVIEWING THE FIRST EUROPEAN RESIDENTIAL PROJECT RECEIVING THE
‘OUTSTANDING‘ BREEAM CERTIFICATE, PLEA 2013, Germany > Output part B
ASSESSMENT AND RATING TOOLS: A GUARANTEE FOR SUSTAINABLE
SUCCESSES? Architecture and Sustainability Book Project, 2014 > Output part B
SUSTAINABLE GROUP HOUSING PROJECTS: INTRODUCTION, INSIGHTS AND
VERIFICATION WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SURINAM, Anton De Kom University of
Surinam, 2014, Surinam
> Output part B
SUSTAINABILITY TOOLS FOR ARCHITECT-DESIGNERS: CRITERIA, ISSUES AND
OUTLOOK, Architectural Design Conference, 2014, Turkey > Output part A
TRANSITIONAL SPACES: RECONCILING CONFLICTS IN DENSE SUSTAINABLE
HOUSING PROJECTS, The European Conference on Sustainability, Energy & the
Environment 3 – 6 July 2014, Brighton, United Kingdom
> Output part B

16. BART JANSSENS, M.ARCH. – BREEAM AP
architect - doctoral researcher – lecturer
Faculty of Design Sciences - Architecture