An Eco-approach to Modularity in Urban Living

An Eco-approach to Modularity in Urban Living

Ágnes Borsos Ágnes Borsos Balázs Kokas Bálint Bachmann

University of Pécs, Hungary, EU.

Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, USA.

Page: 
83-90
|
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.2495/DNE-V14-N2-83-90
Received: 
N/A
|
Revised: 
N/A
|
Accepted: 
N/A
|
Available online: 
N/A
| Citation

OPEN ACCESS

Abstract: 

Today, half of the world’s population lives in cities, which could reach 75% by 2050. Expanding urban areas will increasingly impact the already strained natural habitats, thus, economically and ecologically advantageous housing solutions are needed. This paper presents the research on a sustainable urban residential building concept that addresses this need. To ensure affordability, prefabrication and mass production were adopted, resulting in a unique, non-monotonous structural concept that is adaptable to different living unit sizes and layouts. A modular system was developed consisting of a basic living unit, which defines interior spaces, furniture, and structures. The modules can be placed next to each other to satisfy the needs of people for various living spaces. by carefully choosing a module size, enough combinations can be created, and individual solutions can be prefabricated. This system can also be produced in a large-scale that too in an eco-friendly way by utilizing novel building materials. Cross-laminated timber and timber-concrete composites were found to be the ideal choices for the walls and the slabs, respectively, as both are easily prefabricated, thereby decreasing the ecological footprint of the project. In addition, the building’s vertical size is efficiently maximized to seven living levels, while still keeping it human-scale in an urban setting. This new modularity, as described, provides a sustainable answer to the challenge of expanding urban living.

Keywords: 

Eco-friendly building, Modularity, Prefabrication, Urban living.

  References

[1] AHH Office Website, Diagoon experimental housing, Delft, from: https://ahh.nl/index. php/en/projects2/14-woningbouw/79-diagoon-experimental-housing, 2018.

[2] Smith, R.E. & Timberlake, J., Prefab Architecture: A Guide to Modular Design and Construction. New Jersey, USA: Wiley, 2011.

[3] Till, J. & Schneider, T., Flexible housing: The means to the end. Architectural Research Quarterly, 9(3–4), 287, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1359135505000345

[4] Fraunhofer IRB Website, H. Schmidt - modular coordination, repetition and architecture, from http://irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB15237.pdf

[5] Ambró, P., Balázsi, I., Békés, M. & Csöndes, A., A panelos lakóépületek felújítása. Budapest, Műszaki Könyvkiadó, 1993.

[6] Build Up Website, Treet - A wooden high-rise building with excellent energy performance, 2018 from http://buildup.eu/en/practices/cases/treet-wooden-high-risebuilding-excellent-energy-performance

[7] Professner, H. & Mathis, C., LifeCycle tower-high-rise buildings in timber. ASCE Structures Congress, 2012, 1980–1990. Chicago, USA. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412367.174

[8] Offsite Hub Website, Banyan wharf - by B&K structures, from https://offsitehub.co.uk/ projects/banyan-wharf-by-xlam-alliance, 2018.

[9] Balogh, J., Laminated wood-concrete structural members. Pollack Periodica, An International Journal for Engineering and Information Sciences, 8(3), 79–86, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1556/pollack.8.2013.3.8

[10] Szucs, I., Balogh, J. & Holtzman, R., Acoustic emission investigation of laminated timberconcrete test beams. International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements, 5(6), 884–93. 2017. https://doi.org/10.2495/cmem-v5-n6-884-893

[11] Kistelegdi, I., Balogh, J., Bachmann, B. & Baranyai, B., Potential Analysis of the Energy And Climate Performance of Wood-Concrete Hybrid Building Structures, Proceedings of the World Conference in Timber Engineering, WCTE-2014, Quebec City, CA, 2014.

[12] Begum, R.A., Satari, S.K. & Pereira, J.J., Waste generation and recycling: comparison of conventional and industrialized building systems. American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 6(4), 383–88, 2010. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajessp.2010.383.388

[13] Tam, V.W., Tam, C.M., Zeng, S.X. & Ng, W.C., Towards adoption of prefabrication in construction. Journal of Building and Environment, 42(10), 3642–54, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.10.003

[14] Li, Z., Shen, G.Q. & Alshawi, M., Measuring the impact of prefabrication on construction waste reduction: An empirical study in China. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 91, 27–39, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.07.013

[15] Boafo, F.E., Kim. J.H. & Kim, J.T., Performance of modular prefabricated architecture: case study-based review and future pathways. Sustainability, 8(6), 558, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060558 90

[16] Mao, C., Xie, F., Hou, L., Wu, P., Wang, J. & Wang, X., Cost analysis for sustainable off-site construction based on a multiple case study in china. Habitat International, 57, 215–22, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.08.002

[17] Hausladen, G., De Saldanha, M., Liedl, P. & Sager, C., Climate Design. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser, 2005.