The document discusses innovative approaches to sustainable architecture, emphasizing 'creative empathy' and the role of buildings in shaping their environments. It highlights specific examples of low tech/high performance buildings, such as a green school in Gaza and a new headquarters for an environmental agency in Italy, demonstrating significant reductions in CO2 emissions and resource usage. The text illustrates how architecture can foster social change and improve quality of life through thoughtful design and the integration of traditional and modern technologies.

1. Beyond Zero
Carbon Housing
exploring solutions to sustainability issues
beyond the zero carbon agenda
2 4 th O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2 a t T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f N o t t i n g h a m
Department of Architecture and Built Environment

2. ©
Copyright Notice
A l l t h e m a te r i a l i n t h e s e s l i d e s
m ay n o t b e u s e d o r re p ro d u c e d w i t h o u t t h e
ex p re s s p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o rs

3. creative empathy
creativity and social
rensponsibility in architecture

4. responsibility

8. From 2006 onwards MCA
buildings and office
activity have saved about
8225 ton CO2-eq
This data is referred only to the actual constructed buildings analyzed in this survey

9. …but architecture goes
beyond the technical
performance of
buildings

10. Each building has the potential to redesign, not
only the internal spaces, but also the surrounding
natural, cultural and socio-economic systems.
Building can recreate the intimate relationship (the
“creative empathy”) linking places, their
inhabitants and the right use of technologies, thus
enabling the achievement of enriching and enabling
environments for life and work.

11. creative empathy
the distinctive features
Low tech / high performance buildings
empathy with the environment
Beauty and vernacular innovation
empathy with culture and history
Buildings as catalysts for social change
empathy with society

12. Low tech / high performance buildings
New Headquarter for ARPA
Agency for the protection of the environment
Ferrara Italy
(under costruction)

18. environmental strategies
winter
solar chimney
greenhouse effect
daylight
wood structure
water source heat pump
well insulated envelope

19. environmental strategies
summer
solar chimney shading
natural ventilation
daylight
wood structure
water source heat pump
green courtyard

20. 11,9kgCO2/m² year
-43%
Instead of:
21 kgCO2/m² year

22. Construction site, September 2012

23. beauty and vernacular
innovation
Green School for Gaza
0 CO2, -60% water demand, 0 oil

25. 19 classrooms 1330 pupils

26. innovative vernacular architecture
ancient techniques + new technologies
One of the traditional houses in Palestine was made from
stone or excavated in rock, but the majority of them were of
sun-dried brick covered with tree branches.

27. excavations for foundations, pillars
water tanks and heat storages the school structure

28. Overhanging roof: steel beams
on earth bricks wall
Vaulted slabs:
compressed earth block floor
made of jack arches
Concrete slab
as foundation
Pillars: concrete-earth
blocks precasted on site

29. comfort comes from the design

30. ventilated roof
daylight natural
ventilation
mashrabiya
inner
thermal garden
mass
shading panels

31. …and the use of simple techniques

32. winter
272 sqm of
photovoltaic cells
6 rainwater
columns
100 sqm of thermal
solar panels
2 water treatment
lands
air pipes located
beneath the slab

33. summer
potted trees to
shade the roof
20 solar chimneys
to improve air
extraction overhanging
roof
thermal
mass
geothermal
ventilation

34. thermal comfort
- 4°C
Outside T.
34° C
Inside T.
30° C
In summer the project enables to
reduce the operative temperature
up to 4 degrees for the ground
floor classrooms each one
occupied by 35 children.
During the day the natural
ventilation provides an increased
comfort level for building
occupants and during night it cools
the thermal mass in order to
prevent over-heating of the
structure.

35. visual comfort
The design of all transparent surfaces
was based on daylighting simulations
to study the dimension and position
of:
1)windows
2)transparent panels
3)skylights
in order to reach a balance between
daylighting, shading effects in
summer, solar gains in winter.

36. a better learning space
-60% water demand
-4°C in summer
0 oil and 0 CO2
+ energy surplus

37. Buildings as catalysts for
social change/1
For a new social housing plan
( under costruction)

38. housing
evolution
new trends of living
according to family
composition, age and
expectations

44. environmental strategies
summer
0 CO2 emission
optimum orientation
solar shading
thermal mass
wind and solar energy
geothermal heat pump
biomass heater
rainwater harvesting
vegetable gardens

45. Buildings as catalysts for
social change/2
Aler
a new student housing
+
retrofit

51. Existing cladding system
Concrete reinforced with
asbestos fibers

52. Construction site, april 2012
Work in progress