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Images for Buildings; more images...

Images, eqnz.chch.2010

view to some of the damage in the distance and the building that might be demolished - brick seven storey building - i've always liked this one : ( .

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

“One of the most basic and fundamental questions in urban master planning and building regulations is ‘how to secure common access to sun, light and fresh air?” (Stromann-Andersen & Sattrup, 2011).  Daylighting and natural ventilation can have significant benefits in office buildings. Both of these ‘passive’ strategies have been found to reduce artificial lighting and air-conditioning energy consumption by as much as 80% (Ministry for the Environment, 2008); (Brager, et al., 2007). Access to daylight and fresh air can also be credited with improved occupant comfort and health, which can lead to a reduction of employee absenteeism and an increase of productivity (Sustainability Victoria, 2008).  In the rebuild of Christchurch central city, following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, Cantabrians have expressed a desire for a low-rise, sustainable city, with open spaces and high performance buildings (Christchurch City Council, 2011). With over 80% of the central city being demolished, a unique opportunity to readdress urban form and create a city that provides all buildings with access to daylight and fresh air exists.  But a major barrier to wide-spread adoption of passive buildings in New Zealand is their dependence on void space to deliver daylight and fresh air – void space which could otherwise be valuable built floor space. Currently, urban planning regulations in Christchurch prioritize density, allowing and even encouraging low performance compact buildings.  Considering this issue of density, this thesis aimed to determine which urban form and building design changes would have the greatest effect on building performance in Central City Christchurch.  The research proposed and parametrically tested modifications of the current compact urban form model, as well as passive building design elements. Proposed changes were assessed in three areas: energy consumption, indoor comfort and density. Three computer programs were used: EnergyPlus was the primary tool, simulating energy consumption and thermal comfort. Radiance/Daysim was used to provide robust daylighting calculations and analysis. UrbaWind enabled detailed consideration of the urban wind environment for reliable natural ventilation predictions.  Results found that, through a porous urban form and utilization of daylight and fresh air via simple windows, energy consumption could be reduced as much as 50% in buildings. With automatic modulation of windows and lighting, thermal and visual comfort could be maintained naturally for the majority of the occupied year. Separation of buildings by as little as 2m enabled significant energy improvements while having only minimal impact on individual property and city densities.  Findings indicated that with minor alterations to current urban planning laws, all buildings could have common access to daylight and fresh air, enabling them to operate naturally, increasing energy efficiency and resilience.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated image of a shop window. A vase is visible in the window, and the sillhouette of a mannequin in the background. The photographer comments, "The title came from the pot and the E on the window. This is a building that has been off limits since the Christchurch earthquake. The E was sprayed on the window by rescue teams after searching the building and finding it was empty. This is a very old wooden building that looks OK from the front, but terrible from the side as the previously adjoined building has been demolished.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Damage to TJ's Kazbah in New Brighton. The tower and east end of the building have collapsed onto two parked cars. The photographer comments, "The occupants of the business and rooms all managed to escape alive. A digger was used to make the building safe and then used to sift through the rubble for any surviving belongings. It was a very emotional time for the ex-occupants. The damaged cars were removed before the digger demolished the building".