Space planning

The Ministry for the Environment (2008), the Department of Education, Northern Ireland (DENI) and corp creator (1998) all claimed that subdividing the building interior accurately separates heating and cooling zones. In terms of the spaces which demand PL, they should be located near to external wall access. At the same time, if there is more than one side access to an outside wall, should be opti- mised space orintation. The Ministry for the Environment (2008), the Department of Education, Northern Ireland (DENI) and Corp Creator (1998) claimed that the spaces that have similar functions should be interoperable together to benefit from PL. To avoid the complexity between open plan and division of spaces, the space should be able to be open plan or subdivided, especially with regard to spaces with similar functions.

PH can also be achieved by various strategies. PH should be considered and installed in a suitable way without creating any conflict between the in- teroperability of other PDS.

There are different studies which refer to the ground of the space and its effect on PH. Kurtbas and Durmus (2008) classified the PH systems into four categories which are sun tempering, insulated gain, direct gain and indirect gain. The important part for the space planning is direct gain, which is the basic form of PH services. This system distinguishes when sunlight can be delivered to the space and heats the space as well as storing heat in the thermal mass. Central atriums, courtyards and lob- bies (elevators, and stairs can be locate in central areas) can be used for optimum PV. It is also confirmed that the layout of the room, heating equip-

ments, level of thermal insulation and air tightness (space) can influence the indoor environment. Fernan- dez-Gonzalez (2007) assessed five strategies for PH: wall trombe, sunspace, roof pond, direct gain and water wall, as illustrated in Figures 4:22 and 4:23. Water wall has been defined as a system which is mixed between indirect gain (traditional thermal storage wall) and direct

gain strategies. This is because the water tank works as thermal storage. There are different approach- Figure 4:21: Water wall (Kurtbas and Durmus,

2008)

Figure 4:20: Combined direct and indirect gain for water wall, indi- rect gain and direct (Kurtbas and Durmus, 2008)

es for the water wall which could also work as direct gain or indirect gain or be interoperable. In terms of direct gain, Rodale (1980) said that the water wall stores the heating then it is released into the space at night. Indirect gain has the same process at night. The interopera- bility system works with the water wall where the side facing the sunshine can be heated directly and the interior space can be heated indirectly. The advantage of this system is that it can heat the space

during the day and the night.

Some strategies could be impossible to use because they demand

adequate space and enough area in which to operate. Courtyards and lobbies are a good example; they can be used to group service areas such as elevators, stairs and so on, as King (2009) said. Central spaces are one of the suitable traditional methods which were

used to provide air ventilation into a space. The function of the courtyard can be divided into two functions which are mitigation of microclimate in the first place, then to make suitable internal thermal environments within the space and its surrounding rooms (Al-Azzawi, 1994). The majority of buildings in Old Havana in- cluded courtyards. This approach was adopted because the local climate was hot and humid. This has become the pattern of the

city in order to meet the weather circumstances and because it is the only strategy available to achieve PH and to mitigate the hot feeling of EUs. Figure 4:24 shows the model of the compact housing and the different scales of using courtyards. The majority of building design in Havana considered adding courtyards in different stages. For instance, the houses of the wealthiest families were designed with one or two courtyards because of the width of the plot. The changes of building design and courtyard size was to achieve thermal comfort as well as to provide PV (Tablada, 2009). Providing PV to each space should be a clear demand and it is necessary to enhance indoor air quality. However, some spaces do not have a clear access to the outside. The United States Department of Energy (2000) sug- gested several strategies such as vertical air shafts/stacks, and central exhaust paths. These strategies should be optimised based on the building’s location, and interoperable with the space. There are also some strategies which help to deliver PV and PL to the interior spaces. However, these strategies could be impossible to use because they demand adequate space and enough area to be able to use them. Courtyards and lobbies are a good example; they can be used to group service areas such as el- evators, stairs and so on as King (2009) said. Space planning covers the functionality aspects. Interoperability between several spaces should ensure that they work in harmony. Privacy should also be considered in space planning. BIM (2011) and the City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department (2006) claimed that designing open spaces helps to increase the possibility of air flow to

Figure 4:23: Long and narrow build- ing form (Ministry for the Environment (1998-2011)

Figure 4:22: Central spaces (Tablada, 2009)

move through the interior of the space. For this reason, rooms, corridors and stairwells should be or- ganised in a way that will be suitable for air movement through the building. Open plan can affect air flow function when it is going through the space. This has been referred to by Level (The authority of sustainable building) (2011). They claimed that use of open plan interiors promotes interior airflow. This is obvious, as there are no barriers to stop the air flow through the space.

The various shapes should be refined and tested before selection of the suitable form. The form should be interoperable with the site and the interior building to create a homogenous ecological sys- tem. This demands an accurate position and orientation and dealing with site topography. The form of the building could be vertical or horizontal extended.

The Ministry for the Environment (1998-2011) point out that using long or narrow sections can op- timise PL, as shown in Figure 4:25. It is obvious that the inner courtyard and courtyard open from both sides are the same as Sigg et al (2006) said. But the rest of the form can be used to maximise PL and PV in cases where they are well orientated. In terms of the ventilation, it should be minimised during the winter. Balasbaneh (2010) referred to using high mass to cool the space and that will be through using the building equivalent heat sink. Li and Tsang (2008) stated that the accuracy of the size of the space and the rate of the depth compared to the height and width of the space is an im- portant factor where the depth of the room from the window to the back wall should not be long. If it is too long half of the side of the room’s back wall will be in shadow. This will not occur if the space is one storey or open plan, as light can be supplied from another point.

The situation of space planning can be divided into three categories as follows: firstly, the depth of the room with PL being providedfrom one side. Secondly, the depth of the room with PL being pro- vided from more than one side - back wall, right or left. Finally, the depth with PL being provided from the roof plus one side or more. These are the limitations of the extent to which PL can be pro- vided; and are only applicable in cases where the window is suitably located in the right place. The interoperability between total floor area and the window has been determined by Ihm (2009). The area of floor and size of window can affect the process of PL. For example, if the size of window is small this will lead to the provision of a low amount of lighting. Conversely, in the case of a larger window, the issue would not relate just to its size but also to the material used to finish the wall or window, whichwould affect the lighting efficiency. Some studies consider the size of space in three dimen- sions: height, length and width; and determine that achievement of an optical level of PL depends on the type of building. Li (2006) confirmed that the PL can clearly affect by the function of a space as well as EU visual and thermal comfort, as it gives brightness and enhances the EU’s mood. Providing suitable PL can help to change the indoor environment to a more pleasing atmosphere. It can also help the EU to maintain visual contact with the outside world. This means the way of living can be changed positively. Mansy (2004) classified PL design systems for the building into eighteen catego- ries. Six of them were for space planning and should be made accurately by the designer as follows: (1) Ground reflection is an important part: when the PL enters the space glare or comfort lighting can

be expected. (2) Space orientation: this means how to consider the distribution of spaces through the development design stages; which means the designer should chose the most important space to face day lighting such a building store. This is supposed to be in each design. Any building going through the design process must be divided into two categories (A) Primary space with achievement of envi- ronmental conditions. (B) Secondary space with worse environmental conditions. (3) Form the ceiling if it is not at the same level such as a dome or slope. This is an essential point for architects to consid- er, especially those who think about the beauty of buildings, which is mostly a philosophical tendency. (4) Design of the space: if it is regular or irregular, rectangular or square; if it can help to allow the achievement of illuminating each part of the space or it will be an obstacle in some areas. (5) Reflec- tance of interior surfaces: this can be achieved through different approaches. For example, the reflectance can be by light and help to illuminate, on the one hand. On the other hand, the colour de- gree that has been used to paint the space should be selected carefully. In some cases the kinds of materials that have been used contribute to reflectance. (6) Height of the workplace above the floor: there is certain interoperability between the height of the work space and the PL efficiency. Consider- ing the optical percentage for three dimensions of the space can facilitate the process of PL.

Space planning covers the functionality aspects. Interoperability between several spaces means that they should work in harmony together. On the other hand, Crobu (2010) divided the residential building into the most used rooms, such as the living room, situated to the south to benefit from the PL; and the least used to the north, as presented in Figure 4:26. The Ministry for the Environment (2008), the Department of Education, Northern Ireland (DENI) and corp creator (1998) refer to the importance of accurate dimensions of space and how they can help to maximise PL or PV. The latter author

determined that ventilation provided on one side only can be effective at less than 7.5 metres. In con- trast, the open plan design can have an affect up to 15 metres. In terms of the PL, it can be achieved up to 6-7 metres from the window.The Min-

istry for the Environment (2008) point out that the most used space should be located on the south to benefit from the PL and the least used space should be located on the north side. This could optimise both their function and interoperability. Interior space does not limit the group functions or divi-

sion of the space or locations. There is another factor, which could affect the performance of PL and could deeply increase or enhance access, which is interior surface colours and finishes. For this rea- son, the designer should be accurate regarding the degree of the colours or the kind of finishes to be

Figure 4:25: Space planning of Design Faculty Newcastle University (Prasad and Fox, 1996).

Figure 4:24: Optimal distribu- tion of residential buildings

interoperable with PL strategies. For example, if the designer selected contrasting colours on the floor or wall, this could mitigate solar gain. The Ministry for the Environment (2008) stated that the suita- bility of the shape of the space can maximise the PV when the shape is narrow or long floor plan. This can be classified as an attenuate plan.

Sometimes the period when the space is in use can determine the division of the space. Usually from several resources the most used spaces will be on the south side whilst the least used spaces will be on the north. This cannot be generalised because it will be based on the function of the building; for example a residential building cannot be the same as an educational building. The Engineering Design Faculty of Newcastle University oriented the classes to the north to maximise the PH in the winter, as shown in Figure 4:27 (Prasad and Fox, 1996), because studying starts at the end of summer. The City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department (2006) and the United States Department of Energy (2000) point out that the thermal mass should be suitably located to store heat- ing whether in the wall or the ground for exposure to PL. Oriented and location of thermal mass helps to optimise PH and is part of interoperability and suitability.

There are several indicators that help to look into a deep plan to have lowest surface areas for heat loss. The dimensions of spaces play a big role in access of PL. Some spaces could have direct access to the outside but some of their areas could still be dark. Li and Tsang (2008) confirmed that the space plan can be part of increasing the efficiency of PL and the accuracy of its function through the depth of room, colours, and surface finishes. It has also been found that the area of the floor and the internal surface area can be PL strategies. This contrasts with the interoperability of both interior side and out- side factors which can affect the amount of PL. This means that some factors cannot be considered whilst others are ignored, which means it is a cycle or chain. Different studies have referred to group- ing the unimportant spaces in the back of the building and benefiting from them as buffer spaces to suit the building’s function. One of the most important elements which is interoperable to both façade and space is sunspaces. This can work as a buffer space to some extent where its role is to filter the sunshine and lessen it before it enters the space. Different countries

adopt this measure; one of them is in the UK, in Brighton, as illustrat- ed in Figure 4:28. Ip and Miller (2006) explained the case study in Brighton and how the sunspaces can provide both sunlight and ther- mal comfort. The spaces’ finishing can be part of the PH. This was found through the analysis of the case study of elderly people in Japan when it was noticed that in some houses the air conditioning is not used. There were many reasons for this; one of them is that the surface temperatures of the inner walls cause an increase in the temperature degree (Iino et al, 2007). Milne et al (2008) suggested organising the

floor plan so that winter sun penetrates to as many spaces as possible during the daytime. To specify spaces could lead to top optimisation of solar radiation. However, at some stages the location and Figure 4:26: Sunspace Brighton

view could conflict with this target. For this reason, the designer should analyse the site and think of multi-solutions.

The Ministry for the Environment (2008) claimed that a long and narrow floor plate is preferred in order to help to maximise ventilation. At the same time it referred to the need of a suitable building mass to store heating. The function of a building’s form is not only to identify the vertical and hori- zontal place dimensions but also to identify the floor area, whether or not it can access the PL, and if it can, by how much. Mostly, the first 4.5 m of the space can access the PL and the following 4.5 m can be day lit (Lechner, 2009). The form of the building can enable delivery of PL to the space or can be an obstruction. Lechner (2009) explained about building form when he made a comparison be- tween three building forms which have the same area. The first ex-

ample (as shown in Figure 4:29) was for the square shape which is solid and it has been divided into three levels in terms of PL. The rate of PL in the first level with a view to the outside space is 51%. The rate of incomplete PL in the second level, which is located be- tween the last level and the core level, is 33%. Then the core area which accounts for 16% was dark. The second example (as shown in Figure 4:29) was for the rectangular shape, which included two

levels. The proportion of PL for the first level was around 59%. However, the core level was dark and its rate is around 41%.

There are different studies which have referred to the ground of the space and its affect on thermal comfort. Garcia-Hansen et al (2002) mentioned the space and its interoperability with the three di- mensions of PDS. This is when the designer does not optimise space orientation or design complex space. All of these factors can have an essential impact on the role

of PH strategies and others. It can be seen from what has been introduced that the EU was not indicated clearly in their discus- sions, even though different studies have referred to the interoperability between EU and PH and consider EU as one of the pillars of thermal comfort.

Thermosiphon is introduced as part of PH, as presented in Figure 4:30 (Garcia-Hansen et al, 2002). This system deals with

Figure 4:28: Square Shape, Rectangle Shape and Courtyard Shape

Figure 4:27: Insulation Opaqe building (Garcia-Hansen et al,

2002)

Figure 4:29:Thermosiphon (Garcia- Hansen et al, 2002)

the space of the building. The process of this system is shown in Figure 4:30. Its process is that, in the