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ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IMPLICATIONS OF DOWNTOWN HIGH-RISE VS. SUBURBAN LOW-RISE LIVING: A CHICAGO CASE STUDY
Title
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IMPLICATIONS OF DOWNTOWN HIGH-RISE VS. SUBURBAN LOW-RISE LIVING: A CHICAGO CASE STUDY
Creator
Du, Peng
Date
2015, 2015-12
Description
This research is focused on quantitatively investigating and comparing the environmental and social sustainability of people’s lifestyles in...
Show moreThis research is focused on quantitatively investigating and comparing the environmental and social sustainability of people’s lifestyles in terms of embodied energy, operational energy use, and overall satisfaction with their quality of life in both downtown high-rise and suburban low-rise living using Chicago, IL and a surrounding suburban area of Oak Park, IL as a case study. Specifically, in both cases, the study seeks to evaluate factors such as the embodied energy of the materials that comprise buildings in each location; the predicted and actual monthly energy consumption of the homes; travel via all modes of transport including automobile, public transport, walking, and biking; and the embodied and operational energy of the infrastructure to support each mode of transportation. In addition, this research also engages with the individual building occupants, including single individuals, couples, and families, in a large subset of downtown and suburban Chicago households to directly evaluate perceptions of their life satisfaction and sense of community, which offers a unique direct comparison between dense high-rise and suburban low-rise living. The findings of the study show that downtown high-rise living in Chicago accounts for approximately 58% more life-cycle energy per person per year than Oak Park low-rise living, on average, contrary to some common beliefs (best estimates were ~260 and ~165GJ/person/year, respectively). Building operational energy was estimated to be the single largest contributor of the total life-cycle energy in both the downtown high-rise and suburban low-rise cases, followed by vehicle OE. The findings of the study also show that downtown high-rise residents were associated with higher life satisfaction than suburban low-rise residents when controlling for demographic differences in the research sample. Residence type was not found to be associated with sense of community when controlling for demographic differences, and the factor that was found to be significantly associated with sense of community was household size in the research sample. Also, accessibility and safety were found as the strongest predictors of overall residential environment for individuals.
Ph.D. in Architecture, December 2015
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BEYOND THE GREEN IDEAL - RESHAPING CHICAGO SOUTH LOOP
Title
BEYOND THE GREEN IDEAL - RESHAPING CHICAGO SOUTH LOOP
Creator
Hoeflich Brune, Vivian Eliese
Date
2015, 2015-12
Description
Analyzing the growing metropolis, this research questions the relation between the built and open environment on its process of densification....
Show moreAnalyzing the growing metropolis, this research questions the relation between the built and open environment on its process of densification. Urban areas depend upon landscape and broader natural areas to be sustained. The current system, in which landscape is the center of extraction and production and cities centers of consumption, has an unhealthy one-direction flow of energy and materials. By linking the urban landscape, buildings, and parks, a new ecological infrastructure breaks this traditional system and can become the own natural living system of the urban environment. By preserving existing open spaces in the city and introducing new ones, this thesis explores how to increase urban density and, at the same time, create new social-ecological associations. Movement from outside city to its center resulted in urban population increase and recently is transforming the near South region of Chicago. Therefore, this study explores the introduction of a set of open spaces for collective experiences in two scales. First, is investigated the impact of inserting a new landscape infrastructure on the existing urban fabric of Chicago South Loop neighborhood. Through the study of the current site, the identification of underutilized or public lots set a framework for intervention, adding available spots into a network of open spaces that support diverse programs for the area. Rethinking the traditional urban block consists the second studied topic, exploring the relation of built and open spaces on a smaller scale. Not only the continuity to the open space infrastructure is essential for the project but also the creation of a new urban lifestyle inside one city block and its nearby areas. Being on a strategic site connected to the public transportation system and Museum Campus, the proposal works as a condensed program center. Both local neighborhood and a broader public of visitors and tourists are attended, combining a multiplicity of programs, users, built and open space typologies.
M.S. in Architecture, December 2015
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Ultraviolet photo-chemical degradation of polyethylene terephthalate for use as an alternative recycling method
Title
Ultraviolet photo-chemical degradation of polyethylene terephthalate for use as an alternative recycling method
Creator
Smith, Andrew Thomas
Date
2020
Description
Consumer plastics are a deeply integrated part of the modern world. Their inherent properties which make them cheap, durable, moldable, and...
Show moreConsumer plastics are a deeply integrated part of the modern world. Their inherent properties which make them cheap, durable, moldable, and versatile have caused plastics to be used in many consumer products available for market. However, these same properties have made them a detriment to local and global environments. plastic has begun accumulating in the world’s waterways and oceans, leading to severe ecological consequences. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most pervasive consumer plastic, and a large contributor to the amount of waste. Because of its prevalence in the market, PET has been the focus of research into its recycling and reuse. However, all methods face issues of profitability due to operation and equipment costs, preventing widespread recycling of plastic waste. This leaves the door open to explore other processes of plastic recycling.In this study, ultraviolet photo-chemical degradation of PET was explored as an alternate route to plastic recycling. Ultraviolet irradiation has long been known to depolymerize PET plastic products, but has not been studied in order to enhance these effects. This method has the potential to reduce operation and equipment costs associated with traditional chemical recycling methods by carrying out depolymerization in the solid state. By harnessing this process, PET could be used to degrade material down to a state usable in in other, higher value products. An irradiation chamber was built as a preliminary prototype. This chamber used light of a specific ultraviolet wavelength determined from the absorbance spectrum of PET samples. This allowed the irradiation to be safer, while still maintaining absorption.Ultraviolet degradation of PET was first examined using infrared, contact angle, and fluorescence analysis, and birefringence observation to analyze the chemical and surface effects of irradiation. The results were used to understand the complex mechanisms behind the photo-chemical degradation process. Results were then discussed alongside similar experiments performed in the literature for a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanism.The molecular weight of exposed bottle samples was evaluated using both viscosity and dynamic light scattering methods. This information is key, as it is the main metric that determines the success of the process. In addition, the ultraviolet absorbance of the sample was analyzed along with the principles of Beer’s law. This yielded quantitative analysis on the effect of thickness of the sample, the degradation rate, and the quantum yield of the process.Finally, building upon the information gathered in the study, two key process modifications are made. Thinner samples are first produced, and receive irradiation on both surfaces. The degradation of the modified process was compared to that of previous results on the basis of molecular weight reduction, reaction rate and quantum yield. Using these results, conclusions were drawn about using ultraviolet photo-chemical degradation as a recycling process.
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ENERGY INNOVATIONS IN BUILDINGS AND URBAN FABRICS
Title
ENERGY INNOVATIONS IN BUILDINGS AND URBAN FABRICS
Creator
Hirematt, Chandrasekharaiah Ashish
Date
2021
Description
In his keynote speech on the "Infrastructures of Integration" at the 5th International LafargeHolcim Forum for Sustainable Construction, Ricky...
Show moreIn his keynote speech on the "Infrastructures of Integration" at the 5th International LafargeHolcim Forum for Sustainable Construction, Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), said “…you can actually invest in better infrastructure to do things better.” However, the population grows at the rate of almost one billion per decade. With about four fifths of it happening in urban areas, the challenge for sustainability is huge and the key for the future.Urban fabrics are expanding both vertically as well as horizontally to accommodate the population growth. With the scale of expansion happening, challenges such deforestation, resource depletion, habitat destruction, energy production and consumption are some of the major challenges that need to be focused on ecologically. It is also important to note that ecological solutions are very highly dependent on social and economic progress of the society. Energy efficient design is one which does zero or minimal damage to the environment while meeting the energy needs of the society. This thesis will discuss the concept of developing energy efficient designs as well as net zero designs in urban settings. With the help of three projects, this thesis aims to discover the challenges along with the obvious advantages of such designs. The first experiment is to look at the reduction of energy consumption in the city of Chicago with multiple neighborhoods set up in an iron grid. It was observed that taller buildings are much more energy efficient due to the reduction of surface area exposed to the external environment. This observation was used to develop a climate specific energy efficient urban fabric design in the city of Shenzhen. The design of the off-shore tower involves tackling larger issues such as the pandemic while having energy production as a bi-product of the same. Thus, the thesis argues that investment in infrastructure to build a better infrastructure should be done to solve social and economic challenges which will, in turn make it easier to produce energy efficient designs.
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Sustainable Solutions in Complex Spaces of Innovation
Title
Sustainable Solutions in Complex Spaces of Innovation
Creator
Nogueira, André Martins
Date
2019
Description
Even though the interconnectivity between human activities and the integrity of ecological systems has long been recognized, the development...
Show moreEven though the interconnectivity between human activities and the integrity of ecological systems has long been recognized, the development of design practices that account for such interconnectivity can be considered relatively new. As such, contemporary institutions and their arrangements were not designed accordingly to their potential to promote sustainable and equitable flows of different types of resources; they lack the capability and structure to operate in the speed and scale in which humans are dynamically interacting with themselves, and with the natural environment. As the world has passed the 7.5 billion mark, such a condition is generating unintended socio-ecological-technical consequences being empowered by the fast-changing technology industry. New lenses and models for understanding the connectivity of social, ecological and technical systems underlying contemporary institutional arrangements are required to advance expertise in redirecting the flow of different types of resources for the sustainability of these systems. However, how humans perceive systems is largely framed by who is included in the discussion and the experiences and interests that they bring to bear. Even though there will always be a discrepancy between what is perceived, and the actual system at play, there are greater opportunities to expand such perception by drawing more deeply on systems thinking and the notion of resources. This dissertation advances design knowledge in the pursuit of bridging the gap between theoretical discourses and the pragmatism necessary to intervene socio-ecological-technical dynamics by exploring how designers might embed principles of sustainability into choice-making processes for innovation, and it proposes a new approach through which designers can advance their practices in enabling more sustainable flows of resources.
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Habitat 2022+
Title
Habitat 2022+
Creator
Cho, San Lae Lae
Date
2021
Description
Globalization and urbanization have led a vast group of population to shift from rural and suburban areas to urban centers. According to the...
Show moreGlobalization and urbanization have led a vast group of population to shift from rural and suburban areas to urban centers. According to the United Nation’s (UN) projection, around 2.5 billion more people will live in the cities by 2050. For cities to accommodate such a population, cities can grow horizontally or vertically. If cities were to grow horizontally, this population would need to commute majorly by car which has a very high carbon footprint. By building vertically, the population’s commute becomes more efficient if the vertical structure is built as such is a city within a city. Although having existed for 500 years, tall buildings and skyscrapers have been topics of controversy for their excessive use of resources, ignoring environmental and contextual problems. In order to mitigate this sustainability issue, mass timber as a construction material has been recently introduced into the American market. Mass timber is the building material for a carbon neutral future according to Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats (CTBUH). Another means is to grow plants around the buildings meaning they are regrowing greenery back into nature with the hopes to take a step towards mitigating climate change. In addition, with the argument of tall buildings lacking neighborhood-like qualities that for instance, a Chicago block of housing may give, more and more tall buildings around the world have tried to implement the lush spaces onto the building perimeters. These spaces with plants and trees mimicking nature can exist as both indoor and outdoor spaces. While neighborhoods have parks, these spaces or sky gardens will substitute as modified parks for skyscrapers.With psychological benefits tied to spaces linked to nature in high-rises, such spaces should be integrated in all high rise, residential buildings. Today, in addition to Covid pandemic, many people practice working from home. Meanwhile, it is human nature since birth to want to be surrounded by plants and nature, either spending time under a tree or lying on the grass. To mitigate spending excessive amounts of hours indoors, spaces linked to nature have become crucial in providing a sense of peace and reconnecting back to nature. However, currently architecture that has nature integrated, results in spaces only for the wealthy. Furthermore, architecture in the US is so commercially driven with developers aiming for the most cost effective, most efficient and largest floor areas. For nature to be more available to the living spaces of middle class and ideally working class, the city planners and city development authorities need to get involved. For instance, the city could aid by allocating some of the tax collected to build more green architecture. With the tax fund assistance from the city, high quality living of green architecture will become available and much more affordable.Another option to making living more affordable is by implementing co-living. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, co-living remains relatively high in demand in Chicago according to Chicago Tribune. For the younger generations such as the Millennials and younger, it is predicted that due to the nature of student loan debts, these generations are less likely to be financially well off after graduation. Hence, they are less likely to establish a family as soon as the previous generations, as most people tend to start a family when they feel financially stable.Hence, in this design thesis, a certain prototype will be tested out regarding some of these issues. This is just one option to the issues above and there are many options and other nuances still available to explore.
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