Presentations Urban Green Infrastructure

Evaluating the potential benefits of moss-based vertical greening systems on the Indoor Thermal Autonomy and Energy demand of residential buildings located in various Canadian cities of differing climate was the intent of this study. Moss is considered as a useful nature-based solution given its low maintenance requirements, high resilience, and potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional green facades and “living walls”. Simulations were conducted using typical residential archetypes derived from databases available from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). These archetypes represent buildings constructed in 1980 and 2020 and are modeled for three Canadian cities: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Building geometries were developed in Rhino3D-Grasshopper®, and the analysis incorporated both historical and future projected weather data to assess the impacts of the integration of moss on building energy consumption and thermal comfort under current and future climate scenarios. The results indicate that moss provides insulation benefits, reducing heating energy consumption; however, it also retains heat in summer, slightly increasing cooling demand. Energy savings are more noticeable in older buildings and colder climates, such as Toronto and Montreal, but become negligible in newer buildings and milder climates like Vancouver, especially under future weather conditions. Additionally, moss-based systems have a minimal effect on indoor overheating. Therefore, their effectiveness depends on climate-specific applications, and they may be best utilized alongside other passive design strategies.

Green infrastructures (GI) are widely used to mitigate the pollution in urban canyons. However, the impact of GI on air quality in street canyons remains ambiguous in the scientific literature, as it can produce both positive and negative effects. In addition, numerical and experimental studies commonly adopt idealized point and line sources for the pollution studies. Previous studies demonstrated that idealized sources may not be adequate to reproduce the dispersion of pollutants emitted from realistic car sources (RCS). The combined effect of RCS and GI on pollutant concentration in a street canyon is still uncovered. This is the goal of the present study, for which Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) are first carried out on a street canyon with idealized line sources and GI, and compared to wind-tunnel data in terms of mean velocity and pollutant concentration. Next, SAS are performed on a full-scale street canyon with RCS and different GI configurations.

This paper presents a case-study to investigate the potential of urban rooftops in Brussels to enhance the city’s resilience to climate change, with a focus on improving summer comfort and reducing energy demand for space conditioning. Advanced building physics simulations in EnergyPlus were used to evaluate the thermal performance of traditional roofs, cool roofs, and extensive green roofs under both current and future climate scenarios (2024, 2050, 2080). The study specifically assessed the impact of these roofing systems on indoor overheating and cooling loads, aiming to identify strategies for mitigating the urban heat island effect and reducing reliance on mechanical cooling. Comparative simulations were conducted for the Belgian and Mediterranean climates to gain insights into the effectiveness of these rooftop solutions in diverse environmental contexts. The findings provide a comprehensive evaluation of cool and green roofs, highlighting their potential to enhance urban resilience through better thermal regulation and energy efficiency. Ultimately, this research contributes to the development of evidence-based guidelines for municipalities, offering practical recommendations for sustainable rooftop designs and retrofits.

The increasing need for sustainable construction methods has highlighted the limitations of using the LEED green rating system in Oman, which often has limitations in addressing the country’s unique economic, environmental, and social requirements. Researchers previously introduced an Omani-developed sustainability rating system (ODRS); however, it lacks application in real projects and comparison with internationally known green rating systems like LEED. Figure 1. illustrates the steps used to develop ODRS, which starts with identifying rating components and ends with system evaluation; however, the challenge of the model development stems from the difficulty of applying them in real projects. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to apply ODRS and analyse the extent to which sustainability practices are applied across real projects in Oman. The selection of projects included different project types, including governmental, semi-governmental, and private, and scales ranging from high to low/medium budgets. The study involved multiple stakeholders within Oman's construction sector, including consultants, developers, and governmental bodies. Initially targeting 35 projects for assessment, the response yielded engagement from 8 entities, reflecting 25 projects. A mixed-method approach was used. Quantitative data analysis was applied to assess sustainability indicators, while interviews provided insights into challenges like waste management, resource efficiency, regulatory barriers, and economic priorities. Both LEED and ODRD rating systems were used in the evaluation of projects, and the study showed that governmental and semi-governmental projects adopted higher sustainability practices than other firms. For instance, the OAAM project of Royal Court Affairs obtained a total sustainability score of 88%, while the PDO’s Ras Al Hamra housing project achieved 81%. The Omani Botanical Garden and OMRAN Omantel projects received a score of 79%. Conversely, the projects below 1 million OMR, related to private entities, exhibited the lowest sustainability rates. The study also found that sustainability assessments using the LEED system differed from ODRS results by 10-15%, highlighting the need for a localized system that better reflects Omani sustainability criteria.

This study examines the impact of potted tree configurations on PM₂.₅ concentrations from air traffic emissions near Schiphol Airport. Air quality sensors collected data between 2022 and 2024 at a field lab 5 km from the Kaagbaan runway. ENVI-met simulations were first validated and calibrated using ground-truth measurements under stable meteorological conditions, followed by simulations of PM₂.₅ concentrations across six tree configurations in the field lab. The 'V7_End_Dense' configuration achieved the greatest PM₂.₅ reduction, while 'V2_Dispersed' and 'V3_Double_Row' showed moderate effects. In contrast, 'V4_Exposed,' 'V5_Exposed_Dense,' and 'V6_Gate_Dense' unexpectedly hindered reduction, highlighting the complex interactions between wind corridors, tree layouts, and built environments. The findings emphasise the need for long-term ENVI-met validation against real measurements, as seasonal variations were not captured in short-term analyses. Despite limitations, the study provides practical guidance for urban designers, highlighting the nuanced role of green infrastructure in mitigating aircraft-induced air pollution and emphasising the complexity of wind and pollution dynamics in urban environments.

Urbanization leads to the loss of green spaces, which results in ecosystem degradation and diminishes the quality of life for residents. Consequently, urban areas are facing significant challenges related to human well-being and ecosystem health. Incorporating ecological principles into the design process at various scales (from buildings to the urban scale) can greatly improve ecological sustainability, reducing environmental degradation, and enhancing comfort and livability conditions for humans. The ECOLOPES project developed an innovative design approach, along with related methods and tools, to incorporate ecological processes and objectives into the design of building envelopes. This contribution presents the interdisciplinary design process and some of the computational components developed, outlining the implications and future perspectives.