The definition of sustainability varies depending on the sector to which it is related. In the building sector, sustainability mainly covers “high performance building” requirements. Thus to achieve sustainable design, it is necessary to carry out a performance assessment during the design process.. In order to assess design decisions and, subsequently, building performance during the design process, building performance modelling/simulation tools have gradually become more important. In studies focusing on improving building performance simulation, assessment in the early phases of design has become the main focus in recent times. In addition to several key issues - defined within the paper as building performance, design process and building performance simulation, this paper aims to reveal the current status of energy analysis and simulation in high performance building design by evaluating the current design process. Through defining components and effective areas of analysis and simulation with the aim of achieving high performance buildings, a discussion about the possibility of developing design guidelines is introduced.

Sustainability is the sum of the precautions and conditions necessary to sustain life on earth. The major elements of sustainable design are choice of material and the building’s post-construction performance. The most important factor in terms of building management is energy usage. On building envelope sections which are created to provide energy savings, the value of evaluating water vapor movement is often overlooked. Levels of condensation should not exceed the limits specified in the regulations. This is because the condensed water must not harm the building material or dry it out during the evaporation period. However, the thermal resistance of the building material is affected during the process before the drying period. Deterioration of the insulation material over time means that many theoretical level calculations do not reflect the true situation. In addition, due to the fact that the standards of some of these calculations are done in steady state conditions, realistic results cannot be achieved. If special precautions are not taken with regards to this, condensation damage occurs on the building elements. In this study of the climate conditions in Edirne, calculations are made using the computer program WUFI®2D-3 for buildings’ most frequently condensed reinforced concrete wall elements. Insulated and uninsulated wall sections are modeled for periodically changing external and constant internal environmental conditions. For comparison purposes, the reinforced concrete walls are calculated, first for non-insulation, and then insulated with different position of isolation. The calculated results obtained from the WUFI®2D-3 program are shown in graphic form.

Urban heat islands, temperature increase due to climate change and energy consumption due to high summer cooling load are significant issues in Turkey. International studies indicate that the green roof system serves as an energy efficient building technology. However, the thermal performance of green roofs when exposed to local climate conditions is still unknown in Turkey. A research project is being conducted at Istanbul Technical University, in which part of a low-slope existing roof system was retrofitted as an extensive green roof system and the thermal performances of both the existing roof and green roof were monitored in order to make a comparative assessment. Both the green roof and the existing roof were instrumented to measure the temperature profile within the roof systems and the solar reflectance of the roof surfaces. Local meteorological variables were also measured. Results obtained from the field monitoring revealed the following data. Reflected solar radiation from the green roof surface was slightly higher than from the existing roof surface. This was likely to be due to the fact that the plants had not yet covered the entire soil surface area of the green roof. Plants reduced the amount of heat absorbed by the growing medium during daytime through shading and reduced the surface temperature of the green roof. Ceiling temperatures of rooms under the existing roof and green roof indicated that heat transfer to the room beneath the green roof was reduced as well. The green roof reduced the heat gain due to the thermal mass of the soil. This created a buffer against daily fluctuations in temperature and minimized temperature extremes.

The opaque and transparent surfaces of buildings have an important role in the total percentage of energy loss or gain. Heat loss or gain from windows are dependent on the window-to-wall area ratio, the window glass type, and the type of window frame used. In the concept of energy efficient design, heat loss or gain from windows should be analyzed in detail in the early stages of building design by considering local climatic conditions. This study investigates a school building located in Izmir in Turkey, a city with a hot and humid climate. Various glass types with different glazing characteristics and number of layers, located in different parts of the buildings and with different window-to-wall ratios are analyzed and compared using building the energy analysis program “EnergyPlus”. Results indicate that window- to-wall area ratios, wall orientation and glass types are important factors in the building’s total energy consumption. When the window-to-wall area ratio is increased from 10% to 60%, the winter heating load of the building decreases in maximum amount on the south side of the building and reduces in minimum amount on the east side of the building. When summer cooling load is investigated the highest increase in energy consumption is found on the south side of the building. On the eastern and western sides of the building the effect of increased energy consumption value remains low. When the total energy consumption (cooling + heating) is considered, it is calculated that the east and west sides have the biggest total effect and the northern wall has the smallest total effect. When low emissivity glass is used instead of double layer glass, in terms of energy consumption the building side order of effect remains the same, although actual values differ. It is therefore clear that using energy analysis programs to analyse different factors within the energy consumption of buildings will be beneficial in creating energy efficient solutions. This can be carried out in the earlier stages of the architectural design of the buildings or at the renovation stages of existing buildings.

Educational buildings have the priority among other building types in daylight performance studies. There are several reasons for this. Classrooms which are used during the whole day should have sufficient and homogeneously distributed daylight. In insufficient daylight conditions, the use of electrical lighting increases energy consumption. Users’ visual comfort should also be assured, and design incorporating natural light requires the analysis of sun protection devices in order to avoid glare and excessive heat. Also, atriums and skylights can be included in the building design with the aim of distributing light equally and in a relatively balanced manner throughout the building. However, lighting schemes are often proposed by architects and professionals who tend to make use of different design tools, and it would be pertinent to investigate whether these tools perform as desired. This study analyses daylight design principles and design elements in educational buildings. It outlines the method which has been used to analyse the daylight performance of buildings. A university building was selected for the field study. Measurements were taken in sample spaces to determine daylight performance. Utilising comparison between standard values and measured values, findings are presented in the form of tables, drawings and figures.

Soundscape, as urban noise is termed, is essentially a qualitative approach which aims to discover ways to improve the “sonic environment”. A possible analogy can be assumed for the acoustic quality of some types of covered spaces which have a function similar to urban spaces. Furthermore, it can be proposed that such covered spaces may have a specific, distinct and recognizable sound environment - hence, a “soundscape” occurs which is created both by the architecture and the sound sources. This study takes a further step in suggesting that the acoustic comfort or sound quality of these spaces cannot be sufficiently dealt with via noise parameters. This paper aims to show the possibility of evaluating the acoustical quality of covered spaces, such as shopping centers, through soundscape studies. The formation of streets is the basic spatial design concept that connects open and closed shopping areas. For this reason the researchers chose to study a modern and an historical shopping center and a modern and a traditional street, both of which have shopping as a basic function, The soundscapes of these open and closed shopping areas were determined by soundwalks and listening tests. The objective and subjective findings of this study showed that covered shopping areas have a specific soundscape that can be evaluated by the soundwalk method regardless of whether the environment is open or covered.

Fiume Veneto, was established on the banks of the river Fiume near the city of Pordenone in northern Italy. What makes this settlement distinctive is the huge yarn factory which was founded sometime between 1880 and 1885. The textile factory has offices and a clean electrical power plant (hydroelectric), both located on an island of about 100,000 square metres. There is also a building located outside the factory, in which there had been a grain mill serving the locals since the XIIIth century up until its closure in 1999. Following its closure, Isola del Fiume Company purchased the former textile factory together with the island in order to construct a multi-functional complex. In 2003, The City Council Planning Committee and the Italian Chamber of Architects decided to organize an international ‘architectural design competition’ under the supervision and policy of the International Union of Architects. The aim was to decide the best strategy to reuse the property as a whole and in consideration with the economic viability, an important criterion for the company. After setting up a jury, a programme was announced which included housing, facilities, the renovation of the mill and hydroelectric plant, the establishment/protection of green spaces, sports facilities, a civic centre and town hall, a museum and an auditorium as well as the necessary infrastructure related to the new development. The main theme of this article is an architectural competition in the context of sustainability and the ways in which structural comfort is achieved in the architectural solutions provided.