EVALUATION OF OPTIMAL HEIGHT THRESHOLD FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND THERMAL COMFORT IN TROPICAL HIGHRISE DWELLINGS

 The concept of high-rise buildings continues to provide a meaningful solution for land conservation in cities. Highrise buildings stand out for many good reasons. A challenge with them however, is that they demand huge amounts of energy to build and operate compared to low and medium-rise buildings. Studies show that this is largely due to the heating and/or cooling load required to sustain human activities at such great altitudes, amongst other factors. The concept of bioclimatic skyscrapers popularized by Ken Yeang is undoubtedly a good approach to tackling this challenge as it helps to save conventional energy, protect the environment and improve indoor thermal comfort. Some questions however still remain unresolved like; “What are the optimal design conditions for achieving bio-climatism in tall buildings? Should height be arbitrary? Does it bear significant influence on thermal comfort and energy use? If so, What is the nature of this influence? and How can developers use this knowledge to their advantage when planning highrise buildings?

Recent studies reveal that building energy use increases as height increases but very little is yet known about the empirical nature of this increase. This paper reviews existing literature related to the relationship between height, occupants’ thermal comfort and building energy use in tropical high-rise dwellings. The authors examine research gaps related to bioclimatic skyscrapers with specific attention to the influence of height as a major design parameter. It concludes that there is a need for further scientific investigations in the light of existing research gaps.

On Love, Marriage and Polygamy

 

As with every other aspect of life, issues concerning love and marriage are largely based on personal convictions. Whether you believe there is one person alive who is your forever person or you believe in spreading the love, the fact remains that as human beings we are designed as creatures of association. We associate with other members of the society, church, school or family in order to get care, mentorship, approval for our actions etc.

Marriage can be viewed as one of such associations specifically designed to kickstart the family which is the smallest single unit of society. Marriage in many regions symbolizes the agreement between two persons who have resolved to merge their interests in such a way that makes it easier for each of them to achieve their life goals. This agreement extends to other members of the both families and is usually consummated to produce offspring in an organized manner.

In some traditions, it is common to find men with multiple wives or life partners. This is sometimes as a result of prevailing circumstances such as farming or warfare that may necessitate the need to have many children. Some religions have strict instructions regarding marriage. Most of them condemn polygamy and encourage monogamy. Some believe that a marriage continues even after physical death on earth. One could write long epistles about marriage, but I believe there are other volumes that have treated the subject very extensively. 

The purpose of this diary entry is to address my opinion on having multiple life partners. I think it is impossible and a wearying of self and spirit for anyone to try to complicate his life any further than life already is by choosing to build more than one family in a lifetime. I will explain why I think so in the summary below.

1. Do one thing, do it well, expect no mercy

2. Economic weariness

3. Emotional stress

4. Psychological mix-ups

5. Lack of total commitment on neither sides

6.  Human health limitations

7. Sexual stress

8. Chances of unwanted infiltration

9. No assurance of health status of multiple partners

10. Poor attention to all the kids from numerous wives

11. Possibility of religious dichotomy

12. Multiple distractions 

13. May breed jealousy and envy amongst co-wives and siblings

14. Favoritism will naturally creep in.

I will expand each of the points mentioned here in a future post, but suffice it to say here that none of the points mentioned above are necessarily religious based  or influenced. These to me, are simply logical reasons why I would not be opting for a polygamous marital arrangement. There are several religious backed points that could be added here, but at the end of the day, I think polygamy may also have its benefits and should a situation arise where one finds himself arm-twisted, it is not a completely terrible thing to enjoy the beauties of family living with multiple women in one life-time.

Let me know what you think about this topic and be sure to keep it civil and logical.

BLUEPRINT FOR A FUTURISTIC URBAN SETTLEMENT

Planning a city must be an interesting exercise. I'm not sure why, but recently, my interests were drawn to a simple personal brain teaser excercise where I tried to play the role of a city planner. I must have been fascinated by how God was able to write a universal program running the metaverse.

 I said to myself, "What if I am called upon to plan a new city?" 

How would it have felt for God, planning out and actually writing the programs that make seasons, births, deaths etc. happen? Excited by the potential of what beautiful city I could develop, I resorted to try out the game. 

Yes, I know, people get trained and get licensed to do this, but as an Architect, I just felt like trying. It felt interesting thinking out and providing for all the necessities for a pleasant life in my small city. The time I spent considering what else should be on the list, was refreshing to my philosophy-thirsty soul. 

For formality and memorability, I named my pet city; Peaceland. I itemized all the realities of life that needed to be provided for and then the physical provisions needed to satisfy them, in a tabular format. I'm adding to the list as the game unfolds. So far I have made a list of realities that need to be provided for in the order as it came to me while developing the model; below:

The task is to plan a modern city with provisions that cater to the identified necessities of life, work, religion, health, fitness, education and other important aspects of settlement. Now lets see what we can come up with, hopefully you can suggest a plan that works or just hang on till I find time to finish the game and show you a proposal for your review.

LIFE AND EXISTENCE - A 21ST CENTURY PHILOSOHER'S CONTEMPLATION

 

Living everyday like it's our last has by far been the best way to remind ourselves that we do not know where we came from and we have no idea where we are headed when we leave here!

Only a fool will proceed with the pursuits of life without thinking about where it all came from and why we are here in the first place. Many theories are sold to us, from different quarters, Everyone gives a different explanation of the origin, largely or sparingly different, everyone has claimed that their message is the "truth" and the "absolute" one. 

Wouldn't we be set free indeed from this confusion if we came to learn the truth?

All the time we have lived many-a-men, many-a-lifetimes, many-a-generations, many-a-civilizations, many-a-wars, we still come and go and the Earth keeps spinning. 

And Oh! Did they say this is just one of nine? Did they say our universe was only one out of many, discovered and yet to be?

So what is going on? Really what are we doing here? There is too much detail in everything, a thinking soul couldn't help but ponder how all existence in its entirety became.

Oh how weak we are, how short a time we have! how limited a memory we can bear! Who remembers what happened a generation ago? Who records what transpires here or there on a daily basis? Not the news that is curated, but the mouse that died today or the bird that brought forth child. Is it unnecessary to record? If it is, then why is it happening? If we won't be here forever then what are we doing here and where will we go?

We do realize that we played absolutely no part in choosing whether to come here or not, unless of course our former actions in a former life or existence warrants us to be here, calling into remembrance the theory of action and reaction. 

Shall we stop to ponder on what to do? Who shall we ask or who shall we go to for the "answers"? Are we helplessly living or dying or just existing? We want this, but when we get it we want another thing. We think once we have this then we will find the solution, but alas, when we find it our unending desire swallows it whole and wants more. Helplessly we set out to pursue a new thing and the cysle continues until "our time is up" and we are no more.

It's so vast to even contemplate!  But wait!..are we the only ones thinking? Are our co-habitants, the animals thinking too? DOes the fish in the river want to know what happened to her great grand mother or from where it came or to where it is headed too?

Oh don't they? Don't they need to know? If they don't, why do we need to know? Ahhh, it becomes necessary that there is someone or something or circumstance deciding and moving existence. What did he want? Is he here with us? Where is he? Did he embark on a really long trip or is he done with this very project and is on to another?

The elements; fire, water, land, air, matter all...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY, HVAC, THERMAL COMFORT AND PASSIVE DESIGN

 

The central philosophy behind green building is the judicious use of resources in a manner that provides for man’s needs today without jeopardizing the ability of the future generation to fulfill their own energy needs.

The illustration above shows the authors’ conceptualization of how energy consumption is related to the use of HVAC equipment, which emanates from the need to maintain a comfortable indoor environment for the occupants in terms of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. The arrows indicate the two way relationship between the sections implying that any change in either of the sections bears significance on the others.  The authors’ argue that for energy consumption to reduce, passive design strategies must be adjusted to provide alternative sources of natural ventilation and thermal comfort. Such design strategies may include but not limited to design issues affecting building height, form, orientation, etcetra.

If we are going to continue building tall, we must figure out how to keep the energy consumption of such buildings within environmentally and economically sustainable limits.