http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/221761 Sat, 25 May 2013 06:20:11 GMT 2013-05-25T06:20:11Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/239042 Title: Concinnitas in the architectural theory and practice of Leon Battista Alberti. Authors: Tavernor, Robert William Abstract: In his treatise on architecture, de re aedificatoria, Leon Battista Alberti (1404 - 72) described Beauty in architecture as concinnitas: a harmony or congruity of the various parts of a building assembled according to principles :summarised by three categories of numerus, finitio and collocatio . This term has been interpreted variously and most famously in recent times by Rudolph Wittkower. Starting with his and other scholars' interpretations, this dissertation proposes a new definition for concinnitas based on studies of Alberti's architectural theory and practice and the work of his contemporaries. Chapters 1, 3 and 4 of the dissertation focus on the application of numerus and finitio in Alberti's architectural practice and observations made here are supported by separate historical studies of the buildings (be found in the appendices) and survey drawings (bound together at the end of the dissertation). Chapter two is a study of the symbolic references, traditions and themes which appear to underlie the design of centralised churches and points raised here are expanded in later chapters. The third category, collocatio, is examined in the final chapters when the continuity of tradition in Alberti's approach to architecture is outlined within the framework of the city and the urban ensemble of church, palace, piazza and loggia. Tue, 12 Nov 1985 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/239042 1985-11-12T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/238298 Title: A.W.N. Pugin's English residential architecture in its context Authors: Brittain-Catlin, Timothy John Abstract: This Dissertation investigates all of A.W.N. Pugin’s known English residential architecture for the first time, placing it in the context of the domestic and institutional architecture of comparable small buildings, particularly Anglican parsonages, of the period in which he lived and worked. The Dissertation is preceded by a summary of the theoretical issues that architects were addressing from the beginning of the nineteenth century, in particular those which Pugin was later to make a central part of his own theoretical writings. Following an examination of the conventions of the domestic architecture of the period, the Dissertation analyses Pugin’s own buildings, primarily categorising them by plan type. Pugin’s attitude to the orientation, location and landscape of his work is then considered, followed by an analysis of his preferred building forms, their materials, their detailing, and their decoration. In addition, the Dissertation investigates the extent to which Pugin’s architecture was actually historicist, reviving English or Continental Gothic forms and details. The Dissertation further investigates Pugin’s professional practice as a domestic architect, defining the nature of his partnership with his favoured building contractor, George Myers, in the context of contemporary contracting practice. The practical problems of Pugin’s constructions, and the character of his professional relationship with his clients are also assessed. The thesis proposes that elements of Pugin’s architectural theory existed previous to his career amongst English architectural writers and critics, but that medium and small houses designed between 1800 and the mid-1840s were overwhelmingly based on a limited number of conventionalised plans. It will show that Pugin’s residential planning was inherently different from that of these conventional buildings, and that it is classifiable into a number of distinct categories. This thesis furthermore argues that Pugin’s residential architecture was often far from functional and was not essentially historicist. This thesis will show that the planning of medium and small houses changed radically from the 1840s, incorporating aspects of planning which Pugin had pioneered; a conclusion suggests to what extent Pugin’s architectural creativity was expressive of cultural change and preoccupation beyond the realm of architecture. An Appendix is attached which summarises the chronology of all of Pugin’s known residential works. Description: The electronic file comprises both volumes of the original thesis. For copyright reasons a number of images were removed. Mon, 26 Apr 2004 23:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/238298 2004-04-26T23:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226855 Title: Simulating airline operational responses to environmental constraints Authors: Evans, Antony Abstract: This dissertation describes a model that predicts airline flight network, frequency and fleet changes in response to policy measures that aim to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. Such airline operational responses to policy measures are not considered by existing integrated aviation-environment modelling tools. By not modelling these effects the capability of the air transport system to adjust under changing conditions is neglected, resulting in the forecasting of potentially misleading system and local responses to constraints. The model developed follows the overriding principle of airline strategic decision making, i.e., airline profit maximisation within a competitive environment. It consists of several components describing different aspects of the air transport system, including passenger demand forecasting, flight delay modelling, estimation of airline costs and airfares, and network optimisation. These components are integrated into a framework that allows the relationships between fares, passenger demand, infrastructure capacity constraints, flight delays, flight frequencies, and the flight network to be simulated. Airline competition is modeled by simulating a strategic game between airlines competing for market share, each of which maximizes its own profit. The model is validated by reproducing historical passenger flows and flight frequencies for a network of 22 airports serving 14 of the largest cities in the United States, using 2005 population, per capita income and airport capacities as inputs. The estimated passenger flows and flight frequencies compare well to observed data for the same network (the R2 value comparing flight segment frequencies is 0.62). After validation, the model is applied to simulate traffic growth and carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions within the same network from 2005 to 2030 under a series of scenarios. These scenarios investigate airline responses to (i) airport capacity constraints, (ii) regional increases in costs in the form of landing fees, and (iii) major reductions in aircraft fuel burn, as would be achieved through the introduction of radically new technology such as a blended wing body aircraft or advanced open rotor engines. The simulation results indicate that, while airport capacity constraints may have significant system-wide effects, they are the result of local airport effects which are much greater. In particular, airport capacity constraints can have a significant impact on flight delays, passenger demand, aircraft operations, and emissions, especially at congested hub airports. If capacity is available at other airports, capacity constraints may also induce changes in the flight network, including changes in the distribution of connecting traffic between hubs and the distribution of true origin-ultimate destination traffic between airports in multi-airport systems. Airport capacity constraints are less likely to induce any significant increase in the size of aircraft operated, however, because of frequency competition effects, which maintain high flight frequencies despite reductions in demand in response to increased flight delays. The simulation results also indicate that, if sufficiently large, regional increases in landing fees may induce significant reductions in aircraft operations by increasing average aircraft size and inducing a shift in connecting traffic away from the region. The simulation results also indicate that the introduction of radically new technology that reduces aircraft fuel burn may have only limited impact on reducing system CO2 emissions, and only in the case where the new technology can be taken up by the majority of the fleet. The reason for this is that the reduced operating costs of the new technology may result in an increase in frequency competition and thus aircraft operations. In conclusion, the modelling of airline operational responses to environmental constraints is important when studying both the system and local effects of environmental policy measures, because it captures the capability of the air transport system to adjust under changing conditions. Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226855 2010-10-11T23:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226841 Title: An analysis of the performance of certification schemes in the hotel sector in terms of CO2 emissions reduction. Authors: Houlihan-Wiberg, Aoife Anne-marie Abstract: In assessing the impact of global tourism on climate change, emissions from transport receive the most attention although emissions associated with accommodation account for more than 20% of the total. A plethora of hotel certification schemes have been established worldwide that assess various environmental performance indicators, among them energy use. However, none explicitly quantify CO2 emissions, and in many, energy is poorly accounted for, or other non-energy related factors are weighted so that the overall impact of energy use (and hence CO2 emission) is weak. The main thrust of the research is to ascertain the effect of certification on CO2 emissions. The research questions whether the certification schemes are robust and rigorous and whether the results are credible. First, four widely used certification schemes are compared Nordic Swan (Scandinavia), Green Globe (Worldwide), EU Flower (European) and Green Hospitality Award (Ireland). The key issues are identified such as performance and process related criteria, use of benchmarks, and the weighting of different categories. A comparison is made with LEED-EB, a well-established environmental certification scheme, not dedicated to the hotel sector. Secondly, the way in which emissions from electricity, including so-called green electricity and carbon offsetting, are accounted for is examined since it is found that in obtaining certification, this often plays an important part. Actual annual energy use data is desperately needed as feedback to designers, managers and owners in order to give confidence that certification schemes have true validity. Results are presented from large multi-hotel data samples and for detailed results from the quality, illustrative in-depth studies which provided invaluable insight into the technical realities of a multitude of causes and effects which can often be masked in large data samples. An analysis was carried out for four In-depth studies located in Sweden (Nordic Swan), Maldives (Green Globe), Malta (EU Flower) and Ireland (Green Hospitality Award). Global CO2 emissions were compared and calculated from the delivered electricity and fuels consumption data from seventy selected certified hotels worldwide. No corrections were made in the calculations for climate, quality of services, existence of services etc. The performance indicator used is kgCO2 per guest night. The analyses shows no clear pattern. CO2 emissions show a wide variance in performance for 8 hotels certified under different schemes, as well as for 28 hotels certified under the same scheme. In some cases emissions reduced after certification in others no change. Certified hotels do not necessarily have lower emissions than uncertified hotels and a comparison of before – and after – certification shows no significant improvement prior to certification. Most dramatically emissions from certified hotels widely vary by a factor of 7. Although it is arguable a number of corrections should be made to account for different climates, the research highlights that hotels with high CO2 emissions are being awarded certification and it questions what message‘certification’ gives to guests and other stakeholders. At worst it appears ‘business as usual’ can achieve certification with no obvious improvement in performance. The overall conclusion is that existing certification schemes do not properly account for CO2 emissions and do not produce more energy efficient (or less CO2 intensive) buildings. Hotel accommodation was found to be more CO2 intensive than domestic emissions. The findings also uncovered inconsistencies in current methods of certification and indicate a vital need for improved methods. The results also challenge prevailing aesthetic stereotypes of sustainable hotels. The author concludes a simple CO2 accounting method is needed as the first step of a diagnostic process leading to a solution i.e. reduced emissions, to the problem i.e. high energy consumption and/or emissions, thus reducing the environmental impact (in terms of emissions reduction) of the hotel. This method of accounting can be adopted universally by using a Regional, European (O.475 kgCO2/kWh) or Universal (0.55 kgCO2/kWh) conversion factor. In relation to the proper calculation of energy and CO2 emission, sub-metering is a key factor, and with current technological developments, realistic and affordable. Furthermore, apart from certification itself, an essential quality with any monitoring system is that the user can obtain results easily and understandably, in order to get feedback from their actions. This could be facilitated by incorporating sub-metering as part of the building environmental management system software. This ensures that the certification activity is not simply a benchmark, but is also part of a diagnostic and educational process, which will continue to drive emissions down. Only then should it be ethically justified to use as a marketing tool providing diagnostic support in existing buildings, and design and operational guidance for new designs. Description: No page 475 due to incorrect pagination - dissertation complete. Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226841 2010-07-17T23:00:00Z