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The T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies is an international non-profit organization headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania. It is an associated center of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. It is dedicated to addressing the environmental issues faced by the building industry. The T.C. Chan Center engages in collaborative research that is related to the development of basic knowledge, technologies, and processes. Practical applications range from the building to the urban scale. Outcomes include patents, publications and proprietary information. [1] The T.C. Chan Center is a member of the UNEP-SBCI. [2]
The T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies addresses the environmental issues faced by the building industry today. "The mission of the center is to develop new knowledge, tools, processes, techniques, and continuing education for professionals involved in building energy and technology. The goal is to create healthier, productive, energy efficient strategies that will lead to high performance buildings and sustain(able) environments." [3] [4]
The T.C. Chan Center was founded by Professor Ali Malkawi in 2006 at the University of Pennsylvania with initial support by Mr. David Chan, a philanthropist from Hong Kong. The Center began with a partnership with Tsinghua University in Beijing and since then it has grown into an international organization with offices in Philadelphia and Beijing, and affiliate offices in France, Hong Kong, Mexico, Switzerland, and Costa Rica. [5] [6]
The TC Chan Center was part of the proposed effort led by Pennsylvania State University for the US Energy Innovation Hub, called the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub (EEB HUB), which was previously known as the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster (GPIC). This five-year initiative is designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the US. Appropriated by Congress and funded by the US Department of Energy, this $122 million grant funds core research and development. An additional $30 million was contributed to this award by the Governor of Pennsylvania. [7] [8] [9] [10] The TC Chan Center has managed the University of Pennsylvania’s research portion of the Hub with work including a project that has intended to build a macro level simulation framework that can aid in decision-making by using projections of possible market adaptation of energy efficient building technologies and their large-scale impacts. [11] The Energy Innovation Hub is located at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a 1,200 acre waterfront business development that includes 120 companies, 8,500 employees and 5,500,000 square feet (510,000 m2) of building space. [12]
Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) is a green building certification system developed for the State of Qatar. The primary objective of QSAS is "to create a sustainable built environment that minimizes ecological impact while addressing the specific regional needs and environment of Qatar" [13] [14]
QSAS was developed by the T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies at the University of Pennsylvania in collaboration with and on behalf of the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD). Since its deployment in 2009, over 128 buildings in Qatar have been certified through QSAS. In December 2010, QSAS was adopted into the curriculum of the environmental design faculty at King Fahd University and Qatar University. Most recently, the State of Qatar has integrated QSAS into the Qatar Construction Specifications [QCS] making the implementation of certain criteria mandatory for buildings developed in Qatar. [15] [16]
The development of the rating system took advantage of a comprehensive review of combined best practices employed by a mix of established international and regional rating systems. This review has been performed while taking into consideration the needs that are specific to Qatar’s local environment, culture, and policies. This has led to adaptations and additions to sustainability criteria. Additionally, measurements for the rating system are designed to be performance-based and quantifiable, wherever possible. The result is a ground up, and in large part, a performance-based sustainable building rating system customized to the unique conditions and requirements of the State of Qatar. [17] [18] [19]
The T.C. Chan Center has collaborated with the Facilities and Real Estate Division at the University of Pennsylvania on a Climate Action Plan. This optimization project began with a three-year extensive investigation into campus buildings. The outcome of this work was a plan for energy savings and a database that is combined with buildings monitored in China. [20] [21] [22] [23]
The Center was awarded a grant with Georgia Institute of Technology from the National Science Foundation for an EFRI-SEED project. The objective of this project, Risk Conscious Design and Retrofit of Buildings for Low Energy, is to identify and quantify uncertainty distributions of parameters affecting building performance. This research requires a highly interdisciplinary approach between building modeling and simulation experts; systems design theorists, statisticians, architectural and urban designers, energy technologists, and auditing experts. The research team combines all of these disciplines. [24] [25]
In 2011, the Center was selected to host the United Nations Environment Programme – Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative’s Fall Symposium in 2011. The symposium took place on October 27 and 28 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. [26] The symposium focused on “Promoting Policies and Practices for Sustainability”. [27] The event included several participants including David Miller, the former Chair of C40 and former Mayor of Toronto, and Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia. The symposium content and outcomes fed into larger global climate discussions at the UNFCCC COP-17 and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development’s RIO+20. [28] [29] [30] [31]
Building Simulation: An International Journal
The Building Simulation journal, published quarterly by Springer, "publishes original, high quality, peer-reviewed research papers and review articles dealing with modeling and simulation of buildings including their systems." [32] [33] In 2011, Thomson Reuters announced that the journal would be listed in the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E). [34] [35] [36]
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements; publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a Just Transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. In doing so, the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., planet, people and profit across the entire supply chain need to be considered.
The Chicago Botanic Garden is a 385-acre (156 ha) living plant museum situated on nine islands in the Cook County Forest Preserves. It features 27 display gardens in four natural habitats: McDonald Woods, Dixon Prairie, Skokie River Corridor, and Lakes and Shores. The garden is open every day of the year. An admission fee has been approved to start in 2022, not to exceed $35.
Building science is the collection of scientific knowledge that focuses on the analysis of the physical phenomena affecting buildings. Building physics, architectural science and applied physics are terms used for the knowledge domain that overlaps with building science.
A Zero Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero Energy (NZE) building, or a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) building, is a building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels. The goal is that these buildings contribute less overall greenhouse gas to the atmosphere during operations than similar non-ZNE buildings. They do at times consume non-renewable energy and produce greenhouse gases, but at other times reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by the same amount. Zero-energy buildings are not only driven by a want to have less of an impact on the environment, but they are also driven by money. Tax breaks as well as savings on energy costs make Zero-energy buildings financially viable. A similar concept approved and implemented by the European Union and other agreeing countries is nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB), with the goal of having all new buildings in the region under nZEB standards by 2020.
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design is the design school of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. It offers degrees in architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, historic preservation, and fine arts, as well as several dual degrees with other graduate schools at the University of Pennsylvania. Formerly known as PennDesign, it was renamed in 2019 after Stuart Weitzman donated an undisclosed sum.
Perkins&Will is a global design practice founded in 1935. Since 1986, the group has been a subsidiary of Lebanon-based Dar Al-Handasah. Phil Harrison has been the firm's CEO since 2006.
Teresa Coady is a Canadian architect and the former president and founding partner of the Vancouver, British Columbia-based architecture firm B+H BuntingCoady. She is a member of the Canadian Chapter of the International Initiative for a Sustainabie Built Environment and a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Advisory Board. She is the author of Rebuilding Earth: Designing Ecoconscious Habitats for Humans.
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Patrick Timothy Harker is the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Harker previously served as the President of University of Delaware. He was the dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2007. He began his presidency of the University of Delaware in 2007 and resigned in 2015.
Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) is a green building certification system developed for the State of Qatar. The primary objective of Qatar Sustainability Assessment System [QSAS] is to create a sustainable built environment that minimizes ecological impact while addressing the specific regional needs and environment of Qatar.
Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world due to climate change. As the ninth most populous country and twelfth most densely populated countries in the world, its rising population and limited land space have put tremendous strains on the urban ecosystem. The capital of Dhaka itself underwent severe transformations in recent years to catch up the increased rate of urbanisation. This change was paralleled by a boom in the real estate, construction and housing industry. According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dhaka is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
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Yousef M. Alhorr is a Qatari environmentalist known for his work in the field of sustainable built environment and climate actions. He is founder and chairman of the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) and adviser for sustainable delivery and legacy of 2022 FIFA World Cup. He is the president of Global Carbon Council, which is one of the eight international programs approved by ICAO’s CORSIA to supply carbon credits to international airlines to meet their carbon neutral growth. Alhorr is the president of Green Building Committee at the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO).