Monday, October 12, 2009
Review Materials
1. It is where the current plans of cities where based including literature, arts...
a. Byzantine
b. Greek
c. Roman
2. Optical Correction made in Column...
a. entasis
3. Identify the door (with beam above)...
a. trabeated
4. Identify the Lot (almost corner with culdesac at the other side)...
a. Through Lot
b. Corner Lot
5. What percentage if all plans of the architect where used on the same second project...
a. 90
b. 80
6. Identify the system, where two adjacent color and opposite ...
a. Triad
b. Split Complimentary
c. Complimentary
7. Identify the arrow it represents ... (building plan with arrow lines)
a. Terminating in space
b. Pass through space
c. Pass near the space
8. Where should the shorter side of the basketball court be oriented ....
a. North-South
b. East-west
9. Who is reponsible to shorten the time and lessen the cost...
a. Project Manager
b. Architect
10. Who is the the owner of plans, construction documents ....
a. Architect
11. Who should not sign architectural plans...
a. engineer
b. Architect
12. Who should secure the building permit...
a. Client
b. architect
13. After a change of of use (renovation) of the building, what should be secured...
a. fire inspection certificate
14. Before a building can be used, what should be secured ...
a. building permit
b. Occupancy permit
15. What is being planned by the HLURB.....
a. Comprehensive land use plan
16. After the plan being pass through the sanggunian, who will implement....
a. NHA
b. DPWH
17. What is used in order to determine the function/traffic....
a. Grid
b. Floor pattern
18. If all the people converge in one place in the city, it is called....
a. Monocentric
b. central Business district
c. Polycentric
19. What happens if the majority of the population proceed to the city...
a. unavailability of low cost housing
b. loss of jobs
20. identify the bond
a. Flemish
b. Running bond
c. English bond
d. English garden bond
_____|__|______|__|_____
___|______|__|______|__|
_____|__|______|__|_____
___|______|__|______|__|
_____|__|______|__|_____
___|______|__|______|__|
21. Identify the road (angled from the vertical road)
a. Service road
b. Culdesac
c. Interior road
22. Identify the figure..
a. Foldable partition
=====\ /\ /
\/ \/
23. What is the method of compensation
a. 5% upon signing of contract, 50% ...
b. 10 percent upon signing of contract, 50%...
c. 5%, 40% ....
24. In vernacular architecture, it is where the cups, utensils are kept...
a. cusina
b. banguerahan
25. The origin of bahay na kubo comes from...
a. Balai which means house, Kubo which means cube.
26. What is the frieze in modern day houses,
a. beam
b. gutter
27. It is also (designed) (called) as beam
a. Corbel
b. Wall Footing
28. Identify the arch (looks like a trefoil)
a. ogee
b. lancet
29. The early (christian) period can be characterized with .....
a. simple pediment with dome on top
30. when a (hot air) enters a room, what happens...
a. hor air Air rises
31. What is not covered by fire regulation.....
a. Unrestricted fire zone
32. A line is ...
a. A shadow
b. A point that has direction and ...
33. the intersection of the (center) of the (arch/vaults) is called ..
a. boss
34. Intentify that part of the vault ....
a. (rib cage)
35. Style characterized by horizontal lines and window tracery ...
a. mannerism
36. A spanish architect who designed the Sagrada Familia...
a. Antonio Gaudi
37. What (character/method) did Frank Gerry used in his (approach/design)...
a. (Deviating) from (typical/regular) showing the external functions...
38. Identify the figure (4 large circular column in plan with smaller columns in between coupled/group together) ...
a. Combined/grid/clustered
39. Identify the column (almost semi circular in plan flushed to the wall)
a. Engaged column
40. (Something about) arch (can span greater distance than lintel)
a. made of small stones
41. The (arrangement) of (forms/ volume)
a. Composition
b. massing
42. The character where the design is continous (that can be found on the other parts of the structure)
a. Rhythmn
b. Unity
43. Using (downlight/pinlight) indirect lighting in (a store)
a. Gives dramatic effect
44. Style that characterised by (vertical/parallel) and tracery on (windows)
a. (early christian)
45. What is (the purpose of) a fortress...
a. to protect the (owner) from enemy attact
b. (military installation)
46. A plan drawn by a draftsman under the supervision of a registered and licensed architect, (who owns the said documents) (responsible)
a. Architect of record
47. Under the National Building Code IRR, what is the length of signange that can project to a street assuming it is arcaded ...
a. 0.90 m
b. 1.00 m
c. not more than 1.20 m
48. In what (services/phase) does the scope of (helping/arranging) for the clients (to bid out for the contractor)....
a. Contruct documents phase (mind the spelling, it is "CONTRUCT")
b. Construction phase
49. If an architect assumes the function of going to the project site (monitoring)
what (services) ....
a. Full time project supervision
b. Project supervision
50. Indentify the spacing (1 1/2) of the column
a. distyle
b. pycnostyle
51. What is the most (ideal) for a residential resort to develop especially if it is facing a lake
Figure... (the drawing of the slope is more exaggerated than the written figure)
a. 2 percent slope
b. 5 percent slope
c. 10 percent slope
d. 15 percent slope or more
52. Same figure (slope) what is the most expensive for the plumbing to be develop...
a. 2 percent slope
b. 5 percent slope
c. 10 percent slope
d. 15 percent slope or more
53. The study in relation to ... volume
a. Antropomtery
b. ergonomics
54. What type of window where most air can pass .....
a. casement
b. awning
55. (something about) Renovation
a. changes with respect to the original plan...
56. Where can be the pyramid of Cheops be found ...
a. Egypt
57. It is an Indian gateway
a. Torii
b. pailou
c. Torana
58. It is the basis of architectural (sytle)
a. Culture
59. The (termination) between wall and ceiling. Identify the figure...
a. Cyma reversa
b. Cyma recta
c. (cove)
60. What is the minimum habitable area ....
a. 6.0 sq.m.
61. When the spaniards came, they noticed that the house where easily destoyed during typhoon, What type of house was introduced by them...
a. Bahay na bato
b. Bungalow
62. A semi circular area on the end side of the church
a. apse
63. (Something about estimate)
a. (quantity surveyor)
64. Where does Planning services fall...
a. Regular services
b. (Special) Allied Services
65. Identify the figure (a complex building plan)
a. Space within a space
a. (Cross space)
66.
67. (Mostly found) (common) in China and Japan
a. Pagoda
68. Plans, (Perspective), "MODELS", they are...
a. instruments of practice
69. Who keeps the logbook
a. owner
b. Architect
70. type of building (arcade) open (space) on
a. one side
b. two sides
c. all sides
71. What (method) in plannig so all concerned are given....
a. Heirarchy
b. (Organization chart)
72. As an architect, you where commisioned to do the (masterplan) ...
a. Direct all department heads ...
b. Study all existing laws that (has relation) ...
73. Elements found on both side (centerline) ...
a. Symmetrical
74. what was used in the design... Identify the figure (A facade of 2-3 story with door and a human outline drawing) ...
a. Human scale
75. it (moves) people from (one place to ) another.. direction ...
a. path
76. Which (area) type make wind more unpredictable ..
a. grass area
b. Built up structures
c. valley
77. Where can be found during the roman empire (country) (church) ...
a. (East Roman)
b. (West roman)
78. The basis of modern day (door)
a. post and lintel
79. What is (NOT) ussually employed by the owner in commissioning a small residential project ...
a. referall
b. (direct)
c. competition
80. In what instances where several architect submit a design proposal at the same time...
a. design competition
81. what is R3
a. Medium density housing
b. High density housing
c. (general) density houding
82. What influences contemporay architecture
a. building materials
b. existing law
c. culture
d. all of the above
83. Indentify the figure (planning) used ...
a. radial
b. (Grid)
c. (centralized)
84. (who provides for the CPE - continuing professional education)
a. IAPOA
b. PRC
85. What is the purpose of bill of materials
a. Bidding
b. (loan)
c. construction guide
86.(Which is not a structural plan) does not show ...
a. foundation plan
b. schedules of beam
c. floor framing plan
d. roof framing plan
87. (what is needed for the application of building permit) ..
a. TCT - transfer certificate of Title
88. (Who is responsible for the) implementation of RA 9266
a. Building official
89. Situational .. An architect billed his client with the total of 3,500,000 including there already the 12 percent VAT. ( part of that, aside VAT goes to overheads, expenses, fees, profit.)
How much without the VAT
a. 3,125,000
90. how much is the profit
a. 1M plus plus
91. How much is the tax
owed to the government
a. 375,000
1. For efficiency (identify in the plan) what should be near each other
a. AHU,FCU
b. AHU, Chiller
c. FCU, Chiller
2. Idenfity (Foundation plant in sectional view resting on a concrete)
The foundation is resting on
a. gravel
b. 50 mm concrete mat
3. Identify (riser diagram, indicating a ckt, and light fixtures.)
a. (38) light units
4. What item needs to have its own CKT.
a. ACU
5. In eletric elevator, is the cable that provides electrical power to the car
a. governor rope
b. traveling cable
6. for (maintenance)
stainless steel rail
a. Mirror finish
b. Hairline finish
c. (Satin finish)
7. What could not be achieved by an escalator, walkalator that is possible in a travelator
a. Move trolleys from one level to the next level
8. Identify (steel frames with angle brace - the brace being pointed)
a. Bolted and welded
9. Identify what type of airconditioning was used.
a. Centralized
b. Chilled beam
10. What location is the (Chiller)
a. 2nd floor
b. 3rd floor
c. ground floor
11. where is the (air) in the chocolate room coming from
a. managers room
b. fan thru the toilet
12. usually installed in kitchen (toilets) to expel odors
a. mechanical vent
13. Used/preferred as type of materials on exit on highly ....
a. steel
b. reinforced concrete
14. What happens when someone tries to break a (laminated glass)
a. it will break and turn to smaller pieces
b. it will buckle
c. nothing
15. for (privacy) where one can see the outside and hidden from the outside
a. tinted glass
16. If it breaks, it will turn to smaller pieces without sharpe edges..\
a. tempered glass
17. a residential condiminium is facing a busy street, what solution to lessen the noise if cost is NOT a factor
a. install noise control damper
b. double glazing on windows
18. what floor should be placed in a gym of a fast food maker company
a. (granite)
19. an (industrial) look showroom is having problems with acoustics
a. install (acoustic) ceiling
20. where usually a storm sewer are placed
a. under the sidewalk on short road and under the road on wider road
b. near the curb ...
21. where usally the telephone line are placed
a. under the sidewalk on short road and under the road on wider road
b. near the curb ...
22. How to attached a wood on a concrete panel
a. Dowel
23. how to attached (something like a post)
a. anchor bolt
24. a (150) wall was used, then a 150 x 200 column was designed, why this cannot be used
a. it will buckle
b. interface between the wall and column will crack
25. Identify (metal roof with screw- pointing on screw)
a. self tapping screw
26. What is used to fasten .... (almost similar question)
a. self tapping screw
27. What is the commercial length of long span roofing
a. 18 m
b. 10 m
c. none
28. What is the advantage of using Long span roofing
a. Less joint, less maintenance
29. What is Not a commercial wattage for a flourescent light
a. 100w
b. 20w
c. 40w
d. 36w
30. According to the Accessibility law, what is the mounting height for grab bar
a. 600mm
b. 700mm
c. 900mm
31. Truss is designed with usually a bottom chord...why..
a. Truss normaly cannot span wide distance
32. A small residential project with an area of ... sq. .m. on the second floor will be poured with concrete .. what is the best ...
a. Manual mix
b. Ready mix concrete
c. 2 bagger mixer
33. A ready mix concrete should be test at ...
a. site
b. plant
34. A (hydrologic) soil test should be made ...
a. before excavation
b. after excavation
35. To keep a wall from moving forward, that is (touching) (beside) a soil
a. Loosen up soil to allow water to drain
36. What is the treatment for cracks on wall....
a. Injection of (bonding chemical)
37. Treatment for a soil that was over excavated
a. return the soil, compact and excavate again
b. place metal (something) (gravel)
38.A floor will be laid with new (tiles) on an uneven surface level .. what to do...
a. aplly with leveling grout..
39. What is being used to measure the property line?
a. T square
b. triangle
c. (compass)
d. steel tape
40. What is the least cost to get the right angle
a. brand new plywood
b. 3-4-5 multiple
c. hire a geodetic engineer (surveyor)
41. Identify the drawing (switch in the toilet)
a. Single switch
42. To prevent accident, what (not) to use on pavement .. (or more prone to accident)
a. tiles
b. asphalt
43. In plumbing, if valve is to regulate the flow of water, what is the counterpart in electrical...
a. switch
44. According to the National Plumbing code what is the (minimum) slope...
a. 1/2" : 1m
b. 1/4" : 12 inches
45. Structural .. when torsion is applied .. what happens..
a. twist
46. Concrete breaks without warning, steel takes time, under these design parmeters ... consideration ..
a. Concrete and steel should be design to fall simultaneously
b. Steel should be design to fall first
47. what is Curing..
a. fast drying of concrete
b. retaining of water through hydration
48. another question about concrete...
a. curing
49. Who is responsible for the relocation of points..
a. architect
b. geodetic engineer
50. most common frame materials used in warehouse
a. concrete
b. steel
c. aluminum
51. a form of security
a. CCTV
b. cable tv
c. PBX
52. according to the National Plumbing Code, pipe... support..
a. 3.0 m
53. Indentify ... plumbing (valve in plan)
a. valve near the (source)
54. Identify ... plumbing..
a. No hot water line
55. (Mechanical plan) To control (or identify in the plan) located in the entrance...
a. Air curtain
56. advantage of steel ....
a. takes less manpower
57. Disadvantage of cast in place over pre fab
a. takes time to finish
58. another advantage of steel ...
a. steel has more strength
59. What should be used if a wall will be in contact with the earth/soil
a. Retaining wall
b. (shear wall)
60. about costruction...
a. formwork
61. disadvantage of this material, (esp. typhoon debris)..
a. masonry
62. Old building..PABX..
a. Wiring problem
63. why is acrylic .. versatile...
a. can be used on wood, concrete and steel
64. Disadvantage of (Cementitous) water proofing
a. cannot tolerate more cracks
65. Used to cut intricate patterns
a. Hot wire
b. jigsaw
66. NPC, minumum trap size for shower drain
a. 2"
b. 1 1/2"
67. Uniform light on a wide area
a. flood light
b. Spot light
68. Why is the lenght of the frame of sliding windows (limited to) (1.6m)
a. frame will bent
69. Door folding, what hinge
a. invisible hinge
70. what shoud be avoided in auditorium design, since it tends to (focus) sound
a. irregular
b. rectangular
71. You were commissioned for a music room design... for the floor...
a. wood
72. it has (almost the same) properties of concrete
a. plaster
b. wood
73. (Ultraviolet) sun... pipes...
a. PB
b. IRON
74. Live load
a. human
75. Where is a gutter attached
a. fascia board
76. it serve as Door stopper
a. Basciada
77. window that receives most (air)
a. casement
78. is a mixture of (silica) (lime)
a. cement
79. It the water that flows out of the system is contaminated, what could be the reasons...
a. there is a hole is the piping system
b. a combined line for the (other fixtures)
80. an IT company, building, what should be the consideration...
a. modular furniture, configurable
81. structural question
a. expansion joint
82. powdering of paints... solution
a. do not paint if it is very humid
b. always clean the brush
83. something about joinery
a. butt joint
84. how to lessen the (traffic)
a. tall trees
b. ground grass cover
c. (3) feet wall fence
85. type of hinge used ...
a. concealed hinge
86. material/method for rat proofing
a. plastic
b. steel
c. concrete
d. (poison) lason
87. on plumbing. if....
a. grease trap
88. consideration in the location of septic tank
a. location of water supply
89. about (roofing),
a. c-purlins
90. 45 degree, ...
a. v groove
91. narra, how best preserve, texture, look ...
a. paint
b. varnish
c. laquer
92. complex project ...
a. pert-cpm .. pert.. critical path method
93. advantage of (pvc) roof ....
a. flexible esp. on curve surface
94. noisy floor ....
a. install carpet
95. pvc pipe, how is joined ..
a. fusion
b. solvent cement
c. (teflon tape)
96. indentify .. figure (foundation resting on a conc.)
a. (50mm) concrete
97. very low luminance, consumes too much energy, banned on goverment buildings ..
a. flourescent
b. incandescent bulb
98. how is the (connection) of gutters attached (joined)
a. alumminum rivets
99. what is the properties of .. sound... .
a. (refraction)
100. a client, see below the floor, what glass...
a. tempered glass
b. safety glass
c. glass block
c. laminated glass
101. a sample of (ac) dc current ...
a. generator
102. if 5 bulbs are connected to a series, what happens when you take out one of the bulbs
a. all lights out
b. nothing
103. what is needed if you need to get power from generator (aside from meralco)
a. double throw
104. identify (electrical) the ckt. (AC) unit
a. ckt. (19)
105. which should be (not) used for a pipechase
a. chb
b. drywall
c. shearwall
106. astm .... metal ..
a. (steel bar)
107. structural ... after the concrete...
a. post tensioning
108. how do you determine the adjacent property line (start) (where) on the other side of the road ..
a. middle of the road
a. edge of the other side of the road
109. Identtify figure (angle support, from metal post, angled, supporting a truss/roof overhang)
110. about wall, (not) to use ... (outside) inside
a. 100mm
b. 150 mm
111. affects light in a (room)
a. material texture
b. color
c. (window)
112. there are so many ways to install a window, prior to that, certain (allowance) which window is (not|) included...
a. casement
b. louvre
113. what type of ceiling not to use in high traffic kitchen
a. stainless
114. where should (soil pipe) be placed ....
a. pipechase
115. countours, elevation mark ....
a. topographic map
116. for (cement) (plaster) to hold ...
a. make plaster thin a possible
b. add more (cement)
117. identify (plumbing layout)
a. kitchen sink
118. that slopes, degree (roof)
a. (rafter)
119. what wall should be used if (soil pipe) will run through it
a. drywall
b. 150 chb
120. structural .. concrete (failure)\
a. voids..
121. indenfity size of beam (drawing .. grid)
a. (300 x 400)
122. identify from schedule (drawing ..L/3) face of the column bottom bars.
a. (1600) mm
123. length of beam from shedule
(grid/)
a. (0000) mm
124. length of beam from shedule
(B something)
a. (0000) mm
125. L/5 length of bottom bar
a.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
PLANNING 3 REPORTS
UPLOAD THE LINKS TO YOUR REPORTS IN THE "POST A COMMENT" BOX. (Click on the above title first)
V-1
V-2
Industrial Planning
Commercial Center
V-3
V-1
V-2
Industrial Planning
Commercial Center
V-3
Thursday, January 29, 2009
New Blogspot Address
I am transferring to a new blogspot address combining all my other blogspots http://pupclass.blogspot.com,
http://modern-arki.blogspot.com, and
http://greenarki.blogspot.com.
My new blogspot would be
http://architectureoverload.blogspot.com.
Sorry for the inconvenience and hoping you visit my new site.
http://modern-arki.blogspot.com, and
http://greenarki.blogspot.com.
My new blogspot would be
http://architectureoverload.blogspot.com.
Sorry for the inconvenience and hoping you visit my new site.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thesis Blog
I am opening a window for students of architecture to have their thesis works viewed and appreciated by others. I am inviting thesis students to send me their thesis project for publishing here. Please email me the following:
Your Name
School
Thesis Year
Thesis Executive Summary
Pictures of your presentation boards and drawings
Be proud of your work! Share it with others!
Your Name
School
Thesis Year
Thesis Executive Summary
Pictures of your presentation boards and drawings
Be proud of your work! Share it with others!
Ten Most Unique Church
1. Harajuku: 
This futuristic protestant church is located in
2. Saint Basil's Cathedral: The 
The St. Basil's Cathedral is located on the
The cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the capture of the Khanate of Kazan. In 1588 Tsar Fedor Ivanovich had a chapel added on the eastern side above the grave of Basil Fool for Christ, a Russian Orthodox saint after whom the cathedral was popularly named.
3. Hallgrímskirkja: 
The Hallgrímskirkja (literally, the
4. Temppeliaukio Kirkko: The 
Temppeliaukio Kirkko (
5. Cathedral of Brasília: The
The Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida in the capital of
The Borgund Stave Church in Lærdal is the best preserved of
7. Las Lajas Cathedral: A 
The Las Lajas Cathedral is located in southern
Later on, a mysterious painting of the Virgin Mary carrying a baby was discovered on the wall of the cave. Supposedly, studies of the painting showed no proof of paint or pigments on the rock - instead, when a core sample was taken, it was found that the colors were impregnated in the rock itself to a depth of several feet. Whether true or not, the legend spurred the building of this amazing church.
St. Joseph The Betrothed is an
Located over the Kalemegdan Fortress in Belgrade, Serbia, the Ružica Church is La small chapel decorated with... with trench art! Its chandeliers are entirely made of spent bullet casing, swords, and cannon parts..
The space the church now occupies was used by the Turks as gunpowder storage for over 100 years and it had to be largely rebuilt in 1920 after WWI. Though damaged by bombings there was an upshot to the terrible carnage of The Great War. While fighting alongside
10.Chapel of St-Gildas: Built into the base of a bare rocky cliff
The Chapel of St-Gildas sits upon the bank of the Canal du Blavet in Brittany,
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Heritage Conservation Society Lecture on Church Heritage Conservation
The Heritage Conservation Society invites everyone to attend "SAVING GRACE: Case Studies on the Architectural Conservation of Heritage Churches Here and Abroad" on Saturday, 31 January 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Army & Navy Club Building (now Museo ng Maynila) in Rizal Park.
Speakers will include:
Ms. Tina Paterno, Senior Conservator from New York City
- the Smithfield Church, built in 1925, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
- the Cathedral of the Incarnation, built in 1876, in Garden City, New York;
Archt. Arnulfo Dado, of the National Museum
- San Agustin Church, Intramuros, Manila, completed in 1607 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO,
- the Parish Church of San Raymundo de Peñafort, Rizal (Malaueg), Cagayan, built in 1607 and declared a National Cultural Treasure by the NCCA;
Archt. Angel Lazaro, of Angel Lazaro & Associates
- Parish Church of San Andres, in Masinloc, Zambales, built in 1607 and declared a National Cultural Treasure by the NCCA.
Lunch will be served. Minimum donation is P 200 for non-members, P 100 for HCS members, and P 50 for undergraduate students. For more information, please contact the HCS at 521-2239 or hcs_secretariat@ yahoo.com.
Speakers will include:
Ms. Tina Paterno, Senior Conservator from New York City
- the Smithfield Church, built in 1925, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
- the Cathedral of the Incarnation, built in 1876, in Garden City, New York;
Archt. Arnulfo Dado, of the National Museum
- San Agustin Church, Intramuros, Manila, completed in 1607 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO,
- the Parish Church of San Raymundo de Peñafort, Rizal (Malaueg), Cagayan, built in 1607 and declared a National Cultural Treasure by the NCCA;
Archt. Angel Lazaro, of Angel Lazaro & Associates
- Parish Church of San Andres, in Masinloc, Zambales, built in 1607 and declared a National Cultural Treasure by the NCCA.
Lunch will be served. Minimum donation is P 200 for non-members, P 100 for HCS members, and P 50 for undergraduate students. For more information, please contact the HCS at 521-2239 or hcs_secretariat@ yahoo.com.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
URBAN HEAT ISLAND FORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY (Part 5)
Conclusion and Recommendations
While more definitive studies are continuing, it is clear from the data that the built environment, and corresponding lack of vegetation, is several degrees warmer than nearby natural environments. The increasing effects in tropical mega-cities have created increasing concern for the sustainability of the urban system.
Studies in the urban heat environment have gone a long way. Most of the earlier researches though were focused from the meteorological point of view. The motivation was to see the implications of heat island on weather phenomenon. Another group of researchers tried to study heat environment from an architectural point of view, where their intentions were to provide the ambient temperature and comfort condition inside buildings. The former was of concern of regional scale and the latter was of building scale but none approach it from the scale of a city. However, with the advent of remote sensing and aeronautics research using techniques developed for space technologies, a sudden interest is observed.
Recent studies that have used these technologies have focused on the understanding of land use patterns to heat production and its effect on the lowest layers in the atmosphere. The concern is on how the characteristics of the urban landscape drive this urban heat island effect and how urbanization and growth shape the dynamics of the effect. Parks and greenbelts reduce temperatures while the Central Business district (CBD), commercial areas, and even suburban housing tracts are areas of warmer temperatures. Every house, building, and road changes the microclimate around it, contributing to the urban heat islands of our cities. The urban heat island effect will exist as long as urban areas exist. However, the growth of heat islands can be slowed, and its effects reduced.
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the urban heat environment, their implications to urban sustainability, and to identify measures to alleviate it. There are many possible measures that exist to make cities more sustainable and habitable and urban planners and policy makers should think this phenomenon seriously before the situation gets worse further. In some affluent cities such as
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Akbari, H. 1998. “Cool Roofs Save Energy” ASHRAE proceedings, January.
Luvall, Dr. Jeffrey C and Dr. Dale Quattrochi. "Whats hot in
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NASA "NASA Satellite Confirms Urban Heat Islands Increase Rainfall Around Cities"
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020613urbanrain.html
“Urban Climate Modifications”
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Wolman, Abel, (1965). quoted by, White, R. & J. Whitney, (1992). "Cities and the Environment: An Overview". In, Stren, R., R. White & J. Whitney, (eds.), Sustainable Cities: Urbanization & the Environment in International Perspective, Boulder, CO.: Westview Press. pp. 8-51.
Rohinton Emmanuel.“Summertime Urban Heat Island Mitigation: Propositions based on an Investigation of Intra-Urban Air Temperature Variations” Architectural Science Review
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Stone, Brian Jr. and Michael O. Rodgers. 2001. Urban Form and Thermal Efficiency: How the Design of Cities Influences the Urban Heat Island Effect 
. Journal of the American Planning Association 67(2), 186-198.
Cardelino CA, Chameides WL. 1990. Natural hydrocarbons, urbanization, and urban ozone. Journal of Geophysical Research 95 (D9):13971-13979.
Stone, Brian Jr. Urban heat and Air Pollution: An Emerging Role for Planners in the Climate Change Debate. Journal of the American Planning Association , forthcoming.
Stone, Brian Jr. 2004. Paving Over Paradise: How Land Use Regulations Promote Residential Imperviousness . Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning 69, 101-113.
Stone, Brian Jr. 2003. Air Quality by Design: Harnessing the Clean Air Act to Manage Metropolitan Growth . Journal of Planning Education and Research 23, 177-190.
Estes, Maurice Jr.; Gorsevski, Virginia; Russell, Camille; Quattrochi, Dale; and Luvall, Jeffrey. ”The Urban Heat Island Phenomenon and Potential Mitigation Strategies”. 1999 EPA National Planning Conference.
“Here Comes Urban Heat” Science @NASA
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Rosenberg, Matt. “Urban Heat Islands: It sure is Hot in the City!”.
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“State of Environmental Situation”
URBAN HEAT ISLAND FORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY (Part 4)
Heat Island Mitigation Strategies: The Role of Urban Planning
Till today, urban developers and policy makers are not serious on the implications of the worsening heat environment. The costs as discussed above, are tremendous which would force this effect to be taken seriously into up-coming days. On one hand, there are certain things that might be difficult to change such as urban thermal mass, weather patterns and surface roughness. Elimination of these effects would require complete and drastic new way of thinking in the way cities are built and operate. But on the other hand, there are plenty of corrective measures that can be taken within the existing urban set-up such as increasing vegetation cover, albedo modification, efficient energy consumption and management of heat discharge sources which are possible by supportive urban planning and policy measures.
Increasing vegetative cover
Tree plantation is the most obvious and the easiest way to improve heat environment in existing urban set-ups. Trees help in a number of ways; they provide direct shade to the buildings from solar radiation so that less radiation will reach to the building walls, windows and roof to be absorbed. They also create shades in the soil and concrete pavements to act as heat sink for the buildings and asphalt roads. Increase in water vapor due to evapotranspiration by plant leaves is significant in taking the heat away. Trees also act as pollutants, carbon and noise sink. It helps to mitigate greenhouse effects by consuming carbon dioxide in the photosynthesis process. It is estimated that a street lined with trees can reduce dust particles of about 7,000 particles per liter of air. However, care must be used in choosing the type of trees since some trees give off organic compounds (hydrocarbons) into the atmosphere and contribute to ozone in forming smog.
Planting programs can help reduce urban temperatures and make cities greener. Within ten to fifteen years – the time it takes a tree to grow to a useful size – trees placed in strategic locations can reduce heating and cooling costs by an average of 10-20%. Over their lifetimes, trees can be much less expensive than air conditioners and the energy needed to run them.
Well-distributed green parks and water bodies around the urban city act as recreational and aesthetic beauty. Urban planners are concerned with parks and water bodies but their motivation is for aesthetic beauty rather than betterment of heat environment. In the existing urban set-up, metropolitan authorities could encourage green belts around the roadside and plantations. This strategy depend on the local climate condition whether the place of concern is hot-dry or hot-humid in nature. In the hot-dry regions, the evaporation from the soil is minimal, urban parks and water bodies increase water evaporation from both the plants and the soil, consequently the effect on local climate could be significant and desirable. On the contrary, hot-humid regions have low specific evaporation and reduction in the wind speed near the ground is undesirable from the comfort viewpoint (Givoni, 1997).
Albedo modification
Albedo is defined as the ability of the surface to reflect solar radiation. It is different from reflectivity in the sense that reflectivity might only account for visual bands whereas albedo accounts for all the incoming radiation to the surface. It is basically hemispherical reflection of radiation integrated over the solar spectrum (0.3 – 2.5 mm) and includes specular and diffuse reflection (Bretz et al, 1998). Asphalt roads, concrete pavements and corrugated roofs have low values of albedo which form the major part of the dense mega-cities. Low albedo surfaces absorb significant proportion of the solar radiation and contribute in worsening urban heat environment. The mitigation strategy therefore is to improve over-all albedo of the urban surfaces.
Improving the urban albedo, such as for buildings and other surfaces have additional advantages. Apart from facilitating urban surfaces to reflect most of the solar radiation, it also contributes in cooling the buildings so that air-conditioning demand is greatly reduced. Studies have shown that the cooling energy savings from the high-albedo roofs and walls in the buildings are very significant. Any heat island mitigation strategy would be required to identify the opportunities that exist in improving the urban surface albedo. The surface albedo property can be greatly enhanced either by mixing it with some third material that can greatly increase its albedo or replacing the traditional construction material completely. The “cool construction materials” can be used to improve solar reflectance without significant cost additions. The choice of light and white colored surfaces is possible, however, a distinction between the light colored surface and high albedo surface should be well understood since light colored surface only means high reflectivity in the visible band.
The effect of albedo modification by one or combination of various methods at the scale of a city and their implication to the overall temperature is not very much studied. In general, the motivation for such albedo improvement has been observed from the air-conditioning viewpoint at building scale rather than reduction of overall thermal situation at the city scale. Building owners, builders and architects have choice to select color of the rooftops, type of construction materials and other measures. Urban planners and policy makers can change the attitude of the stakeholders by improving building codes with thermal considerations, energy management and appropriate urban planning.
Efficient energy consumption and management of heat discharge sources
Since mega-cities are characterized by high energy consumption, ample opportunities exist to manage energy and the heat discharge sources. As stated earlier, air-conditioning is the major stationary heat discharge sources arising from buildings. Air-conditioning units discharge heat to the urban atmosphere continuously due to the energy consumption inside the buildings in various forms (mainly gas and electricity) and absorbed solar radiation through the building surfaces. Three types of management is important here. First, is to enhance energy efficiencies of the end use appliances and the way of supplying energy. Second, is the energy efficient building design from architecture standpoint. And third, is the location of heat discharge sources. High-rise buildings allow the flexibility of placing the air-conditioning units (or plants) at the height significantly above the ground surfaces and the prevailing wind at the height can effectively swipe away the heat without letting it to concentrate in the urban canopy. Although there could be concern on the costs that would conflict with the optimization of piping, a balance optimum is possible. A mixture of high-rise and medium rise buildings in the dense urban area also enhance the over-all urban ventilation by creating turbulence in wind canopy, the ventilation in such case might be better than the urban area with low density but with buildings of similar heights.
The effect of improving appliance efficiencies in buildings on urban heat environment might be very small without changing the way the energies are supplied into the buildings. A central air-conditioning system is energy and cost-wise more efficient than the smaller units in each rooms or at each floors in the multi-storey structures. District cooling is favorable in the dense urban structure. In individual detached homes, small measures such as shading of air-conditioning units can produce effective results.
Transportation is the major heat discharge source that is mobile and difficult to simulate. It is encouraging that the automobile fuel efficiency is improving but at the same time, concentration of vehicles and traffic congestion is also increasing in the mega-cities and the net effect of which is unfavorable from urban warming standpoint. An exact extent of automobile’s implication on urban heat environment is largely unknown. However, traffic management and reduction in the vehicle idle time in core city areas is expected to greatly relieve the heat island phenomenon.
The anthropogenic heat discharges in the big cities are significant. Major cities in the
In
In order to combat urban heat island, the air quality has to be improved reducing the level of toxic gases, more trees to be planted, save energy and thus reduce pollution, and thereby save cost of energy and money, and improve the overall livability. Air quality management systems should include abatement and other measures to improve air quality, and to maintain air quality within a defined range. Enacting urban planning legislation to increase the amount of vegetation could see a reduction in temperatures. Another method is to reduce the amount of heat absorbed by civil structures by using construction materials that have high albedo and not prone to heat absorption.
The urban metabolism concept (Wolman, 1965) indicates that environmental quality improvement in urban areas rests on the careful use and removal of energy and matter. In the urban design sense, environment conscious urban designers can use at least three tools for the realization of the goals of energy efficiency, transport reduction and air quality improvement. These are thru zoning laws, building laws, and landscape control. Some attempts at utilizing these tools for the purposes of energy and transportation reduction have already been made (cf. Emmanuel, 1995). Although these attempts are from the temperate climate cities, they offer possible models for hot-humid cities.
In the enhancement of the urban physical environment, quality should be the major goal of climate-conscious design. In order to achieve the design goals of energy efficiency, transportation reduction and air quality improvement, in the tropics, design strategies could take one of the following forms:
Building form guidelines
Activity pattern controls
Control of relationship to natural features
Building Form
Court-yard forms
Orientation
Activity Relationships for Comfortable Moving & Transport Reduction
Shopping Streets
Gathering Places
Provisions for Evening Life (Evenings are tropics' winter).
Pedestrian Paths and Nodes
Network for Cars
Relationship to Natural Features - Landscape Controls
Relationship to Waterbodies
Collection of Rainwater
Topographical Relationships
URBAN HEAT ISLAND FORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY (Part 3)
Measurement of Heat Island
Several techniques are applied to measure heat islands. The importance of these techniques depends upon the nature of requirements. Micro-scale heat island measurements are done by the temperature sensors and some instrumentation which are fairly accurate and well-established. However, in the viewpoint of large-scale measurements such as a mega-city, these are not useful. Site observation with the help of sensors in a mobile source such as a car is one of the important tools to measure heat island effect but is labor intensive and the result difficult to validate due to varying weather conditions each time the observation is done.
Recently, remote sensing technology with the help of satellite images is commonly being used to get information on heat islands. Remote sensing techniques can be used to obtain the thermal images of the place in concern and provide information on land use. Loss of green surfaces, information on surface reflectivity of solar radiation and buildings can be obtained with the help of satellite images. The comparison between past and present date can show the trend of heat island along with land use information which are very important in identifying the degree of severity of heat island phenomenon in a particular place.
There are inherent problems though of remote sensing technology in the planning process. It can provide thermal images but there is difficulty in segregating the types of thermal sources such as from mobile sources or stationary sources. It provides snapshot of situation without any knowledge of the mechanisms that is going on in the urban system. The land use, building and transportation information could be obtained from remote sensing techniques but it is not possible to see their contribution and sensitiveness on the heat island phenomenon.
The information obtained from remote sensing need to be coupled with numerical climatic models in order to analyze the effect of various planning alternatives of land use and heat discharge to improve the urban heat environment. These models are able to study the physical climatic phenomenon in the urban system. In this sense, remote sensing data along with Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool in providing information to the numerical models which can study, simulate various planning alternatives and can predict the implications on heat environment. Numerical models are the powerful tools to understand the mechanisms of heat island. These models can be validated with site data measurements or from remote sensing techniques.
The following image is an aerial thermal image of a mall and surroundings located in
Although satellite data are very useful for analysis of the urban heat island effect at a coarse level, they do not lend themselves to developing a better understanding of which surfaces across the city contribute to or drive the development of the urban heat island effect. Analysis of thermal energy responses for specific or discrete surfaces typical of the urban landscape (e.g. asphalt, building rooftops, vegetation) requires measurements at a very fine spatial scale (i.e., <15m)>
The explosion of new knowledge on the theoretical aspects of urban climate change is not well matched by practical applications. In particular, urban designers and planners are yet to utilize the current knowledge to develop architectural and urban design strategies for the mitigation of the negative effects of urban heat island. This is in part due to some weaknesses in current methods. For example, some of the problems associated with remote sensing techniques hinder the detection of air temperature heat island that directly affects human comfort as opposed to surface temperature heat island. These problems include, difficulties in "seeing" the vertical active surfaces, the not so well defined coupling of surface and air temperatures in urban areas and inhomogeniety of urban surfaces leading to a patch work of emissivity and albedo. The problem with urban-rural difference method in general is that it assumes weather over time remains constant. Furthermore, the intra-urban differences are ignored. It is pointed out that it is the intra-urban climatic difference that is of value for urban planners and designers interested in mitigating the negative effects of UHIs. In other methods, it is assumed that rural climate is somehow "natural" to the area. However, in the context of rapid global urbanization, there are very few rural areas remaining with their "natural" climates intact.
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